“More news from Provence. Matthieu Fontesquieu has been named CEO of the Fontesquieu empire in Vence due to his son, Raoul Fontesquieu, stepping down after his divorce from Sabine Murat. More on this story is forthcoming.”
“Raoul, darling,” she whispered to herself. His father had finally accepted what had happened. Now Raoul had gotten his wish and was now truly on his own.
She gotten her wish too.
The operation had made her well! Joy, joy! Since the doctor had talked to her in the recovery room, she’d wanted to phone Raoul and tell him everything, but had needed to wait a few days until her strength had returned.
Her mom had gone to the beauty parlor to get her hair done and hadn’t returned yet. That’s what Cami needed to do. Hers needed to be cut. It had grown too long to manage.
“Cami?”
“Come in.”
Her sandy-haired aunt Liliane peeked inside. “I have a message for you from Emil.”
She couldn’t imagine. “What is it?” They’d been so wonderful to her.
“Raoul Fontesquieu would like you to call him as soon as you can. Apparently your message box is full and he hasn’t been able to get through. Emil said he sounded pretty desperate on the phone.”
“Raoul talked to Emil? But how could he?”
“I don’t know.” Her aunt smiled.
“No one knows where I’ve been recuperating!”
“Why don’t you call him and find out?”
Cami couldn’t believe it. No one at NI, or at the hospital had any idea where she’d been. Had he hired someone to find her? Would he actually do that? This wasn’t supposed to have happened. She’d planned to call him tomorrow.
Too many emotions had converged at once, but the one that overpowered her most was a joy beyond bearing. According to the doctor, the keyhole surgery had fixed her heart. She wouldn’t have to worry about it ever again. But right this second it was beating so hard, she feared there could be real damage.
Her aunt was still standing there. “Did he tell Raoul I’ve had heart surgery?”
“No. He feels it’s your place to do that.”
“Tell him thank you for that. I promise to get hold of Raoul tomorrow.”
“I think that would be a good idea.”
From that point on Cami was an excited, nervous wreck. She kept going through her mind how she would approach him and what she would say. Finally she got on her laptop and sent an email to the Degardelle Company.
Dear Sir
My name is Edouard Sorel. I’m from Marseilles and read your ad in La Provence. I’ve been in Nice and would like to meet you in person.
I realize it’s quick notice, but I’m afraid to get into something and fill out forms without meeting the head man first.
Would it be possible to come to your office in Vence? I only have a small amount of money to purchase land for a future vineyard and have several spots in mind. Perhaps none of them will do, but I’d like to hear what an expert like you has to say.
I could be there by tomorrow evening at seven if that works for you. Otherwise I’ll have to wait a month before I can come back to Vence.
I await your response.
Sick with nerves and excitement over what she’d done, she hurried to the salon to tell the family her plans. They all had dinner, then she hurried back to the bedroom to see if he’d answered. She trembled with happiness to read his response.
Monsieur Sorel.
I’ll meet you at seven.
I’m afraid it will have to be a short meeting because I have another engagement.
Just follow the map and knock at the outside door with the sign on it.
Cami answered.
Merci mille fois, monsieur. I’ll be there on time.
She closed the lid of the laptop. “Raoul Fontesquieu? Get ready for a big surprise, my love.”
The next day Cami and her mom drove back to their apartment in Vence. The doctor cautioned her to be careful. She had to take it easy, but it was good for her to be up and around. Depending on how things went, her mom might return to Nice the next day. As for Cami, anything could happen.
She took a shower and washed her hair. This time she would wear it long again and brushed it from a side part until it gleamed. The last time they’d been together, he’d revealed how much he loved it loose.
She pulled her dressiest dress out of the closet. A sleeveless, filmy black affair with a round neck. Cami had only worn it one time to a party with her friends after they’d graduated in November. The operation had transformed her into a new woman.
After putting on her lavender-blue earrings and slipping on her black high-heeled sandals, she was ready. It was time to knock the socks off her prince. Before leaving the apartment, she changed handbags to the silky black one. Then she gathered the shopping bag holding some gifts for him and Alain.
One more item to go. A stylish, waist-length black coat she’d spent some money on when she’d bought the dress. Cami was so glad she’d purchased it. There’d be no sign of the cleaning lady tonight.
Giving her mother a kiss, she left the apartment and got in the car. Despite the fact that she was still recuperating from the operation, her body was so alive, she could be a rocket getting ready to fly into space.
* * *
Raoul kissed his son who was still in his high chair. “Be good for Delphine.” He eyed the nanny who was turning out to be a treasure. She’d had a lot to put up with since he’d returned from Nice so devastated he was barely functioning. So far no return call from Cami. “I’ll look in on him later. I have a client coming to the office.”
“This late?”
“It’s all right. What else do I have to do but try to make more money?” He heard her chuckle before he left the kitchen and went upstairs to shower and shave. In a few minutes he put on dark trousers and a dark blue long-sleeved sport shirt. When he was ready, he headed for his office.
