Bonjour Cherie Page 10

  Did I see a softening of his expression? ‘I only asked André to dance because I wanted to make you jealous.’

  ‘I think you succeeded there,’ he said.

  My hopes rose. ‘Really?’

  He looked at me in a considering way. ‘So just why did you want to make me jealous?’

  It was time for the truth. ‘Because that was how I felt when I saw you with Chelsea. I couldn’t stand the way she was clinging on to you or the way you were holding her.’

  Zach stood up and came closer to me. ‘Why should you care? You’ve had your sights set on André LeBlanc for months.’

  ‘He never made me feel one-tenth the way I feel when you even look at me. Damn it, do I have to spell it out to you? I really care about you—in fact, I love you.’

  There was a moment of absolute silence as Zach’s dark eyes locked with mine. Then he exhaled a deep breath.

  ‘Then what are you doing sitting in that chair? Come here.’ He pulled me up and into his arms. I sank into his embrace, eager to feel the warmth of his taut, muscled body. His firm lips pressed mine and I felt the heat spiral from the pit of my stomach. I kissed him back, opening my mouth to his teasing tongue that sent sparks of sensation through me. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I molded my body to his. With a small groan, his hands travelled down my back, pressing me even closer so that I was in no doubt. Yup, Zach Mills wanted me. Things, I knew (hoped) could get very hot, very fast.

  Then, he pulled away from me slightly and I tried to hide my disappointment. I was over playing hard to get. ‘Beth,’ he said, his breath short, ‘you undo me.’

  ‘Great,’ I said, a little breathless myself, ‘when and where do I start?’

  He laughed and pulled me close again, his chin resting on my head. ‘We still need to talk. I have to explain a few things to you as well. I haven’t always been totally honest with you.’

  I leaned back to look at him, ‘I know that, Charlotte told me.’

  ‘My sister,’ he said, lifting his brows, ‘she means well, but she has a big mouth.’

  ‘Sisters,’ I said pulling away and sitting down on the couch, ‘tell me about them.’

  He sat down next to me and dropped his arm around me. Almost instinctively, I nestled into him. This felt good too.

  We were quiet for a few minutes and then Zach gave a heavy sigh.

  ‘It’s hard to know where to start. But I guess I should plunge in and say what it is that I do for a living. Charlotte and I jointly manage the chain stores, Isolde Interiors. You may have heard of them.’

  ‘That’s like saying you may have heard of Target or Woollies,’ I said. ‘You might have mentioned it before.’ I couldn’t completely let him off the hook there.

  ‘I know, my bad. But I have a low-key lifestyle and I try to be as normal as possible. I don’t go around broadcasting the fact that I’ve had a few more privileges than most people. Even when Mum and Dad were alive, they kept us grounded. Yes, we lived in a nice house, but they sent us to state schools and we had to work for pocket money and everything. When they died, I didn’t want to stay in their house, so we mainly use it for offices now. I bought this place where I could be myself, have Dave and try to fit into the neighbourhood.’

  I nodded. It made sense the way he was telling it. I just wished he had told me earlier.

  Zach continued, ‘When I met you—that first time I saw you in French class, and you turned me down flat, I have to admit I was surprised.’

  I chuckled. ‘Your ego was dented, admit it.’

  ‘It was good for me, though I didn’t think so at the time. Then you became a challenge.’

  ‘Oh, nice. I thought you were attracted to me.’

  ‘I was, right from the moment I saw your red hair and those ridiculous high heels you were wearing.’

  ‘Auburn, thanks, and those high heels cost half a week’s salary.’

  ‘Anyway, I couldn’t believe my luck when your car wouldn’t start. I was determined to make you interested, but I wanted to do it on my own, and not because I was some rich guy who wowed you.’

  ‘So, you thought I was the type of girl who would be impressed by money and prestige?’ I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that.

  ‘No, not exactly, but you seemed to judge me instantly and made it clear you weren’t interested in my kind of bloke. I wanted to change your mind about that, but I wanted you to like me for who I was and not what I was.’

  His words made me realise just how prejudiced I had been. I had jumped to conclusions and they had been all the wrong ones. Thinking about that made me feel ashamed. I really had no right to blame Zach for not opening up to me, when I had given myself no opportunities to find out who he really was as a person.

  ‘I’m sorry. I wasn’t very nice to you and I just gave you attitude, with a capital A.’

  ‘You certainly kept me on my toes.’

  ‘But, you know, I was attracted to you from the start too. I just wouldn’t admit it to myself. I had this stupid obsession about André, just because he was French. I never really knew him and to be honest, I never really felt anything for him.’

  ‘You gave me a few anxious moments, especially when you were dancing with him.’

  I looked at Zach, ‘You do know he’s gay, don’t you?’

  ‘Babe, I think the whole of Clearwater Creek knows that now, especially after Sunday.’

  I wondered if I would ever get over the embarrassment of that night.

  Zach continued, ‘So you can see why I never told you I was French, because then I knew you’d never like me for myself.’

  ‘What?’ I sat up straight and looked at him.

