The Affair

Mario smiled, never removing his gaze from Emma. “He never could take a joke,” he told her in a confidential ma

Va

“The rose has bloomed,” Niki complimented her warmly, dark eyes roving over her dress in clear male appreciation.

“But is still firmly attached to the stem,” Va

“Then she especially deserves my attention. She’ll think all drivers are swine.” She saw the merriment in Niki’s glance at Va

“I see I chose well,” Michelle enthused with a smug grin, glancing down over Emma’s dress as they shook hands.

“You chose impeccably,” Va

“Without a doubt,” Michelle said warmly.

Va

“Oh, thank you!” Emma said. “You did an excellent job.”

“Have you actually seen your inheritance?” Michelle asked her with a dry smile. Emma shook her head. “It would have been hard to go wrong. That closet is as large as our bedroom,” she told Dean, “and stuffed to the brim with clothes, most of which still have tags on them, and shoes and every geegaw you can imagine.”

“Va

“Oh, Vera wasn’t at the Breakers,” Michelle said. “She was here, in fact.”

Emma blinked. “Will Vera be here tonight?” she asked Va

“Vera has left,” Dean said quickly, as if trying to fill the uncomfortable pause. “She had a great deal of work she needed to attend to back in Chicago.”

Another woman at the table, who Emma learned was named Estelle Fournier, listened to this exchange with a shrewd, narrow-eyed focus. Her husband, Simon, sat next to her. Estelle was a good deal younger than Simon, who appeared to be in his late fifties. Nevertheless, both husband and wife were stu

Not only Va

Apparently, not only did good looks thrive on the French Riviera, so did raging libidos, Emma thought dazedly, blinking and looking away from the amorous driver.

As the waiter cleared away the remains of their meal and couples began to dance out on the terrace, Georgia regally excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. A dark haired man with a mustache drew Va

“Did I mention that you look amazingly beautiful tonight?” Niki asked her, smiling.

“Only once or a dozen times,” Emma replied, blushing despite his light, teasing tone.

“Something in France seems to be setting you alight,” Niki said, glancing pointedly across the room to where Va

“Drunken, horny bastard has been circling ever closer to you ever since he noticed Va

“He’s one of your rivals, isn’t he? Marco told me a little about the race and the frontru

“Acarde wishes.”

Emma chuckled. “I heard you won the time trials earlier. Congratulations. Are you nervous about the race on Sunday?”

“A little,” Niki admitted. “I’m usually not nervous before a race, but no matter how much I’ve practiced on the stock car, it’s still my second language, so to speak.”

“Do you think it’ll make a difference in the outcome of the race?”

“The Americans have the advantage as far as the car. But we,” he said lifting his highball glass and giving her a pointed, mischievous glance, “have the advantage of the road. No perfect little oval racetracks here—narrow roads, tight hairpin curves, and plunging shifts in elevation down the mountainside.”

“Will it be dangerous?” Emma asked warily.

“Without a doubt,” Niki replied, as if she’d stated the obvious. She caught the gleam in his eyes and laughed. He smiled. “I realize you probably don’t know much about road races in the South of France, but they are traditionally the gladiator arena for drivers seeking their fame.” He noticed her alarmed look. “Don’t worry. It’s much better nowadays, and the local governments have assured we put together a safe race.” He shrugged. “Relatively safe, anyway.”

He flashed her a grin when she gave him a teasing “don’t mess with me” glance. “If anything, it’ll be a test of our basic driving instincts. We’ve only been allotted two early mornings of practice in addition to the time trials before raceday, given the constraints of the surrounding villages. It’ll be exciting, that much is certain. It started out as a lark between Va