Scent of a Woman Read Free Page B

burned once by trusting that business could be kept separate from pleasure and had jeopardized her company in the process. But she needed to cultivate a professional relationship with Prestige Scents as a security measure for the future of Les Rêves.

    Danielle would just have to make sure her relationship with Adam Burns maintained certain boundaries.

    “Actually, I planned to seek out the rep from your company for a meeting this week. Do you have time tomorrow?”

    She could have asked anyone else on board for an appointment without flushing, but not Adam.

    “You want a meeting?” He sounded a little surprised.

    “Yes.”

    “I was thinking more in terms of a date.”

    She froze.

    “What?”

    “A date. You know, one man and one woman. We talk about each other instead of business.” He gestured back and forth between them to stress the personal nature of his proposal. “Have fun instead of scrambling to impress each other with how many accounts we’re servicing.”

    He paused, looking at her for a reaction, but she didn’t have the slightest idea what to say. She was tempted. Lord, she was tempted. His speech fed into every “live for the moment” fiber of her being.

    But she was trying to change that part of her nature.

    “So what do you say, Danielle?” he pressed, his powerful body shifting ever so slightly in her direction. “Why not take a chance?”

CHAPTER TWO

    H E SHOULDN’T HAVE made his move so fast.
    Adam could see that he’d jumped ahead of himself when she’d asked for a meeting to talk shop. But he’d taken one look at her and bam . Danielle Chevalier was just the woman he wanted to end his two-months-long dry spell. The perfect candidate for a shipboard fling. Why couldn’t he have just let the attraction take its course? He knew he wasn’t the only one who felt the sparks.

    “Unfortunately, Monsieur Burns, I take chances too often for my own good.” Her killer French accent would turn on any man with a pulse.

    But her words forced him to stop and think. Did a wild woman lurk beneath Danielle’s sophisticated exterior? She wore her sundress with serious attitude. No flip-flops or blue toenail polish for this woman. Her strappy heels showcased pale pink toes while her slim dress tied around her throat to show off trim shoulders and a willowy figure. Glossy dark hair spilled down her back, and her lips were outlined in a soft red Cupid’s bow, the color designed to catch and hold a man’s attention. Although Prestige Scents had a small beauty division, Adam acknowledged that the tidbit about red lipstick was the sum total of what he knew about the cosmetics market.

    “So you’re a wild woman most of the time, but not adventurous enough to spend an evening with a clueless American who doesn’t know brandy from grain alcohol?” Okay, that part might stretch the truth since he knew Nordham’s stashed brew had to be something high-brow even if it tasted godawful. “I hear the observation deck offers a hell of a view.”

    He didn’t know why he couldn’t back off even when his head told him not to pursue a woman who wasn’t interested in romance. But the urge to compete for her attention was too damn elemental to ignore and he couldn’t walk away from the challenge.

    “Is that right?” Lowering her head to sip her water, she seemed to hide a smile. “Do you speak of a view of the ocean? The stars? Or are you suggesting I might view you more favorably under the influence of both?”

    A hint of her scent rode the ocean breeze, enticing him to continue this quest he didn’t understand but couldn’t stop.

    “I don’t mean to suggest I’ll look any better, that’s for sure. I’m more of a wysiwyg—what you see is what you get—kind of guy.” He meant to retreat into more mundane topics, afraid she might take off if he pushed her further, then he found himself asking something very personal. “So tell me, Danielle, what kind of scent does a fragrance