His Last Lover
French Conquests, Book 6
At sixty, Olivier Lavigne believed his best years were behind him. He'd built an empire, raised two sons, and buried a wife. Love was a chapter he thought closed forever.
Then he met Kim Spencer.
Kim has spent fifteen years rebuilding her life after a devastating accident took her husband and left her in a wheelchair. She's made peace with her new reality, content to live through her children's happiness rather than seek her own. Romance isn't even on her radar.
But when Olivier and Kim cross paths at a destination wedding in Guadeloupe, an unexpected chemistry ignites between them. What starts as stolen glances and hesitant conversations becomes a second chance at passion, connection, and love.
Yet falling for each other means facing uncomfortable truths about grief, guilt, and whether two people can truly move forward while honoring the past. As their whirlwind romance deepens, both must decide if they're brave enough to claim the happiness they've been denied for so long.
Not that the initial reading of his suggestion was a bad idea, she thought, but she decided it would be more prudent to take his offer at face value. She could get around on her own, but found herself happy for the excuse to spend a few final moments with him before they said their goodnights.
She allowed him to place a light hand on the back of her electrical chair as it wheeled back up the path to the rooms. As they entered, she gave him directions, and soon they found themselves at her door.
He held out his hand for the key card. “Allow me.”
Without resisting, she placed the card in the palm of his hand, and as the door swung open, the two of them regarded each other cautiously.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” he said solemnly. “I am not generally considered fun at parties, but thanks to you, I had a lovely time.”
“I enjoyed your company, too.” She held her breath as he bent forward to kiss her cheek, and she was faced with a split-second decision. These French, they kissed often, in greeting and farewell. How did he mean this kiss? What kind of kiss was it?
With a boldness that she would never have had in her youth, she surprised them both by turning her head towards him just a little, so that his kiss landed not on her cheek but on her lips. The pressure of it was firm, the contact warm, sending a jolt through her.
He lifted his head in surprise, staring at her, and she cringed inside. What had she done? What could have made her so presumptuous? She felt her face heat up in embarrassment. What an idiot she’d made of herself! “Olivier,” she began. “My apologies. I—”
Whatever she was about to say next, Olivier never heard, because he leaned forward once more, kissing her on the lips with clear intent, sweeping his tongue lightly into her mouth.
