An Extract...
There was a
whir and a
click. The camera flashed just as Luc Delacroix’s
sensual smile broke upon his stunning face. The
swarm of journalists gathered around him firing off questions about his latest acquisition, all wanting to know how, at such a
young age, he was able to achieve such
success. The
gorgeous Mr. Delacroix answered their questions with his
disarming charm and
intrinsic dynamism.
Everyone was aware of how
difficult the last three months had been and were in awe of his ability to take the tragedy in his stride and cope so
magnificently with the change in his domestic life.
Luc had been
extremely close to his sister, Antoinette, until six years ago when she married
playboy horse breeder, Fernando, and moved to Argentina, his lavish home country with an equally lavish
hacienda in the hills of
Comodoro Rivadavia. Although they had tried to get together as often as possible, their demanding lifestyles meant there was
little room for reunion. Her death had left a
gaping void in his life and now, the presence of
Eja, Antoinette’s five year old daughter was an
unpleasant reminder. In the last three months since his sister’s death, Luc’s life had been filled with a
whirlwind of activity. He had to leave his grief aside while he attended to the estate and affairs of Antoinette and Fernando and arrange custody for little Eja, and all this in the middle of acquiring the publishing house of Amtaro Books, which, at the time of Antoinette’s accident was in the middle of a
crucial takeover bid.
The will and estate were now in reasonable order, the deal with the publishing house had gone through and he could leave his
perfectly capable staff to iron out the finer details.
This left Eja.
Luc’s
masculine eyebrows knitted together as he glanced at his watch. It was 3:30 and this left half an hour for him to get home and freshen up before the meeting with Eja’s new teacher. Saying his goodbyes, and walking towards his
jade convertible Porsche, Luc reached
deep inside his pockets, his
long,
slender,
tanned fingers searching for his mobile phone. With a
flick of the wrist, he put his dark sunglasses on. They
eclipsed the
long,
dark lashes but flattered the
chiselled slant of his cheekbones with
flawless ease. He held the phone to the
sensuous curve of his lips and spoke into the earpiece, “
Vanessa”. His voice was
deep and
husky, undertoned with a
charm and elegance that would make any woman’s
knees wobble. The palm sized gadget began to flash as it called Luc’s
supermodel girlfriend. He lifted the phone to his ear and waited for the reply. She was
not going to be happy that he had to, yet again, cancel a date all for the benefit of Eja.
Alexandra Delaney knew
perfectly well of the
reputation that Mr. Delacroix had. Yes, he was a rising success, but from the interest he had shown in Eja, it was
perfectly clear that he had
no intention whatsoever of caring for this child in the slightest degree. It was only out of legal obligations that he was coming to this meeting in the first place. It was a good fifteen minutes since he was expected at
Summerfield Kindergarten to discuss the future of his niece and his lateness did nothing to lessen the feelings that Alex had towards Luc. He was an
arrogant,
rich man not in the least bit worthy of any of the
entourage he had collated in the past few years. He had no doubt had them
twisted around his little finger. And now, Alex was certain that little Eja would be a
hindrance rather than a help. Something he would simply refuse to pay any importance to until it was too late.
Alexandra looked up from her desk. What her
emerald green eyes saw, and what they had expected to see where two different things. In the blue, glossy doorway of the small classroom stood a figure. Her mind registered the top three buttons of a pale blue shirt left
undone, a
deep V of tanned chest with a
sprinkle of
dark curls,
rolled up shirt sleeves,
muscular forearms,
electric blue eyes that sent
sizzling sensations up her spine. He was out of this world! And she must’ve been totally
delusional if she hadn’t realised that when she had glimpsed him a couple of weeks ago at the takeover of her uncles publishing company. If she had remembered him being this good looking from the newspaper pictures, she might have
reconsidered her irate feelings towards today’s meeting.
She suddenly shook he head in
frustration. How could she think like this? It had only been
five minutes ago that she had been cursing him for being late, and now, she had lapsed into
adolescent dreamland. What was she thinking?! Yes, he was the
most attractive man she had ever laid eyes on, but his arrogant air and selfish attitude did
little to please her.
With the ease of some
exotic wild animal, Luc straightened and began to walk across the room towards her.
“You must be Ms. Delaney. I’m Luc. Luc Delacroix.”
She gazed up into a pair of
hypnotically blue eyes. Luc Delacroix. A
beautiful name, like all French names, created to
slide over the tongue like
smooth,
rich wine. She ran it over in her head. Luc Delacroix…She ran a hand through her light brown, shoulder length hair, bouncing back to
reality.
"Yes.” She said in a clipped tone.
“Please. Be seated.”