With two hours to kill until Terri's flight arrived, Bastien and Lucern had retired to a bar, having to make their way into the nearest departure terminal to find one. Now they were returning to the arrival area to await Terri, hoping as they did so that she wouldn't be held up too long at customs. Both were rather weary of waiting, and eager to get out of the airport, what with its buzz of stressed-out travelers and anxious friends and family.
"Here they come," Bastien announced. The first weary travelers began to appear beyond the blocked off area. "Where's the sign you made?"
"Oh, yes." Lucern pulled the piece of paper from his pocket. The moment it was unfolded enough for Bastien to read, he snatched it incredulously out of his brother's hand.
" 'Terri, Kate's cousin and best friend?' " he read with disbelief.
"I couldn't remember her name," Lucern said with a shrug. "She'll know who it's for. Hurry and hold it up, a whole load of them are coming out and she might be one of them."
Bastien glanced toward the arch where travelers were appearing in clusters of three or four. It would seem that customs wasn't holding them up at all. "They must have worked double time to get the luggage out so fast. And customs must have extra people on."
"Hmm," was all Lucern said. Bastien raised the makeshift sign over his head to be easily seen. "They're probably rushing them through to try to make up for the delay."
The two men were silent as several dozen people arrived, were met by happy relatives or friends and departed the arrivals area. Bastien would guess that a good fifty people came and went before he spotted a woman making a beeline for them. He might not have recognized her if she weren't walking toward them with a tired smile of greeting on her face. Without realizing it, his arms relaxed, allowing his sign to lower.
The woman was just as curvy and ripe-looking as she had been in her photo, but her hairstyle had changed. It had been up in a ponytail in the photo; now, it was down and flowing around her shoulders in soft chestnut waves. She still wore jeans, Bastien noted with interest. Tight white jeans, a white University of Leeds T-shirt, and white running shoes made up her outfit. She had obviously dressed for comfort.
"Lucern!" She beamed at Bastien, pausing before him and, after the briefest hesitation, giving him a warm welcoming hug. "Kate's told me loads about you. It's a pleasure to meet the man who's made her so happy."
Bastien stared down at the top of the woman's head in surprise, his arms dropping automatically to embrace her. Lucern watched with amusement. Catching the grin on his brother's face, Bastien cleared his throat as Kate's cousin released him and stepped back. "Terri, I presume?"
She laughed at his stiff tones. "Yes, of course." Then she paused and tilted her head to examine him. "Kate was right. You must be the most handsome man in New York. She said that's how I'd recognize you," she confided with a grin.
Bastien found himself grinning back, ridiculously pleased at the compliment, until Lucern got tired of being ignored and announced, "That would be me, then. I'm Lucern, the most handsome man in New York. The man you just hugged is my brother Bastien.
Terri Simpson turned a startled gaze to the man who had just spoken. Perhaps an inch shorter than the man she'd just hugged, the speaker eyed her with amusement. Terri was surprised she hadn't noticed this fellow, but while he was almost a twin to the man he'd just called Bastien, he wasn't an exact copy. They had the same nose, but his lower lip wasn't quite as full as Bastien's, who also had a more defined jawline. There was also something different about the eyes. Both had large silvery blue irises, but Bastien's were deeper and filled with an indefinable emotion that called out to her.
Actually, Terri was almost relieved that the man she'd hugged wasn't Lucern. Deciding not to dwell on why, she stepped forward to hug Kate's fiancé. "My apologies, Lucern. I just spotted the sign and assumed…" She let the sentence trail off as she briefly embraced him, then stepped back. "You two must have been waiting here for hours. Sorry about that."
"There was nothing you could do about it," Bastien remarked, "so there is nothing to apologize for. Can I take that for you?"
Terri found herself relieved of her luggage as Bastien took the handle of her suitcase while Lucern slipped the strap of her carryon off her shoulder; then the two men ushered her out of the building. Moments later, she found herself in the front seat of a Mercedes on the highway.
"You must be exhausted after your flight."
