by Susan Napier;Kathryn Ross;Kelly Hunter;Sandra Marton;Katherine Garbera;Margaret Mayo
‘I’ve thought about you every day and every night.’
The whispered words sent her emotions into total chaos.
Her eyes moved to his lips and she found herself remembering how wonderful they felt against hers, how easily he could stir up a wild, uncontrolled passion that she hadn’t even known existed inside her until the day he’d taken her into his arms. She loved him. The knowledge sneaked unbidden into her subconscious and it shocked her so much that she felt dizzy with fear.
Ray watched as her skin drained of all colour and his hand dropped from her skin, his eyes narrowed. ‘Caitlin?’
Released from the touch of his hand, she lost no time in moving away. ‘Look, I shouldn’t have agreed to meet you,’ she said breathlessly. ‘You can throw as many compliments and soft words at me as you like but it won’t make me change my mind. I’ve got your measure, Ray, and—’
As she made to stand up he caught hold of her arm, forcing her to sit.
‘The little exercise with your water this morning was to show you that if I’d wanted you out of that house and off that land I could have made life much more difficult for you ages ago. But I haven’t.’
‘Only because you knew it wouldn’t work.’ Her heart was slamming fiercely against her chest. And she wanted to put her hands over her ears like a child and block out his words.
‘I’ve also pulled a few strings to get your electricity supply restored quickly.’ His eyes hardened on her. ‘Do you think I would have done that if I’d wanted you gone?’
‘Stop it, Ray.’ She tried to pull away from him but still he wouldn’t release her. ‘I don’t want to hear any more of your lies. You are just a user and—’
‘I know you’ve been hurt in the past, Caitlin.’ He said the words softly. ‘I can see it in your eyes sometimes when you look at me. But I’m not David…and I’m not anyone who is going to use you, or hurt you, or deceive you…because I love you.’
For a heart-stopping moment Caitlin thought she had misheard him. She stopped struggling to escape from him and then he let her go.
‘I asked you to come to Paris with me because I wanted you. There were no ulterior motives concerning your property…no shady deals…just a desire to be with you and hold you in my arms.’
Caitlin stared up at him wordlessly. She wanted so much to believe him.
‘From the first moment when you opened the door to me at Murdo’s house I felt drawn to you. You blew me away Caitlin. It was like…’ He trailed off for a moment.
‘What was it like?’ she asked him huskily, her eyes wide with puzzlement and bewilderment.
‘It was like history repeating itself,’ he said softly. Then he reached out and stroked her hair back from her face with a tender caress. ‘It was the same way I’d felt about Hélène, and it was an emotion I didn’t think I would ever experience again…It scared me.’
The husky timbre of his voice startled her. Ray was so powerfully controlled and always so confident. To hear him say he’d been scared by anything astonished her.
‘I found myself making up all kinds of excuses to keep myself away from you. Told myself that you were probably just a gold-digger, that you had fooled Murdo into thinking you were a decent, caring person. And then you arrived…’ He trailed off. ‘And I found myself running out of excuses to keep away from you, because you are decent and caring and wonderful. In fact you are everything I love.’
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. Her heart was thundering so loudly that it was deafening her. ‘You’re just saying this.’ Her voice felt stiff. She wanted so much to believe him, but she was really scared now. How did she know that she could trust him? He could hurt her so badly and she didn’t think she could bear it…‘Look. I’ve got to go.’ She stood up abruptly.
‘Caitlin…’
She was aware that he called out after her but she didn’t look back.
Chapter Eleven
AS CAITLIN made her way through the crowds Ray’s words pounded through her brain. ‘I’m not David…and I’m not anyone who is going to use you, or hurt you, or deceive you…because I love you.’
She wanted so much to believe him, but she couldn’t allow herself to. ‘You are a sensible and mature woman, Caitlin Palmer,’ she told herself firmly. ‘You know very well that Ray has everything to gain by sweet-talking his way around you, and nothing to lose. You can’t trust him.’
