“I only agreed to see you in order to work out arrangements for Raoul.”
“Tonight I want to talk about us.” Since he could tell she was attempting to shut him out, he turned on the radio to a soft rock music station. It didn’t take long to reach Vence.
He wound around to a street on the heights of the city with a panoramic view of the sea. The modern white villa peeking out from the cypress trees had appealed to him while he’d been house hunting with Raoul. Five bedrooms, three thousand square feet and a swimming pool. Everything that had been missing while he’d lived in a massive old chateau most of his life apart from those years in Paris.
Dominic pulled up in front and shut off the engine.
“Why did you stop here?” He heard that panic in her voice again.
“This villa is for sale. I’d like to know what you think of it.”
“It’s lovely, but it has nothing to do with me.”
“It could have everything to do with you once we’re married. I’ve been inside and think it would be the perfect home for us and the children we’re going to have.”
She suddenly buried her face in her hands. “I could never marry you, Dominic.”
He reached across to caress her shoulder. “I could never marry anyone else. I’m madly in love with you.”
“A marriage between us isn’t possible.”
“Give me one good reason why.”
Her head lifted abruptly. She turned to him. “Because I can’t give you children, and just now I heard in your voice that it’s what you want most.”
Pain rocked his body. “On the cruiser you said you weren’t dying of a disease or anything like it.”
“I’m not, but I do have a condition. It’s called primary ovarian insufficiency. By twenty years of age, I’d only had one period. Amenorrhea is the name for it. The doctor put me through a series of tests. Since that time I’ve only ovulated twice and I’m twenty-seven. I’m one of the five to ten percent of cases that happens to younger women. It means pregnancy will pretty well require a miracle. You don’t want to marry me.”
“Nathalie—”
“There’s nothing you can say to make me change my mind. Right now I’m in so much pain, I can’t be around you. Please take me home.”
Devastated that she could be this tortured, he had no choice but to drive her back to La Gaude. There had to be a way to reach her, but it wouldn’t be right now. He needed to come up with a plan. Silence filled the interior all the way back to her house.
When he drove up in front, she turned to him. “What I wanted to tell you when I came out to the car earlier was to please ask Raoul to deal with me and my mother from now on. There’s no reason for you to act as the go-between any longer. You’ve had more to deal with than any man should have to.”
“Doesn’t it matter to you that I fell in love with you and wanted to do whatever I could to be with you?”
“That’s because you’re the most decent and honorable man I’ve ever known.” Her voice trembled. “You were always wonderful to me even when you suspected I’d applied for work with ulterior motives. Just look what I did, Dominic. I suspected three men of being Alain’s father and tried to prove it. Who does something like that?” she blurted in pain.
Dominic grasped her hand in exasperation. “How can you say that when you brought about the miracle that restored your stepsister’s boy to his birth father?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m so honored you would want to marry me, but you deserve a woman who can give you children.” She eased her hand away, then opened the door.
Talk about agony.
“I’m sure we’ll see each other accidentally from time to time over the years. I have no doubt Alain will get to know you and love you. Between his father and you, he’ll have the greatest role models in the world to learn from. It’s so much more than I could have hoped for when I started down this slippery slope.”
Dominic watched her get out and disappear inside the house. If another miracle didn’t happen fast...
He drove back to the chateau needing help before he drowned.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE MEETING AT the park on Wednesday was an emotional one for Nathalie. Her mother had been bowled over by Raoul, who’d come alone to meet her and Minerve. They planned to go to the hospital on Thursday at noon for the DNA tests. It wouldn’t be long before Alain became the newest official member of the Fontesquieu family.
Nathalie was thankful Dominic had gotten the message and didn’t accompany his cousin. She couldn’t have handled seeing him today.