Terri flashed a smile at the man seated beside her. Bastien. She liked the name. She liked the look of the man too. She didn't usually go for business types, but he cut a sharp figure in the no doubt designer suit he was wearing. She glanced over her shoulder at Kate's fiancé, who now sat silent in the backseat. He had a notepad out, resting on his knee, and was scribbling away on it. For the first time, she noted he wore cords and a sweater. He was a writer. No need for a business suit.
"Actually, I caught a bit of a nap on the plane," she answered finally, settling back in her seat. It seemed obvious that Lucern wasn't going to do much talking. Kate had warned her that he wasn't very sociable, which was why she'd sworn to try to get his brother to accompany him to the airport. Kate hadn't mentioned that the brother was better looking, however. Terri decided she'd have to talk to Kate about leaving out such details. A little mental preparation would have been a good thing. At the moment, she felt as if she'd been kicked in the stomach. Butterflies were definitely taking wing in her tummy. "I'm more hungry than tired. I slept a little on the plane, but with the delay and everything it's been a while since the flight meal was served."
"We'll take care of that as soon as we get you to the penthouse," Bastien said, his gaze finding her briefly before returning to the highway traffic. "My housekeeper is an excellent cook, and will no doubt be grateful for the chance to prove it."
"I take it you don't eat in much?" she asked.
"What makes you say that?"
Terri raised her eyebrows at his sharp tone, then merely shrugged. "If you ate in a lot, and had lots of dinner parties and such, your housekeeper wouldn't be grateful for the chance to cook for someone."
"Oh, yes. Of course." His frown became a wry smile.
"Am I waiting for Kate at your place, then?" Terri asked. She was made curious by the surprise that covered Bastien's face. When he glanced in the rearview mirror, Terri turned to peer at the other passenger in the car, but Lucern apparently wasn't listening; he was still scribbling busily away in his notepad. She turned back in time to see Bastien scowl, then he glanced at her and sighed.
"Kate didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"You'll be staying at the penthouse. Her apartment is too small for the three of you."
"Three of us?" she asked in surprise.
"You, Kate, and Lucern."
"Oh, of course!" It hadn't occurred to her that Lucern might have moved right in with her, but if the two were as in love as Kate said, Terri supposed it was to be expected. He would hardly want to stay in Toronto while she was here in New York, and fortunately his work allowed him to move as he liked. Of course he would be staying with Kate. No doubt they would move somewhere larger than her one-bedroom soon, but Terri knew her cousin well enough to know she'd stay in her little apartment and support herself until the wedding. Which left Terri apparently staying with Kate's brother-in-law to be.
Discomfort nipped at her at the idea of his having to put her up for the next two weeks. She didn't like to trouble people. "Perhaps I should rent a hotel room. I don't want to put you out."
"That isn't necessary," Bastien Argeneau assured her firmly. "The penthouse has five bedrooms and a housekeeper, as I mentioned. And I'm quite busy at the moment, so you probably won't see much of me. You can come and go as you like. You are most welcome in my home."
Chapter Two
"Get out!"
Terri stared at her host's panic-stricken face. She could hardly believe that he'd suddenly turned on her, shouting those words, now that they'd finally reached his home.
The ride here had taken the better part of an hour. She and Bastien had chatted most of the way, and Terri had spent a portion of that time trying to place his accent. Spending the past several years in Europe had given her something of an ear for them. Bastien had a hint of one, which she couldn't place. It was most unusual. He spoke at times with the formality of a time gone by, but used modern terminology just as often. Terri thought she heard a touch of London in his accent, but she wasn't certain.
When she hadn't been able to figure it out by listening to him speak, she had tried to place his ethnic origins by examining his features—but that hadn't really helped, either. His dark good looks could have been almost Mediterranean, but his pale skin tone didn't bear that out. As for his name: Bastien Argeneau was definitely French. Kate had mentioned that the family was from Canada, but they resided in Toronto, which Terri knew was in Ontario. Still, she supposed the family could be French Canadian. And perhaps what she thought was a hint of an English accent was simply Canadian. She'd met a couple of Canadians in her life, but hadn't really paid much attention to their accents.
