French Kiss (Silver Cove Series Book 2)

French Kiss

~ Silver Cove ~

Lilith & Adam

© 2016 Jill Sanders

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For the next few weeks, all Lilith has to do is run the prestigious East Haven Resort while her best friend Sarah is on her honeymoon. No big deal, except it means she’ll be dealing directly with the head chef, Adam, who is not only cocky, arrogant, and French, but damn sexy to boot. This was going to be the longest two weeks of her life.

Adam really enjoys seeing Lilith riled up and flustered. Actually, it’s what gets him out of bed every morning. But when someone else is threatening to sweep in and take her away, he realizes it’s time to stop playing games and go after what he wants.

French Kiss

by

Jill Sanders

Lilith stood on the large boulder, occasionally glancing out at the vast open space behind her. When she saw her best friend, Sarah, walking towards them in a white flowing dress, she didn’t think there could be a more perfect day than today. The off-the-shoulder vintage dress was perfect for Sarah’s wedding. And the ring of flowers her mother had made for her hair really accented the natural feel of their wedding.

There were over three dozen guests standing on the large boulder face at the top of the hill. As Sarah walked towards them, soft music played from two speakers set up near the back.

Lilith smiled at the way Ben watched his bride walk towards him. He looked so handsome in his tan cotton suit with his hiking boots. His best man, Rowan, stood off to the side, looking just as dashing.

Lilith, for her part, was dressed in a soft pink version of Sarah’s dress, but a tad shorter. Underneath both of their dresses were matching hiking boots, so they could easily climb the hill to the wedding spot.

As the preacher started talking, Lilith’s eyes roamed over the crowd. She didn’t know Ben’s family, but his parents didn’t look too thrilled to be hosting the wedding in the wide open. Ben’s sister, Bella, looked beyond thrilled. Actually, she looked the happiest out of all the guests. She too, had flowers in her hair, which Lilith and Crystal had arranged.

Then her eyes landed on Adam Carriveau and her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes narrowed as she took in everything about him. The man had been put on earth just to torture her.

Quickly, before he could notice her looking at him, she turned her head away. The rest of the ceremony, she tried not to feel his eyes on her, but she knew that he was watching. Her body heated up under his gaze.

When Sarah and Ben finally kissed, the small crowd erupted into loud cheers. Lilith took Rowan’s arm and walked back down the hillside with him, chatting about his latest job. The man was a doctor. And a damn sexy one at that.

Why did she feel so comfortable around him, but felt like her entire body was on fire around Adam? Both men were tall, sexy, blue-eyed, and were in professional careers. Maybe it was because Adam did everything he could to just plain irritate her.

Since his first day working at East Haven Resort, Adam had said and done things to get in her way.

If customers asked for substitutions on food items, he’d treat her like it was her idea. Every time he talked to her, he’d lay on the thick French accent, even though she’d overheard him talking to Sarah or one of the other staff members without it.

Once, she’d walked in to the kitchen as he was talking with one of the waiters, and he’d been telling the guy that any woman he dated had better conform to his wishes and do everything in her power to please him. She’d gotten so pissed, she’d actually dropped a glass, causing the pair to realize that she was eavesdropping on them. Instead of getting embarrassed, he’d just smiled at her like he’d known she was there all along.

Then there was the time he’d kissed her… She started to close her eyes, but then remembered they weren’t all the way down the hill yet. She stumbled slightly, but Rowan’s arm rushed around her and steadied her.

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

“It’s probably hard to hike in a long dress,” he said, shifting her weight so that he took most of it.

“No, not really. I guess I was just lost in thought,” she admitted.

“About?” His blue eyes bore into hers.

She was not going to open up to Rowan about Adam, so she lied. “I’m going to miss Sarah. I know they’re only going to be gone on their honeymoon for a few weeks, but…” She let the rest drop.

“From what I hear, you’re more than capable of handling things at the resort.”

“Sure I am.” She smiled, remembering how Sarah had given her a raise and the title of co-general manager. “I meant on a personal level.” She sighed. “I feel like things are going to change now,” she said, sidestepping a puddle of water.

“She’s still going to be the same old Serenity,” Rowan added, causing Lilith to giggle. “What?” He helped her the rest of the way down the path.

“It’s still so funny to hear her called that.” She shook her head.

“Only family calls her that,” Rowan said, stopping at the mouth of the trial as the other guests walked by them.

