She pushed him back. “I know a few billion people who would disagree with you.” She smoothed the folds of her skirt as she turned back to the railing. Once again in control.
But not always. He had an effect on her. He wouldn’t hesitate to use their chemistry to get what he wanted.
“I believe you had a second proposal for me.”
He leaned on the railing and looked out over Paris. “Yes. I’d like to hire you as an event planner.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
CALANDRAKEPTHERgaze focused on the scorched yet still proud towers of Notre Dame, standing resolute against the blue morning sky, as she processed Alejandro’s words.
The first emotion to reveal itself in the tangled mess inside her chest: anger. Anger that he was only proposing this as a way of giving her money because he knew she wouldn’t just accept a check.
Embarrassment was next, that hot, uncomfortable emotion that burned her cheeks. Before her epic fall from grace, she’d courted offers every year from industries around the world wanting to steal her away from Cabrera Wines. But she’d liked her job.
A job she’d thrown away. A blood test her doctor had ordered after she reported trouble sleeping had revealed her pregnancy. Hours later, Alejandro’s name had jumped out at her on the proposed guest list for the party celebrating the joining of Cabrera Wines with Fox Vineyards. Images had cascaded through her mind, ranging from her blurting out her secret in the middle of the party to rushing to the nearest trash can with morning sickness as he paraded around the room with an actress or model or heiress, whatever flavor of the week he was indulging in.
Uncertainty and panic had driven her to do something impulsive—she’d quit. Better that than make a fool of herself. Her job hadn’t been worth her pride, her self-respect. A week later, those pictures of Alejandro walking into a hotel in London with a famous actress had confirmed that she’d made the right decision.
Until a few weeks after that when she started receiving rejections and had faced the reality that, rather than make a smart decision, she’d once again done something uncharacteristic—she’d made a huge decision based on emotion, not practicality. She’d given up a job she enjoyed and a sizable paycheck that allowed her to pay for Johanna’s nursing school as well as the rest of Aunt Norine’s mortgage on her beachside cottage, on the possibility that she might see her one and only former lover.
A paycheck that had fueled a lovely savings account that was dwindling under the constant onslaught of bills and expenses.
Which brought her to her third and final emotion: hope. Hope that maybe this job, whatever it was, would not only provide her with a financial foundation before the baby was born, but might lead to her hearingYou’re hiredinstead of the copy-and-pasteThanks for your time, but we’ve decided to go with another candidateemail she’d received too many of lately.
Her pride didn’t like it. Actually, her pride hated it. Accepting any type of help made her skin prickle.
But it wasn’t just about her anymore. Johanna, bless her, had taken on a part-time job at a nearby hospital and secured two scholarships that would see her through to graduation.
“Something I should have been doing all along,” she’d chirped cheerfully when she’d shared the scholarship letter with Calandra. “Don’t worry about me, sis.” She’d rubbed Calandra’s belly excitedly. “It’s my turn to take care of you.”
And that’s what Calandra needed to focus on. Much as she preferred to do this alone, and as much as she didn’t want to be around the man who put her into such a state of confusion, the baby was now the most important thing in her life. If that meant making some sacrifices, like accepting a little help from the devil himself, then so be it.
“Doing what?” she finally asked.
“Overseeing final preparations for a party.”
She turned to look at him, then wished she hadn’t. When she looked out over the buildings of Paris, she could admire the history, the architecture, map out the arrondissementsand neighborhoods in her head if she needed something to focus on.
But when she looked at Alejandro, dressed to the nines in chestnut-brown shoes, tan slacks that clung to his muscular legs and a sky-blue shirt molded to his tall, burly frame, all rational thought fled. She envied the relaxation she’d spied on his face as they walked to the Tower. She’d been both tempted and terrified of the passion in his eyes when he’d held her close. It made her remember what it was like to have a man look at her with desire. With passion. To hold her like she was the most treasured thing he’d ever encountered.
Dangerous. Men like him were so dangerous. Her father had been like that, flashing his winning smile and showering her mother with compliments that would make any woman swoon...or he had until he’d turned his attentions elsewhere.
His eyes pinned her in place. A smile lurked about his lips, but now she knew better. After seeing how quickly he’d flipped this morning, taking charge of a situation and letting his facade slip to reveal the strength that ran beneath the surface, she kept her guard up. She’d always treated him like a puppy—silly, at times humorous and more often annoying.
Now she wondered how much of that was Alejandro and how much of it was a mask.
“I don’t see cargo ships hosting the kind of parties I usually plan.”
“I’m diversifying.”
“To what?”
He joined her at the railing. A summer breeze teased his dark curls.
“We’re in the process of completing construction on two new ships. Two more will join them over the next three years. Instead of scrapping one of the ships being replaced, I’m having it retrofitted into a floating hotel off the coast of Marseille.”
Admiration rose in her chest. “An interesting concept.”