Page 94 of The Chalet Girl

He shook his head and winced, then opened the door wider to let her in.

Tristan’s apartment was small, simple and homely. It had mid-century European furniture, a neat kitchen and functional curtains. It looked like a holiday rental rather than a billionaire playboy’s bachelor pad. A fire roared from a small log burner. Al Green played through speakers while CNN rolled muted on TV.

In the low glow of a lamp, Emme sat side-saddle across Tristan’s lap and gently pressed a checked tea towel filled with ice to his eye, cleaning it as she dabbed.

She’d discarded Tiago’s boots and trousers and wore just a sweatshirt and her underwear. Tristan wore jersey joggers that showed the outline of his exceptional cock, his broad and tanned torso bare. Emme checked his shoulder blade for any last pieces of glass.

‘What a mess,’ Emme said.

Tristan put his hand on top of Emme’s to slow down her movements at his brow.

‘I’m sorry. Not my finest hour,’ he said, stroking the curve of her thigh with his free hand.

‘You didn’t do anything wrong today!’ Emme said defiantly, inwardly cursing the Greek man with the pointy face.

‘No, but I did,’ Tristan said, with some shame.

He certainly had. And Emme knew she was on aprecipice as she looked at him and wondered if she should have come. He had hurt Vivian and slept with her sister. But she couldn’t not come. She had to see him tonight.

‘Vivian seems really nice…’ Emme said, regretfully.

‘She is,’ he winced. ‘I shouldn’t have messed her around.’

Tristan sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.

‘Maybe it was a fucked-up way of ensuring she’d hate me.’

Emme stopped dabbing his brow.

‘Why do you want her to hate you?’

Tristan took a laboured sigh.

‘Because she should hate me. I’m the son of Charles Joubert. My dad screwed her dad out of his most spectacular hotel. I twisted the knife when I sold it to the Russians.’

Emme looked at him, confused. He seemed to make life harder for himself. Is that what he was doing with her sitting across his lap? Getting involved with someone it could never go anywhere with? Someone who would inevitably hate him? She was the help who worked for his friends. Although now she thought about it, she hadn’t seen him talking to Lexy or Bill either at the party.

‘Vivian seemed willing to overlook it, but I know what my dad and I did caused Walter Steinherr heartache.’

‘Did Walter approve of you two?’

‘I never gave him the chance to.’

Emme studied his strikingly handsome face, his dark tousled hair pushed back off it. His thick straight brows sheltering an intense gaze.

‘So you were being cruel to be kind? Come on…’ Emme said, as if she was no fool. ‘Were you not just being greedy?’

Tristan pierced her with a look.

‘If Vivian’s fatherhaspicked her to succeed him with theSteinherr group, she can’t run the business and date me, not in the shadow of my family.’

He looked unnervingly neutral about it, which made Emme feel cautious.

‘So you want her but can’t have her?’

God this guy is a headfuck,Emme thought.

Tristan took Emme’s hand.