Book Excerpt
A Novel of Perfume
and Passion
by Jan Moran
told her that her insights were
rubbish. Max wasn’t really insulting
her; he had studied science at the
university in Germany, and he simply
didn’t believe anything that couldn’t
i nti a y ro n
Jon touched her arm in a small,
sympathetic movement. “Anything
I can do to help?”
“Not unless you perform miracles.”
on ro h n r
r
ar a ain t
her skin, and an ill-timed memory from
a few days ago shot through her mind.
Danielle loved to dance, and with
Max’s encouragement, she and Jon had
shared a dance while Max spoke to the
captain at length after dinner. Danielle
remembered Jon’s soft breath, his
musky skin, his hair curling just above
his collar. He’d been interested in all
she had to say, from her little boy to
her work at Parfums Bretancourt, her
family’s perfumery in the south of
France. But when she’d rested her
head against his chest, it was his skin,
his natural scent, which was utterly
unique and intriguingly virile, that
ri
h r
A third-generation perfumer,
Danielle had an acute sense of smell.
Her olfactory skills were paramount
in the laboratory, but at times this
acuity proved socially awkward. Jon’s
scent still tingled in her nose,
taunting her dreams, its musky animal
appeal relentless in the recesses of
her mind. His memory crept into her
mind more than she knew it should.
t ra
h to h r
r y a
a happily married woman.
Danielle forced the scene from her
mind, took a step back out of modesty.
She caught sight of herself in the
mirror, her thick auburn hair in disarray,
her lip rouge smeared. She smoothed
her celadon green silk day dress—one
of her own designs her dressmaker had
a
an r
h r n r
across her pale skin. “I’ve
been apprehensive about
this trip from the
beginning.”
“Have you heard anything
else from your motherin-law?”
“Not since we spoke in New
York. And my mother’s last
cable said they haven’t
arrived.” When she and Max
had heard the news, they
a
a
oth r o a
and told her to leave
immediately with Nicky for
Paris, where Danielle’s parents
had
a spacious apartment in
the sixteenth arrondissement, a
n n i h orhoo in th h art
o ari
o a
oi ha
sounded dreadful; they hadn’t
r ai
h
a o i
hat i
she isn’t well enough to travel?
Wincing with remorse, Danielle
fought the panic that rose in her
throat, fearful for her motherin-law.
“They have to get out of
Poland.” Jon touched her cheek.
i y h t rn into th
comfort of his hand, inhaling, her
heart aching, his scent—at once
both calming and unsettling—
edged with the smell of the sea
and a spiced wood blend she
nor a y o
ha r o ni
in
an instant. But now, Nicky was ever
present in her mind. Danielle pressed
h r y
o
an ti
a o
Released:
March 31, 2015
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher:
St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN-13: 978-1250048905
145