Scent of a Woman Read Free Page A

said in a conspiratorial whisper. “He needs to get out of the heat because he wants to access the flask of vilely strong alcohol in his jacket pocket. It’s been twenty minutes since he offered me a nip and my throat’s still burning.”

    She liked sharing this small secret with him, their lowered voices creating the illusion of intimacy. And yet, that sense of being able to share confidences had once tricked her into revealing far too much. Straightening, she resisted the urge to lower her voice.

    “He offered to share his brandy with you?” She wondered if Adam knew what a compliment that was. “Monsieur Nordham must have been impressed with you—he guards his stash like liquid gold, no?”

    “Really?” Adam moved closer to the rail, out of the flow of servers and passengers congregating near the buffet line that was snaking its way through the pool area. “In that case, I wish I hadn’t lapsed into a fit of hacking.”

    “If you take tea with him, you can pour your nip into your Earl Grey to take the edge off.”

    “Ah. It pays to be an insider, I see.” He leaned on the rail, his tanned forearms drawing her eye even more strongly than the Greek coast. “But since I’m a stand-in for my brother on this cruise, I have to learn all the subtleties of the fragrance industry for myself.”

    “Your brother is Joseph?” she clarified, more curious than she should be. But then, she told herself, her brother’s directive was to seek out the Prestige rep. It was hardly her fault that he just happened to have the smile of a Hollywood movie star and the physique of a World Cup player.

    “Joseph is my brother,” he confirmed, catching her staring at his hands. “He called me yesterday to beg off this trip because of a few broken ribs and a busted-up leg.”

    With a wink and a smile he turned his attention from her to the miles of blue water refracting sunlight off every ripple. She was grateful he didn’t seem inclined to press her into flirtation even though she’d been staring at him.

    Then again, did that mean he wasn’t interested? The moment of mild indignation she felt told her she had better set boundaries with this man. Fast.

    “Many people would be thrilled to sail the most romanticized stretch of water in the world.” She spoke English to Adam as she had to Monsieur Nordham.

    All around them, however, a mix of languages could be heard as conference attendees found ways to communicate. During the workshops, information would be translated into English, French, Spanish and German so that everyone could be easily understood.

    “The itinerary sounds great,” he admitted, “but I’ll let you in on a secret.”

    She would not let herself lean any closer to the enticing Mr. Burns. Not with the fate of her store in Nice on the line this week.

    “I am listening.”

    “I know far more about the marketing of our product line than the actual fragrance aspect.”

    Now that was interesting.

    “How perfectly shocking. I would not repeat that to anyone else here.” She glanced over the small group of perfume reps that lingered by the display.

    “Not knowing much about perfume is going to get me in a lot of trouble?”

    “No.” She turned back to Adam and was startled to see him staring at her intently. A little thrill shot through her before she remembered this attraction was a very bad idea. Unsure of herself, she kept talking to cover the awkward moment. “Your marketing knowledge would certainly be envied by this crowd, when so many of the old fragrances houses are sliding into bankruptcy. But to admit you do not know the finer points of perfume making? Sacrilege. Perfumers love their scents the way a vintner does his grapes and all their subtleties.”

    “I see.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe if you had time this week, you could share a little knowledge with me, just to get me through the cruise.”

    Spend more time with an attractive man in the same industry? She’d been