He smirked at me, then turned back to Jefferson. “Well, I’m sure the lady will make up her own mind.”
His words weren’t even cold yet before Katie and Leah stepped into the room. Katie was in one of her signature, flowery dresses. Her brown hair had been curled into waves and her cheeks flushed when she caught sight of René, but he only had eyes for Leah.
Knowing now that he’d heard about her from his friends, almost definitely some of the guys who had been at the rooftop event, I had a bad feeling that she had become something of a challenge to him.
She wore a simple blue sundress with the same delicate golden jewelry I’d seen her wearing before. The afternoon in the sun had given her a light tan, making her skin glow under the orange lights in the cabin.
Her eyes were bright when they met mine but René approached her before anyone else could say a word. He took her hand like he had every right to touch her, dipping into a pretentious bow as he pressed a light kiss to her knuckles.
“I’m very pleased to meet you, Leah,” he said. “René Fayette. You might’ve heard about my family. We’re quite well known in the industry.”
I saw the flash in her eyes, knowing it was the moment when she’d come up with a witty retort, but it wasn’t what came out when she opened her mouth. “Enchanté, Mr. Fayette. It’s good to have you with us this evening.”
“Enchanté?” He repeated after her, his sharky grin lighting up the whole damn deck. “So you speak French? What excellent news. Shall we?”
He held out his arm to her, tucking her hand into it without waiting for her response or letting Jefferson lead the way to the dinner table. She glanced at me with questions in her eyes, but I gave my head a curt shake. Now wasn’t the time to get into it.
The table had been set for five, and with Jefferson at the head, that left two seats on either side. Name cards had been set out by the staff, placing me next to Leah, but René ignored them. He pulled out her chair for her, still completely disregarding his host as he sat down beside her.
Katie shot me a worried look on her way over to the table, but I shook my head at her as well. Did I like that this guy was hitting on Leah? No, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it at the moment.
I resented the jealousy coursing through me like a living thing, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that, either. René’s arm was resting on the back of Leah’s chair, and he kept touching her casually even though she’d already scooted as far away from him as she could.
Katie kept trying to grab his attention by tossing out conversation starters, but he refused to engage. Jefferson was watching the interaction curiously, flashing me a grin when I came to stand beside him.
“I think it’s going remarkably well,” he said. “She sure seems to have a way of wrapping people around her finger, doesn’t she?”
I didn’t mention my suspicions of her having been made a challenge by his friends, but sent a worried frown their way. “Leah isn’t a treat we can dangle on a string in order to keep the sons of the wealthy buyers happy.”
“Relax.” He clapped me on the shoulder, squeezing it in reassurance. “It’s just dinner. I’m sure our girl can handle it.”
I was sure she could handle it too. I just wasn’t sure if he’d like the way she did it if push came to shove.
Chapter 27
LEAH
“Did you hurt yourself when you fell from heaven?” René asked me, sitting so close to me that the whole side of his body pressed up against me. “I can always have a look at your injuries, angel.”
I forced a chuckle even though all I really wanted to do was down my drink or tell this guy exactly what I thought about his lines. “No, I’m fine. Thanks, though.”
The universal signal for needing help from a friend when it came to an overzealous guy was to make big eyes at said friend. Katie had picked up on my signal right away, but Dane was too busy talking to Jefferson to notice that I needed saving.
Or maybe not saving. I could save myself from René, but I might not be able to do