Second Chance With The Best Man. Katrina Cudmore

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СКАЧАТЬ but was now moored out of Royan, Hannah had been friendly but he could tell that she was avoiding being alone with him. He’d wanted to shrug off her indifference but in truth her reticence had intrigued him and the intelligence in her eyes and her close friendship with Lara had had him wanting to know her better.

      She had turned down his invitation to meet for a drink later in the week.

      So he’d orchestrated it for her to attend a dinner party he’d thrown in his Kensington town house. He’d hoped to impress her with his cooking but she’d left early, saying she had an early flight to Paris in the morning. As he’d walked her out to her awaiting taxi, for the first time ever, he’d felt tongue-tied. All night he’d been unable to stop staring across the table at her, her natural warmth that was evident behind her initially reserved nature, her genuineness, her authenticity lighting something inside him. On the few occasions she had looked in his direction, he’d seen that spark of attraction again, but she’d always snatched her gaze away. That night of the dinner party, he’d let her go, without pressing his lips to her cheek as he’d ached to, something deep inside him telling him he had to wait until she was ready to accept the spark between them.

      Their paths had crossed several times in the months that had followed. He’d used to playfully remind her that his offer of meeting for a drink was still on the table but she would smile and turn away.

      And then, one day, when they had all gone swimming in the Solent after another day sailing on his yacht, Sirocco, she’d watched him dive from the rail. When he’d emerged from the water deliberately close to her, her initial frown that had spoken of some deep internal turmoil had transformed into a gentle smile and she’d softly said, ‘I think I’m ready for that drink.’

      He’d trod the cold English Channel water, grinning widely, not caring that everyone else in the party could see his delight. He’d wanted to stay there for ever, staring into Hannah’s soulful brown eyes, his heart beating wildly in delight and anticipation that had been more than about the desire to tug her gorgeous bikini-clad body towards him.

      Now he led her up the main marble staircase of the château to the second floor where, at the end of the corridor, he opened the door to her bedroom. Hannah walked inside, her gaze widening as she took in the antique jade hand-painted wallpaper, the Louis XV furniture.

      He stayed at the doorway. They had dated for over ten months. The chemistry and intense attraction never waning, escalating in fact. But as they’d grown closer, as his heart had begun to need her, panic had set in. Laurent didn’t believe in love and commitment. When he’d been twelve, François ten, his father had left the family home to conduct an affair. The following year his mother had done the same. And in the years that had followed his father had disappeared from the family home at least once a year to continue his affairs. The affairs, the hurt they had inflicted on everyone around them, had poisoned Laurent for ever against any thought of commitment in his own life.

      His panic had soared when he’d visited Hannah’s family one weekend and seen their love and devotion to one another. How could he ever bring her into the toxic mix of his own family, which was so full of unspoken anger and accusations? And his panic had soared even more when Hannah had told him of her plans to become a wedding celebrant. At first he’d laughed, thinking she was joking. But she’d been serious. The woman he’d thought of as being as career-minded and as focused on success as he was, who had never given any indication that she was looking for commitment, wanted to be the officiator of the institution he’d no regard for—marriage.

      Increasingly he’d realised just how incompatible they were despite their attraction and laughter and warmth for one another. And then he’d learnt of his father’s stroke and his need to return to Cognac to head up the family business. For years he’d waited on the sidelines to be given the role of CEO, beyond frustrated at the decline in the Cognac House’s market share under his father’s neglectful leadership. Bonneval Cognac had been in existence since the seventeenth century. It was Laurent’s legacy and one he was determined to restore to its rightful place as the most exclusive cognac house in the world. It was a promise he’d made to his beloved grandfather before he died, a man who had despaired at his own son’s disloyalty and irresponsibility, not only with the business, but with his own family.

      Knowing that there was no future for him and Hannah, Laurent had ended their relationship when he’d returned to France. It had been a gut-wrenching conversation, and he’d seen the pain and confusion in her eyes, but it was not a conversation he regretted. Hannah deserved someone who actually believed in love and commitment. Someone who reflected the love and devotion and stability of her own background.

      This weekend would be awkward. But they needed to somehow build a new relationship as their paths would cross time and time again in the future. Maybe having to spend time together this evening was an opportune time to begin that process. He was the one who had messed up by allowing their relationship to become too intense—the least he could do was ensure that the next few days were as painless as possible. For both of their sakes.

      ‘I had planned on eating out tonight—I need to go and check on my wedding present to François and Lara first, but there’s a restaurant nearby. Will you join me?’

       CHAPTER TWO

      HANNAH STUDIED LAURENT and marvelled at his ability to forget the past. It hurt her, angered her, but part of her envied him for it. Wasn’t it what she was striving to achieve herself, after all? For a moment she was about to say no to his invite. The last thing she wanted to do was spend time alone with him.

      Standing in the doorway, a shoulder propped against the frame, his arms crossed on his chest, his expression untroubled, he waited for her response. He was still the best-looking man she’d ever met. And damn it, she was still attracted to him. As her mum would say, figgity, figgity, fig. Well, if he could shrug off the past then so could she. She popped her suitcase on the luggage rack. Flipped the lid open, pulled out her laptop and placed it on the desk by the window, determined to have some control.

      Opening up the laptop, she asked him for the Wi-Fi password and, logging in, she said, ‘I’m doing an online thirty-day yoga challenge and I want to do today’s session now. I’ll need a shower afterwards.’ She glanced behind her in his direction. ‘I won’t be ready for at least an hour so don’t wait for me if that doesn’t suit you.’

      ‘I didn’t know you practised yoga.’

      She shrugged. ‘It helps me to let go of all those small things that irritate me in life.’

      He made a grunting sound low in his throat before saying, ‘I’ll see you downstairs in an hour,’ and then walked away.

      She closed the door and leant heavily against it. This room, the entire château, was beyond incredible. She’d stolen glances into the endless rooms they had passed downstairs, her breath catching at their delicate elegance.

      It was hard to comprehend that Laurent lived here. All alone. She knew from Lara that his parents had moved to a lodge on the thousand-acre estate after he’d returned from England to take up the role of CEO. She’d heard Lara’s description of this magnificent château, had known of the world-famous cognac brand, but until now she hadn’t fully grasped his family’s wealth and standing.

      This was not her world. It brought out all the inadequacies she so desperately tried to keep hidden.

      Now, more than ever, she was glad that she’d never told Laurent about her early childhood. How could someone who came from this background СКАЧАТЬ