She tossed her head, causing her hair to float above her shoulders. “All right, I give up. Why did you and your wife divorce?”
“She lied to me about something I can never forgive her for. All the time we were married I thought she wanted children as much as I did. We planned to have a family, but she never had any intention of getting pregnant.”
Something flickered in the depths of those green orbs. “She did a very cruel thing to you. I’m sorry.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me anything else?” he prodded.
“I don’t need to. A lie says it all, don’t you think?”
If he didn’t miss his guess, that was pain he heard in her voice. “Not all. The follow-up might be. Am I sad about my marriage being over? Am I happy it came to an end?”
Her expression closed. “If you’re sad, then it’s a tragedy. If you’re happy, then it speaks for itself.”
“What about your marriage?” he drilled her, ready to erupt if she didn’t tell him something he could understand.
“You mean am I in a state of bliss, or someplace lower?”
A tight band constricted his breathing. “I think the fact that you’re living under Guy’s roof says a lot.”
“There you go, then.” She smiled. “You have your answer.”
His hands shot to her shoulders. He shook her almost roughly. “Don’t do this, Laura. I’m not asking you these questions out of some twisted desire to torment you. Has your husband been abusive to you?”
She averted her eyes. “Not physically.”
“But there are other ways.”
“That’s true, but I don’t wish to discuss it, Raoul.” Her breathing had grown shallow. “How long have you known my married name was Stillman?”
“Not long.”
Her eyes filled. “Then why didn’t you confront me immediately instead of plunging in the dagger last night?”
He’d only meant to get the truth about her feelings for her husband out in the open, but things were fast escalating out of control. He found himself kneading her upper arms not covered by her blouse. His thumbs smoothed her skin with its golden glow. Her body was warm and fluid. Fragrant.
“Last night still haunts me, so I’ll ask it another way. Is fear of your husband the reason you’ve sought Guy’s help?”
Her lips were only inches apart from his. “After the history between us, why would it possibly matter to you?”
“Because you’re a married woman, and I need to kiss you again or go slowly out of my mind.”
She quivered against him. He felt her warm, sweet breath on his lips as she said, “You’ve already done that on several occasions.”
“Not like this…”
With his conscience nowhere in sight, he covered her mouth hungrily. She’d been a temptation since he’d first seen her in Guy’s living room enamoring all his male guests.
“We mustn’t—” she cried, refusing him entry. Not to be defeated, he kissed his way around her lips, finding every line and curve, lingering on the fuller parts. That brought another small gasp, giving him the entrée he craved. He slid his hands over her back and pulled her into him so he could drink deeply.
She was ready for him, just like last night. Her little moans closed any escape hatch he should have been looking for. Slowly covering every inch of skin, his mouth moved to her throat where the pulse at the base throbbed wildly.
Raoul thought he’d known rapture before, but never like this. “You’re so beautiful, Laura. I ache whenever I think about you, let alone look. I want you.”
She reached up to cup his face before pressing a lingering kiss to his lips. “There’s nothing like it, is there? A fire that burns so hotly you think you can’t live without it.” Her eyes burned with that fire. “But somehow we do.” One more short kiss and she eased out of his arms.
“We don’t have to live without it,” he murmured huskily.
“Yes we do.” She’d already backed away emotionally from him. “Our lives were going in two different directions when we collided. The chemistry’s real, Raoul, but that’s all. I’m still Mrs. Stillman, and I’m here at Guy’s request to try to help Chantelle.”
He felt as if his air supply had just been caught off. “Have you considered that Chantelle might see you as a threat?”
The way she looked at him, he might as well have slapped her. She studied him for a long time. “Your divorce has given you such a cynical view of life, you don’t know what’s real anymore. It’s sad because you’re truly a wonderful person in so many ways.
“Over the last few days there’ve been slices of moments of sheer pleasure with you. I thank you for those, but Chantelle gave me some good advice on my first day here and I quote, ‘Don’t let him scare you off, Laura. Raoul has his own demons he needs to deal with. Guy brought you to our home at my request. Raoul has his own home. Your being here is none of his business.’”
She walked to the door of the suite. “You look exhausted. You’d better go home and get some sleep, otherwise someone else I know is going to end up in the hospital before the day is out. I’ll phone you if there’s any kind of development.”
His eyes probed hers. “I could use a few hours, but I’ll be back. Care to join me?” he asked, smiling wickedly.
Her heart thudded in her chest. “If that’s a proposition, it’s not a flattering one. You’re half-dead.”
“You want me fully alive, is that what you’re saying?”
Her breath caught. He might be exhausted, but the wicked smile was in evidence. “I’m saying the timing is wrong, even for chemistry. You know the expression ‘There’s a time to weep and a time to laugh…a time to mourn and a time to dance’?”
“And now isn’t the right time for us?” he murmured. Laura nodded. “It’s your loss, Laura. I think there is more than just chemistry between us.”
Laura couldn’t take any more. Since he made no move to leave she said, “You’re welcome to stay in here and sleep. I’m going to find out whether Guy was successful in getting Chantelle to go to the hospital with him. When Paul comes home, I’ll send the maid to let you know.”
