Free NorthernPassion by Cynnamon Foster Page A

later. “Really? What did you two tell him about
me?”
    “We didn’t have to tell him anything. He spied you as soon
as you two came in.” Geneva put her hand on Desiree’s arm. Just like everyone
else. Leaning in to whisper in her ear, “You’re hard to miss, Comfort. You are
just scrumptious looking.”
    Scrumptious? She hadn’t quite ever been described like that
before. Desiree blinked but didn’t move. For the second time in the space of
two hours, she thought a woman had hit on her. She waited for Geneva to pull
away, then looked carefully around the room. What had she meant by hard to
miss? Had Martin Jenilham been watching her from somewhere the whole time? “Well,
I think that was a compliment. Thank you.” Her gaze finally landed on her
target and locked with those of a dark-haired, very handsome man who made no
apologies for his stares. He looked right past the woman who stood in front of
him making conversation and locked his gaze on Desiree.
    He raised his glass to her, but made no moves to come in
their direction. Desiree nodded in response. “Is that Martin?” she asked.
    Both Sam and GG were already looking in that direction so
they didn’t even have to turn. Geneva giggled. “That’s my man. Isn’t he
handsome?” She waved at him and giggled.
    Sam and Desiree exchanged glances and Desiree swallowed
hard. Even across the room, Martin’s charisma was impossible to ignore. “He’s
something.”
    Geneva put the glass she was carrying down on a small table.
“I will leave you two to meet all of our friends. I need to go put my lips on
him. You understand, right? Have some fun.”
    They turned and watched as she sauntered across the large
room, touching everyone in her path and using them for balance. She made her
way across the room gingerly. All the while, Desiree was acutely aware of
Martin’s stares.
    “Well,” she said, “I think I’ve met everyone here except
Martin.” Desiree kept looking in Martin’s direction as she talked to Sam.
    “And I think Martin and Geneva are the only two I met.”
Annoyance practically seeped from Sam’s pores. “Are you going to keep staring
at him like that?”
    “Really, Sam? If I didn’t know better, I’d mistake that for
jealousy. I thought she said she was introducing you to people?”
    Sam shook his head. “No, we were holed up in a room in the
back. I felt as if I was getting the third degree. They had a lot of questions
about why we moved here and what we did for fun. I’m convinced they already
knew some of the answers.”
    “Or at least the answers we want them to know.”
    Sam nodded. “True. And I have a feeling you will be meeting
Martin soon. He’s eating you up from over there, even with his wife and
everyone else hanging all over him.”
    Even without turning her head back in that direction,
Desiree could still feel the man’s eyes boring into her. Sam raised his glass
this time and Martin responded.
    A shudder ran down Desiree’s spine.
    “Go get him, tiger,” Sam said. “If he likes you, we could be
way ahead.”
    She tried hard to keep her composure, but Desiree was
crestfallen. She wanted Sam to act more like a husband than a colleague. She
swallowed her pride. “You’re right,” she said. “I’ll get him before he gets me.”

Chapter Seven
    Don’t Hate the Player
     
    Martin lay in bed as he waited for Geneva to join him. He
tried to read the newspaper, but for some reason, the New York Times could not hold his attention. It was becoming increasingly hard to be concerned
with things that seemed too far from his reality. They’d been in France for
almost two years now and in Martin’s head, he was becoming a real Frenchman.
He’d come to appreciate the French way of life, the love of adventure and
women, even if he did live inside a gated conclave of mostly American society,
removed from the city.
    He found himself thinking of Kimberly and then of the new
woman, Desiree. He could hardly wait to get his