A couple of months ago, she had leveled with her three cousins, telling them that she and Cortez had met when she’d been a student working in Paris at the botanical gardens. She’d figured it was time to come clean. They weren’t the only ones wondering why she and Cortez were deliberately avoiding each other whenever they were invited to any of Alexia and Quinn’s parties.
“It’s not just animosity, Vic, and I think that both you and Cortez know it,” Monica said, grinning.
Victoria shrugged. She knew exactly what Monica was alluding to, but she wasn’t ready to deal with it yet.
“And I think Alexia has probably already figured out it’s more than just a case of random lust between the two of you, too,” Kennedy added.
Victoria glanced over at her. “You think so?”
“Yes.”
Victoria wouldn’t have been surprised. Alexia was very observant when it came to her younger cousins. “Well, hopefully, Cortez and I will be able to resolve any and all issues between us tonight…except that one. Lust.”
Sebrina laughed. “I hate to tell you, Vic, but that’s the main one.”
Yeah, she knew. She settled back on the sofa, appreciating that the conversation had shifted, and her cousins were now discussing Idris Elba’s current movie. Her mind tuned out the chatter, and instead went back to that time with Cortez in Paris.
As she took a sip of her wine, she allowed the memories to surface, recalling the exact moment Cortez Masters had walked into her life.
Four years ago, in Paris
“ARE YOU SURE YOU want to go through with it, Victoria?”
Victoria heard the concern in her cousin Sebrina’s voice over the phone, but she was determined. She was tired of being a twenty-three-year-old virgin. And she was going to rectify that problem before her twenty-fourth birthday. Last year, when her cousins Kennedy, Monica, and Sebrina had talked about their ‘first times’, all before their twenty-first birthdays, she realized she was way behind. And what better place than Paris, the city of love, to overcome her little obstacle?
“I’m sure, Bree. It’s time. Who’s ever heard of a twenty-three-year-old virgin these days?”
“First of all, there’s no age limit on virginity. And I think it’s something you should think hard about before doing something rash.”
“Did you?”
There was a pause, and she immediately knew she should not have asked that. It had been so insensitive, especially since she knew how much her cousin had loved Wade Simon. As a teen, Bree couldn’t wait to go visit her father every summer in New Jersey so she could spend time with Wade, the guy she’d fallen for when she was sixteen.
Sebrina’s mom, Taye, had become pregnant while in her first semester at college. Although Gary Stevens, Bree’s father, never married Taye, he did right by the child they’d made together. Every summer, Sebrina got to spend time with her father and his family in New Jersey.
“I was in love,” Bree finally said, her voice still revealing the pain she felt, even after all these years.
“I believe you. But if I wait until I fall in love with someone, I’ll be close to forty before I have sex. Men can’t be trusted.” Victoria knew that all too well — her grandfather and father had never met a woman they didn’t want to bed.
Neither Victor Bennett, Sr., nor Victor Bennett, Jr. discriminated when it came to women. Both looked good for their ages and they knew it. Her grandfather had finally slowed down when he’d married Valerie, the woman he’d had a child with forty years ago. And her father was on wife number four.
Victoria never bothered much with boys when she was in school. Why would she, if all men were like her daddy and her grandfather. Victoria would never forget the day she came home from school to find a woman named Evelyn in their home, boldly telling her mother that she was pregnant with Victor Jr.’s child.
For as long as she lived, Victoria would never forget the pain she’d seen in her mother’s eyes when she’d discovered the magnitude of her husband’s betrayal. Fayrene had filed for a divorce. And, adding salt to her wound, Victor Jr. had married Evelyn before the child was born. That was the beginning. At last count, Victoria’s father had a total of seven kids by four different women.
It had taken Victoria’s mother years to get over her ex-husband’s betrayal and finally be able to trust another man. Although Fayrene had dated on occasion, she hadn’t taken any man seriously until after Victoria had gone to college. That’s when Fayrene had met Dr. Edison Cannon. The two had married when Victoria had been in her senior year of college. Edison truly adored her mother and believed his whole purpose in life was to make Fayrene happy and give her everything she deserved in life. They were now living in Texas.
“Sounds like your mind is made up. Now all you have to do is find the guy. What kind of man are you looking for?” Sebrina asked.
Victoria smiled. That question she had an answer for. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Since I’m not looking for anything long term, and I’m in a foreign country, I thought it would be best not to divulge my real name. I figured I’d just make something up.”
“Smart.”
She nodded, glad Sebrina seemed to be on board with her decision. “And as far as the guy… Well, he has to be handsome, of course.”
Sebrina laughed. “Of course.”
“And he has to have some experience. I won’t know what I’m doing, so I’ll need a man who does. So he should probably be older than I am.”
“Not too much older, I hope.”
Victoria chuckled. “No, not too much. And he has to have a nice body.”
“Well, a man with those attributes shouldn’t be too hard to find in Paris.”
“I hope not,” Victoria said. “And then there’s the most important thing…there has to be chemistry between us. Strong sexual chemistry. The kind of chemistry you only find in romance novels.”
Sebrina laughed. “My goodness. You don’t want much, do you?”
Victoria chuckled again. “Not too much, I guess. But as long as I remain in control, I should be fine.”
Bree knew about Victoria’s family history, so she understood why an emotion-free involvement with a man was all Victoria was looking for. She refused to ever be hurt the way her mother had been.
“Well, hopefully you’ll meet someone who fits the bill soon.”
Just as Sebrina said that, Victoria glanced to her right and saw a guy crossing the street, seemingly headed toward the café. Her breath suddenly caught in her throat. He looked as if he’d walked right off the cover of a romance novel. Finally…
He had a self-assured walk and was neatly dressed in a pair of shorts and polo shirt. His facial features were too handsome for words, and he was built. Boy, was he built! And she could tell from the sighs of women around her that she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.
He looked American, but she couldn’t be sure until he spoke. And still, that might not mean anything. She was American but had decided to pretend to be Paris-born and raised. She could pull such a thing off because she spoke fluent French. What better way to escape any awkward morning-afters? A fake history to go along with a fake name.