Barbara Dunlop - Transformed Into The Frenchman’s Mistress

“I’m not talking about the Hudsons,” said Jack.

What the hell else could he be talking about?

“The real money’s on the Cassettes side.” He shook his head as if he pitied Alec. “Charlotte is the presumptive heir to Ambassador Edmond Cassettes’s fortune. And even if she wasn’t, her trust fund is big enough to buy a small country.”

Alec’s stomach clenched around nothing.

“My God, Alec. To her, your money’s probably nothing but a tax burden.”

Jack might as well have slammed him in the head with a brick this time.

Charlotte had money?

Serious money?

She wasn’t, couldn’t be after Alec’s.

“Then why…” He stared at Jack in confusion. What was this all about then? Why did she sleep with him? Why did she get pregnant?

Jack smacked his hands down on the car door and jerked back to standing. “Grab a clue, Alec.” And he turned and walked away.

“Son of a bitch.” Alec flung open the door.

None of this was making any sense. None of it. But he had to talk to Charlotte. She had to help him understand.

Charlotte came to the bottom of the main staircase with a small suitcase in her hand. Filming had finished in the foyer a few days ago, and it was back to normal again.

Raine was arranging for the limo, and Charlotte had called ahead for a plane reservation to Monte Allegro. By midnight, she’d be back in her own bed.

Then the front door burst open, and Alec strode through. Her stomach clenched, and for a second she felt a wave of dizziness.

Alec glanced from side to side. There were voices in the great room, and footsteps in the hall. On the landing above, two housekeepers chatted as they dusted the wooden railing.

Alec clenched his jaw.

He stepped determinedly forward, grasping Charlottte’s hand. “Come with me.”

In surprise, she dropped the suitcase, spinning around, her legs reflexively taking up a near trot as she struggled to keep up with him.

Behind the stairs, he jerked opened a thick door.

“Alec? What-” And then they were pacing down a flight of stone stairs. They rounded a corner into a cool, dimly lit wine cellar. Old racks stretched away on both sides, covered in thousands of dusty bottles of wine.

Then the aisleway widened out, revealing a hewn beam tasting table, a rack of clean glasses and several antique chairs.

Alec turned on her, letting go of her hand. “I don’t understand.”

Charlotte glanced around. She wasn’t exactly scared, but she was more than a little confused. “I don’t understand, either. What are we doing? Why did you bring me here?”

“Why did you get pregnant?”

Charlotte stood up straight, determined to maintain her composure. She had another chance to give Alec a final memory of her. And it was going to be dignified, or she would die trying.

“Did you miss eighth-grade biology?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, that’s exactly how it happened. We had sex. Birth control is not foolproof, and we were in the bottom, or is it the top two percent?”

He took a few steps, in a half circle around her, eyes narrowing like a predator. “What do you want from me?”

“You’re the one who dragged me down here.”

“Do you want my money?”

“I never wanted your money. If you’ll recall, I tried my damnedest to get you to stop spending it.”

“I thought it was part of the plot.” He paced back the other way.

“The plot?” The only plot she’d ever had was to keep away from Alec. When that became impossible, she convinced herself to have a fling. Falling for him was entirely accidental, and it would have been the stupidest plot in the world.

“To convince me you were different, so I’d let my guard down.”

“Did it ever occur to you that I was different?”

He continued pacing. “Only every second we spent together.”

“So?” What was this all about?

He came to a sudden halt. “You can’t love me, Charlotte.”

A chill poured over her body.

“It’s not possible,” he said. “It makes no sense.” His expression was totally and completely sincere.

“Why not?” she dared ask.

“I’m self-centered and suspicious. I have no depth of character. And I’ve skated along on my family’s legacy my entire life.”

Charlotte couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I accused you of sabotaging our condoms,” he continued. “And, and at the time, I meant it.” A note of desperation came into his voice. “If it’s not my money-Without my money-” The question seemed torn from his soul. “What is there to love?”

Charlotte’s shoulders slumped, half in astonishment and half in abject relief. “I love you, Alec.”

He shook his head.

“I don’t want your money.”

“I know,” he admitted.

“Then there’s no other explanation, is there?”

“There could be,” he argued.

She moved toward him. “Then come up with one.”

He watched her in suspicious silence.

She moved in closer. “Come up with one,” she dared him.

Then she stopped less than a foot away, tipping her chin to gaze at his tense expression in the dusky light. She gathered the final shreds of her courage, going for broke. “Come up with a logical explanation, or tell me that you love me back.”

He stared at her, and something flickered in the depths of his dark eyes. “Are those my only choices?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I propose instead?”

The burning weight lifted off Charlotte’s chest, and she blinked against tears of relief. “Only if you say you love me first.”

“I love you first.” He reached for her. “I’ve loved you since I saw you on that dance floor in Rome.”

“I didn’t love you then,” she admitted, and he laughed.

“Just so long as you caught on eventually.”

“I caught on a few weeks ago.” She smacked him in the shoulder. “Why weren’t you paying attention?”

“Ouch.” He rubbed his shoulder, pretending she’d hurt him. “You’re as bad as your brother.”

She peered at Alec’s face. “Where’d he hit you?”

Alec pointed to his jaw.