“Yes, I know, but…” She stopped when someone bumped into her from behind.

“Sorry.” The French accent was thick this time. “I don’t think we’ve met.” Adam held out his hand to Rowan. “I’m Adam Carriveau.”

“Rowan Holley, I’m Ser… Sarah’s cousin,” he corrected as he shook Adam’s hand.

“Oh, oui. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“As have I about you. I haven’t made it out to the resort to enjoy one of your meals yet.”

“No need to, I was put in charge of the dinner tonight.” His eyes moved to Lilith’s and she felt her spine straighten. “You are coming, oui?” His blue eyes bore into her own.

“Yes,” Rowan answered, causing Adam to glance over at the forgotten man.

“Bien, I will see you there.” Adam’s eyes moved once more to Lilith’s. “Lilly,” he whispered, then turned and walked away.

“What was that all about?” Rowan leaned closer and whispered next to her ear.

She shivered slightly, knowing it had nothing to do with Rowan’s breath on her face. “He’s conceited,” she answered, a little too loudly. She heard Adam chuckle as he walked away and felt her face heat.

She was determined to have a good time for her friend but it was going to be next to impossible if Adam was going to be underfoot for the rest of the night.

“Well, shall we?” Rowan held out his arm, waiting for her to take it.

Just then, Adam glanced back towards them as he stopped in front of his car. Pasting on a smile, she took Rowan’s arm and followed him to his car. She’d ridden to the wedding with Sarah and her mother, but she figured riding with Rowan to the reception would be just the trick she needed to prove to Adam that the kiss between them had meant nothing.

A
dam tried to keep calm, but the woman was driving him nuts. Okay, maybe it wasn’t all her fault. After all, he’d spent almost six months skirting around showing her exactly what he felt for her. But, in all truth, he doubted he could be more obvious.

In all his twenty-five years, he’d never had to work so hard to win a woman before
.
He was pretty sure everyone knew exactly how he felt about the sexy woman expect the woman herself. What he wouldn’t give to run his fingers through those thick sandy-blonde tresses with those mesmerizing auburn highlights streaking through them
.
Sure, there had been the heated kiss in the kitchen one night, but Ben had walked in less than a minute after he’d laid his lips over those sexy plump ones of hers, and he hadn’t gotten the taste he’d craved. Or been able to show her exactly how he felt about her.

Now he watched another man zero in on the woman he was pretty sure had stolen his heart. He felt his blood begin to boil, so he turned back to finishing the final touches for the wedding dinner.

He’d worked long and hard for this night. Sarah’s wedding to Ben was the perfect setting to prove he was the right man for the job.

Actually, he rather liked catering weddings and at one point had dreamed about opening his own wedding catering business.

He’d been grateful that he had been given free rein on the menu. Sarah and Ben had left everything in his capable hands, including the design of the wedding cake.

It had taken him less than ten minutes to finalize the full menu for the small event. He had started out with two hors d’oeuvres, the sweet Maryland crab cakes with herb rémoulade and his personal favorite, smoked salmon on lemon herb blini with dill crème fraiche and caviar. He’d followed them up with his butternut squash soup with ginger which, from the looks of the empty bowls returning to the kitchen, had been a big hit. The salad had been tougher to choose, but he’d chosen the crab and lobster Louie with horseradish panna cotta topped with avocados over a simple autumn salad with fruit.

There was just something about adding crab and lobster to greens that he found pleasing.

For the main course, he’d let Sarah and Ben choose from a list of choices. They had both agreed on the roasted filet mignon with potato leek galette, sautéed spinach, and roasted vegetables for one main dish, with his specialty, almond crusted salmon with aged red wine sauce, as the other.

Everything was perfect, except for the fact that he couldn’t keep his mind off the image of Lilith sitting next to another man in the next room as he slaved over a hot stove.

He’d had a hard time taking his eyes off her during the ceremony in the soft pink flowing dress that clung to her tan shoulders. Her sexy auburn hair was tied in a lose braid that flowed down her back and had small flowers tucked in each fold. She’d been simply breathtaking.

“Go,” he heard behind him and turned to see Rob, his sous chef, glaring at him. “We’ve got this. Go, your mind isn’t in here anyway.” Rob turned back to his task at hand. Then a hand reached in and took the pan of onions, which had clearly been overcooked, from the fire. He frowned as he watched Tara walk to the sink and dump them in. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded.

