Billionaire's Second Chance (sam, bella and Kate Book 2) (8 page)

“Hello Philippe, nice to see you
.”  Her voice was hoarse as she fought hard to once more gain control of herself.

From the other side of the room Samantha ran forward to launch herself into his arms.  “Oh my God...
Philippe, what brings you here?”, she cried as he hugged her back, smiling as he congratulated her, declaring Dante to have been a fool to ever let her go.  His eyes briefly flicked to the woman moving back over to sit quietly at the table.

Sam saw his look, giving him an encouraging smile as she caught the uncertainty in him before grabbing his hand as she dragged him to the table with her.  “It is good to see you too Bella
.”  Philippe’s eyes were focussed on her,  Bella seeming unsure of what to do as she fidgeted with her hair, smoothing it down, giving a small half-smile back, one which had not reached her lovely eyes.  “Dante asked me to be his best man.  And I thought I would pop down and offer my help, knowing the groom and all.”

Bella looked up at him, swallowing the soft groan as she pulled her diary to her, trying to calm down as she made a big show of looking at dates, Philippe and Sam looking at each other
, Sam shrugging her shoulders not knowing what Bella was doing.  Clearing her throat Bella finally lifted her pencil. “My assistant can talk to you tomorrow...”

Philippe interrupted as his hand stopped her, a resolute look on his face, “Actually Bella, I would rather deal with you
.”

Bella felt her heart thumping deep in her chest with just the touch of his hand on her, her eyes growing harder, a scowl on her brow.  “I am sorry Philippe, as much as I appreciate your offer
, I hope that you understand that I have a very short time to organise this wedding and my diary is full.”

Philippe felt anger rise in him at her deliberate snub, looking over at Sam who tactfully looked away, her actions letting him know that he was on his own.  Taking a calming
breath, he again smiled sweetly at her, seeing the surprise on her face.  “Well of course you do, but I know how appointments get cancelled so I will take this.”  He picked up one of the business cards Dante had provided her with that afternoon, her face a picture as she stared open-mouthed at him.  “I will phone you later.  See if there are any changes.”

Spluttering, unable to speak
, she stared in disbelief as he rose, moving back out with a final wave to the two women, before letting himself out of the suite. 

“Can you believe the cheek of that man?”,
Bella cried, Sam breaking down in hysterical laughter as her lips twitched, Bella smacking her arm playfully before shaking her head and pulling the catalogues over to her. “OK Bridezilla – work!”

The two poured over the books as Bella worked through her extensive list of things to be done.  After
fifteen minutes her mobile rang.  Picking it up she once more heard Philippe’s voice, again the awareness of the man sending a small tremor through her. Her teeth gritted with annoyance. 
“Yes Philippe, this is the correct number”, giving an obvious sigh of annoyance.  “No...there have not been any cancellations in the last 15 minutes.
Hanging up, she shook her head.  “Can you believe him?”  Samantha’s eyes shone as she struggled to hold back the laugh.

The two continued until the phone rang again
. Bella recognised Philippe’s number and ending it without answering, Sam seeing as she blocked the number from calls, lifting a hand, her eyes shining with laughter. “Saying nothing.”  Bella’s lips curled.  The sound of a text received made her groan again seeing the message from Philippe, Sam looking innocently at her.  “What did he say?

Bella sighed, “He said he didn’t give me his number.
  How was I going to know where to phone?”

Chuckling, Sam grinned, a mischievous smile on her face, “Well he does have a point”, her eyes dancing as Bella glowered at her before laughing.

“That man drives me crazy.  Of course I have his number….he phoned!”

Sam smiled, “He always did Bella”, her eyebrows jiggling suggestively as Bella shook her head.

“I am just going to ignore him...I am sure that he will go away.”

Sam regarding her more seriously this time.  “Like last time Bella?”  Bella turned to pick up another catalog
ue, not answering.

The two achieved a lot that day, Bella taking down notes as they made decisions, stiffening as her phone heralded new texts constantly.  As the latest message came in
, she gave a small squeal of annoyance, “Why won’t he just get the message and give up!”, her voice full of irritation.

