“That man is interested in you. What’s nice is, you’re interested in him too. Have a good time.”
Cami ignored her mother’s comments. “I’ll be back by one to get you.” The two of them were going to do some shopping for friends and extended family. This was one of the few free times left before her operation. “It will be my last trip to the villa.”
“Are you sure of that, because I’m not,” she quipped.
Cami left the apartment afraid her mother was right. If he happened to ask her for another favor, she probably wouldn’t be able to resist.
* * *
Saturday morning Raoul opened the back door when Cami’s car appeared. Every time he saw her, it was like the first time. She had an inner and outward beauty that appealed to him on every level.
“Bonjour, Cami. Thanks for coming to help me.” He walked her inside and headed for the study. He’d lined up the furniture and boxes along the hallway.
They made their way past everything to enter the room where he’d placed a drop cloth and ladder. There was a door at the end of the room that led outside to the driveway.
“I was up early and finished most of the ceiling. You’re free to start the walls. I don’t think this will take us long.”
Her lavender-blue eyes were charged with excitement. She put on the safety glasses and gloves to get busy. “You’ve done the hardest part.”
“This is nothing compared to what you and your coworkers accomplished this last week. When I bought this place, I knew it needed a thorough going-over and felt sorry for you.”
“It wasn’t bad, Raoul. The people who lived here before left it reasonably clean. Try cleaning a half-burned house. That’s a real nightmare.”
Her life hadn’t been easy. “I can only imagine.” Once done, he climbed down and put the ladder out in the hall.
As soon as she finished the last wall, he rolled up the drop cloth and cleaned the floor. “We make a good team,” he announced at last. They stood in the doorway. “The room is ready to furnish.”
She eyed the oak desk. “You’re going to need help moving this.”
“I’ll do it. Leave the heavy lifting to me.”
* * *
Cami had no choice because of her heart condition, but it didn’t matter. His tall, hard, fit body could handle anything and was probably the envy of most men. No woman could keep her eyes off him.
While he brought in the furniture and told her to sit on the love seat, she was able to watch him. He also brought in a file cabinet and more chairs before he pulled a framed picture out of the desk and set it on top. At the first sight of the two people in the photo, she let out a cry.
He turned to her. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t believe it,” she whispered and got up to get a closer look. “That’s you with that older man!”
Raoul chuckled. “Yes, but what do you mean?”
She stared up at him, incredulous. “You’re the young man I saw at the vineyard with this older man years ago!”
“You saw me? With this man?” He tapped the picture.
“Yes. I was twelve. I was in the car with my mother and father. We’d stopped to watch the grape pickers. You and he were walking through the vineyard talking to the workers before you headed toward a big black car waiting at the side of the road. It had a gold hood ornament.”
“That was a special day for me.”
“For me too. I asked my papa about the emblem and he said it meant you belonged to the Fontesquieu family. You happened to smile at me before you got in. Good heavens! That’s why your smile seemed familiar to me on Monday when we first met in the nursery.”
Raoul stared hard at her. “You were the pretty girl with the long glossy hair watching me from the back window. You reminded me of a black-haired Rapunzel. I couldn’t figure out what you were doing inside a taxi.”
She laughed. “My twelve-year-old self decided then and there you were the young prince who lived in the château.”
“That’s incredible.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Even though you’re grown up and your hair has been caught back, it must explain why I felt drawn to you in those first moments. We had a connection.”