“Have you heard from your mother yet?”
She sheltered her eyes from a strong sun. “Yes. She’ll be in at five this evening.”
Pleased with that news for his grandfather’s sake, he said, “That means we have plenty of time to do whatever we want. Would you like to go out in the cabin cruiser? It’ll be somewhat cool, but it will give you a chance to see Nice from the water. If you get uncomfortable, there’s always the afghan.”
Her soft laughter warmed him. “I live in San Francisco, remember? I’m used to cooler temperatures than you.”
“Then come on up and grab a bite of breakfast with me before we leave.”
She left the garden and walked up the stairs toward him. With every step she took, his heart pounded harder.
“Have you had a chance to get in touch with Adam?”
“I let him know I won’t be home for a while, but I don’t want to talk about him.”
Nic had no right to feel the relief that swept through him.
“What about your grandfather?”
“I’ve told him we plan to meet him at the summerhouse this evening and will be bringing Jessica with us, so he’s prepared. Now that you’ve given me a time, I’ll let him know so he can tell the château staff to have dinner ready for us at six.”
“That’s perfect. Once we’ve eaten, I’ll ask Maurice to tell Mother everything he told me and we’ll go from there. I’m going to take the last video she made back to the house so Mom can watch it.”
“It might be too much for her,” Nic mused aloud. Irene’s final words to her family were gut-wrenching.
“Maybe, but she needs to hear and see how much Irene loved her.”
“Laura, plan for her to stay in the other bedroom next to yours while she’s here.” It was the room he’d hoped that one day would be turned into a nursery. Having her mother there would be the buffer he needed to stay away from Laura.
“Thank you. It seems that’s all I ever say to you. The debt just keeps growing.”
“You’re the instrument to bring your mother to France. Maurice owes his future happiness to you. Needless to say, I couldn’t be more relieved that this chapter in our lives is going to put an end to the pain for all of us.”
“It has to.” Her voice throbbed. “I’ll give her the letters when she goes to bed so she can start reading them. By the time she and I are back home, we’ll decide on the best way to handle Susan.”
Home to her meant San Francisco. He couldn’t think about that right now.
Before long they’d eaten and driven down to the port where he kept his cruiser. He pulled into the private parking area. In a minute he helped her step in the boat and handed her a life jacket. He would have liked to help her on with it, but she thanked him and did it herself, denying him the pleasure of touching her. His desire for her was growing. It terrified him.
“Do you come out in this often?” The breeze blew her hair into enticing disarray.
“When I have the time I bring Maurice fishing with me, or my friends Yves or Luc.” He started the motor and headed out at a wakeless speed.
Laura looked all around. “It’s the perfect size. What do you catch?”
“Bass and swordfish. Even an occasional tuna.”
“I’ve sailed quite a bit, but I’ve never been deep-sea fishing.”
“You’d love it, unless you have a problem with the mal de mer.”
“Knowing me, I probably would get seasick in rough seas, but I’d love to try it one day. Did Dorine go out fishing with you?”
“No. Her pursuits were more academic.”
“To each his or her own poison, right?”
He grinned. She had a great attitude about life. “All you have to do is ask if you want to go fishing while you’re here, but since we can’t be out all day, let’s forgo that pleasure today and I’ll give you a tour of the sights closer to shore.”
“Perfect!”
They took off and cruised for a time without saying anything.
Those heavenly blue eyes scanned the coastline. “It may be winter, but Nice has a subtropical appearance, with all the palm and citrus fruit trees.”
“That’s why people from around the world come here to vacation in winter. For your information, we’re in one of the large bays, called Villefrance-sur-mer, which is enclosed. In a minute we’ll pass the main expanse of Nice, between the old port city and the airport, by crossing another bay.”
She studied the terrain. “What mountains are those?”
“The western edge of the Ligurian Alps.”
“Irene and Maurice must have explored a lot of this.” Her gaze suddenly swung to his. “They were happy, weren’t they? Despite their pain?”
Her anguished cry had surfaced. All the time they’d been making small talk, he’d been waiting for it to emerge. She was seated across from him. He cut the motor. “Come here, Laura.”
She almost stumbled into his arms getting there. Nic pulled her onto his lap. Despite her life jacket, he crushed her against him. For a little while he held her tight while the breeze rocked the cruiser.
When she finally raised her head, her cheeks were wet. “I’m sorry to break down like this.”
“Hush,” he whispered, kissing each feature the way he’d done in his dreams. Once he found her lips, his mouth closed over hers, needing her the way he needed air to breathe. Her mouth trembled, driving him to seek deeper until she opened up to him. He heard her small groan of pleasure as fire leaped between them.
Nic couldn’t fight his desire for her another second. He would never stop loving Dorine, but Laura was right here with him, giving him one kiss, then another. The giving and taking went on and on. Each one grew longer and more passionate. He felt himself drowning in ecstasy. To be loving again like this after so long—he couldn’t believe it.
