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.”