She repeated the mantra over and over again until she reached the safety of her car. Once inside she took a few moments to compose herself before starting the engine. She had done the right thing walking away from him, she told herself firmly. There was no way she was going to leave herself wide open to being hurt again. She’d been there and got the T-shirt. Only a fool went back for more.
What about the fact that you’ve fallen in love with him? a little voice whispered inside her, cutting through all the strong, angry words with a force that was overwhelming. She tried desperately to close it out. Of course she didn’t love him—that was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. But even as she denied the words she was remembering again the way Ray had looked at her, the things he had said—‘I’ve thought about you every day and every night.’—and her heart was turning over with a raw need to believe him because she loved him so much. She had thought of him every day and every night as well and the thought of being without him was the worst feeling ever. It was as if someone had blown a great big hole inside her and the vast gap would never, ever be filled.
How was she going to go on without him? How was she going to cope with this raw ache inside her? Her eyes misted with tears and fiercely she brushed them away. She had coped before and she would cope now. Angrily she put the car in reverse and looked behind her. A car pulled up, blocking her way, and she waited patiently for a few minutes for it to move. But it didn’t move and as she watched in her mirror the driver’s door opened and someone stepped out.
And that was when she realised it was Ray and her heart started to thunder wildly against her chest.
Taking a deep breath, she wound her window down. ‘Will you please move your car? You are in my way.’ She was amazed by how cool and composed she sounded.
‘I’m not going anywhere, Caitlin, because we haven’t finished our conversation.’ He sounded just as coolly composed.
Caitlin watched in the mirror as he came closer and hurriedly she pushed the button that would lock all her doors. ‘I’ve said all I’ve got to say, Ray. So please go.’ She gripped the driving wheel with tense hands and didn’t dare glance sideways at him as he crouched down beside the door.
‘I’m not going, Caitlin. So you may as well get out of the car and talk to me.’
‘If you don’t move your car I’ll make a scene,’ she warned him shakily.
‘Will you?’ She could hear a faint edge of amusement in his tone now. ‘What are you going to do?’
Angrily she leaned on her car horn and the sound reverberated loudly down the empty street. ‘There, that is what I will do.’ She took her hand off the horn and glared at him through the open window. ‘And I’m going to keep doing it until you move.’
His lips twisted in a roguishly amused smile. ‘Well, go ahead. I wouldn’t mind an audience anyway. A few witnesses might come in handy.’
‘A few witnesses for what?’ she asked warily.
He held up a sheaf of papers. ‘These are the legal papers for the land deal with Philippe.’
Caitlin bit down on her lip. ‘I don’t care what they are, Ray, I just want you to move your car so that I can go home.’ She leaned her hand on the horn again and a few people started to gather on the pavement behind them.
Ray ignored the noise and the people completely as he held the papers for her to see. ‘Look at them,’ he demanded, pushing them further in front of her face so that she had no alternative but to see they were the same papers that had lain on his desk in Paris. Then slowly he started to tear them up with forceful, positive strokes.
Caitl
in’s hand fell away from the horn as she watched pieces of papers fluttering down beside her in jagged chunks.
‘This is what I think about the land deal with Philippe,’ he said steadily. ‘Listen to me, Caitlin. I love you and there are going to be no gîtes, the deal is off.’
She didn’t answer him immediately; her heart was thundering so loudly against her chest that she could hardly hear herself think.
Ray allowed the rest of the papers to fall onto her lap. Then he turned to the few people who were watching with interest. ‘I’m in love with this woman,’ he said loudly in French. ‘And I want the whole world to know it.’ There was a ripple of applause and a few whistles of encouragement as a few more people rounded the corner to listen. ‘And I want everyone to know that there will be no gîtes built anywhere near her land, because the last thing in the world I would ever want would be to hurt her.’
‘Ray, will you stop it?’ Caitlin murmured as there was another round of applause. ‘You’re making a scene.’
