Page 21 of Seduced By You

Sure enough, he reported no news on the whereabouts of Samuel Collins, a kid I’d attended finishing school with in Switzerland. Given my dyslexic challenges, my father had sent me there to help me catch up on schoolwork.

Not for the first time, I thought about asking my dad for help in locating Samuel, but dredging up what had happened at that fucking school wasn’t fair on my parents. I refused to revisit that time with them, especially when Dad had put his reputation on the line to bail me out of a hole.

No, not a hole.

A fucking chasm. A canyon.

A well deep enough to reach the earth’s core.

The Swiss were adept at keeping secrets, but a year ago, after living with this since I was seventeen, I’d faced up to the fact that I’d never find peace until I found Samuel. However long it took to locate that kid and ensure he was okay, that despite what I’d done, he’d moved on to live a full and productive life, I had to do it.

I replied to Joseph, telling him to keep looking and reiterating he had an open-ended budget. Whatever resources he needed were his. All he had to do was ask.

* * *

Wednesday dawned bright and clear, although the weather forecast said to expect rain from Lyon north. I’d rented a car rather than take my Aston. That way, I didn’t have the drag of figuring out how to get it back to Saint Tropez. The strike would be over by Sunday, so it made sense to fly home instead of doing this same trip in reverse. Depending on how things went in Paris, though, I might change my mind.

I put my suitcase in the trunk, leaving room for Lee’s things. We should be good for space, unless she packed for a month rather than five days. I doubted she would. For a former model, Lee was the least fussy woman I knew, other than my mother, who was the most frugal of packers. She always went by the belief that as long as she had her passport and a credit card, she could purchase whatever she might have forgotten.

Lee was already outside when I pulled up at her house. One suitcase sat at her feet. The hideous fruit bowl was beside it, wrapped in silver-and-gold paper, and the couture dresses she’d purchased at Boutique Noémie a couple of weeks ago were in clothing bags draped over her arm. I jumped out of the car as she made her way down the path toward me.

“Here, give me your case.” I plucked it out of her hand before she could decline the offer. “You can hang the dresses up on a hook behind the driver’s seat.”

“No Aston?”

“Thought we’d fly back, providing the strike is over, so rental it is.”

“Ah. Makes sense.”

She hung up her clothes and climbed into the passenger seat. As I joined her, I narrowed my eyes. “Why the long face? You still worried about the wedding?”

“No. It’s Dash. He gave me that look when I bundled him into his pet carrier ready for Audrey to pick him up this morning. You know the one. TheHow could you do this to me?look.”

“He’s a manipulative little shit. He’ll end up getting spoiled rotten, and when he comes back to you, he’ll expect the same treatment.”

“Yeah.” She gnawed her lip and fiddled with the hem of her T-shirt. “He will be okay, won’t he?”

“He’ll be fine. You know Audrey. She’ll probably feed him caviar and peeled grapes.”

Lee chuckled.

“And she’ll send you photographs, like you asked.”

“True.” Her eyes brightened. “You’re right. Okay, let’s get this show on the road.”

We made good time along the A7, only getting held up for fifteen minutes at roadworks a few miles south of Lyon. After stopping off at a bistro for lunch we continued north toward Paris. We played car games on the way to break up the journey, and Lee took a turn driving to give my legs and back a rest.

I’d booked a suite at Le Meurice, one of my favorite hotels in Paris. A valet surged forward as I pulled in front of the entrance. As I’d expect from such an exclusive establishment, the bellhop had our luggage out of the trunk before either Lee or I had set foot outside the car.

Check-in took less than two minutes, and by the time we arrived at the suite, our luggage was already there.

“Which bedroom do you want?” I asked Lee as she crossed the expansive living room and opened the French doors to the balcony. “There are three, so take your pick.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Three?”

I shrugged. “What can I say? I like the view from up here.”

“Me, too. I’d forgotten how gorgeous Paris is. It’s been a while.” Her eyes sparkled. “Note how I said ‘a while,’ Kadon. Not ‘a minute.’ Because that would be stupid.”

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