Raoul turned a solemn face to her. “This is nothing against you personally, Abby. My mother would have stayed to welcome you if my father hadn’t forced Jean-Marc to wheel him out. She’s never had the courage to stand up to him when something important mattered to her.”
“We’re all too human at times. What did Gilles say to you? Did he hurt you?”
“No. He said I was a damn lucky man.”
After a dark sound escaped his lips, he helped her from the car. To her surprise he carried her over the threshold. Once inside, they clung to each other.
“Darling? Please don’t suffer for my sake. We’re home in our happy refuge. This is our Saint des Saints. Nothing can touch us here. We have each other. What else do we need? Are you listening to me? You’re my everything, Raoul. I ache to love you. Let me show you what you mean to me.”
“Abby—” He kissed her mouth. She tasted the salt from his tears. “This was no way to start out our marriage.”
“Your grandmother said she’d pray for us.”
A sad chuckle escaped. “That sounds like Mamie.”
“Guess what? You and I promised to love and cherish each other through the good and the bad. Since we’ve gotten the bad out of the way really fast, how about you help me out of this dress toot sweet?” It was the word for fast in French.
The reaction she’d hoped for came out of Raoul who let out a deep belly laugh. “I think you meant tout de suite.”
“Yes. I love the sound of it.”
“I love you, ma femme. I love every particle of you.” He carried her into the bedroom and put her down gently before unfastening the button at the back of her neck. “Get ready to be loved,” he warned her.
“I was ready when you brought me to the cottage for the first time, remember?” She undid his tie. “If you want to know a secret, I’ve been waiting for the dénouement since the moment you got out of that old black car how many eons ago?”
He grinned and flung his suit jacket on the chair. “Something tells me my new bride has been studying her French.”
“It’s a beautiful language.” She started unbuttoning his shirt. “Almost as beautiful as you.”
“You think a man is beautiful?”
“Not until I met you.”
Raoul helped her off with her dress and put the divine white lace concoction on top of his jacket. His eyes burned like black fire as he drew her onto the bed and a husband’s desire took over, making her thankful she’d been born a woman.
* * *
Three days and nights of nonstop loving had made a new man out of Raoul. They’d wanted for nothing. Before the wedding, he’d had the cottage stocked with everything they’d need so nothing could disturb them. Their world was so perfect he refused to let anything or one intrude on their happiness.
Abby was not only his wife, she was his generous lover who poured out her heart and soul to him while they worshipped each other with their bodies. Hers was glorious. He loved her with a passion that scared him whenever he thought of losing her.
Monday morning he awakened early with a desire so intense for her, he rolled her closer while she was still asleep and started kissing her. Her lovely legs twined with his. She made little sounds until her eyes opened. Her seductive smile set him on fire.
She rubbed his jaw, which needed a shave. “I thought I wore you out in the middle of the night. What are you doing awake again?”
“As if you didn’t know, mon amour.”
Her voice caught. “Do you think all newlyweds feel the way we do?”
“Only if they’re in love the way we are, which is rare. I’ve been lying here trying not to think how I would ever handle losing you.”
“Raoul—” She leaned over him with a little frown. “What a thing to be thinking!”
“I can’t help it. Don’t you know you’re my heart?”
“If I got started on how much I love you, I’d never stop.” She kissed him with a hunger that sent a thrill though him. Two hours later they surfaced long enough for her to escape his arms and get out of bed.
He reached out to trap her hand. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked in a gravelly voice. “I didn’t give you permission.”
“To shower and fix your breakfast.”
“I’d rather you stayed right here. I want to discuss something with you.”
“Well, in that case.” Abby crawled back in next to him. “Is it serious?”
He kissed her hungrily. “I want to take you on a honeymoon.”
“Raoul—that’s what I felt we were on when you brought me to Burgundy.”
He smoothed the hair from her brow. “I mean a real one.”
“Do you have a spot in mind? I read some statistics that showed most French people preferred to vacation in France.”
“It’s true a lot of them like to camp. But I’d love to spend time on a beach with you.”
“Then let’s do it when you can get away. I know this isn’t the best time.”
“How do you know that?”
“I heard you tell Paul you were taking him to Paris sometime this week.”
“So I did.”
“How long would you be gone?”
“I’ll leave in the morning and be away until the next night, but I don’t want to leave you. Marrying you has put everything else out of my head.”
“While you’re gone, I’ll start my French lessons. I already have several tutors lined up. When you return, we’ll plan a trip after you’ve looked at your schedule. Living in this cottage with you is the only honeymoon I could ever want.”
“I’m thinking the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. You’ll be enraptured with the landscape.”
“I don’t know of it.”
“That makes it even better.” He kissed her throat. “I want to shower with you and then I’ll help you fix breakfast.”
She flashed him that come-hither look. He didn’t know if she did it on purpose, but it didn’t matter because it worked.