‘I thought that was what you wanted,’ he said, looking back at her.
As she looked up at him her eyes blurred with tears and a drop rolled down her cheeks and landed on the paper. ‘I don’t know what I want,’ she admitted huskily. ‘All I know is that I don’t want to be hurt again, Ray. I…couldn’t bear it…’
‘Just unlock the door, Caitlin, and get out of the car,’ he said gently.
After a moment’s hesitation she did as he asked and paper fluttered down around their feet like confetti as she stepped outside.
She stood and looked up at him and he reached out and wiped the tears from under her eyes with tender fingers. ‘I’m so sorry, Caitlin,’ he whispered gently. ‘I never wanted to make you cry and I never wanted to hurt you. But what I said to you before is the whole truth…I invited you to Paris because I wanted you; there was no other reason—and no ulterior motives. I promise you that, sincerely.’
There was no doubting the honesty of his tone and suddenly all her defences came tumbling down around her. She believed him but couldn’t find her voice to answer him; it seemed choked under a weight of emotion that was far too heavy for her.
‘All I’m asking is that you give me a chance to prove myself to you,’ he said, his voice earnest and pleading. ‘I know you still love David. I know this is all too soon for you but I’m prepared to wait for you, Caitlin. I’ll wait for as long as it takes.’
‘Philippe is not going to be pleased.’ She managed the words hoarsely.
‘To hell with Philippe,’ Ray said sweepingly. ‘And meanwhile I’ve organised contractors to come out and connect your property to the main water supply. They should be with you tomorrow.’
‘And you are doing all this for me?’ she whispered huskily.
‘I’d do anything for you, Caitlin,’ he said seriously. ‘And anyway I’ve decided you are right—Murdo’s house is full of character and potential. A person would have to be mad to knock it down.’
She looked up at him and suddenly she started to laugh and at the same time another tear trickled down her cheek. ‘I never thought I’d hear you say something like that.’
‘And after Hélène I never thought I would fall in love again.’
The gentle words caused more tears to stream down her cheeks.
‘Don’t cry, my love.’ He reached out to wipe her tears away with a soothing hand. And the next moment she was being cradled in his arms. ‘I never wanted to hurt you,’ he whispered fiercely. ‘I admit, when you first got here, I told myself that my priority was to get you out and get the land. But the idea started to crumble within an hour of being in your company. From time to time I tried to rekindle it, told myself I was a businessman first and foremost, and then you’d look at me with those adorable green eyes and honestly I couldn’t have cared less about business…’
‘I can hardly believe you are saying all this,’ she whispered breathlessly. ‘I keep wondering if I’m dreaming—’
She pulled back. ‘And if it’s a dream it is the most wonderful one.’ Caitlin looked into his eyes and she felt her insides melt with the heat of desire and suddenly she was reaching up to kiss him.
For a long moment they were wrapped in each other’s arms, their kisses growing more and more heated and passionate. It was only as they became aware of the cheers and applause from the crowd gathered behind them that Ray pulled back from her. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said softly.
Wordlessly she allowed him to lead her back to his car. She slipped into the passenger seat and then watched as he locked her car before getting in beside her and driving slowly up through the winding narrow streets.
‘I should really have driven my own car home,’ she murmured, trying to think sensibly as they rounded a corner away from it.
‘I’ll get someone to pick it up for you later,’ he said as he continued on until they were out into the countryside. ‘You aren’t in any fit state to drive anyway.’ He slanted a glance across at her and watched as she found a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. ‘How are you feeling now?’
‘Shell-shocked,’ she admitted wryly. ‘I was so hurt and angry when I drove down here this morning, I can hardly take in what you have said.’
‘But it is the truth,’ he said softly.
The car rounded a corner and Murdo’s house came into view.
‘We are friends again, aren’t we?’ he asked as he pulled the car to a halt by the front door.
She didn’t answer him immediately.
‘Caitlin?’ He looked over at her anxiously.
