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“Why is Mark coming to dinner?” Amy said. “And why didn’t you tell me?”
Before Luke could answer, Julien and Pierre joined them. They stared in frank appreciation at Amy in her green dress before Pierre hurried forward and took Amy’s hand, kissing the knuckles. He smiled at her and said, “Tu es belle, Amy.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Julien crowded in on the other side of her. “Your dress is stunning, mon ange.”
“Angel is very fitting for her,” Pierre said before stroking Amy’s blonde hair.
“Oui, très approprié,” Julien murmured.
“I hate to interrupt, but we haven’t met yet.”
Amy paled at the sound of Mark’s voice. She stepped back from Pierre and Julien and gave Mark an odd look that was half defiant and half guilty. Mark’s face was dark with anger as he stepped forward and held out his hand. His nostrils flaring, he shook Pierre’s hand and then Julien’s. Jane wondered if he was deliberately avoiding looking at Amy.
“Mark Stanford. I’m the CFO of Dawson Clothing.”
“It is nice to meet you, Mr. Stanford,” Julien said. “We did not realize you would join us for dinner this evening.”
Mark gave him a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Julien stared coolly at him, and Amy said, “Mark often joins us for client dinners and meetings. He would have been there this afternoon but had a previous meeting. Isn’t that right, Mark?”
“Yes,” Mark said.
There was an awkward silence, and Jane lightly elbowed Luke in the ribs. He was studying his sister with a faint look of confusion. She elbowed him again, and he said, “Well, now that everyone’s here, let’s ask the hostess to take us to our table.”
* * *
“Amy, these are magnificent,” Pierre said. Both he and Julien leaned closer and studied the screen of her phone. When they were shown to their table, both men had snagged the seats on either side of Amy. They were outrageous flirts, and both used their considerable charm on her. Jane had sat between Mark and Luke and spent most of the dinner wondering who would snap first and punch the French men. Her money was on Mark. Luke was angry by how the men were flirting with his sister, but Mark’s rage was palpable.
She watched with growing alarm as Julien’s gaze dipped to Amy’s cleavage and Mark’s body stiffened. His hand tightened around his wine glass, and Jane said, “So, is anyone having dessert? Something sweet might be good.”
“I do enjoy something sweet after dinner,” Julien said in a low voice. He traced one finger across Amy’s collarbone. Jane grabbed Mark’s forearm with her right hand and Luke’s thigh with her left hand and squeezed hard when they both started to stand.
Luke relaxed in his chair, but Mark jerked in anger and stared at her hand before raising his gaze to her. She gave him a pointed look, and he flushed before saying, “No dessert for me.”
Jane released his arm as Luke said, “Me neither.”
Pierre was studying Amy’s phone again. “Seriously, ma chérie, these are incredible. Have you thought about starting a line with these?”
Amy shrugged. “Our clients want business clothes. A casual line doesn’t align with their interests, and I’m not wasting company money on a line that won’t give us a return on investment.”
“I think it would,” Pierre said. “We should talk more about this casual line. Perhaps you would care to come back to our hotel room after dinner? We can have some wine and talk business.”
Jane thought Mark was going to have a stroke. His face was bright red, and he squeezed his wine glass until his fingers were white. She elbowed him discreetly, and he glared at her before clearing his throat. “If you want to talk business, then it’s Luke or myself you should direct questions to. Amy doesn’t like to be involved in the business side. Isn’t that right, Amy?”
She gave him a cool look as she tucked her phone into her purse. She sat back as Julien laid his arm across the back of her chair and played with her soft blonde hair. “I’m considering becoming more involved in the business side.”
“Since when,” Mark snorted. “You just want to make the pretty things, remember?”
She scowled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. The motion made her ample breasts push against her dress, and both Julien and Pierre stared in unabashed delight at her pale skin. Jane wondered if she was the only one who heard Mark’s low snarl.
“It’s good to try new things,” Amy said. “Life is boring if you’re doing the same old things repeatedly.”
Mark raked his hand through his hair as Pierre smiled at Amy. “Julien and I love adventurous women who are up for trying new things.”
“So, that’s a no on dessert for everyone? Because it’s getting late, and I think we should call it a night,” Luke said. Jane could hear the anger in his voice.
“Trying new things isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be,” Mark said through clenched teeth. “Sometimes it’s the biggest mistake a person can make.”
