Breaking Love (Full Hearts Book 2) Read online

  She looked over at Megan. “He’s all bossy and parental, just like you. I told you he was perfect for you!” She wagged her finger in her friend’s face as she wrinkled her nose and laughed.

  Megan pursed her lips and gave Harper the wide-eyed look that was the silent version of “shut the hell up.”

  “You did, did you?” Luc asked, looking amused.

  Megan interjected. “What she thinks is really irrelevant. You are not at all perfect for me.”

  “Why is that?” he asked, looking surprised.

  Megan over-pronounced her words, trying to appear sober. “It’s not personal. You smell incredible, and I know you’re hiding a rock-hard body under all those expensive clothes, and you’re probably some type of sex god, but there really is no perfect man for me out there.”

  “This is confusing. You’re obviously attracted to me—which is, of course, how it should be—but you don’t want to be with me? How is that possible?” he asked with a teasing grin.

  Harper broke into the conversation, wagging a finger at him. “Because she’s too fucking picky, that’s why. No man will ever be good enough for her.”

  Megan gave Harper a dirty look, then turned back to Luc and held up her finger as she spoke. “That’s not true. I’m done with men. It’s completely different. You’re perfect, Luc.” She touched his jaw with one outstretched finger. “If I ever did want to fuck someone, you’d be in the running. But I don’t. Nothing personal.”

  Just then, Harper, who was attempting to sit down at the bar, miscalculated the distance from her ass to the stool, ending up on the floor. Luc rushed over and picked her up before someone in the crowded club stepped on her.

  “Oopsy daisy!” Harper laughed, her eyes closing.

  Luc turned to Megan. “I think we should get her back to her hotel. Come this way.” He started to walk toward the back of the club, keeping Harper propped up as he went. As Megan followed them, she felt a stab of jealousy at the sight of her best friend in Luc’s arms. Through her foggy thinking, she realized how ridiculous it was for her to feel jealous about a man she wasn’t interested in. But what would it feel like to have those arms wrapped around me right now?

  They went through a door marked private and found themselves in a brightly lit hallway. Luc led them into his office and helped Harper to the brown leather couch opposite his desk. He got the coat-check stubs from Megan and called a waitress to get their coats. As they waited, he put on his long wool overcoat and grabbed his cellphone and keys off of his desk.

  “I’ll bring my car around back and come get you. Keep her here. I don’t think she’ll want her colleagues to see her this way.”

  Harper’s eyes were closed but she spoke up after Luc left the room. “For a bossy prick, he’s pretty awesome, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah, he seems very thoughtful and he’s totally hot. Why haven’t you gone out with him?”

  “You know me, I like my men under thirty. Get ’em young, break ’em in . . . But you two would work. . . .” she said, drifting off again.

  Megan sat on the couch next to her friend, trying to focus her thoughts through her drunken haze. She knew when she sobered up she would be shocked at how turned on she was by Luc. She hadn’t reacted like this to a man since she met Ian years ago.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by Luc coming back into the office. He smiled warmly at her. “I’ve parked out back. Let’s get our friend home, yes?”

  Megan stood up. “Yes. Do you have a bag in case she gets sick?”

  “Oh, right. I’ll get one.”

  A few minutes later, Megan and Harper were cozy and warm in the heated back seat of Luc’s Mercedes CLS as he smoothly navigated his way through the busy streets of Paris. The contrast of the quiet car to the loud club was a welcome change for the now-tired friends.

  “How is she doing?” Luc asked.

  “I think she’ll be alright. She might be feeling rough tomorrow morning, though.”

  “I expect she will.” Luc watched Megan in the rear-view mirror as he waited at a set of lights. “How did you two meet? You seem so different from each other.”

  Megan looked out the window to avoid eye contact with him. “We met when we were thirteen. Her family moved to town and she ended up at the same school as me. We hit it off right away. At the time, we were both wildly unpopular girls who towered over everyone in the class. We’ve been best friends ever since, even though our lives have gone in completely different directions.”