Raoul felt like he’d just awakened to a nightmare.
The sound of a car in the drive had Laura putting down her sketchpad to dash to the front door. When she opened it, the sight of three people getting out of the limo brought tears to her throat. Chantelle had gone to the hospital with Guy to bring their son home. Another big step for her.
Dear Guy. He had double duty. After he and Pierre lifted Chantelle and her wheelchair to the top step of the porch, he rushed back to help Paul with his crutches. One pant leg had been rolled up high enough to expose a patch of gauze and a bandage covering his wound.
Knowing Chantelle wouldn’t want Laura to say anything about this minor miracle of her going to the hospital, she focused on her son.
“Hey, Paul, maybe we should have taken you with us to see the Tour after all,” she called out.
He looked up at her with a wan smile. “How was it?”
“Not nearly as hair raising as what happened to you. Is your bike ruined?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry. A bike can be replaced, but there’s only one Paul Laroche.”
“Will you be my nurse?”
Laura smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I insist on it.” Her gaze switched to Guy, who winked at her. He looked happier than she’d seen him since her arrival in Cap Ferrat. Today had been a milestone, not only for Chantelle.
She wheeled through the foyer. “We’re very thankful to bring you home in one piece, mon fils. Let’s get you to your room.”
“Do I have to go to bed, Maman? I want to lie on the lounger out on the patio.”
“You’re sure it’s not too hot for you?”
“I’ll arrange the umbrella for him,” Laura offered.
Everyone moved through the house to the patio off the dining room. “Has the medicine made you sick?” his mother asked.
Chantelle looked at him with loving eyes. “You’ve a cast-iron stomach just like your uncle.”
“Did I hear my name taken in vain?”
Raoul’s head and shoulders had emerged from the pool. He must have slipped out the front door after Laura had left the guest suite. Had he gotten any sleep?
With enviable male grace he levered himself out of the water and onto the tile. In a few strides he reached his nephew and laid the crutches at the side of the lounger so Paul could settle back. Then he tousled his hair. “It looks like you’re going to live. Just don’t do that again.”
Laura’s eyes closed. She was still throbbing from the touch of Raoul’s hands moving over her back and arms earlier with an urgency that had left her breathless.
“It was the truck driver’s fault.”
Guy came out with a glass of lemonade for him.
“Merci, Papa.”
“I’m going into the house to talk to cook,” Chantelle said. “Giles called and wants to know how you are.”
“I’ll call him later. He was ahead of me and luckily didn’t get hit.”
Laura hunkered down at his side. “He was lucky, but you carry the mark of bravery.”
A smile broke out on his attractive face. One day he was going to be a heart breaker like the rest of the men in the Laroche family. “Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
“Who won the race?”
“The Dutchman came in first,” Raoul informed him. “Places two and three went to the Spanish,” he added while he and Guy pulled up chairs next to him. “Not a Frenchman among them.”
Paul frowned. “Zut alors!”
“Not an American, either,” Laura interjected, having pulled up another chair. Paul hooted.
For the next half hour she listened as Raoul gave them details of what they’d seen earlier in the day. Part was in English for her benefit, but a lot of it was in French. She knew he was knowledgeable, but she had no idea he could rattle off names and statistics like a pro announcer, let alone recall everything while she’d been standing there in monstrous pain.
If ever she needed proof that a man could compartmentalize his interests from his emotions, this was it.
Late afternoon turned into evening. Chantelle put a puzzle together with Laura while Paul introduced her to some of his favorite teen rock music. Raoul and Guy discussed a little business. After dinner he convinced his son to go to bed. Tomorrow he could have his friends over.
When Raoul said good-night to everyone and took himself off to his villa, Laura felt a loss she could hardly bear. As upset as she’d been over his admission that he’d had her investigated, his concern that Ted had abused her took away a lot of her pain.
She’d give anything to follow him so they could talk more. So far she hadn’t been inside his villa, nor was she likely to be invited. If he’d lived there throughout his marriage she would have no idea, but she felt a deep curiosity over what he did away from his family.
A man like Raoul wouldn’t have been celibate since his divorce. If he had a lover, he’d been sandwiching her in since he’d taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Laura. Last night at the Auberge she’d come close to giving him everything. Oh, Raoul.
After a sleepless night, Raoul pulled on his swimming trunks. He had a plan in mind to get Laura to himself. That meant spending a little time with Paul at the pool.
Sure enough his nephew dressed in shorts and a T-shirt was already stretched out on a lounger. His leg had been propped. Raoul dived in the water. When he came out the other end, Paul smiled at him. “Bonjour, mon oncle.”
“Bonjour, mon gamin. Have you had breakfast yet?”
“Yes. I ate out here with Laura.”
They’d been up early. “Where’s your nurse now?”
“She’s bringing me some things from my bedroom.”
“Have you made plans with your friends yet?”
“Nope.”
“How would you and Giles like to go boating with me and Laura today?”
“Cool!” he cried. “She didn’t tell me.”
“It’s my surprise.”
