“Très bien. We’ll choose a weekend that works for Reid so that he can accompany you. Your brother can come, too, so the groom won’t be the only guy. My husband and I, along with Samara and her husband, will have all of you over for a small dinner party.”
“Really?” Nadia traded excited glances with Reid. “We’dlovethat!”
Asha smiled. “Excellent. It’s a date.”
Reid and Nadia beamed with pleasure.
“Mason will join us, of course.” Asha’s eyes twinkled. “Perhaps he might hit it off with one of Nadia’s lovely bridesmaids.”
Reid grinned conspiratorially. “That’s the plan.”
Everyone laughed.
As soon as the call ended, Asha clapped her hands together and exclaimed, “I love them! They’re absolutely delightful!”
Samara was grinning. “Theyarepretty adorable, aren’t they?”
“Adorable?Ils sont magnifiques!” Asha declared, kissing her manicured fingertips. “They’re the perfect couple to launch our Forever collection for younger brides.”
“Totally agree,” Samara said without hesitation. “Theywouldbe perfect.”
“Absolument. They’re positively gorgeous. But even better than that, they’re madly in love! You can’t manufacture that kind of chemistry.” Asha’s eyes gleamed with inspiration and excitement as she drummed her nails on the table. “I’ll need to fly them out to New York to do photo shoots for the advertising campaign. I’m picturing—”
“Whoa,” Samara laughingly interjected. “Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself? Let’s not forget that Reid is a hockey player—”
“I know. All that brawn and rugged masculinity? All that leashed testosterone?Mon Dieu,” Asha purred, fanning herself. “That sweet little girl is going to have her hands full.”
“I’m sure she already does,” Samara said with another laugh. “But what I was saying is that Reid is a professional hockey player, so he probably doesn’t have time to be our spokesmodel. He’s on the road a lot—”
“That hasn’t stopped him from accepting other endorsement deals. What’s one more?” Asha pressed a button on the speakerphone to summon her senior assistant, who’d left after setting up the Skype call. “Charvi, I need you to put together a portfolio for Reid Holden and Nadia Warner. I’m considering them for our Forever campaign and I want to see how well they photograph—separately and together.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Asha’s efficient assistant was already searching Google, her fingers clicking across her computer keyboard. “I see that Reid has endorsement deals with Nike, Gatorade, Ford, Goodyear and Bauer. So finding plenty of shots of him will be a piece of cake. Nadia might be trickier but— Never mind. Her Instagram is a goldmine.”
“Excellent. Get those portfolios to me by four o’clock.” Asha clicked off the speakerphone and smiled in satisfaction. “I’ll have to thank Mason for putting those beautiful young lovebirds on my radar.”
Samara chuckled, shaking her head at her mother. “You are truly a force of nature. What Asha Dubois wants, Asha Dubois gets.”
“Oui, c’est vrai,” Asha blithely agreed. “And you’re a perfect example of that,ma chérie. I’ve always wanted you to come work for my company, but you resisted for years. And now here you are.”
Samara sighed. “C’est vrai.”
What else could she say? Asha was right. For years Samara had wanted absolutely nothing to do with House of Dubois. She was so angry with her mother, so hurt and damaged by their toxic relationship, that she’d refused to even consider the possibility of working for her. It was only after they reconciled that she’d had a change of heart, and she’d never looked back.
Smiling at the thought, Samara selected a red macaron from the plate of pastries and bit into it, savoring the exquisite raspberry flavor. “I know we’ve been tossing ideas back and forth, but I think I’ve finally come up with the perfect way to tell Marcus about the baby.”
“Really?” Her mother looked intrigued. “Do tell.”
Samara grinned at her. “It’s definitely dramatic, and itdefinitelypromises to be memorable. But…”
“But what,chére?”
“But it’s going to be pretty extravagant,” Samara admitted. “Extravagantandexpensive.”
“Extravagant and expensive? Now you’re speaking my language!” Asha cupped Samara’s face between her hands, kissed her on the forehead and smiled excitedly. “Tell me your idea so I can help you plan your surprise, darling. It’s going to be spectacular. Just you wait!”