Dominic’s brother Etienne had invited him over to the château for dinner. He loved him, but didn’t want to go near the place. They settled on meeting at Le Petit Auberge at nine.
As soon as he entered his office, he heard the knock on the door. He walked over, but when he opened it, he was surprised to smell the delicious flower fragrance Cami wore.
“Bonsoir, Monsieur Fontesquieu.” When she walked in looking a heavenly vision in black, he thought he was hallucinating.
“Cami—”
“I’m afraid Monsieur Sorel couldn’t make it because he doesn’t exist. I made him up and hope you’re not angry with me. The thing is, I had to see you or die in the attempt. I can’t live without you, Raoul. That’s why I’m here.” Her eyes dazzled like rare amethysts. “I love you more than life itself, but you better not touch me until I can explain.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m recovering from a heart operation I underwent on the eighteenth.”
“A heart operation?” He looked staggered by the information.
“I know it’s a shock for you to hear that. Like your Celine, I was born with a heart murmur, but by some miracle the surgeon was able to fix it. In another two weeks I’ll have recovered enough to get back to normal living. I’m afraid for you to hold me too tightly.”
One look at Raoul’s chiseled features while he stood there with a more princely aura than any royal and Cami almost passed out. His blazing black eyes played over every inch of her, missing absolutely nothing. The intensity of his gaze robbed her of breath. She walked to the love seat and sat down so she wouldn’t sink to the floor.
“Are you still in a lot of pain?”
“No. The cuts are healing and I no longer have to take painkillers.”
“Dieu merci,” Raoul muttered.
“I’ve been waiting five years for the keyhole surgery to be performed. It’s a good thi
ng I did because the new technology fixed everything.”
His eyes moistened. “When I think of all your hard work, I—”
“My heart condition didn’t stop me from doing normal activity,” she broke in on him. “I was glad for all the tasks. They helped me from thinking too much.”
“But if I’d known the trial you were facing, I would have come to the hospital and stayed with you. I can’t believe you went through that experience without me.”
“Raoul, you’ve gone through enough suffering, especially over Celine. I didn’t want to add to it until I knew the outcome.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “You’ve been a hard person to find,” he spoke in his deep voice that set every cell of her body on fire. “I tried to call, but your message box has been full.”
She swallowed hard. “I know. I left it that way on purpose. How did you know where to find me?”
“Your next-door neighbor at the apartment.”
“I don’t understand. She wouldn’t have known anything.”
“When I asked her if she knew your plans, she said you always went on vacation with your father’s family in Nice. It only took me and Dominic six hours to eliminate every Delon who lives there until I found your uncle Emil at his trucking company.
“When I explained I needed to talk to you, he phoned your aunt. But he didn’t tell me about your heart.”
“I didn’t want you to know about it until I could tell you in person. But I wasn’t sure I’d be able to tell you anything if I didn’t make it out of the operating room. I had fears about dying. That probably sounds hysterical to you.”
“No it doesn’t. What hurts me is that you’ve kept all those fears to yourself.” He sounded more emotionally upset than she’d ever heard him.
“You didn’t need to hear about my condition, which would be a reminder of all you’ve suffered. When I told you about my bad marriage, I never told you that my ex couldn’t cope with my condition. He freaked out when I told him I couldn’t run in a marathon he wanted to do. I guess he thought I might die. I don’t know what he thought. He wouldn’t talk to me about it.”
“So you thought I wouldn’t be able to handle it either.”
“I didn’t know, darling.”
He raked a hand through his black hair in what she knew reflected pain and frustration. “You remained silent for my sake.”
“Because I loved you so much.”
“Thank heaven you came into my life. We felt an instant attraction and were thrown together long enough to realize we want to spend the rest of our lives together.
“Now that you’ve been told you’ll never have heart trouble again, there’s nothing to stop us from being together forever. Let’s get married before you have to start work. I’ve already talked to my mother about it. She wants us to get married in the chapel at the château. She was very impressed with you and wants us to be happy.”
Cami was overcome. “She really wants us to be married at your old home?”
“Yes. She thinks it might even soften my father.”
“Is that what you would want?”
“I can’t think of anything more wonderful than marrying my long-haired princess in the château she loved as a child.”
“With Alain as our witness?” she cried with happiness.”
“Absolutely.”
“What’s he going to say when he grows older and finds out I was your cleaning lady?”
“By that time he’ll discover his brilliant mother is a Renaissance woman who’s part of the vital financial team at Gaillard’s.”
“Now I know I’m dreaming. Oh, Raoul—” Cami’s throat swelled. “I want so much to be the perfect wife and mother.”
“My mother already likes you.”
“Mine adores you. She’s not going to believe it when I tell her where we’re going to be married.”
“Maman is sorry she wasn’t kinder to you that day and is looking forward to getting to know you.”
“Thank you for telling me that. I want so much to be the perfect mother and wife. But I know your father won’t be happy.”