Leaning over
, Samantha’s voice was soft, “Perhaps you should meet up with him.”

Bella looked at her with surprise.  “I don’t think that is such a good idea Sam...
It just, well…” 

Sam patted her
hand softly.  “If you meet him and hear what he has to say, then he will have no reason to see you again.  Maybe you just need to get it over with.”

Giving her friend a shaky smile
Bella nodded softly, “Perhaps you are right”, taking a deep breath as she picked up her phone, quickly texting him a message.  Dropping it on the table she exhaled loudly, “There – he gets half an hour tomorrow before lunch.”

This time it had been Samantha’s phone which rang, she smil
ing hearing the voice on the other end, Bella looking at her with curiosity seeing the grin on her friend’s lips.  “Sure Philippe, yes there must be a problem with her phone”, passing the small device over to Bella who looked at her with incredulity in her blue eyes as Sam pushed her hands against her mouth to stop the laughter which bubbled up.

Bella listened as Philippe spoke, her expression comical as her mouth opened wider as she had been unable to get a word in before he hung up on the other end.  Staring at the phone she made a small squeal, her mouth opening and closing as no words came out, looking over at Sam for help.

“What did he say?”, Sam asked, waited in anticipation, her look full of expectation.

E
xhaling slowly, Bella finally managed to speak, “He says that it is a great idea, but that it makes more sense just to have longer to eat.  So he has booked us a table for lunch”, her head shaking, “I... I never said I was having lunch with him!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Sam broke down into fits of laughter, tears streaming down her face.  “You wanted him to try harder Bella...
Looks like you got your wish.” 

Shaking her head, Bella bit out firmly, “No second chances Sam
, no second chances”, however as she turned she had not been aware how her lovely mouth smiled gently.

The next day
Bella rose early, her appointments filled for that day.  Her first appointment was to meet her assistant Anna, the two women having breakfast together.  Bella liked the young woman who listened attentively to everything she said, Bella instinctively knowing that she could be relied on.  Her next meeting with Dave, the manager of the wedding venue, flashed past in a blur.  The tall handsome man insisted on personally giving Bella a tour of the kitchens and hall, answering all her questions with clarity.  He had been impressed with the beautiful young woman, the two quickly relaxing in each other’s company.  Having sent Philippe a text that morning telling him where she would be, she accepted Dave’s offer of a drink as they finished the tour faster than expected.

Wearing a feminine summer dress, not a formal business suit as most of the other wedding planners did, Dave Sinclair admired Bella Smith, enjoying her easy humour and intelligence.  Unlike many, she had not wasted his time with ridiculous questions or excessive demands, but listened carefully, adjusting her plans instantly with new information given to her.  It also did not hurt that she was breathtakingly beautiful, with long blonde hair which lay in layers against her wonderful body and large blue eyes which gave her a fragile air, Dave finding himself very much taken with the young woman before him.

“So, do you think you have enough information?”  He smiled at her as he placed a glass of champagne before her.

Bella gave him a grin
. “Yes – your help has been invaluable, I really appreciate your time Dave.”

He gave her a large smile, his handsome face watching her carefully.  “Bella
, I hope you don’t think that I am being forward and I swear that I do not do this often”, her gentle smile spurring him on, Bella surprised to see his handsome face become more nervous. “Would you have dinner with me?”

His words took Bella by surprise, her eyes opening wide.  Before she could answer a tight voice behind
interrupted, “Hello Bella.”  Spinning around, for the second time in as many days, she found herself face to face with Philippe, his eyes not watching her but fixed on Dave.  “I am afraid we have not met”, his hand outstretched, “I am Philippe Tremour.”

Dave stood and shook his hand
. “It is a pleasure to meet you, and no we have not had the pleasure, but of course I know who you are”, the manager smiled warmly.  Bella frowned seeing the steely look in Philippe’s eyes, not understanding his reaction as she too stood.

Looking at her watch
, she gave him a surprised smile.  “You’re early.”