  “That is very rare—to have a childhood friend with whom you remain close throughout the years.”

  “It is. She has really been there for me through all my ups and downs. I’d be lost without her.”

  “She’s a special woman, for sure.” They rode along in silence for a few moments before Luc spoke up again. “Megan, I don’t know anything about you, but I would like to.”

  “Oh, um, well, there’s not much to tell.” Megan smoothed her dress with her hands, watching him in the rear-view mirror. “I live in Colorado and work as a photographer, mostly weddings and family portraits. I’m a single mom. I have a son, Elliott, who is six. Pretty typical story, I suppose.”

  “It must be a recent change for you, to be single. I can’t imagine you would have to go long without men tripping over themselves to meet you.”

  “Ha! It’s not exactly like that when you have a child. I’ve been on my own for five years. My ex developed a rather unfortunate drug problem when Elliott was a baby. It became clear he wasn’t going to be able to kick it, so I had to leave him. He’s not really part of Elliott’s life.”

  “That’s tough for a little boy.” Something about his tone told Megan he was speaking from experience.

  “It is indeed. He tries to pretend he’s fine, but every time the phone rings he gets this hopeful look in his eyes. His face always falls a little when he answers it because it’s never his dad. It’s hard to watch him be let down by the man who is supposed to love him the most.” Megan wasn’t sure why she was telling Luc this. It was something she never talked about.

  “That must break your heart a little, no?”

  Megan felt her eyes welling up as she gazed out the window. “It does.”

  “Men can be such assholes. Please pardon my language. It’s just that you don’t see women abandoning their children like that. But so many men do it easily.”

  “I wouldn’t say it was anything close to easy for him. He’s just been so lost to his addiction for so long now.”

  “So this is why you said you are done with men, yes?” Luc asked as he pulled into the hotel parking lot.

  “Pretty much, yes. I just can’t risk letting another man into Elliott’s life and then having him get hurt again. We’re better off on our own.”

  Luc stared at her in the mirror as he took the keys out of the ignition. “You can’t risk him getting hurt, or you?”

  Megan felt immediately irritated by his question. “Him,” she answered firmly. “I’m an adult. If I ever rolled the dice again, I could live with the consequences. It’s not fair to do that to a child, though.”

  “Have you considered that what you are doing might, in fact, be unfair to your little boy? You are removing all possibility of finding a dad for him when the one he’s got is a dud.”

  Megan gave him a hard look in the mirror. “Wow. That might be the most arrogant thing I’ve ever heard. I’ve known you for . . . what? Five minutes? You might not want to start telling me I’m doing a crappy job raising my son, whom you’ve never met.”

  She woke Harper to get her moving and got out of the car. Luc got out and tried to help but Megan blocked him by positioning herself between them.

  “I can take it from here. Thank you for the ride.” Megan’s voice was icy as Harper tried to steady herself. She almost took Megan down with her as she teetered.

  “I have offended you. I’m sorry,” he said, propping Harper up over his shoulder. “I have a bad habit of speaking my mind when I shouldn’t
.”

  “That is a bad habit.” Megan’s reply was curt.

  She got her key card out of her clutch as they passed through the doors of the hotel lobby. Megan walked ahead of Luc and Harper, taking small but hurried steps that caused her bottom to shift quickly under the clingy fabric of her dress. Luc’s eyes were trained on her rear as he all but carried Harper, easily keeping up with Megan in spite of the extra weight. The elevator doors opened and Megan stepped inside, holding the door open for her companions.

  Luc glanced over at her as they ascended, seeing her jaw set and her eyes focus intently on the numbers changing above the elevator doors. She was somehow even more attractive to him when she was angry. He opened his mouth to speak and then, thinking better of it, he pressed his lips together.

  When they entered the suite, Megan walked down the hallway to the right. “Harper’s room is this way.”