“Hey, Laura,” he called to her as she walked out on the patio carrying some things in her arms. Dressed in her white swimsuit with a French braid fastened to the top of her blond head and those long legs going on forever, she looked so beautiful Raoul almost fell back in the pool. “Uncle Raoul is going to take us out on the cruiser! He said Giles could come with us!”
Other than her eyes turning a more brilliant shade of green, she didn’t react or make up some excuse why they couldn’t go. “As long as it’s okay with your parents, I don’t see why you shouldn’t enjoy a lovely day like this on the water.”
She bent over him. “Here’s your Ipod, your Game Boy, some sunscreen and the album.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“How about something for me?” Raoul asked, drawing her attention.
“Breakfast coming right up.” She disappeared before he could stop her.
Paul started poring over a picture album. “Hey, Uncle Raoul? Do you want to see something cool?”
He pulled a chair up by the lounger. “What is it?”
“Some pictures of me and Laura.”
“Bien sur.” Giles must have taken them.
“Maman found them for me last night before I went to bed.”
Found them?
Paul handed over the album. He had it opened to a page with a dozen small photos. They were snapshots, the kind printed years ago. Consumed by curiosity, he studied them.
To his shock he saw Laura in a swimsuit much like the one she was wearing now, but she was a teenager! His mind reeled. The little dark-haired boy she was holding was Paul! In another picture she was dressed in shorts and a blouse while she helped him walk. Still others showed them with Guy and Chantelle on the surf or around a pool.
The blood hammered at his temples. Absolutely stunned, he lifted his head. “Where were these taken, Paul?”
“At the Manhattan Beach Resort Hotel in California,” Laura answered for him. She put the breakfast tray on the little table next to Raoul. “The last summer before I started university, I was a part-time lifeguard and babysitter there.” Her gaze flicked to Paul.
“The manager asked me if I would do a special favor and become the Laroches’ nanny for the ten days they were there at the beach. I took one look at little Paulie as I called you, and my heart melted on the spot.”
“You called me Paulie?” He laughed.
For a moment her gaze met Raoul’s. “I did. You had the most gorgeous brown hair and eyes for a one-year-old. Such smooth olive skin. Chantelle kept you dressed in the cutest little white sunsuits, and you were such a good boy, always smiling. There wasn’t a child around to compare to you. Of course, that’s because your parents are beautiful people inside and out.
“I thought Guy was more handsome than that French movie star Louis Jourdan and your mom was even more stunning than Audrey Hepburn. When you all had to leave for Hawaii, I cried my eyes out.”
Paul smiled up at her. “You did?”
“Yes. For ten days I’d had the time of my life. Your parents begged me to go with all of you. You know how generous your dad is. He said he’d pay for everything, and your mom insisted you wouldn’t be happy without me. They made me feel wonderful, but I couldn’t go. It was time for my classes to start.”
“I wish I could remember.”
She patted his shoulder. “That’s why pictures are so important. Do you know when we went to Disneyland, I pretended you were my little boy? Of course with my coloring no one would believe it, but I always said that when I grew up, I would want a little Paulie of my own. No one else would do.” Her gaze met Raoul’s as her words sank in.
Raoul wondered why she hadn’t had children with her husband and sensed that there was more to her marriage to Theodore Stillman than she was letting on.
&n
bsp; “Don’t tell Giles you used to call me Paulie. He’ll tell everybody.”
She kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry. It’ll be our secret.”
Paul looked at Raoul. “Promise you won’t tell, either?”
He had to clear the lump in his throat before he could talk. “I swear.”
“Good.” He reached for his Ipod and began listening to his music while he played with his game.
Raoul ate his breakfast and looked through the album, always coming back to the page that revealed a history he’d known nothing about. Laura waited until he’d finished his last roll, then she took his tray to the house. When she returned, he was waiting for her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he ground out.
Her delicately arched brows met in a frown. “I assumed you knew. Don’t you remember the time they went on that long trip?”
“Yes, but I never connected their activities with you.”
“I guess it didn’t occur to them to remind you of it. Even so, what difference does it make?”
He shot out of the chair. “You know damn well it makes every difference. I thought you were a total stranger!”
“It’s been eleven years. For all intents and purposes, I am. You have every right to want to protect your loved ones, Raoul. Did you tell Chantelle and Guy you had suspicions about me?”
“No.” Raoul had kept his feelings to himself and allowed them to blind his opinions toward Laura.
“That’s too bad. You could have saved yourself some initial grief.”
“Laura,” His voice grated. He’d said unconscionable things to her. “I already told Paul I was taking the two of you out on the boat with me today. Giles can come, too, if he wants.” He took a deep breath. “I’d like us to start over again.”
Out of wooden lips she said, “You mean no pistols at dawn?”
“None. No swords, slings or arrows. I’ll come unarmed.”
One brow lifted. “Raoul Laroche, unarmed?”
He lifted his hands.
A faint smile curved one corner of her pliant mouth. “You look about as innocent as Vercingetorix before he swept down on Gergovia, but it might be worth my trouble.”
The Brooding Frenchman s Proposal Page 10