Philippe nodded as his look moved
back to her, “My meeting finished ahead of schedule.  Thought I would swing by in case you had finished early too.”

Dave watched the two, his look becoming more uneasy,
“I’m sorry... I didn’t realise that you two were together.  Forgive me.”

Bella swung around shaking her head, “No...
No we are not together.  Not like that.  I mean Philippe is Dante Durant’s best man.”  Dave Sinclair gave her a brighter smile.

Philippe however,
said nothing, his mouth tightening, “We should go”, his only words as she nodded.

Flashing Bella a relieved smile, Dave pulled out his card and handed it to her, “In that case I would really like to take you for that meal
.”

Bella nervously pushed her hair behind her ear as she flicked a look at Philippe, his body rigid as he heard for the second time the offer from the other man
. “I... I don’t think I will have time Dave, but thank you.”

Disappointment filled his
features.  “Well, if you find that you do, you have my number.”  Bella gave another of her large smiles, dropping the card into her bag, following Philippe as he turned abruptly and moved from the venue.

Outside
, Philippe held open the door of the large sports car, Bella gracefully ducking into the luxurious vehicle.  She allowed her eyes to slide over his wonderful body, swallowing hard at the way her own had jumped from being once more so close to him.  In the past four years he had changed little, still devastatingly handsome with the most wonderful dark blue eyes she had ever seen.  She tried hard not to allow herself to remember how those eyes would glow in the throes of passion, biting her lip as her body quivered with an awareness that no other man then or since ever made her feel.

As he slid in beside her, she felt the tension radiating from him, looking over with confusion.  “Is there anything wrong Philippe?”, she asked softly.

His jaw tightened as his hands gripped the steering wheel.  Finally he turned to look at her, his face a mask of barely controlled anger.  “He was completely out of line.”

Her eyes widened
.  “In what way? He was nothing but helpful.”

Starting the car, Philippe moved it into the New York traffic, his face still
dark with anger.  “Sometimes Bella you can be so naïve.”

Gasping, she flipped around in her seat, “What the hell does that mean Philippe?
  I was doing my job.”

She saw his knuckles white
n as he gripped the wheel tightly.  “He was chatting you up”, he bit out.

Shaking her head in disbelief
, she felt anger rising in her.  “He was being nice.  And even if he was, it has nothing to do with you.”

For a few seconds there had been silence before he once more
briefly turned to her.  “Well?”

Bella gave a small frown, “Well what?”, her irritated voice answered.

“Are you going to go out with him for dinner?”

Bella sighed in annoyance,
“Like I said Philippe, both to him, and to you. I am working. I have no time for socialising.”  She flicked him another sideways look, “Besides, I have a boyfriend.”

Philippe’s head spun around as he turned to
fully look at her as they sat at the traffic light, a strange expression on his face, his brows tight together, his voice thoughtful.  “I see.” 

The rest of the journey continued in silence before they pulled up
in front of an exclusive restaurant, the valet opening her door as Philippe tossed the keys to the man, moving to join her.  As he placed his hand on the base of her back to guide her inside, Bella jumped, once more feeling the jolt of electricity shoot through her.  “Sorry... I guess I was the one out of line”, his soft voice washed over her as he gave an apologetic smile.

With surprise she nodded her head softly, “It’s fine.
  Let’s just forget it”, Bella giving him a shaky return smile.

Led by the
maitre d’ to a quiet table near the back, Bella frowned softly at the intimacy of the setting.  As he ordered a bottle of champagne, she gave him a cool disapproving frown, “I thought you were driving, and I am working”, seeing as he gave the waiter an apologetic look before changing the order to sparkling water.

“You didn’t seem to mind the glass Dave gave you
.”

Bella fixed him with a matronly look.  “Did you see me drink it?”

Philippe chuckled as he shook his head, “No, I guess you didn’t.”

T
he two chose their meals from the extensive menu, Bella held down the groan at seeing the prices before telling herself that he could afford it.  Not willing to be pulled into personal chitchat, she delved into her bag, pulling her workbook from deep within.  Philippe raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Why don’t we wait until after the meal... Talk business after?”