She filled his arms, his heart. Who would have thought Irene’s death would have resulted in this wonderful woman coming into his life? If she could respond to him like this, then whatever she felt for Adam was too pale in comparison to matter.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you?” he whispered against her throat. “I’ve never felt like this in my life. I feel so guilty. Believe me when I tell you I’ve been trying to honor Dorine’s memory.”
“So have I,” she murmured in an aching voice. “You must think me so terrible. I need to go home.”
“Laura, there’s no way I’m going to let you leave me. I need you, and I know you need me.”
He embraced her with refined savagery. Besides her beauty he loved her sweetness, her strength and intelligence. Her fun-loving ways. She was so natural and real. “Talk to me, mon amour. Tell me what I want to hear,” he cried. But when he started to devour her again, she wrenched her lips from his.
“I—I can’t say the words you want to hear, Nic. We can’t do this!”
“We already have” came the fierce response before he sought her mouth again with a consuming hunger neither of them could deny or satisfy. Once he’d met and married Dorine, he’d never wanted another woman. After she’d gone missing, he hadn’t been able to imagine wanting any woman, not ever again. But he hadn’t met Irene’s granddaughter...
“This isn’t right.” She half moaned the words when he let her up for air.
He closed his eyes tightly. “Because you’re committed to Adam?” Nic didn’t want to think about her return to the States. “You couldn’t be madly in love with him or you could never kiss me like this.” His eyes blazed into hers. “Have you ever kissed him with the kind of urgency and passion you’ve just shown me?”
She buried her face in his shoulder.
That had to be his answer, but he needed to hear the words. “Answer me, Laura.” Was her bond with Adam stronger than Nic wanted to believe?
“Adam
’s not the reason this has to end. You’re a married man, Nic. While there’s still a wedding ring on your finger, no matter how much I might desire you, this is wrong—”
“Laura—”
“Don’t say any more.” She sounded frantic. “You’re still looking for your wife.” She grabbed the lapels of his Windbreaker. “I want you to find her. Even after three years, she could still be alive somewhere, waiting for help, waiting to get back to the man she loves.”
He caressed the side of her neck with his hand, kissing her with growing hunger. “For the first year I believed she was alive. But two years have passed since then.” His voice grated. “I sense she’s gone.”
“Even so, there has to be a part of your heart that hasn’t given up yet. I know it hasn’t and I won’t give up on her either.”
Laura moved off his lap and returned to the seat opposite him. “You and I have been caught up in two family tragedies we’re still sorting out. My emotions are ragged and so are yours. Naturally I’m not going to forget what happened between us just now. We’re both human and turned to each other for comfort. But let’s put it behind us, where it has to stay.”
He raked a hand through his hair. Though he felt Dorine was dead, he didn’t have absolute proof. In that sense Laura was right—this was still a betrayal of his wife if there was the slightest chance she was alive. Nic had never been so conflicted in his life. Because of the precariousness of their situation right now, he was willing to go along with Laura, but only to a point.
“Let’s get back to the car.” Once he’d started kissing her, he’d lost track of time. He started the motor and they once again shot through the water toward the port. “With all the traffic, we’ll be lucky to pick up your mother on time.”
Even though they weren’t touching, he could feel how shaken she was. After they reached the car, she opened her purse and started to brush her hair. Then came the lipstick. By the time they reached the airport a half hour later, she’d restored herself. But Nic still discerned the heightened color that revealed what they’d been doing out on the water.
A few minutes later Jessica Tate emerged from the Holden corporate jet. The moment Nic saw her, he understood Laura’s earlier comment about no one thinking she and her mother looked alike. She had brown hair and was shorter, yet attractive in her own way, especially for a woman in her mid-fifties.
She wore a good-looking two-piece suit in a melon color and a single strand of pearls. All three Holden women had exceptional dress sense. Though he picked out certain similar familial characteristics, it was a different experience than his first glimpse of Laura, whose resemblance to Irene had left him staggered.
Laura hugged her mother and spoke privately with her for a few minutes. Then she put an arm around her waist and walked her over to Nic.
“Mom? This is Nicholas Valfort, Maurice’s grandson. Nic, please meet my mother, Jessica Tate, Irene and Richard’s second daughter.”
CHAPTER SIX
“JESSICA. I’VE BEEN anxious to meet you.”
The blue eyes were like Laura’s in color, but they stared at him without warmth. “How do you do, Mr. Valfort.” She turned to her daughter. “Will you please tell me what’s going on? I’m very uncomfortable. You made it sound like this was a life-and-death situation.”
“It is, Mom. My life and Maurice’s.”
Nic eyed Laura. A nerve was hammering at the base of her throat, revealing her tension. “Excuse me while I put her suitcase in the car.”
“Where are we going?” Jessica demanded after Laura climbed in the backseat with her. Nic was already at the wheel and watched them in the rearview mirror. Only a little while ago she’d been in his arms and they’d kissed each other with an abandon he hadn’t thought possible. He’d never be able to put it from his mind.
