He helped her to her feet and they ran into the aqua-colored water, anxious to get away from the encroaching world. By the time they’d climbed on board the transom with their bodies free of sand, the other boat had reached the small beach.
“You shower first, Nathalie. I’ll get lunch.”
“Tonight I’ll make dinner.” She grabbed her clothes, but he didn’t let her go until he’d given her another kiss that made him crave a thousand more. He would need a lifetime and beyond to be with her and still never have enough.
* * *
Soon they were at the galley table away from prying eyes, eating a deli salad and rolls. She’d put her shorts and top back on.
“How long have you had this cruiser?”
“I bought it five years ago. It provided me a safe place when I came home for visits.”
She cocked her head. “Safe?”
“I needed my space.”
“Away from the chateau. Of course.”
Nathalie’s pulse started to race. This was it. “Was there a special woman in your life, Dominic? Either here or in Paris? You know what I mean.”
Tell me the truth, her heart cried. She needed answers now.
His eyes narrowed on her face. “Not enough to get married. No blondes with shimmering hair like yours. The Fontesquieu men haven’t had the best luck when it comes to marriage, but I live in hope.”
It sounded less and less like he was Alain’s father. Her mind shifted to Etienne. What if Alain was his son? The damage that knowledge would do to his already unhappy marriage would be disastrous considering he already had a child.
Whoever had gotten Antoinette pregnant had been the love of her life. But no matter how tragically hers had ended, Nathalie was beginning to realize she didn’t have the right to interfere. Her mother had been right. She’d been so obsessed with finding Alain’s father, she hadn’t considered what new nightmares she could be creating.
Her eyelids smarted. She couldn’t keep this up anymore. After she’d finished eating, she got up from the table and took her dishes to the sink.
“Dominic? It’s getting busy. Since we no longer have this place to ourselves, why don’t we head back to Nice. Somewhere along the way I’ll fix dinner and we can watch the sunset. What do you think?”
For an answer, he finished clearing the table. “What’s bothering you? Up until a minute ago, we were communicating. Don’t tell me it’s nothing.” He put his hands on her shoulders.
At his touch, she trembled. “This is all moving too fast.”
“Fast or not, it’s happened,” he whispered into her hair. “I don’t want what we have to be over. Not ever.” He slid his hands down her silky arms before turning her around. “I need you, Nathalie. You’re all I can think about.”
“Please let me go,” she begged, but he didn’t listen and found her mouth. “Dominic—”
“You want me too. I know it.”
In the next breath, she surrendered to a force she couldn’t control. She couldn’t get close enough to him. For a few minutes, the world disappeared while they tried to satisfy their hunger. All she knew was ecstasy with this unforgettable man who filled her arms and heart.
But when he started to move her toward his cabin, she found the strength to break free of him and braced herself against the counter. “We can’t do this, Dominic.” After the passion that had enthralled her, she was in literal pain trying to avoid his touch.
He struggled for breath. “What do you mean?”
“I—I never meant for this to happen,” she stammered. “It’s all wrong.”
“How could it possibly be wrong? We both felt an attraction during the interview. It’s been building every second since and you know it. I’ve never felt this way about another woman in my life! Nathalie? Look at me.”
“I can’t.”
“All along you’ve been hiding something from me. Tell me what it is.”
“I don’t dare.”
“I knew it!” he bit out, and raked his hands through his hair in frustration. “Why are you so terrified? Help me understand.”
“I shouldn’t have applied for work at the vineyard. It was a mistake, and now I’m paying for it. Forgive me for the trouble I’ve caused you. I never meant to hurt you when you’ve been so wonderful to me.”
“What in the hell are you talking about? Have you run away from a husband I don’t know about and you’re hiding at the vineyard, afraid he’ll find you?”
“No!” she cried, shaking her head.
“Are you working for some editor to get information about the family business? You can tell me the truth.”
“No! No one is involved but me.”
“Involved how?”
“I can’t answer that. Would you please let me go, Dominic? I’m begging you.”
“Whatever this is, we can fix it.”
She backed away from him. “The only solution out of this is for us to stop seeing each other. Let me honor my contract to pick grapes until the harvest is over.”
He drew in a harsh breath. “How could I possibly stay away from you now? Deny it all you want, but our feelings for each other aren’t going to fade. Before you came into my life, I’d decided this experience would never happen to me. Then you showed up in that tent. I could no more walk away from you for good than stop breathing!”
“Don’t say that!” Tears trickled down her cheeks. “You mustn’t.”
“Why? Let’s hear the truth. Are you dying of a disease and don’t want to tell me?”
Not a disease, but I can’t give a man children.
“I promise it’s nothing like that,” she cried.
“Bon. I’ll drive us back to Nice. But this isn’t over.”
After cupping her wet face in his hands and kissing her breathless, he left the galley. She heard him race up on deck. Then he was back with her life jacket. He tossed it on a chair, then took off again. In another minute he’d started the motor.