Shaking her head with determination, she opened it, “No
, this is a working lunch remember? I have to get back to work as soon as we have eaten, there is so much to do.”

She could see the way his mouth tightened before he lifted his glass and took a drink of the water.  “Of course, as you say, this is why we are here
.”

Bella pulled out catalog
ues containing outfits for grooms and groomsmen, all collected for her from local stores by her assistant Anna that morning and brought around to the venue to ensure she was ready for her meeting with Philippe.  “If you could give me some idea what you and Dante plan on wearing, I can ensure that accessories match.”

He looked at the brochures, whistling softly, a smile spreading over his handsome face
. “Wow – so many options.  What do you think we would look best in?” 

Taking the book from him she flicked to a section with black tails and waistcoats.  “Both you and Dante are tall and in great shape...
I think that you would both suit this.”

She heard his soft chuckle.  “Well you would know”, his obvious reference to their night of lovemaking so long ago made her blush slightly as she ignored the comment.

“They are all on-line so if you see any you like then you can text Dante for his thoughts.  I will also need your measurements.”

”
Will you help take them?”

H
is small laugh made her grit her teeth as she returned a sugary-sweet smile, “I am sure you can find someone with a little more time on their hands to assist you there”, trying not to laugh at the mock hurt expression which crossed his face.

To his credit he pulled out his phone, quickly accessing the website and checking the pictures on the magazine before he selected several different outfits, checking with Bella each time to ensure that they would be appropriate.  Finishing his selection he then sent the links to Dante, smiling as the task was completed just in time for their meal
s to arrive.

As they enjoyed the delicious food, Philippe looked over at her, “I remember the last meal we shared”, her eyes rising to his.

“I don’t think we ever did.”

His eyes widened in mock shock, “Are you telling me, Miss Smith that you forgot the time I cooked on the boat?”

Despite her determination not to be anything other than formal, Bella felt as her lips twitched, a haughty light filling her blue eyes.  “As I told you then, that was not cooking – that was pairing cold foods together”, his appreciative laugh sounding pleasant to her ears.

“
So you did”, his tone becoming soft, “You look wonderful Bella.”

Giving him a small smile she raised her glass to hide the way being with him was once more affecting her, her stomach flip
-flopping disconcertingly.  “Thank you.”  Searching for anything to bring the conversation back to a less personal footing, she asked, “So are there any questions you need answered about the wedding?”

He smiled knowingly before firing questions at her.  She was glad to find that they were pertinent and well thought out, Bella answering
the questions as well as she could, from who would travel in what cars to who would be seated where.  The whole time the two slowly relaxed together as they ate their meal.

As the
dishes were cleared away he asked even more specific questions, Bella finding she had to think hard, taking notes on some, impressed that it seemed Philippe had done his homework.  “Will the minister expect us to be at the front of the church or do we come in just before the bride?”

Bella answered, her mind firmly set on the wedding
, “Well you usually accompany the minister out to the front of the church prior to the bride arriving so that you are not standing there the whole time the guests are arriving.”

“Have you slept with your boyfriend?”

“No”, the word out before the question fully formed in her mind, her eyes flying up to his as she spluttered indignantly looking over at Philippe who smiled widely at her. “That is none of your business.  You...You had no right to ask that.” 

He gave a small shrug, his expression matter of fact.  “So how long have you been going out with...
whatever his name is?”

Giving a small sound of annoyance, she sighed with irritation. “His name is Tim.
  And we have been seeing each other for a month.”

The way he raised his eyebrow the small smile playing on his lips made her want to smack him as he leant forward. “How could a man last a week
– never mind a month – with you without wanting you in his bed?”

Fidgeting nervously, she sat upright, hoping that he did not notice the flush that rose to her cheeks.  “There are men who are not in a rush to get a woman into bed Philippe.
  Some men wait until the woman is ready.”