“If you recall, Irene left me something in her will. It’s a house on the Valfort estate, the one Maurice lived in with her. We’re going there now to have dinner.”
Her mother’s face filled with alarm. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You have to!”
As he drove them to the château, Nic marveled at Laura’s courage to deal with this tragedy head-on.
“Did you receive the money Nana left you and Susan? Maurice had the attorney send it to Holden headquarters.”
Jessica looked at a complete loss. “I haven’t seen any money.”
“Then check with Aunt Susan,” said Laura. “I’m sure she has taken charge of it.”
“Why do you say that?”
Her bewilderment convinced Nic that Laura’s mother wasn’t the architect of the horror story that had torn families apart.
“Because she has run your life ever since I can remember. In the process, she ruined all our lives. Your sister is a sick, manipulative woman. Because of her lies, she not only deprived us of your mother and my grandmother, she poisoned Maurice’s family against him and Irene.”
“How can you say that?” her mother cried.
“Because it’s true. In a few minutes we’re meeting with Maurice.”
Jessica shook her head. “No. Don’t try to force me.”
“Mom, you owe this to him and to us. Our three lives are on the line. Susan ruined the Valforts’ happiness and ours. I need you here so together we can make amends to Maurice and his loved ones before we fly back to San Francisco. He’ll tell you just how disturbed Susan was and still is. You’re not going to like it, but when you’ve heard everything, you’ll understand that she needs psychiatric help. However, we’ll talk about that later. Right now it’s not too late to rectify the situation with his family.”
Nic grimaced. Touched as he was by Laura’s desire to make certain the Valfort family knew the whole truth, the thought of her leaving Nice was unacceptable to him.
When he drove up in front of the summerhouse, Maurice opened the doors and walked out to greet Jessica. “It’s been a long time since I last saw you. Your mother and I waited many years to see you cross over this threshold. Thank you for coming.”
Laura turned to her mother, who looked frightened, before she said something that surprised Nic. “Mom? You and Maurice need to spend this evening alone. Here’s a DVD Nana made for you and me. At the right time, Maurice will show it to you.” Laura’s eyes darted to Nic, imploring him to go along with this, before she eyed her mother again. “When you’re ready, we’ll come back for you. Tonight you’ll be staying with me at Nic’s villa.”
Maurice gave Laura a kiss on the cheek.
“I hope I did the right thing.” Laura’s voice shook after Nic helped her back in the car. The other two had gone inside the house.
“Was there any doubt? I know my grandfather inside and out. That kiss was his way of letting you know he was grateful for the time alone with your mother.” He started the engine and drove away.
“This has to work, Nic.”
He reached out to squeeze her arm before releasing it. “It will, but it’ll be a long night for them. I suggest we drive into Nice and have our own dinner at a café bar I think you’ll enjoy. The seafood menu is traditional Nicoise—snails, clams, blue oysters, shrimp. Take your pick. But if you’re a pasta lover, we can—”
“I prefer fish whenever possible. You’ve sold me. Can we do takeout?”
“Bien sûr.”
“Then why don’t we get some and drive to the technology park? I’d like to see where you work.”
Laura didn’t dare to go a place to eat where there might be dancing. She couldn’t handle being in his arms one more time. They’d crossed a line. He’d loved Dorine enough to marry her and was still a married man.
She was tortured by it and vowed never to get that close to him again. But she could satisfy her longing to get to know him better by learning more about where he worked, what made him tick.
“How nice for you.”
“It’s definitely convenient.”
Pretty soon they came to a turnoff. “What does that sign say?”
“We’re entering Sophia Antipolis. It’s regarded as one of the world’s most prestigiouscenters for voluntary integrated economic development.”
“There you go again, speaking over my head.”
He chuckled. “It’s called a technopole. There are twelve hundred companies with seventy countries represented here.”
“How incredible!” They drove deeper into the park with its heavy foliage. “Oh look, Rue Albert Einstein. When you think of the French Riviera, somehow you don’t associate a humongous brain trust with brilliant minds like yours all working together here.”
“Some more brilliant than others,” he quipped. “It has pine-covered hills, hiking trails, jogging paths, a riding stable, golf courses and reflecting pools.” They wound around until he pulled in a parking space near one of the buildings: Valfort Technologies.
“You don’t need to take me inside, Nic. I just wanted to see it. You work in a world all its own.”
“That was the original idea.” He turned off the engine and handed her a carton with a fork. They began eating.
“Um.” She tested the clams first. “This seafood is excellent.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Did your wife work close by?” Where Nic was concerned, her curiosity was insatiable.
“About five minutes from here by car.”
“Did you meet jogging or horseback riding?”
“Neither. She wasn’t that great a driver and failed to stop at one of the intersections. She hit the rear end of my car.”
“Uh-oh. But when you got out to inspect the damage, you immediately forgave her when you saw how adorable she was.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a smile. “You’re right.”
At the Chateau for Christmas Page 10