  Luc carefully put Harper down on the bed and Megan took off her friend’s shoes and hoop earrings. Luc walked over to the ensuite and brought back a garbage can.

  “Harper, there’s a garbage can here if you need it, okay?” Megan spoke loudly into her ear.

  Harper grunted an acknowledgement without opening her eyes. Megan tucked her under the covers as Luc walked around to the other side of the bed. Leaning one knee on the bed, he picked up two pillows and tucked them in right beside Harper, then turned her onto her side.

  “These will hopefully keep her from turning onto her back, in case she gets sick but doesn’t wake up.”

  Megan’s eyes followed him as he cared for her friend, some of her icy indignation starting to melt at his kindness. He didn’t have to bring them to the hotel. He could have just as easily called a cab for them. He didn’t need to help put Harper to bed either. But none of those acts took the sting out of his words in the car.

  Megan turned the light on in the ensuite and left the door open partway so that Harper wouldn’t be left in the dark. Luc followed her out into the hall.

  “So, now that we’ve gotten her all snuggled into bed, maybe we can have some quality grown-up time together?” he asked with a teasing expression on his face.

  Megan gave him a wry look as they walked to the door. “Not tonight. I suddenly have a headache.”

  Luc’s lips curled up in a grin at her quick response, but his smile faded quickly. “Brought on by what I said. I’ve let my big mouth get me into trouble again.”

  “Don’t take it too hard. I wasn’t going to sleep with you anyway,” Megan informed him as she opened the front door.

  Luc ignored the open door and stood facing her. “Did you forget I don’t take advantage of women who have been drinking? I just thought we could talk a little more. I would like to know more about you.”

  Megan glared at him. “The only thing you need to know about me is that I don’t like getting parenting advice from virtual strangers.”

  “You’re right, of course. I don’t even have children, so I really shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m sorry. I hope this doesn’t mean I’ve lost the chance to get to know you.”

  Megan gave him a confused look. “Why would you even want to? I highly doubt that you and I have anything in common. I’m just a boring small-town soccer mom.”

  Luc squinted a little, considering what she was saying. “I think that is what you want people to see, but there is so much more to you. I see the passionate woman you’ve hidden away, and I can tell she is incredible.”

  “That’s a great line, Luc. But really, I’m no more than what you see. Less, even. Tonight I’m dressed like someone else. If you saw me at home, you wouldn’t even give me a second look.”

  “I find that hard to believe. You might be able to fool everyone else—yourself, even—but you’ll never convince me.” His gaze fell on her lips as he spoke.

  “Look, I’m sure you’re used to women lining up to hop into bed with you, and maybe I seem like a conquest to you, but believe me when I say I’m not looking for this. I promise I’m not playing hard to get. I don’t like those games.”

  “I believe that is true. And I believe you are determined not to sleep with me even though you very badly want to.”

  Megan rolled her eyes. “You might have to at least consider the possibility that I really don’t want to sleep with you.”

  Luc leaned down toward her with a bit of a smirk. “I don’t think I do have to consider that. You already told me at the bar that you want me.”

  “I was drunk. I didn’t know what I was saying.” Megan looked away, trying to avoid his gaze.

  Luc gently lifted her chin with his hand so she was facing him. “You are still drunk and you said exactly what you would otherwise never allow yourself to say.”

  Megan looked into his dark eyes, willing herself not to take in how unbelievably sexy he was. She had never felt so confused by any man. Luc was thoughtful and caring and arrogant and insulting all at the same time. She was irritated and grateful and inexplicably drawn to him.

  “I’m leaving here in three days,” was all she could think to say.

  “Then you should make the most of your time in Paris,” he replied, giving her a hint of a smile.

  “You should stop telling me what to do. As a general rule, women don’t like that.” She had been unable to tear her eyes away from his the entire time.