  ‘You never did ask me why I was studying French, did you? My mother was French Canadian, although we never spoke French at home. Charlotte and I still have grandparents living in Quebec. She’s been over several times to visit them, but I haven’t been since I was a kid. I’m planning to go over at Christmas time to visit them, so I was brushing up on my French for that reason.’

  It was one of the few times in my life that I was absolutely speechless.

  He put his arms around me and tightened them, pressing me close to his side. ‘Come on, don’t you think that makes me more sexy now?’

  ‘You know, I’ve gone off all things French—threw out my French posters and my guidebook, and I haven’t gone back to French class.’ I was not going to let him off lightly after dropping a bombshell like that.

  ‘You’ve already told me you loved me. Too late to go back on that now.’

  A sudden thought hit me. ‘You haven’t said you love me, though.’

  He lowered his lips and said softly against mine, ‘Oh, I’ll do more than just tell you, let me show you.’

  ‘I agree. There’s been enough talking, for now.’ And then I started to show Zach Mills just how sexy I did find him, French or not.

  Epilogue

  Christmas—Eight months later

  I was going to Quebec. That was a definite. And with my ticket purchased (thanks to some help from my parents, who were very proud of my first semester’s results), there was no question over when. I had visualised it—looked at guidebooks with Zach, put Canadian posters up of Quebec City and Montreal, and practiced making pancakes with real maple syrup. I had even taken up a course in French at university. Really, except for the fine print, I was there.

  With my boyfriend. Zach Mills. Sigh. He was not your typical Aussie or even French bloke. But I loved him anyway. How he ended up in Clearwater Creek last year, I don’t know—unless it was to meet me. There you go, the law of attraction. I wished for someone fantastic, thought it and—voilà, Zach Mills appeared in my French class.

  Don’t tell me the power of positive thinking doesn’t work.

  BESTSELLING TITLES BY ESCAPE PUBLISHING…

  King Hall

  by Scarlett Dawn

  A fresh, meaty, sink-your-teeth-in-and-hold-on-tight new adult fantasy series kicks off with King Hall…

/>   King Hall—where the Mysticals go to learn their craft, get their degrees, and transition into adulthood. And where four new Rulers will rise and meet their destinies.

  Lily Ruckler is adept at one thing: survival. Born a Mystical hybrid, her mere existence is forbidden, but her nightmare is only about to start. Fluke, happenstance, and a deep personal loss finds Lily deeply entrenched with those who would destroy her simply for existing—The Mystical Kings. Being named future Queen of the Shifters shoves Lily into the spotlight, making her one of the most visible Mysticals in the world. But with risk comes a certain solace—her burgeoning friendships with the other three Rulers: a wicked Vampire, a wild-child Mage, and a playboy Elemental. Backed by their faith and trust, Lily begins to relax into her new life.

  Then chaos erupts as the fragile peace between Commoners and Mysticals is broken, and suddenly Lily realises the greatest threat was never from within, and her fear takes on a new name: the Revolution.

  Lost in Kakadu

  by Kendall Talbot

  An action adventure novel set in the Australian jungle where two unlikely people prove just how attractive opposites can be…

  It’s pretentious socialite Abigail Mulholland’s worst nightmare when her plane crashes into an ancient Australian wilderness. Things go from bad to downright hellish when rescuers never come. As she battles to survive in an environment that’s as brutal as it is beautiful, Abigail finds herself also fighting her unlikely attraction to Mackenzie—another survivor, and a much younger man.

  Mackenzie Steel is devastated by his partner’s death in the crash, the only person with whom he shared his painful past. Now, as he confronts his own demons, he finds he has a new battle on his hands: his growing feelings for Abigail, a woman who’s as frustratingly naïve as she is funny.

  Fate brought them together, but they’ll need more than luck to escape Kakadu alive. Could the letters of a dead man hold the key to their survival?

  The Lies We Tell

  by Elizabeth Dunk

  From the author of Arranged to Love comes a romantic story of forgiveness, secrets, small towns and second chances.

  Ten years ago, Todd Lansing stood over his father’s grave, his heart thumping out curses on Sia Collins for causing his death. When he returns to Oberon and sees Sia again, his heart thumps with a different emotion, one he fights with all the anger he still feels.

  Sia didn’t commit the break-in that ended up killing Mr Lansing, but to admit that would send her father to jail. She has rebuilt her life in the small town, atoned for her accused crime, and carved out a niche using her talent with paint to reach out to the community, raise funds, and support her family.

  When Todd finds out the truth, he can’t understand why Sia won’t speak out and clear her name, and it threatens to tear them apart. With her relationship with Todd on the line, will Sia choose loyalty or love?

  Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  Sign up to our newsletter

  Share your reading experience on:

  The Escapades Blog

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Watch our reviews, author interviews and more on Escape Publishing TV

  LOVED THE STORY?

  WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

  Take our short survey to

  claim a FREE eBook!

  BEGIN SURVEY

  ISBN: 9780857990754

  Title: Bonjour Cherie

  Copyright © 2013 by Robin Thomas

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Limited, Locked Bag 7002, Chatswood D.C. NSW, Australia, 2067.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited and are used under license to the Publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in Australia, New Zealand, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

  www.escapepublishing.com.au