The From Paris With Love And Regency Season Of Secrets Ultimate Collection. Кэрол МортимерЧитать онлайн книгу.
that audience and I’ll have to hire a bodyguard.”
“Or a fiancée?”
She slipped that in with the precision of a surgeon. Dev had to admire her skill even as he acknowledged the hit.
“Or a fiancée,” he agreed. “Luckily I found the perfect one right here at Beguile.”
Which reminded him of why he’d made a second trek to the magazine’s offices.
“Something’s come up,” he told Sarah. “I was going to explain it to you privately, but...”
“You heard from Gina?”
Her breathless relief had Dev swearing silently. Little Miss Gina deserved a swift kick in the behind for putting her sister through all this worry. And he might just be the one to deliver it.
“No, I haven’t.”
The relief evaporated. Sarah’s shoulders slumped. Only for a moment, though. The St. Sebastian steel reasserted itself almost immediately. Good thing, as she’d need every ounce of it for the sucker punch Dev was about to deliver.
“But I did hear from the CEO I’ve been negotiating with for the past few months. He’s ready to hammer out the final details and asked me to fly over to Paris.”
She sensed what was coming. He saw it in the widening of her green eyes, the instinctive shake of her head. Dev ignored both and pressed ahead.
“I told him I would. I also told him I might bring my fiancée. I explained we just got engaged, and that I’m thinking of taking some extra time so we can celebrate the occasion in his beautiful city.”
“Excuse me!” Danvers butted in, her expression frigid. “Sarah has an important job here at Beguile, with deadlines to meet. She can’t just flit off to Paris on your whim.”
“I appreciate that. It would only be for a few days. Maybe a week.”
Dev turned back to Sarah, holding her gaze, holding her to their bargain at the same time.
“We’ve been working this deal for months. I need to wrap it up. Monsieur Girault said his wife would be delighted to entertain you while we’re tied up in negotiations.”
He slipped in that veiled reminder of one of his touchiest problems deliberately. He’d been up front with her. He wanted her to provide cover from Elise Girault. In exchange, he’d let her light-fingered sister off the hook.
Sarah got the message. Her chin inched up. Her shoulders squared. The knowledge she would stick to her side of the bargain gave him a fiercer sense of satisfaction than he had time to analyze right now.
“When are you thinking of going?” she asked.
“My executive assistant has booked us seats on a seven-ten flight out of JFK.”
“Tonight?”
“Tonight. You have a current passport, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I can’t just jet off and leave Grandmama!”
“Not a problem. I also had my assistant check with the top home health-care agencies in the city. A licensed, bonded RN can report for duty this afternoon and stay with your grandmother until you get back.”
“Dear God, no!” A shudder shook her. “Grandmama would absolutely hate that invasion of her privacy. I’ll ask our housekeeper, Maria, to stay with her.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Since I’m springing this trip on you with such short notice, please tell your housekeeper I’ll recompense her for her time.”
“That’s not necessary,” she said stiffly.
“Of course it is.”
She started to protest, but Dev suggested a daily payment for Maria’s services that made Sarah blink and her boss hastily intervene.
“The man’s right, kiddo. This is his gig. Let him cover the associated costs.”
She left unsaid the fact that Dev could well afford the generous compensation. It was right there, though, like the proverbial elephant in the room, and convinced Sarah to reluctantly agree.
“We’re good to go, then.”
“I...I suppose.” She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. “I need to finish the Sizzling Summer Sea-escapes layout, Alexis.”
“And the ad for that new lip gloss,” her boss put in urgently. “I want it in the June edition.”
“I’ll take my laptop. I can do both layouts on the plane.” She pushed out of her chair and faced Dev. “You understand that my accompanying you on this little jaunt is contingent on Maria’s availability.”
“I understand. Assuming she’s available, can you be ready by three o’clock?”
“Isn’t that a little early for a seven-ten flight?”
“It is, but we need to make a stop on the way out to JFK. Or would you rather go to Cartier now?”
“Cartier? Why do we...? Oh.” She gave a low groan. “An engagement ring, right?”
“Right.”
She shook her head in dismay. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
Her boss took an entirely different view. With a hoarse whoop, she reached for the phone on her desk.
“Perfect! We’ll send a camera crew to Cartier with you.” She paused with the phone halfway to her ear and raked her subordinate with a critical glance. “Swing by makeup on your way out, Sarah. Have them ramp up your color. Wouldn’t hurt to hit wardrobe, too. That’s one of your grandmother’s Dior suits, right? It’s great, but it needs something. A belt, maybe. Or...”
Sarah cut in, alarm coloring her voice. “Hold on a minute, Alexis.”
“What’s to hold? This is exactly what we were talking about before Hunter arrived.”
Sarah shot Dev a swift, guilty glance. It didn’t take a genius for him to fill in the blanks. Obviously, her boss had been pressing to exploit the supposed whirlwind romance between one of her own and Number Three.
As much as it grated, Dev had to admit a splashy announcement of his engagement to Sarah St. Sebastian fell in with his own plans. If nothing else, it would get the word out that he was off the market and, hopefully, keep Madame Girault’s claws sheathed.
“I’ll consent to a few pictures, if that’s what Sarah wants.”
“A few pictures,” she agreed with obvious reluctance, leveling a pointed look at her boss. “Just this one time.”
“Come on, Sarah. How much more romantic can you get than April in Paris? The city of light and love. You and Hunter here strolling hand in hand along the Quai de Conti...”
“No, Alexis.”
“Just think about it.”
“No, Alexis.”
There was something in the brief exchange Dev couldn’t quite get a handle on. The communication between the two women was too emphatic, too terse. He didn’t have time to decipher it now, however.
“Your people get this one shoot,” he told Danvers, putting an end to the discussion. “They can do it at Cartier.” He checked his watch. “Why don’t you call your housekeeper now, Sarah? Make sure she’s available. If she is, we’ll put a ring on your finger and get you home to pack.”
* * *
Sarah battled a headache as the limo cut through the Fifth Avenue traffic. Devon sat beside her on the cloud-soft leather, relaxed and seemingly unperturbed about throwing her life into total chaos. Seething, she threw a resentful