Weddings: The Proposals: The Brooding Frenchman's Proposal / Memo: The Billionaire's Proposal / The Playboy Firefighter's Proposal

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.

“No. I’m hungry.”

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.

“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.”

Raoul burst into laughter. “I had no idea you were so knowledgeable about Gallic history.”

“Chantelle is a fan of one of the most famous French warriors in history.”

His heart rate sped up. “If you have any other conditions, I’ll do my utmost to grant them.”

Their gazes fused. “For one day I’d like you to show up without your glasses.”

“I don’t wear any. My eyesight is 20/20.”

“I’m talking about those lenses you look through from the inside. You might like what you see without them.”

If he liked what he saw any more than what was in front of him right now, he was in danger of being consumed by her fire.

A few hours later Laura came up from the galley of the cruiser with two orange drinks for the boys. She arranged the large umbrella so Paul stayed out of the hot, late-afternoon sun.

“Will you two be all right if Raoul and I take a swim? We’ll stay near the boat of course.” She made sure his sore leg was elevated.

Paul nodded. Both of them were too involved in their electronic games to talk.

“Then we’ll see you in a little while.”

“Ciao,” they both said at the same time.

She walked to the rear of the big cruiser where Raoul was waiting by the ladder. In black trunks his powerful, tanned body took her breath. Laura felt his black eyes roam over her as she removed her beach coat.

He’d been the perfect host so far, but this would be the first time they had been alone since taking the boat out.

“I swear the Italians invented the greatest word in the world.”

“You mean ciao,” he surmised correctly.

Laura nodded. “You can have a whole conversation with it. Hi—goodbye—and in English it sounds like ‘chow,’ meaning food.”

He chuckled. “Lunch was delicious by the way.”

“You liked my hamburgers and chips? You weren’t faking it?”

His expression remained benign. “Would I do that?”

She started to say yes, then remembered their pact. “I’m glad, then.”

Recognizing she’d practiced self-control, his eyes smiled, filling her with warmth. “Are you ready for our swim?”

They were anchored a couple of miles off the point of Cap Ferrat in a calm, pale-blue sea. Conditions were ideal.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the day I arrived.” So saying she climbed up on the side and dived straight in.

“How is it?” he asked as her head bobbed up.

She treaded water. “Fantastic. It has to be close to eighty out here, a good twelve to fifteen degrees higher than the ocean off Manhattan Beach. Come on in.”

He dived off the top of the ladder, reaching her in a few swift kicks. She loved the way he looked when his black hair was plastered to his head, almost as though the water brought out the primitive in him.

Pretending he was after her, she did the back stroke around the cruiser so she could watch him. Maybe he could read her mind because he stayed a body’s length away while he did the front crawl, as if he were toying with her before he seized his prey. Each time his head lifted above the water, their gazes connected, making it a little more difficult for her to breathe.

She swam full circle. When she was almost to the ladder, Raoul galvanized into action. He snaked an arm around her waist and towed her with him the short distance to the bottom rung. By now her heart was fluttering like a hummingbird’s.

Their mouths gravitated to each other in a long, drawn-out, saltwater kiss that shook her to the foundations. He’d locked his legs around hers, making escape impossible, but she didn’t want to escape—far from it. Being with him like this had transformed her. She felt alive and treasured for herself. Odd how she’d never felt beautiful before.

His breathing sounded shallow once he’d allowed her up for air. “Let’s go below deck,” he murmured in a thick toned voice against her nape. “I can’t begin to do what I want with you out here.”

She clung to him. “We can’t anyway. There’s a pair of chaperones on board.”

“Let’s take them home. I’m going to fix you dinner at my villa where no one will be around to disturb us.”

Laura kissed his jaw. “I understand you have a pool.”

“I do. It’s shaped like a full moon.”

“Do you ever swim in it?”

“Not for years.”

“Why?”

“Have you ever noticed how lonely a pool can feel when you’re the only one in it?”

She rubbed her cheek against his. “Yes. Did you live there with your wife?”

“No. Danielle’s from Vence. When we married, she wanted to continue living there. It’s only twenty minutes from my work, so we bought a home there.”

“I remember it. You drove us through the main street after we left Tourettes. It’s a charming town.”

“I agree. Her parents still live there.”

It was heaven to be able to talk to him like this. “How long were you married?”

His eyes played over her features. “Five years.”

More than double the length of Laura’s fiasco of a marriage. “Does she still live there?”

“Yes.”

“Do you ever—” She looked away. “I mean, do yo—”

“No.” He read her mind. “My feelings for her died long ago. Naturally I have memories of us falling in love, but not the emotions that once accompanied them.”

Laura nodded. “I know what you mean.”

“Then why are we wasting our time talking about the past?”

Laura didn’t want to think about it, either. “Can we swim in your pool tonight?” she asked in an aching voice.

He pressed an urgent kiss to her mouth. “I’m living for a moon bath, as long as you take it with me.”

As a shiver of delight ran through her body, she heard a familiar voice call out. “Uncle Raoul? When are you coming back?”

That slight tinge of anxiety was the only power that could have wrenched her from his embrace.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BEFORE Raoul pulled into the boat slip, he saw Guy waving to him from outside the limo. Surprised to have a welcoming committee, he shut off the motor and reached for the ropes to secure the cruiser.

His brother came onboard to help Paul back to shore using his crutches. “Did you have a good time?”

The boys nodded. “We had hamburgers for lunch!”

Guy winked at Laura. “I’m partial to those myself. Come on. Your maman is missing you.”

Laura followed them to the car with an armload of items. Raoul started to catch up with her to help, but Guy held him back.

“You have a visitor waiting for you outside your villa.”

It could only be one person. “Danielle.”

He nodded. “She influenced the guard to let her through the gate. She called me and said she planned to wait for you no matter how long it took.”

A full-blown bash to the gut would have been more welcome. Once again Danielle’s timing was unbelievable, particularly in view of his conversation with Laura earlier.

“It’s all right. I’ll take care of it.” She’d wanted a showdown for a long time. He’d give her one, but not in his house. Their confrontation would be short and sweet, then he’d go for Laura and take her back home with him.

“One more thing,” Guy said. “Have you made a decision on the warehouse at the marina?”

“I have, and I don’t think it’s worth it.”

“Have you told Jean-Luc yet?”

“No.”

“Then do it tonight. While you’re at it, tell him you want all gossip stopped and stamped out immediately about the woman he saw you kissing last week or we’re taking him off the payroll.”

“You’re referring to Laura of course.”

“You know I am.” Guy sounded angry. Possibly angrier than Raoul had ever heard him before.

“I’ll do it right now if you wish. May I ask why?”

“No. My reasons are personal.”

The heat of anger flared up in him. “What exactly did she tell you?”

“It’s what Jean-Luc told me! Why else would Danielle show up on the estate and force her way in? She’s out to cause trouble, and I won’t have Laura dragged into the mess. She saved my life, mon frère.

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