The long journey back was pure agony for her. She cleaned up the galley before going up on deck. He said he didn’t want dinner. What she’d done to him was tearing both of them apart.
By evening he’d deposited her at the door of the rental. He didn’t try to kiss her again before she went inside. When she heard him drive away, she wanted to die, but there was a reason she hadn’t told him the truth tonight.
She still didn’t have proof that either brother was Alain’s father and didn’t dare probe further since she could be wrong and hurt everyone. It didn’t matter that she’d had the best reason in the world for doing what she’d done. She’d gone way too far and her feelings for him needed to be cut off for good.
She’d ventured where she shouldn’t have and would suffer for having given in to her guilty longing for him. It had to end now before she did damage to two men who had no comprehension of why she’d come to the vineyard to work.
Knowing that she was doing the right thing, she drove back to La Gaude at full speed. When she entered the house still in tears, she found her mom on the phone with Nathalie’s tante Patrice, her mother’s sister, who lived in Nice with her husband and family. Alain had already been put to bed. Her mother took one look at her and ended the conversation.
“You’re so pale, it alarms me. I’m almost afraid to ask what’s happened.”
Nathalie sank down on the chair. “I spent the whole day with Dominic and had a chance to confront him. But I couldn’t do it because I have no proof that either brother was involved with Antoinette. He knows I’ve been holding back.” She wiped more tears off her cheeks.
“I was afraid of this,” her mother murmured.
“I’m too involved with him, but it’s not too late. If I give up the job in the morning and never see him again, no one but you and I will know anything.”
“Does Dominic know you�
��re quitting?”
“No. He’ll find out after the fact.”
Her mother got to her feet. “I can tell how much he means to you. If he feels the same way—and I suspect he does—he’s not going to stay away from you.”
“I know him. He’ll come to the vineyard tomorrow to get the truth out of me. But I won’t be employed there or living in the mobile home.”
“Which means he’ll come here.”
“I hope not, but I’ll have to face that moment if it happens. I’m going to go to bed now and get up extra early to take care of what I have to do. Get a good sleep, Maman.” She kissed her and hurried to the bedroom, but there’d be little sleep for Nathalie.
She got up at the crack of dawn after a restless night and drove straight to the vineyard, praying there’d be no sign of Dominic. She waited in her car until she saw Gregoire. No one else was there yet. He’d just arrived in his truck. She got out with the equipment she’d been given and ran up to him.
“Gregoire? Forgive me, but an emergency has happened at my home and I can’t work here any longer.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Here are the things I was given to start work.” He took the items from her. “You’ve all been so nice to me. I can’t thank you enough for taking me on. I hope you find a replacement without too much trouble. Say goodbye to Paul. He was a great help.”
Gregoire gave her a perplexed nod before she ran back to her car and headed for the mobile home. She’d never cleaned things so fast in her life, hoping against hope that Dominic wasn’t around and wouldn’t see her car. When she’d finished, she drove over to the manager’s office and turned in her key.
Once back in her car, she left the vineyard. She’d cried so many tears last night in bed, she didn’t know she had any more in her. But she was wrong and could barely see her way home to La Gaude.
CHAPTER SEVEN
DOMINIC HAD BEEN struggling to get some work done in his office when Etienne unexpectedly walked in at lunchtime. He looked up. “Hey, bro. You’re looking better.”
Etienne frowned. “I wish I could say the same thing about you. From where I’m standing, I’d say you’ve come down with that wretched flu.”
“I’m afraid I’ve got something much worse.” He hadn’t slept all night trying to work out what was going on with Nathalie.
“Then you’re not going to like my news.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just received a message from Gregoire at the office and came over on the double to see you.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Mademoiselle Fournier showed up at the vineyard early this morning and told him there was an emergency at home. She said she couldn’t continue to work at the vineyard. After thanking him for everything and handing over her supplies, she drove off. I just called the manager of the mobile home park. He said she cleaned her home and dropped off the keys early. That was it.”
Dominic jumped to his feet, feeling as if he’d just received the final blow to the gut. He rubbed the back of his neck, incredulous that she would actually quit. But last night her panic had been real. He should have foreseen her flight.
“Thanks for telling me, Etienne.”
“I’m sorry to bring you this kind of news. It’s obvious this woman is important to you.”
“More than you know.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Thanks, but no. I appreciate everything you’ve done. I’ve got a decision to make.”
He nodded. “Call me if you need to talk.”
His brother walked out, leaving Dominic standing there stunned. He’d felt her fear on the cruiser and realized he couldn’t get anything out of her. It had propelled her to take flight this morning. Needing to channel his energy, he reached for his phone to call her, but all he got was her voice mail. No surprise there. He asked her to call him back, but knew she wouldn’t.