“You know I’m learning to like what you eat in the morning? Bread dunked in coffee. It’s so easy and nonfattening. It won’t do for your wife to put on weight. All I need to hear someone say is ‘There goes that plump Americaine, waddling her way through the Decorvet vineyard.’”
Raoul burst into laughter. It reverberated throughout the cottage. He’d give her the moon if he could. “After we eat, let’s drive into Dijon and buy you a car. You can always use one of mine, but I’m sure you’d like your own. What kind would suit you?”
“Something that’s economical and will always start.”
He chuckled. “That can be arranged. You’re too easy to please.”
She slid her arms around his neck beneath the spray of water. “If you don’t know it by now, all I want is you.” The new ways she showed him proof of her love told him without words this marriage would last forever.
Once they’d dressed and eaten, Raoul left the cottage a new man as they walked out to the Maserati. With his delectable wife clinging to him, the sunny day added a punctuation mark to his mood of euphoria.
By dinnertime she’d decided on a Peugeot 308 in dark blue, but it wouldn’t be ready until he returned from Paris.
“Tonight I’d like to take you dancing.” He drove them to a popular restaurant/discotheque, but after a few dances he wanted to take her home. “I need to be alone with you as much as possible before I have to leave in the morning.”
“I’m so glad you said that,” she whispered against his neck.
They couldn’t get back to the cottage fast enough. When his alarm went off at six the next morning, they both groaned. Loving her half the night had only made him hungrier for more.
He leaned over her. “I have to meet Paul at the helipad in twenty minutes. Take care and don’t let anything happen to you while I’
m gone.”
“Call me. I won’t be able to breathe again until you’re back safely.”
* * *
Abby slept in late. After getting up, she ate some fruit and bread, then started cleaning. Raoul would have sent a maid, but she wanted to keep house for him. She put in a wash and by midafternoon she’d showered and dressed in jeans and a blouse.
He’d given her keys to both cars. She could take either one if she wanted to go out. While she was debating whether to take a drive around the region to get more acquainted with it, she heard a knock on the door. Maybe he’d sent one of the maids after all.
When she opened the door, she received the shock of her life. Josette and their mother stood on the porch. They’d known Raoul had left for Paris with Paul and that she was alone.
“Will you forgive us for coming without phoning you first?” This from his mother who spoke excellent English. “I was afraid you might hang up, and you would have had every right. We haven’t even been formally introduced yet. I’m Hélène-Claire. This is my daughter, Josette.”
Abby never dreamed she’d see them on the doorstep, not after what happened last Thursday in the grandparents’ salon. Even more astounding was that she was wearing the pin Abby had given her. She wore it on the lapel of her pale blue cotton suit. It had to be some kind of a miracle.
“Please come in.” She was thankful she’d done the housework. If they’d come a couple of hours sooner and seen the mess... Wait till she told Raoul. “Sit down, won’t you?”
“If we’re disturbing you, we won’t stay.”
“But you’re not,” Abby assured them. “Can I get you coffee or tea?”
Both of them shook their heads. “Nothing thank you.”
Josette looked pale and nervous. “The way I treated you and my brother on your wedding day was so inexcusable I know neither of you will ever be able to forgive me. But I had to come and tell you how sorry I am.”
“It’s all right, Josette. I know our marriage came as a huge shock to everyone. Most of all to me!” The two of them looked surprised. “Raoul and I met under the most unusual circumstances. He was very honest with me about the loss of his wife and baby. I could tell how he’d suffered.”
Their eyes filled with tears.
Thrilled that they were listening, Abby broke down and explained everything to them. “My friends were worried about my coming to France with him, but I couldn’t not come b-because I’d fallen in love with him that fast,” her voice faltered, “and he with me.
“I’ve cared deeply for two men in my life before Raoul, but I could never see myself married to them. But then I met Raoul and realized he was the one I’d been waiting for. We’ve come from opposite ends of the world, opposite lifestyles, but we love each other.”
“I could tell that,” Hélène-Claire murmured. “I saw the way the two of you looked at each other. For the first time in his life, my son looked completely happy and my mother-in-law agrees with me. His marriage to Angélique—”
“I know about that,” Abby interrupted. “Nothing else needs to be said. But I know he’ll never get over losing his little girl.”
“You’re very sweet. Raoul couldn’t help but fall in love with you.” She touched the pin. “This gift you gave me was unexpected for many reasons. It touched my heart.”
“I wanted you to have something meaningful. You raised a son who has made me so happy I can’t begin to describe how I feel about him. I plan to be the best wife I can be, but I’m going to need help from all of you. My parents are behind our marriage a hundred percent, but what do I, an American literature teacher, know about the family Raoul was born into?”
“I’ll help you.”
“Thank you, Josette. Raoul loves you and your boy very much. When I met Paul the other day, he let me know how excited he is about the baby that’s coming. He was so nice to me.”
“Much nicer than I was,” she murmured. “He told me my brother deserved a woman like you. Now that we’ve talked, I couldn’t agree with him more.”
