To Win His Heart

Her instincts had been right. The idea of her becoming Luc’s sister-in-law was so repugnant to him, he was caught in a vise.

“Isn’t that what an engagement ring means? Or is your younger brother in the habit of promising one to every groupie he fancies without any intention of delivering…”

He raked a hand through his vibrant black hair, a gesture that indicated the news had disturbed him. Good. She hoped his concern to protect his brother from a predator like herself was great enough to agree to her plan.

“What kind of game are you playing with him?” came the voice of ice.

“Game?” She feigned innocence. “I admit it was exciting to be wined and dined by him for a little while. Fred got me interested in Formula I racing and I followed Cesar’s success for a long time before we ever met.

“Meeting your brother was a great thrill. He’s a wonderful man, and he’s done everything to show me a fantastic time, but—”

“But all along it’s been dull, boring Fred you wanted, and now you’re afraid to tell Cesar?” She felt his question like the tip of a whip against her skin.

“No,” she came back, intrigued to discover he’d remembered an offhand comment she’d made about Fred in his hearing. “I ended it with Fred before I flew here for Greer’s wedding.”

“How many dead bodies are lying around in that colorful past of yours?” he muttered in an acerbic tone. The wounds were growing.

“My past is none of your business, but Cesar is.”

A nerve ticked at the corner of his sensual mouth. “Go on!”

“Well…Cesar knows I’m not seeing Fred anymore. So he’s not going to believe there’s another man in my life, and he would be right. But that’s not what I told him in the note I left for him at the hotel in Monza.”

“That was like waving a red flag,” Luc drawled with contempt.

“I thought I was being polite,” Olivia asserted. “After the race I went back to the Accademia in a taxi and dashed off a letter before checking out. It was a combination goodbye–thank you note.

“I left it with the concierge to give to him when he came in. In it I explained that my heart belonged to another, but I wished him success in the future. Since Cesar is aware that other person isn’t Fred, I’m afraid I’ve painted myself into a corner, and now I need help.”

Lines marred his features. “You should have thought of that before you went to bed with him.”

“The Duchess girls don’t sleep around!”

“That’s an interesting fairy tale.”

She bridled. “Cesar said the same thing, so I told him to ask Max when he gets back from his honeymoon if he doesn’t believe me. Theirs was a white wedding. Why do you think they got married so fast?”

He folded his arms. “Why are you digressing? If I’m to be of assistance to you, you have to tell me exactly how far things have progressed between you two. The truth this time.”

“You won’t believe me if I tell you, so why should I bother.”

“You’re still avoiding answering my question,” Luc reminded her testily. “I can assure I’m not asking out of a prurient desire to know the intimate details, just the facts. But if you don’t want my help after all…” He was a breath away from shutting the door on her.

She had to tamp down her euphoria. Obviously the thought of his brother marrying her disgusted him enough to listen.

“After the way you spoke to me at the wedding, do you honestly think I would darken your doorstep if I didn’t?” she challenged.

A war was waging inside him. She knew it by the tautness of his Gallic features. “I repeat. How far did you go to accomplish what no other groupie has managed to do?” he persisted.

“I didn’t have to do anything. He’s the one who kissed me outside my hotel room before I told him I had to go in.”

“And you expect me to believe he did all the work?”

Her brows knit together. “Why do you have to know that?”

“So you did respond,” he muttered, “which means he’ll believe you were being a provocative tease.”

She gave him a vexed look. “I couldn’t help but respond a little bit. Your brother’s the stuff a woman’s dreams are made of. But the truth is, I have no interest in being his wife. For one thing, he won’t make a good husband until his racing days are over. I’ve a feeling that day won’t come for years yet.”

“So you’re still spouse hunting in Riviera waters?”

“I would be if you and your cousins hadn’t robbed us of our trip! It’s only fair you make up for it now. Who knows? I might meet an exciting playboy with husband potential while I’m waterskiing or exploring some island.

“The point is, when Cesar finds out I’ve gone on a vacation with you, he’ll give up any idea he had about marriage to me.”

“Why is that?” His voice had taken on a darker tone.

“You don’t know?”

His face closed up. “I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

“Since the first time I met Cesar, I’ve discovered you’re the only man in the world who intimidates him. You’re kind of like Greer incarnate.” Luc’s black brows furrowed. “You know—the oldest one in the family. The one who rules by divine right?”

“No, I didn’t know.” He looked like thunder.

“Well you wouldn’t! You don’t have to. You were just born in charge. The one who knows everything, even if you don’t!” She paused to catch her breath.

“Anyway, Cesar will think you must be the man who stole my heart after I came to the Riviera the first time. He wouldn’t dare come after me knowing I was under your protection, so to speak.”

Like the day she and her sisters dove off the Piccione into the warm blue water of the Mediterranean to get away from Luc and his cousins, Olivia’s impulsive nature had once again caused her to leap before she looked.

But this was serious business. The most serious of her existence.

It was Luc she loved with every fiber of her being. The longer he didn’t say anything, the more she realized that if he didn’t give her the right answer, she would be in permanent mourning.

His eyes looked dark in the fading light. “Nothing’s sacred to a woman like you, is it.” A woman like me? “Haven’t you realized by now you can’t play at life without paying too great a price?”

Those words were meant to debilitate her. They reminded her of Piper’s warning on the phone earlier in the day that Luc could hurt her if she let him.

She struggled for breath. “My parents raised my sisters and me to believe fairy tales do come true. I can’t help it if they were divinely happy and everything worked out for them.

“You have to admit the Husband Fund they set up managed to get Greer and Max together. I’ve never seen a more besotted couple.”

“You’re straying from the point again. It’s a bad tendency of yours.”

“No stronger than your tendency to ridicule everything,” she fired back. “Can you think of a better way to put your brother off so he gets the message without causing damage? He is Greer’s cousin-in-law through marriage. So are you of course.

“I don’t want to be the one responsible for some kind of rift in our families before they’ve even come home from their honeymoon.”