  Luc lowered his voice. “I don’t care what other women like. If it bothers you, though, I will stop.” His fingers were still holding her chin up as they spoke and there was no part of her that wanted him to remove them. The sexual energy surged between them so strongly she was sure that if someone happened upon them, they would be able to see it.

  “Good,” Megan replied in a slightly breathy voice.

  Luc took this as an invitation. He leaned down a little farther and kissed her gently on the lips, allowing his mouth to linger over hers, savouring the taste and feel of her as though this kiss were meant to hold him over for the rest of his life. When he pulled back, Megan’s eyes were still closed. He smiled, knowing he was right about her.

  “I will see you tomorrow, Megan.”

  She opened her eyes and let out a puff of air. “Okay, but it won’t do any good. I’m not going to change my mind.”

  “You already have.”

  With that, he turned and walked out, leaving her standing at the door, feeling dizzy with lust.

  “Wow,” she whispered to herself as she shut the door and leaned against it for a moment, not entirely sure her wobbly legs would hold her up. She had completely forgotten what really being kissed felt like.

  FIVE

  The next morning came far too early for Harper. She woke up to her cellphone alarm buzzing beside her. It was already eight o’clock and she should have been on her way to the photo shoot by now. She sat up, feeling her brain slam against her skull as she did. Turning to the window, she sighed inwardly, seeing rain pour down outside. In an instant, her brilliant vision for October’s feature article had dissolved.

  “Oh, son of a bitch,” she groaned, realizing they would need to do the shoot indoors at their alternate location.

  Dialing the office, she got through to Eddie, the photo editor, almost immediately. Her voice came out as little more than a croaking sound as she spoke. “Eddie, we’re going to have to save the Musée Rodin grounds for another shoot. Let’s just set up at the Style studio and do what we can to make it work.”

  “You’re going to hate me, Harper, but I have to give you some bad news. I just found out now that the studio is not an option. It flooded this morning. Some type of storm drain backed up and the entire first floor is under water.”

  “What? This better not be a joke, Eddie, because it is not funny.”

  “Believe me, there is nothing funny about any of this.” Eddie’s words spilled quickly out of his mouth, conveying the panic he felt. “Joelle came down here to my desk about twenty minutes ago, absolutely spitting venom. And believe me, when she found out you weren’t here, I thought she wa
s about to snap my neck. I told her you already knew and that you were out trying to find another location. If we can’t get one, it means we’re going to lose Anita. She’s leaving for Peru in two days and won’t be back for five weeks. And Joelle wants Anita on this.”

  Harper’s already pounding headache moved from awful to “put the covers over my head, I don’t care if I die” with the weight of the crisis. “Shit. Thank you for covering my ass, Eddie. You bought us some time, but where the hell are we going to come up with an empty, well-lit building in the next hour?”

  As she spoke, Harper’s eyes fell on the shoes she had worn the night before. The heels reminded her of her hangover, which reminded her of where the hangover came from. Which gave her the perfect solution to her dilemma.

  “Eddie, I just had an idea, and if we’re really lucky, it might be brilliant. Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you back, okay?”

  * * *

  One hour later, a cab pulled up in front of Cloud, carrying Harper and a very confused-looking Megan.

  “What are we doing here? Please don’t tell me this is where the photo shoot is!” She gave Harper a pleading look.

  “Sorry, Megs, but I’m afraid there were no other options. Luc agreed to let us use the club for the day.”

  “Oh my God!” Megan hissed. “I cannot go in there. What if he’s here? I seriously can’t see Luc again, Harper. I’m going to go back to the hotel.”

  “He won’t be here, I promise. He’s over at his main office, so don’t worry about it. He sent Simone over to let us in,” she answered, rolling her eyes and opening the back door to get out of the cab.

  “You’re positive he won’t show up, right?” Megan asked as she slid across the seat and stepped out into the rain, and the two hurried up the steps.

  “Promise. He’s a busy man. What happened between you two, anyway?”

  “Nothing, really. He’s just a little bit much for me.”