His size and an undeniable aura of physical strength had always thrilled her, but Lucien intimidated her as well. His quiet, calm voice; contained, confident manner; and brilliant, charming smiles belied a coiled power inside him. There was a darkness to him that didn’t exactly match the white, flashing smile and easygoing manner with which he charmed the upper strata of the social world and his affluent hotel and restaurant guests.
She had no doubt that Lucien could be dangerous when he chose. She also knew he’d never really harm her—not the young man who had once showed her kindness and taken her under his wing.
But that didn’t make his threat any less intimidating.
“Now,” he said calmly, stepping closer still and placing a hand on the rail of the bar. She suddenly felt cornered. “When are you leaving Chicago?”
“I’m not leaving. I plan to live here.”
“What?”
“That’s right. Chicago is my new home,” she said with supreme confidence, even though she didn’t feel it. Elise was nothing if not an actress, and spirited aplomb was her finest role.
Unfortunately, her father had been contemptuous of her plans to become a chef and relocate to Chicago, refusing to fund her new career. She couldn’t access her trust fund until she was twenty-five. Six months had never felt so far in the future to Elise. The nest egg she’d squirreled away after almost a year of waitressing in Paris had never seemed so pitifully small.
“Why would you come to Chicago? It hardly suits you,” he said, his downward glance at her evening gown infuriating her.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“My culinary school in Paris has matched me up with Mario Vincente for my training. I’m staging with him, Lucien,” she said, referring to the process whereby a new chef trained for a period of time under an established chef. She studied his stoic expression anxiously. “I have a contract,” she added defensively when he seemed unmoved by her confession. “You can’t send me away.”
“You’re mad,” he said dismissively, picking up the brandy snifters on the counter and starting to walk away. The panic amplified in her chest. She despised the sight of Lucien’s back.
“I’ve completed my training at La Cuisine in Paris. The only thing remaining is for me to stage with a master chef—the master chef you just fired!”
He turned around and she saw he was smiling. Her heart swelled and seemed to press against her breastbone. Merde. Lucien’s smiles—the white teeth, the twin dimples, the firm, shapely lips. If the devil did exist, he’d definitely take on Lucien’s form in order to sow as much sin in the world as possible. She’d never seen a more handsome man in her life, and unfortunately, she’d seen more than her fair share of men.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she said, her spine stiffening. She took offense at his condescending tone.
He chuckled. Her stomach felt hollow, seeing him laugh at her aspirations. She felt hollow.
“So you’re going to be a chef this week.”
“I’m going to be a chef for the rest of my life.”
He shook his head, his smile fading. “This is the latest item on your crazy to-do stunt list. You’ve already tried race-car driver, sommelier, and photographer.”
“I’ve grown up. I’ve turned my life around. I want my life to have . . . substance. I’m trying to create a career for myself.”
“Why does an heiress need a career?” he asked. He had a decadently sexy voice. Rumor had it that women were regularly seduced by it alone, forget the rest of the package. Not that anyone would ever forget the smallest detail of Lucien. Elise knew she never had. She watched him as he moved behind the bar.
“Why does an heir?” she countered. “You’ve always worked, first at your father’s hotels and then in your own hotels and restaurants. You of all people shouldn’t be questioning me.”
He glanced up, all traces of amusement gone. Her lungs couldn’t expand as he held her stare. Pain welled up in her—shame about her past wild behavior and cynical attitude toward life, lancing fear that her plans for a future were hollow, that she truly didn’t have what it took to be a functional adult who could give and take and make the world a bit of a better place. She hadn’t possessed any role models for such a thing. She was afraid that greatly diminished her chances of success.
It was Lucien’s stare that made her feel her shortcomings so completely. He saw a lot with those X-ray eyes. He always had.
He’d immediately seen her foolishness when they’d first met at his parents’ estate in Nice. Elise had been a headstrong, wild thing, desperate for her preoccupied parents’ attention, for the staff’s, other houseguests’ . . . anyone’s. Lucien had been a coolly elusive twenty-one to her fourteen years that summer. From the beginning, he’d seen her ragged neediness, although she hadn’t realized it at the time. He’d befriended her, much to her delight. She’d been like a pitiful, neglected puppy, in awe of every scrap of attention he threw her way. It had been the best summer of her youth, those golden months on the shore of the Mediterranean.
Of her life.
She hadn’t realized until years later that their fathers had implored Lucien to take her under his wing. More than likely he’d been paid well for spending time with her, riding, swimming, and boating during that unforgettable summer. The knowledge shamed and infuriated her to this day.