After telling Theo he’d be gone from the office for the rest of the day, he drove to the chateau to change into casual clothes, then left for La Gaude.
When he reached the town, he turned on the GPS to find the La Metropole Pharmacy and parked near the front. He didn’t know if she’d be working there today, but this was a place to start.
After parking the car, he entered the pharmacy that had a number of customers. One man stood behind a counter waiting on people. Dominic looked around until he spotted a striking older blonde with a slender figure who had to be Nathalie’s mother. She was talking to a customer in the back. There was no sign of her daughter. That meant Nathalie was probably home.
Dominic walked back out and drove to the address on Olivier. She lived in a very modest, soft-yellow Provencal bastide. A red car had been parked in front. Around the side he caught sight of her blue car. His heart skipped a beat. He walked to the front door and knocked.
There was no response so he knocked again. Maybe she’d seen him from one of the front windows and intended to ignore him. After another minute he turned and headed for his car, defeated for the moment.
“Dominic? Wait!”
He wheeled around in time to see her hurry toward him wearing a colorful top and jeans. Her hair flounced around her shoulders. “I didn’t realize you were out here.” Her normally beautiful skin looked mottled from crying.
“I received alarming news today to hear you’d quit your job and given up the rental. Gregoire told Etienne it was because of an emergency at home. I tried to reach you on the phone. When I didn’t hear from you, I came to see if you were all right.”
“I’m fine, and I’m so sorry about everything. Now they have to find a replacement for me.” She sounded full of remorse.
“They already have, but you and I need to talk. I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
She nodded. “Just a minute while I grab my purse. I’ll be right out.”
His world had just gotten a little better while he waited to help her in the car. She returned and he drove them into the hills. He parked on an overlook shaded by more olive trees and turned off the engine.
“I planned to phone you later today because I owe you an explanation, Dominic.”
“How about starting with the truth. Why did you quit?”
“I had a good reason.”
“Convince me.”
She moistened her lips in a nervous gesture. “After your brother left the other evening, I didn’t like what was happening to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“The news that you wouldn’t be coming for dinner disappointed me much more than it should have.”
“That’s a bad thing?” he asked in a husky tone.
“It is for me. I never dreamed that working at the vineyard would mean I could be attracted to another man. I felt it was best to leave and still do.”
Dominic had been listening. “Nathalie... You and I have experienced coup de foudre. It makes no sense that you’re trying to put distance between us when we know we’re both on fire for each other. That kind of attraction is so rare I still haven’t recovered and know you haven’t either. Which means there’s something else you can’t or won’t tell me. I’m not going to leave you alone until you do.”
She’d been looking out the window, then turned to him with a sober expression. “I came to the vineyard because...because I’m looking for someone.”
That’s what all this was about? He took a deep breath. “A man or a woman?”
“A man.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “Obviously it’s someone who’s important to you.”
“Yes.”
Ciel. “How important?”
“So important I’ve gone overboard looking for him and am regretting it.”
“You mean you wish we hadn’t met.”
“I didn’t say that,” her voic
e trembled. “But I’ve been guilt-ridden over applying to work at your vineyard in order to look for him.”
“Why did you think to come to our vineyard of all places?”
“Because at the beginning of the summer I learned he worked at the Fontesquieu vineyard. I planned to take my vacation around the harvest so I could apply for work. By some miracle, you hired me.”
The revelation racked him with pain. He studied her profile. “Did this man disappear?”
“Yes, as if he’d been wiped off the face of the earth.”
Dominic’s brows furrowed. “What does he look like?”
She let out a troubled sigh. “All I can tell you is that he’s a Provencal.”
That meant he was probably dark haired and dark eyed. At this point Dominic was shattered. “If you were in a relationship at the time he disappeared, did you contact the police?”
“No. He wouldn’t have gone off like that if he’d wanted to be found.”
Nathalie... “Yet you’re still looking for him.”
“Yes. I—I just wanted to know why he disappeared.” Her voice had faltered again.
She’d been in love with him! That was why she hadn’t married the guy she’d met in pharmacy college. “If you find him, what will you do?”
“The question is no longer relevant. I’ve given up trying to find him. That’s why I quit my job at your vineyard. There’s no place else to look and I’ve decided to let it go.”
He slid his arm along the back of the seat, refusing to let this alone. “I take it your guilt over what has been happening between us is the reason you don’t want to go on seeing me.”
She nodded without looking at him. “I can’t have a relationship with you.”
“Why? Deep down do you still hope to find him one day?”
“If only to have closure.”
There were degrees of pain. “If you’ll tell me his name, I can run a search by my vintner sources and possibly find him.”
“I would never ask you to do that, and couldn’t anyway because he never would use his name. He was so secretive I’m convinced he was hiding who he really was. I wish I knew the reason. He was around for a month, then he was gone for good.”
Falling For Her French Tycoon (Escape To Provence Book 1) Page 9