‘I thought we were a little more than friends,’ she whispered softly. ‘Didn’t you say something about being in love with me?’ She slanted a shy look across at him. ‘Did you say you’d wait for me?’
He gave that lopsided smile that she knew so well. ‘I love you with all of my heart and I’ll wait for you until the end of time.’
She swallowed on a deep knot of emotion. ‘And I love you,’ she whispered unsteadily. ‘With all my heart.’
For a moment there was a deep silence as he stared at her, his dark eyes intense, a muscle flexed in his cheek.
‘I…I thought that maybe the deep feelings I was experiencing with you meant that I was on the rebound,’ she continued, her voice so low it was barely audible. ‘But the truth of the matter is I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. In fact I realise now that I was never truly in love with David, whereas with you it’s the real thing. I adore you, Ray, and I’d do anything for you…’ She shrugged hopelessly. ‘So if you are stringing me a line…you know about the house…’ a tear trickled down her cheek. ‘…well, you don’t have to. You can have the property because right at this moment it is singularly unimportant.’
‘Caitlin.’ He reached and folded her into his arms. ‘I want you and nothing else matters, so please get that into your mind.’ His lips found hers and he kissed her with the hungry passion that she had been craving all through these long, lonely nights apart from him.
‘God, I love you so much…’ She wound her arms up and around his neck. For a long time they just kissed, their caresses filled with the anguish and relief of a love that knew no bounds.
‘Shall we go inside?’ she whispered tremulously as his hands grew more passionately insistent and her body cried out for so much more.
He smiled. ‘Where is the young woman who practically ran from me the last time I drove her home?’
The return of that teasing humour in his eyes made her smile.
‘She’s given in to a power much stronger than herself…’ she whispered.
Ray reached for the door handle and they climbed out into the sunshine. He waited for her to come around and join him, then he held out his hand and took hold of her.
‘Caitlin, before we go inside I’ve got something to ask you,’ he said solemnly.
She looked up at him. ‘What is it?’ she asked nervously.
Then suddenly he got down on one knee by the front door of the proper
ty.
‘Caitlin, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’ he said huskily. ‘I want us to grow old together…have children together and fall into bed together every night from now until eternity.’
Her eyes misted with tears and she dropped down on her knees beside him to wrap her arms tightly around him. ‘Just name a day and I’ll be there,’ she promised softly.
Epilogue
IT WAS early summer in Provence and sizzling hot. Caitlin walked out of the kitchen door and looked down over the garden. Thanks to the new irrigation system that had been installed, the orchard looked lush and the vines had started to bear fruit. It was delightful standing in the shade admiring the difference that the last few months had brought to Villa Mirabelle…her inheritance. There was a new red roof that glowed in the sunshine. The windows had all been replaced, their style lovingly in keeping with the period of the property. The interior was even more impressive. Polished wooden floors ran throughout and there was a superb new kitchen fitted around the trusty wood-fired stove and, what was more, the water was now properly connected to the main supply. Upstairs the bedrooms had been restored and furnished with antiques and decorated with stylish simplicity that was unique to a French country cottage.
‘I think you would be pleased, Murdo,’ Caitlin whispered as she watched a little bird fluttering down to sit in the almond tree. ‘It is my last morning here, but Villa Mirabelle feels like a home again.’
‘Caitlin?’ Her mother’s voice drifted out from the house. ‘Caitlin, where are you? Flowers have arrived.’
Caitlin smiled. ‘Oh, and I forgot to tell you. My mother is going to be living in your house…just for a while. She wants to be close by so that she can see her first grandchild.’ Caitlin put her hand on her stomach, still flat as yet. ‘The baby is due at the end of December, Murdo, so Christmas is going to be very busy this year. What do you think of the name Paris, by the way? I thought it was appropriate…’
‘Caitlin?’ Her mother appeared at the kitchen door and caught her breath in a gasp. ‘Oh, darling, you look so beautiful!’