“Go, your time is better spent out there anyway.”

He sighed and watched her wipe out the hot pan, no doubt getting it ready to redo what he’d screwed up.

He’d hired some of the best staff around for the resort, and he’d brought them along for the night as well. Even though the resort kitchen was sitting empty for the night, he knew they were right. His mind was elsewhere and he wasn’t benefiting his staff by being in the way.

Wiping his hands, he straightened his jacket and took a cleansing breath before stepping out of the small kitchen at Sarah’s family home. He’d been impressed at the size of the place, even though he’d have preferred cooking for the intimate event back in East Haven Resort’s bigger kitchen. Still, here the kitchen noises were easily drowned out by the laughter and sounds of the party from the next room.

When he stepped through the swinging doors of the kitchen, his eyes moved around the room, which was packed tight with more than three dozen guests. He zeroed in instantly on the auburn-haired beauty sitting next to the blond man. Rowan’s arm was resting behind Lilith’s shoulders in a very casual but intimate manner.

Stepping forward, he gained the attention of a few of the guests, including Rowan.

When Lilith noticed that the man was no longer looking in her direction, her hazel eyes moved slowly towards him.

He hadn’t realized the room had grown quiet until he heard clapping.

“Adam, you’ve outdone yourself.” Sarah stood and moved towards him. “It still amazes me that I was lucky enough to snatch you up for East Haven.” She walked over and wrapped her arms around him, then leaned back. “We’ve talked about little else except how wonderful everything is.”

His smile was quick. “You do know how to stroke a man’s ego.” He laid on the accent heavy as he rubbed his hand over her shoulder. “You make the most lovely bride.” What was the use of being a Frenchman if you didn’t flatter every woman in the room? He watched her cheeks flush as her husband walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Seeing the two of them together caused a slight longing to grow in his heart, so he looked away and focused his eyes on Lilith, who quickly looked down at her nearly empty plate.

“Come, join us. Surely you’re done in the kitchen by now,” Ben said, motioning towards an empty chair on the opposite side of Lilith. “We have room. Carmen and Troy had to leave early.”

He nodded slightly, then took the empty spot. “How has everyone enjoyed their meal?” he asked when he sat down.

For the next few minutes, he listened to everyone compliment him. Everyone, that is, except Lilith.

***

How could one man be so irritating? Lilith sat across the table from Adam and listened to him talk about his favorite subject. Himself. Sure, he spent a few minutes complimenting Brittany, one of Sarah’s mother’s yoga instructors. The woman had annoyed her throughout the entire dinner; she had spent so much time flirting with every man at the table that it was obvious the only reason she was there was to hook up. And from the looks of it, Adam was a willing participant.

At least Rowan wasn’t paying the busty brunette much attention. Instead, he leaned closer to her and asked her questions about her work and family. The former she quickly answered, the others she avoided easily enough.

She asked him how he’d chosen the medical profession and listened to him briefly talk about his time away at school. From what she’d learned about him from Sarah, Rowan was a hard worker, determined to help others, and had always put the needs of his family and friends before his own.

So, why was she finding it hard to focus on what he was saying and was instead eavesdropping on Adam’s conversation with Brittany?

Just then, Ben stood up and tapped his fork on the crystal champagne glass. Hers was still half filled with the blush champagne she’d almost forgotten. Reaching over, she took the glass and downed the rest of the sweet liquid. She made the mistake of glancing towards Adam and almost choked on the swallow when his blue eyes met hers and his smile grew.

“We’d like to thank everyone for coming today to help us celebrate this special day,” Ben said, breaking into her thoughts. Her eyes moved to the end of the table and she couldn’t stop her smile from growing as she saw the pure happiness in her friend’s eyes. Sarah’s eyes and face glowed with love as she watched Ben talk to their guests. “I know this is normally the job of the best man.” Everyone quickly glanced at Rowan, sitting beside her. Rowan smiled and nodded, then waved his hand towards Ben. “But, with his permission, I’ve asked to make the toast instead.” He held up his champagne glass and waited for everyone else to do the same. She reached for hers, only to find it empty.

Adam snapped his fingers and two waiters rushed forward to fill any empty glasses, including hers.

Ben waited then cleared his throat and looked down at Sarah.