She came up on tiptoe and kissed it better. Then she leaned forward to kiss the shoulder she’d smacked.

“I was paying attention,” said Alec. “But all I could tell was that I wanted to be with you more than any other woman, other person, ever in my life. I was afraid it wasn’t real.” He paused. “So I guess I took steps to make sure it couldn’t be real.”

“It’s real,” she whispered, looping her arms around his neck.

His hand slipped between their bodies to rest on her stomach. “Our baby,” he whispered, “is going to be loved and protected and cared for by two very happy parents.”

Charlotte smiled, hope and joy flowing freely through her veins. Their baby would have loving parents, and Jack and Cece and Theo. Raine and-Raine!

“Raine was getting me the limo,” said Charlotte. “She’ll wonder-”

“Don’t you worry about Raine.” Alec settled his arms around Charlotte’s waist. “Kiefer’s taking her on a date tonight.”

“That’s nice.” Charlotte smiled.

“He’s bringing along a pretty impressive diamond solitaire.”

“Really?” Charlotte was thrilled for her friend.

“He’s a good man,” said Alec.

She nodded in return.

“So, what about you?” he asked.

“What about me?”

He cocked his head to one side. “What are you doing tonight?”

She pretended to ponder. “Well, I do have this plane reservation.”

“Canceled,” he said, settling his arms more firmly at her waist.

“Then I guess I’m free.”

“Care to join me for dinner?”

She smiled and pulled up for a quick kiss. “Love to.”

“There’s a safe in my bedroom.”

“Really, Alec, condoms are no longer necess-”

He laughed. “I mean a jewelry safe.”

“I thought I’d made it pretty clear that you didn’t need to bribe me,” she teased.

“I was thinking we could look for an engagement ring. There’s no end of heirloom jewelry up there. As I recall, my grandmother-Charlotte?”

She couldn’t stop her tears this time. “You were serious?”

“About marrying you? Hell, yes. Right away. Right now. As soon as we can get a license.” He sobered. “You’re carrying my baby, Charlotte. My heir. I’m not giving you a chance to change your mind.”

“I won’t change my mind,” she told him sincerely. In Alec’s arms for the rest of her life was exactly where she wanted to be.

In a secluded corner of the Montcalm garden, screened by cypress trees, with the scent of lavender wafting through the air, Charlotte and Alec stood next to Raine and Kiefer as the priest intoned their vows.

Charlotte wore a strapless white dress, three-quarter-length satin with flat lace over a fitted bodice, with a white satin bow tied over one hip. Raine’s dress was slightly fuller, more formal, with clouds of soft tulle following to just below her knees. She had cap sleeves and a princess neckline. Both women carried bouquets of lavender and white roses.

Jack and Cece served as witnesses and, along with Theo, were the only guests. Dressed in a little gray suit, Theo played in the grass, picking wildflowers as the ceremony wore on.

Alec slipped an antique gold band onto Charlotte’s finger, snuggling it up to the two-carat, princess-cut solitaire once worn by his grandmother. As they were pronounced man and wife, he drew her to him for a long, tender kiss. When it ended, Charlotte had to force herself to let go.

Then Kiefer kissed Raine, and Jack popped the cork on the bottle of Montcalm champagne.

“Welcome to the family,” Jack told Alec, pouring the pale, bubbly liquid into the waiting champagne flutes. “I trust this means we’ll get a discount on renting your château?”

“Discount?” asked Alec, brows raised as Cece caught Theo’s hands going for the small white and lavender wedding cake.

“Surely you won’t charge your own family full price.” Jack held up his glass to propose a toast.

“Surely,” Kiefer echoed.

“To the brides,” said Jack, his soft gaze catching Charlotte’s, transporting her back to being four years old, when her big brother walked on water.

“The stunningly beautiful brides,” he finished.

“The brides,” the small group echoed.

“We won’t charge you for the château,” said Alec.

Jack nearly choked on his champagne. “I was joking,” he sputtered, while Cece patted him on the back.

Charlotte gave Alec an astonished look. “But the damage.”

He shrugged. “We’ll-”

A loud crack rent the air, and the entire group reflexively cringed. Then something groaned, and there were far-off shouts. The wedding party rushed to the pathway in time to see Isabella, Ridley and three crew members dash out of the pool house.

A cameraman scrambled to the bottom of a stately old oak tree. The oak groaned a second time, keeling over in slow motion, falling with increasing speed until it landed on top of the pool house, squashing it flat.

David shouted something unintelligible, arms waving as he stomped toward the cameraman. But he missed a step, tripped on a cable and fell headfirst into the pool.

“Wow,” said Alec, taking a sip of his champagne and resettling his arm around Charlotte’s waist.

“Don’t see that every day,” said Kiefer.

“Yeah, that’ll be coming out of David’s fees,” Jack put in, lifting his glass to his lips.

Charlotte anchored her arms around Alec’s waist, tipping her head up. “Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”

He kissed her soundly on the lips, the sweet champagne on his tongue tickling her senses and making promises for the night ahead.

He drew back, gazing into her eyes with raw longing. “And welcome to mine.”

is a bestselling, award-winning author of numerous novels for Harlequin and Silhouette Books. Her books regularly hit bestseller lists for series romance, and she has twice been short-listed for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA^® Award.