Baby for the Billionaire(25)
His smile vanished. “Just how many men’s ties have you done up?”
“The odd one or two.”
He stared down at her, then must have seen her lips twitching because he broke into a grin. “I think you’re making that up.”
“Am I?”
“You’d better be,” he pretended to growl, sending a thought flashing through her mind. He liked being the only man to make love to her.
Well, well, she mused. Who’d have thought he’d be so old-fashioned?
“You’re not nervous about tonight?” he asked, dragging her from her thoughts.
“Yes, I am.”
“You don’t show it.”
“Neither do you.”
One brow rose. “Who said I was nervous?”
“You usually don’t have trouble doing up your tie.”
“Thanks for noticing,” he said wryly.
She finished her task and patted the tie. “There.
That’s better.”
He turned away to look in the mirror. “Perfect.”
Yes.
He was.
She cleared her throat. “So this dinner is important, is it?”
He reached for his jacket. “Yes and no. Alex has already made the deals to launch ‘Valente’s Woman’ in France and Germany. I just need to keep relations agreeable between us until the launch.”
Sasha realized that this must be all quite new to Nick. Previously Cesare and Isabel would have hosted any clients, and then Alex and Olivia, but this time it fell to him. No doubt he would be an accomplished host as a playboy bachelor, but this was the first time he’d be hosting a dinner in his own home as a married man.
She felt bad now for refusing before. “You’ll do fine,” she said, prompting an arrogant smile from him.
“I know.”
And he did.
Extra fine, Sasha thought sourly an hour later as she watched Claudine, the beautiful wife of the French businessman, flirt with Nick from the moment she set foot in the house.
In the meantime the German couple just sat back and smiled, along with Jacque, who didn’t appear concerned by his wife’s behavior.
It concerned Sasha, especially when Nick looked thoroughly smitten by the gorgeous brunette leaning close to him and talking French in a low, husky voice.
“Ooh, Nicolah, you are teasing me,” she said in her accented English, laughing sexily as she squirmed in her seat.
“No, really,” he teased. “If you’re going to the fashion show tomorrow make sure they don’t mistake you for one of their models.”
Claudine preened. “Perhaps I will need you to come with me and protect me.” She looked at Sasha. “Would you mind if I borrowed your husband tomorrow, Sasha?”
Her blatant approach took Sasha’s breath away. And Nick, the rat, was sitting there smiling and thoroughly enjoying himself and probably expected she would say yes.
She’d be damned if she’d be humiliated like this.
“I’m sorry, Claudine, but I need him tomorrow,” she said sweetly, smiling at Nick like her very existence depended on him.
“Ooh,” Claudine pouted at Nick. “Another time perhaps, Nicolah?”
“It’s a date.”
Sasha could feel the humiliation rise up in her throat but she refused to look at the others at the table. A date with a married woman? Wasn’t he forgetting something? Like he was now a married man himself? This was going beyond being more than a good host.
Or perhaps he just didn’t care. Perhaps he was too focused on making a conquest to worry about what this meeting was all about. Worse, perhaps this was how he did business as a playboy.
A reputation well earned?
Thankfully the German woman, Freda, asked Sasha about her plans to redecorate and the conversation turned to interior design. She was busy answering questions when she heard Claudine ask Nick if he could show her where she could freshen up.
“That’s okay, Claudine,” she said instantly. “I can show you.”
“Oh but … you are talking to Freda.”
“No, that’s fine. I want to freshen up, too.”
The woman pouted again, but Sasha ignored it, just as she ignored Nick as she passed him on her way out the door. If he dared to chastise her later, then he was in for a rude shock.
“Your name is French?” Claudine asked as they walked down the hallway. It was the first personal thing she’d said to her all night.