“Words can’t even begin to express how much I fell for you. I never could have dreamed of meeting someone as wonderful as you. My entire life has seemed like a dream since the first moment you fell into my life.”

“From what we’ve heard, you were the one doing the falling,” one of Ben’s friends added, causing the entire room to erupt in chuckles.

“Fair enough.” Ben smiled, then reached down and pulled Sarah up to stand next to him. When his free arm wrapped around her waist, everyone quieted once more. “I took one look at you and lost myself. Now that you’re a part of me, I feel whole again. I love you so much, Sarah.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips, then leaned back to wipe a tear gently from her cheek. “To Mrs. Rothschild.” He raised his glass as she raised hers.

“To Mr. and Mrs. Rothschild,” Rowan called out, earning more cheers.

Two hours later, Lilith watched her best friend, the only one she’d ever had, rush towards the car she’d helped decorate in tissue paper, old soda cans, and shoe polish. Tears streamed from her eyes as they disappeared down the street.

When an arm wrapped around her waist, she didn’t tense but, instead, leaned back against Rowan and sighed. “I’m going to miss her.”

“It’s only two weeks,” he added, chuckling.

“Two weeks and she’ll be starting her new life.” She sighed again before pulling away. When she turned, she smiled and realized she’d probably had a little too much pink champagne.

“I’d better go help Crystal clean up.” She started to turn away.

“Leave it, my mother and aunt can handle it. Besides, they have help tonight.” He nodded towards Adam, who was busy coordinating the cleanup with several of the staff from East Haven.

Instantly, she felt bad. She was staff, too. Which meant she should be there, clearing the tables and helping.

“Take a walk with me?” Rowan asked, holding out his arm for her to take.

“I should really…” she started to say, biting her bottom lip.

“Take the evening off and walk? Besides, what are you going to do? Ruin your bridesmaid dress doing dishes?” He smiled. “Relax. Serenity didn’t want you lifting a finger tonight. Her words, not mine.” He lifted his hand as a pledge.

She released a deep breath. “Okay, I guess I could use some fresh air to let some of this champagne settle.” She wrapped her arm in his and strolled to the end of the driveway.

She felt a shiver on the back of her neck and glanced back just in time to see Adam turn away and walk back into the house.

“I always loved living here,” Rowan said as they walked down the empty street. Most of the guests had followed Sarah and Ben and had quickly left, which left the streets empty and dark.

“I would have loved having a family like yours and Sarah’s.” She glanced over to see the bright lights from Sarah’s mother’s house. She knew the house which sat across from it was Rowan’s. It too was brightly lit up at the moment.

“It must have been wonderful growing up so close to family.”

“It had its moments.” He stopped and turned towards her. “You never answered my question.”

She waited and raised her eyebrows in question.

“Where did you grow up? I hear a little bit of south in your voice.”

She nodded, feeling the lump in her throat tighten. “Mississippi,” she answered quickly.

“I’ve never been.” He turned and started walking again. “Do you have family there still?”

She shrugged. “Some.” She followed him towards a bench near the edge of his side yard. When she sat next to him, he leaned back and put his arm behind her shoulders. He’d sat like that for most of the evening. She supposed he was trying to gauge how she would react. Either that, or he was trying to make a statement that he was interested. Either way, she felt comfortable leaning back against his strong arm.

“Any brothers or sisters?” He continued his questioning.

She shook her head, wishing she could think of another topic.

“I always wished I had a brother,” Rowan said.

Lilith turned slightly. “You had Sarah.”

“Having a cousin as a sister doesn’t replace the desire to have a brother to play ball with.”

She smiled. “I’m sure Sarah would have—”

His chuckle stopped her. “Yes, she was a tomboy up until a few years ago. Actually, she’s one of the reasons I wanted a brother so bad.”

“Oh?” She leaned back again.

“I could never win against her. If I had had a brother… maybe the two of us could have beat her in something.”

She chuckled. “She’s come a long way.” She glanced down the dark street and worried that her friend wouldn’t have as much time for her anymore. Sarah had been the one person to snap her out of her past. Her mind wandered to how much she’d needed her friend when she’d first moved to Silver Cove. Sarah had been the one to get her the job at East Haven. The one who had saved her. The only one she trusted with the truth. “So much has changed, so much is about to change.”

“Still, she’ll always be the same ol’ Serenity.”

She smiled. “You know; she hates that name.”