Prelude

Paris, France 1965

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  It was her birthday. Her twenty-seventh birthday, to be exact. As always, her parents planned a grand party for their only daughter and held the event at the family home. A medieval-styled, 18-bedroom Chateau west of Paris. It sat on 30 acres, and included a stable for horses, a small lake, and several outbuildings surrounding the home, all of which had a view of breathtaking landscapes.

  Rosalinda was of French, Spanish, and Italian descent. She had always known wealth and luxury. Her second great grandfather, Richard, Duc de Vallombrosa, had founded the Yacht Club of France, and the Society of Racing, in Cannes. Before that, at twenty-two years of age, he led an expedition across India and earned the Cross of the Commander of the Or-der of St. Maurice and St. Lazare.

  Richard Vallombrosa had married Geneviève de Pérusse des Cars, the daughter of the Duc de Cars, who had been one of the top commanders in the conquest of Algiers.

Despite their noble titles and wealth, Rosalinda’s family was not aloof. Her parents taught their five children to have compassion for those who had not been fortunate enough to have riches of their own. They encouraged their children to give back whenever possible, whether it be volunteering at a local soup kitchen or donating to charities that offered assistance to the less fortunate.

  That did not mean that Albert Vallombrosa and his wife were afraid to spend their money on outlandish parties. And this birthday bash for their youngest child would be the talk of the Paris elite society for a long time.

Rosalinda should have been having the time of her life. The musicians were one of France’s most popular and famous groups. They sang and played their instruments on stage, and the people danced and laughed in the ballroom, enjoying the evening.

  Among the guests were celebrities of film and the live theater. They were there to congratulate Rosalinda, who quickly rose in the ranks of popularity because of her exceptional acting abilities, as well as for winning the Best Actress award for her performance in the movie Love in The Spring last year.

However, Rosalinda was not enjoying herself and was not exactly sure why. Perhaps it was because she realized she was closer to thirty years of age than she would have liked to be. Or it could be she was saddened because her best friend, Jacqueline Fisher, could not attend the festivities. Even if Jacqueline wasn’t pregnant, and scheduled to give birth in about a month, the woman would not have been able to attend; no longer able to travel freely to Paris. Because even though the woman’s stepbrother thought she was dead, no one could take the chance that someone in France would recognize Jacqueline and report it to Pierre. He had hired a hitman to kill her three years ago and, as far as he knew, his directive had been successful.

Rosalinda’s green eyes scanned the ever-increasing crowd. Until recently, she would have been scoping out a handsome man who would catch her fancy and then seduce him into a quick fuck. She’d always had a strong sexual drive and never wanted for willing partners who were happy to scratch her itch with no further demands or commitments.

  But she was not interested in sex at the moment. At least, no one had struck her fancy or aroused sexual desires in her for the past four months.

Rosalinda wondered if something was wrong with her.

Her eyes went back to scanning the ever-growing crowd. What, or who, she was seeking; she wasn’t certain.

  She felt someone come up behind her. Turning, she found the American agent who helped escort Jacqueline’s stepbrother to Fleury Mérogis prison three years ago, standing behind her. He was a handsome man, a little over six feet tall, with a wide chest and muscular arms. Arms that held her a few times over the past three years. The first time she had gotten him into bed was the day she first met him. After that, he vowed it wouldn’t happen again, and she’d viewed that as a challenge. The next time she saw him, at Colten and Jacqueline’s wedding, she seduced him in his hotel room.

It had been a glorious night for both of them. So much so that each time he came to Paris, they would meet at her home and make memories, until it was time for him to catch the plane back to the United States.

  Cadman Benson was a sexy-looking man and a superb lover. Yet, looking at him now, she had no interest in tearing his clothes off.

He smiled at her, that small dimple at the corner of his mouth she had always enjoyed sucking and licking peaked at her, and yet, tonight, it was nothing more to her than what it was. A dimple that was just there.

  Obviously, she was coming down with something. Perhaps she should visit the doctor to find out if there was something wrong with her.

  Cadman leaned in, kissed her cheek. “You are as beautiful as ever.” When she made no move to make his kiss into anything more, it surprised him, but he shrugged it away. The on again, off again sexual relationship they shared satisfied him in ways no other woman could. Although he was half in love with her, he never fooled himself into thinking she would ever be his exclusively.

  Besides, he was beginning a new career soon, for the United States government, which wouldn’t leave him time to pursue any permanent relationship with anyone. And he was happy enough with the arrangement he had with Rosalinda.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, her eyes going back to the crowd.

  “Are you looking for someone in particular?” Cadman asked, stepping up to stand beside her, as his eyes, too, scanned the crowd. He wondered if her indifference to him was because of her having her sights set on some other man tonight. Which actually bothered him. If she was looking for a sexual encounter, he was more than willing to be her slave.

  “Umm?” Rosalinda’s response wasn’t an answer at all.

  Shaking his head, he decided that whoever the starlet was searching for wasn’t any of his business. He told her, “I’ll be flying back to the United States tomorrow. Next month I’ll be starting my vacation. I’m going to spend a week with Colten and Jacqueline in North Dakota, on that horse ranch of theirs.”

  Rosalinda glanced up at him and smiled. “I am jealous of you, Cadman. But I will travel there the moment Jacqueline sends word that the baby is born.” She patted his arm. “Although I will miss seeing you ride a horse. The first time I witnessed it, I laughed for hours.”

  “Ha, ha,” he said with a scowl. He hated horses, but every time he visited the Fisher ranch, which offered tourists a chance to horseback deeper into the Badlands of North Dakota, Colten somehow talked him into getting on one of those four-legged things he called a quarter horse.

  Rosalinda’s eyes moved to the entrance of the ballroom. They stopped when they landed on Charles Lafayette as he entered the room. The talented movie producer seemed to hesitate in the doorway for only a moment, before moving to where Rosalinda’s parents stood next to the food table and refreshments.

  Rosalinda’s breath caught in her throat the instant she saw him enter the room, but did not realize she was holding her breath until her lungs forced her to breathe.

  The man was eleven years older than herself. She had used the age gap as an excuse for ignoring whatever feelings he evoked in her, but something seemed to be shifting inside her concerning him. Changes she wasn’t sure if she wanted to admit.

  A few months ago, she noticed he lost the small amount of extra weight he always carried around his stomach. And, although his balding head had some sections of hair trying to remain behind, it never distracted her from thinking he was attractive- and kind- and gallant. And why couldn’t she allow herself to love him? She knew the man loved her. He showed her so many times over the years that he did not look at her as a sexual conquest and treated her as though he cherished her. He never suggested she sleep with him. Though Rosalinda saw the longing in his eyes whenever she caught him looking at her. She never tried to make him a conquest; she respected him too much. And knew, too, that with him, he did not want a one-night stand. He would want more than she was ready to give one man.

  He would want marriage and commitment.

  Watching him now, speaking with her parents, she felt a familiar tug at her heart. She did not know what to do with these damn emotions that wanted to propel her to him.

  As usual, he was alone. Rosalinda had never seen him with another woman, and her heart twisted. He deserved someone in his life who would understand he was worth loving.

In her eyes, he appeared lonely, and the urge to go to him was almost strong enough to cause her feet to move in his direction.

Ruthlessly, she pushed the desire down. She knew that if she went to Charles now, she would not want to let him go, and she was not ready to give up her freedom.

  When the band played another number, she grabbed Cadman’s hand and pulled him onto the dance floor, determined to forget about Charles Lafayette and the feelings his mere presence stirred within her.

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End of Excerpt