Finally admitting that she couldn't figure out his accent, Terri had determined to ask Kate later, and had given up the matter to concentrate on their conversation. For the most part, they'd touched on topics that were relatively neutral, like the weather and the wedding: safe topics that revealed nothing personal, and that Terri knew were geared to make her feel comfortable and at ease with this relative stranger with whom she would be staying. He took pains several times to reassure her that she was welcome in his home, following that up with assurances that he was terribly busy, not likely to be around much and so wouldn't make a nuisance of himself.
Terri had felt pretty relaxed about the whole deal by the time they pulled into the underground parking garage of the Argeneau building. They had still been chatting lightly and laughing as they gathered her luggage. Lucern had even put away his scribbling and joined the conversation as he took her carry-on again and followed Bastien into the secured elevator to the penthouse. They'd all been smiling at Bastien's gentle teasing of his brother for being "blinded by love," when the elevator doors slid open and he'd started to lead the way into his home. Then he'd stopped dead so that Terri had bumped into his back, whirled around with a panicked expression and shouted "Get out!"
So much for being welcome in his home. "Bastien?" There was a question in Lucern's voice as he set down Terri's case and moved past her. "What…"
The way his voice trailed off as he looked into the room beyond—a room Terri couldn't see into, because Bastien's broad shoulders blocked the way—told her there was something of great interest inside. "Vincent!" Lucern barked. "Let Bastien's housekeeper go!"
Well, that was too much for Terri. Stepping around Bastien, she peered into the living room and at the couple there. At first glance, it appeared that they had interrupted a passionate embrace, but that was only for the first second. Then Terri noted that the man—Vincent, she presumed—was wearing a black cape. And what she saw wasn't so much an amorous act but the classic vampire embrace. It looked like the fellow was biting the old woman's neck.
Terri felt her eyebrows fly up, even as hands settled heavily on her shoulders. They were Bastien's hands, she guessed, since Lucern was in front of her, but she hardly noticed before Lucern was barking again. "Damn it, Vinny! Let go of that woman."
"You know I hate being called Vinny, Luc. Call me Vincent. Or better yet, call me Dracul," the caped fellow corrected in a very bad Transylvanian accent. He straightened from the older woman and turned to them. His eyes held irritation for a moment, then his gaze landed on Terri. His expression gave way to a seductive smile.
Leaving the maid swaying on her feet, Vincent glided across the room to stand before Terri. His smile was a sexy curve of the mouth, his irises were silver blue and held a hungry look that captured her attention. He enveloped one of her small hands in his, and raised it to his lips. "Enchante," he growled.
Terri opened her mouth to respond, but paused in surprise when the man turned her hand over and pressed his lips to her wrist.
"Stop that!" Bastien stepped to the side, tugging Terri away from the man with a hand on her elbow even as he used the other to slap Vincent in the back of the head. If the fact that all three men sported those unique silver-blue eyes and dark good looks hadn't told her, that gesture—one only an irritated relative would use—told Terri this man was obviously an Argeneau. "What the hell are you doing here, Vincent?"
"Dracul," he insisted with a sniff, then turned and walked to the nearest chair. Grasping his cape, he held it out slightly so that it swirled around him as he turned. Then he dropped dramatically to sit. "I have the lead role in
Dracula.
The musical."
"Dracula
the musical?" Bastien echoed in disbelief. Vincent grinned. "Yeah. Cool, huh? The
lead."
He nodded. "I'm a stage presence."
"Dear God," Terri heard Bastien breathe. He seemed horrified by the whole ordeal, but she was fascinated. She volunteered a lot of time to the local community theater, and she loved this kind of stuff. Pulling away from her host's light hold, she moved to the couch and perched on the end of it to ask, "Are you a method actor?"
"Why, yes!" He beamed at her. "How did you know?"
"Well, the scene we walked into suggested you were. Er…" Terri's words became a surprised silence as a glance across the room showed the housekeeper was no longer swaying on her feet. In fact, she'd fainted dead away. Lucern was lifting her into his arms.
"Where is her room, Bastien?" he asked as the two men now turned to notice his predicament.