“Fine, Mother. I’ll tell her.”

“You’d better. You’re not too old for me to turn over my knee,” she said, and he couldn’t help but laugh. She’d been threatening him with that since he was six, and she’d never done it.

“Okay. I love you. Tell Dad hello.”

“I will. He’s out swimming. I’d better go down to the kitchen before he eats something he’s not supposed to. I love you, Zachary. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

Zach shook his head as he turned off his phone. The women in his life exhausted him.

When Regan sat at her desk the next morning, her heart was already pounding. She’d thought all night about what to tell Zach when she saw him. There were apologies and groveling. There were accusations and anger. She wasn’t sure which road to take. Maybe if she acted as though she’d forgotten all about it, he would too.

The intercom on her phone lit up. “Can I see you, please?” His voice was serious and dull.

She gathered her notepad, pen, and courage, then walked into his office.

He looked particularly stern this morning in his black suit and black tie, and he offered no eye contact when she walked into the office and sat down in front of his desk. “I need to leave for Kansas City by four this afternoon. Make that happen.” She started to jot down the notes on her pad, irritated by his unpleasantness. “The plans are done and down in printing. Pick them up for me and see that they are couriered. They need to be to John this morning. Don’t worry about making coffee, I’ve already had two pots, and I’m meeting with Simone Pierpont for breakfast.”

The name had stuck in her head when she took the message her first day. Her heart flipped in her chest, and she tightened her jaw, but she kept her eyes down and her pen moving.

“Last, my mother wants you at her house at eleven on Saturday morning for lunch. Be on time,” he instructed when she lifted her eyes and found his coldly focused on her. “That’s all for today. I’ll be back in a few hours.” He dismissed her, and she left the office.

Well, she thought, she could see where things stood. Fine, she’d make his arrangements. She’d take the plans to John, and she’d be at his mother’s house, not because he told her to be there, but because she enjoyed the woman’s company.

Damn him!

She threw the pen down on the desk and headed to find the plans that needed to go to John Forrester.

Zach sat in the lobby of the Nashville Hilton Hotel and waited for Simone to come down. She was already fifteen minutes late. He figured he only had another ten to wait.

When she descended the stairs, he stood to greet her. She was lovely in her flowing dress, more suitable for an evening, but on the oil heiress, it seemed appropriate. Her long black hair, tied in a tail at the base of her neck, and her milky white skin shimmered like the diamonds that adorned her ears and wrist.

“Mon ami!” She took his extended hands in hers and kissed both of his cheeks and then his lips. “I have missed you so.”

He smiled and took her hand. “Simone, as lovely as always.”

“Of course.” She took his arm and he led her to the restaurant.

They sat at a table secluded from the other diners but next to a picture window that allowed them to watch the people of Nashville pass by.

Zach watched the waiter set down mimosas and then leave the table. “So how is Monsieur Pierpont?”

“Oh, he is well, thank you.” She sipped her mimosa. “He is in Greece this week on the yacht.”

“That sounds nice.” It had been a long time since he and Simone sailed on her father’s yacht. Perhaps if he landed the build in Los Angeles, that would be something he could do as a reward. He and Monsieur Pierpont had always gotten along well. The oil baron had often told him he was the son he wished he’d had, though Zach had never shared that information with Simone. He knew it was because she’d been such a handful, and her father had wished to have a son as diligent and hard working as Zach.

“He has taken a new wife, and the trip was her gift.”

“And how do you really feel about her?” He smiled, knowing his friend so well.

“Do you need to ask?” She looked around. “She is a horrible woman.” Her French accent dripped with detestation. “That’s why I’m here. I’d rather be stateside than in the ocean with that… that… woman!”

Zach laughed. This would be her fourth stepmother, if he’d counted correctly, but then again he hadn’t been in the loop like he once had. He was sure there would be more in time.

“You and your mother are well?”

“Yes. We have a new chateau outside Paris. It is wonderful.” She reached across the table for his hand. “You will come stay, oui?”

“That would be nice,” he said, retrieving his hand from hers.

“What is this? You have a new woman in your life.” Her eyes were wide, and her painted red lips curled into a tight smile.

He tugged at the napkin in his lap and then smoothed it back out. “Mademoiselle, what makes you say that?”

“I make you uncomfortable, and I never make you uncomfortable unless you love someone else.” She swirled the mimosa in her glass like a fine wine. “Please tell me, or I’ll be forced to call Madame Benson.” She smiled from behind her glass.

“You would.”

“Oui,” she promised.

Zach took a deep breath. He’d confided in Simone since they were children at school together. No matter what he said, she’d see through him if he lied, as easily as his mother could.

“I can’t get her out of my mind, but at the moment I don’t think she’s fond of me.”

“I will talk to her.” She pushed at a dark curl that had inched toward her face.

“No, you won’t.” That was the last thing he needed. If Simone showed up at Regan’s desk demanding she be nice to him, Regan would come unglued. And who would blame her? “She’s done all she can to keep her distance, but last night we kissed.”

Simone applauded with the tips of her fingers in celebration. “That is wonderful.”

“It was wonderful. But she bolted out of the office, and then this morning I was cold to her.”

“Salopard!” She shook her head at him, then said in English, “Bastard. You must apologize. If you love this woman, you must go after her.”