Chuckling, he held her look
. “I always wait till the woman is ready.”  Bella bit her lip at his obvious reference to the night they spent together in Greece.  “So why is he not with you?  Did he not want to come?”  Lifting her notes once more she dropped her eyes from his, her discomfort obvious as he laughed, “Oh my God.  He did, but you didn’t want him here.”

Picking up her pen
, she felt how it shook in her hand, putting it back down again as she glared at him.  “As I KEEP telling you, I am here to work.  This is not a holiday and not the right time to take our relationship to the next level.” His mocking laugh set every last nerve on end as she bit out, “What is so funny?”

His wonderful eyes danced with laughter
.  “Take your relationship to the next level?  Do people really still say that?”

Bella scowled at him, “You mock what you do not understand Philippe
.”

T
he smile dropped from his face as he become suddenly deadly serious, a steely edge to his voice.  “Oh I understand Bella.  You and this Tim will never move ‘to the next level’ because he is not what you are looking for.  In fact I would be surprised if you are not already trying to think how to break up with the man.  He is not right for you.”

With a stunned expression she glared at him
.  “And how would you know?”

A sad half-smile rose to his mouth, “I know.
  I just know”, fire lighting the inky darkness of his eyes as she inexplicably felt the tears rise within her, digging her nails into the soft pads of flesh on her palms to hold them down.

“We should get
back to work”,  Bella desperately trying to bring the conversation back to a safe topic as his hand moved to trap hers, her whole body shuddering once more with this simple touch from him, her head rising, eyes haunted. “Please don’t Philippe”, she beseeched, seeing the need in him.

“It is so good to see you Bella...
I have missed you more than you can possibly know.”

Groaning gently, she tried to pull her hand back, his holding hers securely as she swallowed.
  “What are you trying to do?”, her tone accusing, her look full of pain, her eyes pleading.

He
lifted her hand to his mouth, his lips kissing the smooth skin sending more electric shocks skittering down her spine. “We had something so special you and I... You know we did.”

Choking back the tears, she shook her head, aware as some spilled down her cheeks.  “No
, we didn’t. We hardly knew each other.  If you had known me at all you would have trusted me.”

Philippe shook his head with determination.  “No
– I know you had feelings for me Bella, just as I had for you.  We might not have known each other for long, but there was something special there.”

Bella felt her hand shake in his, her eyes
held his sombrely, sadness and accusation in her voice, “You hurt me Philippe”

He groaned softly
. “I never meant to Bella.  Hurting you was the last thing in the world I ever wanted to do.  I just didn’t want you to have to deal with everything that was happening.  I kept thinking that perhaps there was a mistake.  I didn’t want you to be dragged into the middle of the mess.”

Bella’s eyes became sadder as she sighed
. “I am not your mother Philippe.  I know that you had to protect her from everything, but that is not me, and if you had known me at all you would have seen that.  You could have phoned me.  We could have talked about it, but you pushed me out because I wasn’t part of the decision process – because we were strangers.”

Groaning, he again shook his head, “The night I came back, I wanted to talk to you.
  I wanted to beg you not to go, but I had no right to... I didn’t want to burden you.  You made it clear that you didn’t want me in your life after I told you about Allisa.”

Raising her head, she savaged her lip, “I heard nothing from you for four days and when you d
id arrive back, you dropped the bombshell on me that your ex-girlfriend was pregnant with your child.  What did you expect me to do?  I had no right even to an opinion.”

W
ith a groan, he shook his head. “But you did Bella. I came back to talk it over with you, but you wouldn’t talk to me.”

Sadly
, she again shook her head.  “No Philippe.  You already knew what you were going to do.  You just needed to sever the tie between us.”  A wistful sad smile came to her features, “I guess that I should have been thankful for that and not some text message.”  Feeling his wince, she finally managed to pull her hand away, not sure how they had fallen into the one subject she had been determined to avoid, her voice pained.  “I don’t hate you Philippe, and I have always understood.  You were in a bad position.  Making promises to me and then finding out about your child, you did what had to be done.  And I guess that I should be glad that it was so hard for you.”