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the white coverlet, waiting for the worst of his lecture to subside. He trotted out stock phrases about her love of partying and her need to take life more seriously, then he moved to his central theme lately of needing to bring in more business. But what hurt the most was his closing statement.

    “You’ll need to provide the name of this new ‘friend’ so I can run a routine background check on the guy, Dani. I’m not going to have a repeat of your last boyfriend now that we’ve just started recovering from the damage he did to earnings.”

    Anger roared through her, hot and quick.

    “How dare you?” Sitting up on the bed, she tossed aside the decorative pillow she’d been holding and paced the floor. “After all I’ve done to bring Les Rêves back in line—all of the accounts I have hand sold to make up for that loss—how can you have the nerve to suggest I would ever let someone like that into my life again?” Memories of Gunther’s betrayal still stung even two years later, but not because he’d broken her heart. No, she’d gotten over that hurt long ago. But she hadn’t been able to repair all the damage he’d done when he stole a valuable perfume recipe and marketed it more cheaply by using inferior ingredients.

    “Just give me the guy’s name, Dani.” Marcel sounded beyond weary, but she was still so angry she could hardly speak.

    “Because my judgment is tainted for the rest of my life now? I have lost all ability to form opinions about people because I was wrong once?”

    “If you trust your judgment, why does it matter if I check him out? Are you afraid I’ll find something we should be concerned about?”

    Danielle sighed, not liking her brother very much at the moment. They’d always been very different people, but never more so than when it came to the future of Les Rêves.

    “His name is Adam Burns. He is a VP with Prestige Scents and, yes, he is competing with us for the Dubai retail account.”

    “You realize you’re not the only one with a livelihood at stake here, right?” Marcel had done the books for Les Rêves for as long as Danielle had been the company’s public face. They’d always disagreed about where to take the business, but never as often as in the last few years.

    “Yes, I realize. And you should know I would never do anything to jeopardize the future of our very loyal staff.” She fumed for another moment before sliding into an armchair, exhausted at treading old ground. “It is not fair to beat someone up for the same mistake forever, you know.”

    “It hasn’t been forever, Danielle. It’s been two years, and even though you want to forget it, I promise you the accounting ledgers remember all too clearly. Have fun in Corfu, but if there is anything remotely suspect about Adam Burns, I’m going to ask you to make a decision in the best interest of Les Rêves.”

    The thought darkened her mood, which had been flying high after the kiss she’d shared with Adam earlier. Would Marcel find any reason she should stop seeing a man who intrigued her so completely?

    “Fine.” She had told Adam that she and Les Rêves were inseparable and she meant it. The company her mother had started with a dream and a few plants in the backyard was Danielle’s first priority. “Good night, Marcel.”

     

    “S O TELL ME what you know about the Burns family.” Danielle sipped her tea at a table with Monsieur Nordham late the next morning after convincing him that tea could be taken any time of day in the Rose Petal, the ship’s English-style tearoom.

    Although a more formal high tea would be served later in the day, the Rose Petal offered finger sandwiches and scones until the dining rooms opened in the evening. Danielle settled into her chintz-covered chair and sipped from the delicate floral teacup. The ginger-peach tea was a far cry from Earl Grey, but very soothing. Her nerves were still upset after last night’s phone call with Marcel, so she had