“Not at first, but hopefully in time he’ll come around. Just remember that part of life is getting hurt and we’ll deal with it if and when it happens.”
He reached out and drew her into his arms. “You and I have both found that out in the past. But instead of dwelling on the dark side of everything, why don’t you start chasing after the sunshine? I think my fortune cookie was meant for you,” he whispered against her lips.
“Raoul.”
“Mon amour. It’s been too long. Kiss me so I can believe you’re back in my arms, alive and well.” He ran his fingers through her shoulder-length hair. “You don’t know long I’ve wanted to do this. You’re so breathtaking I’m never going to be the same again.”
Raoul clasped her gently, but her shopping bag and purse fell to the floor. “I can’t believe it’s you. You’re the most beautiful sight this man has ever seen,” he cried before covering her mouth with his own. In a heartbeat they were devouring each other.
When he couldn’t get close enough, he removed her coat, then carried her back to the love seat and caught her against him. They clung, trying to show each other how they felt. “I love you so desperately, Cami.”
She kissed every inch of his face. “I wanted to come the day I woke up in recovery, but had to wait a few days.”
“If you only knew what I’ve been through since you said goodbye to me.”
“I’m so sorry, darling.” Tears poured down her flushed cheeks. “You know I didn’t mean it. In the beginning I was just so afraid I couldn’t be the wife you wanted, or the mother Alain needs. I was afraid to let things go further, but somehow they did.”
Raoul groaned. “You think I don’t know that?” He started kissing her again until neither of them could stop. “Are you ready to marry me now?”
“You know I am or I wouldn’t be here. The doctor told me I could get back to real normal in another two weeks.”
“Then that settles it. Stay right there. I’ve got something for you.” He kissed her long and hard before hurrying over to his desk. After reaching for something inside the top drawer, he rushed back to her and got down on one knee.
“Camille Delon, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
“Oh, Raoul, yes!” she cried. More tears ran from her eyes. He caught hold of her left hand and pushed a gold ring with a large violet-blue stone onto her ring finger.
“You’ve just made me the happiest man alive.” He pulled her down gently and they ended up entwined on the floor. “I love you, I love you.”
“Darling—”
The world reeled away as they got lost in each other’s arms. So deep was their rapture, Raoul didn’t realize there was a knock on the door.
“What is it, Delphine?”
“Your son wants to say good night.”
“Come in.”
She opened the door. Alain stood there clinging to her hand. Raoul didn’t know which of the four of them was the most surprised.
“Cam!” It took his son a few seconds to recognize her with flowing hair.
Cami sat up looking gloriously disheveled and held out her arms. He came running into them. “Oh, my darling, darling boy. You really are going to be my boy!”
Raoul looked up at Delphine with moist eyes. She stood in the entry. He got to his feet. “You’re the first to know that Cami and I are getting married.”
The nanny was all smiles. “I’ve been hoping for this. Congratulations. Unless you need me, I’ll be upstairs.”
“Thank you, Delphine.” He turned to Cami. She was entertaining Alain. He watched her hand him a present from the shopping bag lying on the floor.
Alain tore at the wrapping and unveiled a red toy Jaguar that looked just li
ke Raoul’s car. He couldn’t believe it. Suddenly she looked up at him and handed him a package. “This is for you, mon amour.”
In a daze, Raoul took it from her. After undoing the wrapping, he came face-to-face with an eight-by-ten framed photograph of a young, handsome Jerome. “Where in heaven’s name did you find this? I’ve never seen this one.” Raoul was stunned.
“I searched the internet and found a story about him when he lived in Bordeaux. There was an article about the vineyard and pictures. This one brought him to life for me. He loved you so much and it spoke to my heart. I forwarded it to a shop that made up this picture for me. They’re doing another one of Danie I’ll pick up in a few days.”
Raoul got back on the floor where his son was moving the car around. He reached for Cami and pulled her down to him. “You couldn’t have given me anything I’d treasure more. I’m so in love with you I think I’m the one with the heart condition now.”
They began kissing again, but his phone rang. He ignored it the first time, but when the caller didn’t give up, he let her go long enough to pull the cell out of his pocket.
“Zut. It’s Etienne. I agreed to meet him for dinner at nine.”
She grinned. “It’s kind of late, like ten o’clock. Why don’t you call him back and invite him to come over. In fact why don’t you invite Dominic and Nathalie too. I’d like to meet them all.”
“You mean it?” He was on the verge of exploding from joy.
“Bien sûr, mon cheri. It’s going to be so exciting for me to have cousins. We can announce our engagement to them. Alain will love having everyone here. I’ll go out to the kitchen and cook up some appetizers. I know you have a stock of your best wine in the cupboard. We’ll party for as long as we want. What do you say?”
“I say I’ve died and gone to heaven with the two people I love most in this world.”
“That’s exactly how I feel. But I’d like to stay on the earth long enough to have your baby. Alain is going to need a brother or sister.”
Falling For His Unlikely Cinderella (Escape To Provence Book 2) Page 14
