‘Do you like the jacket, my love?’ she asked, deciding to try it on herself and see if that roused his interest. ‘I love the way it fits against the waist, just ever so slightly over-tailored in a way that flatters the female form. It makes me feel fabulous every time I wear it.’
Antoine’s smile was back when she walked a few steps closer to him, turning in a little circle so he could admire what she was wearing. After he’d had a sip of his drink, she twirled even closer and closed her hand over his glass, enjoying a small taste of his cognac, before sliding one of her hands up and down his arm.
She felt him relax beneath her touch, and so she stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss to his jaw. Antoine ran a hand down her spine, and when she leaned back a little, he placed his lips against hers. He might have a fragile ego, but it was never hard to make him forgive her.
‘I’m sorry for being short with you,’ he said, when their lips drew apart. ‘It’s just been a very stressful week. I love what you’ve designed, and your ideas are, as always, much appreciated.’
She smiled, grateful to have a partner who knew when an apology was necessary. Evelina was aware she still bore the scars of her marriage, not knowing which version of her husband was going to walk through the door each night, but the more time she spent with Antoine, the easier it was becoming to forget about that part of her life.
‘Are we going out for dinner tonight?’ she asked, before pressing another quick kiss to his lips. ‘Or do I have you all to myself?’ Evelina secretly hoped they were staying in; she loved nothing more than the chance to prepare a meal for him and indulge in hours of his undivided attention. With her husband,they’d had a maid and a cook, so she didn’t have to think about anything domestic, more interested in her work than waiting on him or tending to the house. But with Antoine, she relished the chance to care for him, most likely because she only had him for such short amounts of time. When he wasn’t with her, she spent hours spread out and moving between her bedroom and the sofas, papers strewn over the coffee table and across the bed, or out searching markets and shops for fabrics, coming back and pinning them on boards and laying them out beside her sketches; but when Antoine was there, he had her complete devotion. She always wanted him to know that he was the one person she would drop anything for.
He finished the rest of his drink in one large gulp and placed the glass back down. ‘I have dinner reservations for us at eightp.m.,’ he said, before glancing down at her.
‘With business associates?’ she asked, stroking her fingers up and down his back.
‘For the two of us,’ he replied, softening again beneath her touch.
‘I’d like to cook for you, Antoine,’ she said. ‘Or perhaps we could just eat cheese tonight and drink wine in bed?’ She said the last part with a suggestive raising of her eyebrows. ‘Or of course we could go for dinner, and then you could stay the night? I’ve been rather lonely without you.’
She longed to have him in bed with her for an entire evening, instead of him slipping away in the dark. What she hated the most was when she fell asleep and then woke, stretching out her leg and expecting to connect with his soft skin, only to find the sheets on the other side of the bed empty and cold. When she’d been married to Théo, she’d longed to have time to herself, to not have him constantly pawing at her and wanting her body. But with Antoine, she always gave herself to him willingly, loving nothing more than having his hands on her bare skin.
‘I can’t stay tonight,’ he said, ‘it would be difficult to explain away. You know that, Evelina. Please don’t make it harder for me than it needs to be. You know I hate not being with you.’
He clearly saw the sadness pass over her face, because he kissed her eyelids and wrapped her in his arms. His sigh was loud, as if he’d immediately regretted his words.
‘Perhaps I could pretend that I have a business trip next week?’ he said. ‘Maybe even next weekend? We could stay here for a night, or even check into the Ritz for a night or two of decadence, just the two of us, for forty-eight hours.’
Her eyes lit up. ‘The Ritz?’ Evelina beamed at him, barely believing what he was suggesting. ‘I think that sounds perfect. Although you know, I may never want to let you go if we spend so long together.’
‘If there was any other way,’ he murmured against her hair, drawing her close. ‘You know where I truly want to be, Evelina. That will never change.’
She knew he would leave his wife if he could, but she also knew all too well herself how complicated marriages could be, how intertwined business and relationships were to one’s life. She’d been fortunate in that she’d had leverage to walk away from Théo—not unscathed by any means, but at least able to rebuild. She didn’t know if Antoine would have that luxury. Mostly she was happy with their relationship and the time they spent together; it meant they made the most of every moment, but sometimes she lost herself to feeling alone and wishing she was a bigger part of his life. Although he hadn’t exactly tried very hard to hide her when they went out for dinner or drinks.
‘I love you, Evelina,’ he said, cupping her face and smiling down at her. ‘I knew when we met that you were like no other woman I’d ever encountered before.’
She’d never had any reason to doubt what he told her, and she basked in his praise and his affections. Antoine hadpromised her that he would ensure everyone in Paris knew her name and saw her designs, that women would covet her clothes and fall in love with each of her collections, and so far he’d done exactly that. She had a beautiful apartment that he’d bought for her, a career that she could only have dreamed of as a small girl, and the most magical city in the world on her doorstep—she had the best of everything. And best of all, she had Antoine.
Now, as they stood together, he reached into his pocket and took out a robin’s egg-blue box.Tiffany’s. She would have recognised that colour anywhere. Evelina’s heart skipped a beat.
‘A present?’ she asked. ‘For me?’
‘If we’d met at another time, my darling, it would have been a small box holding a large diamond,’ Antoine said, so earnestly that she touched her palm to her heart as he spoke. ‘I would have proposed to you the week we met, to make sure you would always be mine. There is not a doubt in my mind that it would have been so. I wish you could see yourself as I see you, Evelina.’
Tears pricked her eyes as she listened to his words, as he slowly opened the box to reveal a sparkling diamond tennis bracelet. Her husband had bought her extravagant gifts, but this was something else, and it meant so much because it was from Antoine.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she gasped. ‘Oh, Antoine, it’s absolutely gorgeous.’
‘And so are you, Evelina,’ he said. ‘I will pamper you for the rest of your life, if you let me. This apartment, all the gifts I can find for you,my heart,’ Antoine paused. ‘It’s all yours, my love. My clever, beautiful Evelina. Together, we will be unstoppable.’
She held out her wrist and let him clasp the diamonds around it, turning her arm ever so slightly so that it sparkled beneath the lights, so she could admire it. She ignored the little voice in her head that said he was only making such a fuss of her because her designs were selling so well and making him so much money.But she shook the thought away. He wasn’t like Théo.Antoine loves me. He would be giving me this gift regardless. Antoine was the love of her life, and she simply needed to let go of her past, to not let her father and her former husband taint her relationship with him. Antoine understood who she was, and instead of trying to stifle her or change her, he embraced her ambition and talents.
‘If I could spend every night with you, Evelina, I would.’
She melted. Antoine was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, the partner she’d yearned for, the man she’d believed she deserved when she’d been with Théo. If she could only have half of him, then so be it. She could be content with that.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if he’d ever leave his wife, if marriage might be something she could hope for one day even in the distant future, but it was their one rule, the only one, which he’d asked her to keep when they’d first started seeing each other, and she didn’t want to break it, not now. They never talked about his wife or his family, instead pretending when they were together that she was the only woman in his life. Sometimes questions lingered in her mind and were almost impossible to ignore, but in truth, she didn’t want to hear his answers, preferring to exist in the little bubble they’d created together, and so she always held her tongue.
If he said he loved her more than he loved anyone else, then who was she to question his devotion?
