He waved me off but sighed before taking a long sip of his drink. “I’m okay, Dane. It was important for me to be here. I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course,” I said, nodding as I rested the hand with my drink in it on the armrest, turning the glass in a slow circle between my fingers. “I just think it’s important for you not to overdo it. We can always move this dinner to tomorrow evening if the drive has worn you out.”
“You’ve already had to cancel your dinner with Pierre in order to fit in René this evening,” he said. “Don’t worry about me so much, my boy. If I get too tired, I’ll excuse myself. Contrary to what you might believe, I didn’t come all the way over here just to try out the French medical facilities. I have no intention of ending up in one.”
“That’s good news,” I said, grinning as I raised my glass again and clinked it against his. “For a while there, you had me wondering whether you’d heard good things about French nurses. It seemed like one of the only reasons why you’d risk having to be hospitalized so far from home.”
“I’m sure the French nurses are lovely, but no.” He chuckled, the crow’s feet around his eyes when he did deeper now than ever before. It made my chest feel tighter to notice it, but he didn’t seem to realize anything was amiss with me. “This is the start of my last big campaign. I couldn’t miss it.”
Before I could reply, a guy about my age strolled onto the main deck. He spread his arms out to his sides, grinning like a maniac when he saw Jefferson.
“Mr. Killen,” he exclaimed. “It’s been too long. I was very pleased to hear you’d be available this evening. Where is your American Sweetheart, hmm?”
His mention of Leah made me narrow my eyes. I knew who he was, of course. Our dinner guest for this evening was the son of one of the biggest buyers in Europe. His name was René Fayette, and he was a world-class asshole.
At least, that’s what I think.
The white suit he was wearing cost more than most people’s houses, his shoes shone like they’d been polished in the car that had brought him here, and his grin was shark-like. Even I had to admit that he was a good-looking guy, though.
As a local celebrity because of his socialite status, women went nuts over him. His jet-black hair and ice-blue eyes were known to make panties drop wherever he went, and tonight, he was here. On the same fucking boat as Leah.
My protective instincts snarled, growled, and snapped, urging me to toss this damn guy overboard before he could set eyes on her. Even though I knew I couldn’t do that, the thought of it made me feel marginally better.
Jefferson didn’t seem nearly as bothered by the guy as I was. He even smiled at him as he stood up from his armchair to shake his hand. “It’s good to see you too, René. You know you’re welcome for dinner anytime. Our American Sweetheart is just freshening up. I’m sure she’ll be here any minute now. Why don’t you have a seat? Can we offer you a drink?”
I stepped up before he could respond, holding out my hand. “Dane Oliver. Welcome aboard, Mr. Fayette. I can get you the campaign material to look over while we’re waiting for dinner.”
Anything to keep his attention off Leah. René, however, didn’t seem at all interested in reviewing the material he was supposedly collecting for his father tonight.
He shook my hand vigorously before leaning in and smacking a huge kiss to my cheek. “It’s nice to meet you, Dane. Tell me, is this sweetheart of yours as beautiful and sweet as she’s rumored to be? I had to come and meet her in person. My friends in Paris had good things to say about her.”
I stepped away after releasing his hand and offered him a tight smile, wishing I could go wash my face to get his fucking spit off of it. “I’m sure they did. She’s lovely. Very professional.”
He shot me a salacious wink. “Oh, I’m sure I can get her to lighten up. I am a man of many charms. Maybe she’ll even want to come back to my suite with me later.”
“We have our own hotel rooms booked,” I said. “Thank you for the offer, but