“I’m sure I can find a way to help you relax,” she continued.

His back was to me, but I could see her hand grip his arm and then rub it up and down. Well, that seemed inappropriate, I thought to myself. Shrugging, because I genuinely didn’t give a shit, I walked away to get on with my job. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the girl they were discussing. She was about to incur her mother’s wrath, and whoever this guy was to her, he was a complete wanker.

The string quartet began playing as the guests started arriving, and I walked around with a tray of filled champagne glasses. There were four staff members including James and me. We were there to serve the fifteen couples who’d no doubt paid a pretty penny to attend this exclusive shindig. They would all be staying in the luxury accommodation, so the champagne was flowing.

An attractive woman, probably in her forties, approached, eyeing me up and down like I was her next meal.

“What can I get for you, ma’am?”

“What are you offering?”

I replied in a serious tone, “French champagne, wine, spirits, mineral water. What are you drinking?”

She leant over the bar, invading my personal space. “I was hoping you were on the menu.”

Was she serious? Surely her husband was witness to this awkward situation.

I laughed, trying to pretend I thought she was joking.

“Celia,” Mrs Fontaine huffed, saving me. “Leave my staff alone, for goodness’ sake.”

“Just having a little bit of fun, Isabel.” She looked me up and down again and ran her tongue over her top lip. “This one is scrumptious.”

“Remind me of your name,” Mrs Fontaine said, appearing stressed.

“It’s Leo, ma’am.”

“Okay. Leo. Can you please take the empty bottles to the recycling bins? I don’t like seeing them in view of the guests. You’ll find them around the side of the main house next to the parking area.”

“Of course, Mrs Fontaine.”

“Also, can you keep an eye out for my daughter while you’re there? She should have arrived by now in a red Mini.”

I filled up a milk crate with empty bottles and made my way around the veranda through an open courtyard area. A large wooden gate led out to the parking area, filled with an array of luxury cars. The bins were in a fenced-off enclosure just to my right, so I set about emptying the crate.

As I dropped the last bottle into the bin, I heard a screeching of tyres on the crushed granite driveway. The car I’d been sent to look out for came careening down the drive and expertly swung into the only available spot between two Porsche Cayennes.

I could see her silhouette from where I stood. She switched the engine off but turned the internal light on and flipped the mirror down. She was obviously fixing her makeup before she entered the lion’s den, or maybe the lioness’ in this case. I hadn’t heard any reference to a Mr Fontaine. I was just about to step forward and offer her an escort—it had become suddenly very dark in the last hour—when Richard the toolbox stormed over to her car and pulled the door open.

“What time do you call this, Juliette?” he asked, tapping his watch.

The light in the car went out, and a figure dressed in white was pulled from the car, a little too roughly for my liking. My instinct had me stepping out into view, ready to intervene.

“You were meant to be here two hours ago to listen to my speech,” he continued as she locked the car.

She said nothing. Her shoulders were slumped forward, clearly resigned to this type of treatment. If they looked my way, they would see me, but he was oblivious and she was staring at the ground.

I took another step forward and my shoe crunched on the gravel. They both snapped their heads up.

“What are you doing snooping around back here?” Richard asked, clearly unnerved. “Just can’t get good help these days,” he muttered when I failed to acknowledge him.

I ignored the fact that this guy was a fucking cliché with his head up his arse. I ignored the fact that in different circumstances, I would rearrange his smug face and I’d enjoy it. I ignored everything because I was locked in a shocked stare. Juliette—I allowed her name to float through my mind. It was her. She was even more painfully beautiful than I’d been able to appreciate the night before across the cage.

My mind reeled, trying to process her transformation from dark angel to fancy rich girl and passive doormat to this schmuck. White lace hugged her perfect body, and her long blonde hair hung in gentle waves over her left shoulder. Her wide eyes and the fact she was yet to release her breath let me know she recognised me too. Fear passed across her features and I felt compelled to help her.

“Sorry to startle you, miss. Your mother asked me to see if you’d arrived and needed an escort.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly and she let out a small breath.

“Well, as you can see, my girlfriend doesn’t need an escort from you,” Richard stated. “You have guests to serve. Now run—”

“Richard!” Juliette cut him off but then gently placed her hand on his arm.

My body flinched seeing her touch him. I didn’t know her, yet I felt a primal connection to this girl. There was something very wrong with this picture. I just didn’t know what it was beyond the fact that Dick was punching well above his weight range.

“I know you’re annoyed with me for being late,” she continued. “And you’re nervous about your speech, but there’s no need to be so rude to this man.” Her dark navy-blue eyes caught mine again.

“Don’t patronise me, Juliette. Now, let’s go. This isn’t like you at all.” He pointed in the direction of where the party was being held. “The guests are already here.”

Without waiting for her, he strode off. She stared at his back but made no move to follow him.

“Sorry about that,” Juliette whispered, staring at her feet.

I felt irritated and, if I was honest, disappointed that she would apologise on his behalf, but then again, he was her boyfriend. What did that say about her? “It’s none of my business, but please don’t apologise for him.”

She gently kicked the gravel with her shoes and shrugged her shoulders before she looked at me again. Her eyes were suddenly void of emotion, vacant and dull as if she’d pulled a mask down over her face.

“I’ll walk you in,” I suggested, breaking the silence.

“No need. I can take care of myself.” Without looking at me again, she walked away, leaving me standing there dumbfounded. Dressed in white, she looked more like an angel, but my intuition told me she didn’t belong here either. She was just caught in a different kind of hell.

Snapping out of it, I walked quickly to catch up but didn’t speak when I fell in next to her. Before we rounded the back corner of the veranda, I glanced to my right. She didn’t look at me. I could tell she was bracing herself.

“Good luck,” I said. I wanted to say so much more but couldn’t. I wanted to ask her what she’d been doing at fight night but couldn’t. I wanted to ask her why she was with such a douche. But most of all, I wanted to protect her from whatever she was about to face. She was a breathtakingly beautiful walking contradiction, and I was wildly attracted to her.

She looked at me as if for the first time. It was disconcerting.

“Okay then.” I raised my eyebrows and cocked my head, waiting for some sort of reaction. When none came, I walked away shaking my head. I had to get back to work anyway.

Chapter Ten

Juliette

“You can do this,” I chanted to myself, blocking out the fact that my ultimate fighting fantasy, Leo, was walking away after looking at me like a crazy person. I’d felt his eyes burning into the side of my face, but when I glanced at him, a sudden rush of anger overwhelmed me. What the hell was he doing working for my mother? What kind of horrible twist of fate was that? I wanted him gone. I didn’t want him to exist in this world.