“Thank you.”
“Will you let us make it up to you for the way we treated you?”
“You don’t have to do anything. All Raoul would love is to hear what you’ve just told me.”
“We intend to do that,” his mother asserted. “What I’d like to do is host a party to welcome you into the family. My husband—”
“Raoul has explained many things to me,” she broke in once again. “He suffers a lot of pain.”
“Yes, but he needs to demonstrate his love for Raoul, which of course he has always felt. I’m ashamed for his actions as well as the way my two sisters-in-law walked out of the salon. Here’s what I’d like to do. Raoul and Paul will be back Wednesday evening. We’ll have a family dinner in our suite on the terrasse.”
Abby got excited. “Let’s make it a surprise. Can Maurice come? I want to meet my new nephew.”
Josette broke into a genuine smile. “He’d love to be a part of things because he adores my brother.”
“Who doesn’t?” Abby quipped. “Will the grandparents be able to come?”
“If it’s too much for them, we’ll visit them after we’ve eaten dinner.”
“And Jean-Marc?”
Josette’s brows lifted. “If he can get over his jealousy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Our cousin Gilles and my younger brother have a crush on you at the moment.”
“Tell Jean-Marc that I found him very charming. If I hadn’t met Raoul first...”
At that comment both women laughed. Josette nodded. “I will tell him.”
Hélène-Claire rose to her feet. “We’ve kept you long enough. We’ll set a time when we know Raoul and Paul will be back from Paris.”
“Wonderful!” Nothing sounded more perfect to Abby, who was overjoyed that the two women in Raoul’s life had come around to make peace at last. “Let’s exchange phone numbers to stay in touch.”
When they’d done that, she walked them out to the porch. As soon as they’d driven away, she went inside and checked out some Dijon toy stores. When she found a couple of addresses on the internet, she grabbed her purse and drove the Jaguar into town. What a fantastic car, once she got the hang of it!
Within an hour, she’d purchased a darling musical box called Les Papoum, and a kaleidoscope with a circus motif. You twisted both ends to make different colors. Those gifts would be fun for Maurice.
Raoul phoned just before she went to bed. “I miss you so much I’ve been no good to Paul today.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Tell me about your day.”
If he only knew. “I slept in, cleaned and drove around in the Jaguar. I promise it’s still in one piece, but you’ll have to adjust the seat.”
His laughter sounded over the line. “I’m going to work all night so we can get home earlier tomorrow.”
“What do you want to do when you get here?” she teased. Inside she was struggling to hang on to her secret.
“If you have to ask me that question, then I’ve been doing something wrong.”
Had she said something that worried him? “Darling, I was just checking to make sure you’re not tired of me yet.”
“Do you honestly think that could ever happen?”
He was upset.
“Next time you fly anywhere, I’ll go with you, but I can’t promise to behave and you’ll wish you’d left me behind.”
She’d hoped to wring a chuckle from him at least. No such luck.
“I’m never leaving you again.” His voice sounded savage. “I’ll phone you in the morning. Miss me, mon amour.”
“Raoul?”
But he’d hung up. What on earth was wrong?
Their conversation had left her restless and she didn’t sleep well. At eight the next morning
he phoned her again. She picked up immediately. “Bonjour, mon mari.” She’d been practicing how to say my husband.
“Have you started your tutoring lessons already? Is that where you went in the car yesterday?”
What? “Actually I went shopping.”
“I see.”
She frowned. “I’ve been waiting for your call.”
“We’ll be back at three.”
“I’ll drive to the helipad and wait for you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“What if I want to? I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Again he hung up, leaving her worried and dissatisfied. Abby flung herself out of bed. Thank heaven he’d be home soon so she could find out what was going on with him.
For the next few hours she sent emails to relatives and friends in and out of the department letting them know that she’d gotten married and where she could be reached. She received a heartfelt congratulations from Magda.
Josette called her later and asked if she wanted to go shopping with her in Dijon while Maurice was napping. Abby had jumped at the chance to get acquainted with Raoul’s sister, who bought a becoming aqua maternity dress for the party.
Abby found a green-beaded ruched knee-length sheath dress. Josette assured her Raoul’s eyes would pop out when he saw her in it. The dinner was scheduled for six o’clock.
After their return, she put the dress in the closet and drove the Jaguar to the helipad, wearing her jeans and blouse. Raoul had said three, but it was three fifteen when she heard the sound of the rotors. Soon the helicopter came into view. Her heart thudded as she watched it set down. Out came Paul with a suitcase. Raoul followed with his.
She left the car and ran to hug him. If something was still bothering him, he didn’t let it show as he crushed her against him and swung her around. The intensity of his kiss melted her insides before he swept her toward the car. He helped her in the passenger seat and got in the driver’s seat out of habit. Paul sat in back.
Abby turned to her brother-in-law. “Did business go well?”
“I never realized how much I didn’t know.”
Captivated by the Brooding Billionaire Page 14
