Without hesitation, he rang Abby who answered on the second ring. “Raoul?”
“Sorry I’ve been longer than an hour.”
“It’s all right. I realize you’ve come home to business.”
“I’m through dealing with the emergencies. If you’re ready, I’ll pick you up in front of your accommodations.”
“Not there—I took a walk past some of the vineyards beyond the pond while I was waiting. I’m starting back now and will watch for you on the main drive.”
“I’ll find you. What kind of dinner are you in the mood for?”
“Surprise me with the type of local food you enjoy.”
He’d never met a woman with a nature like hers. Abby was charming, educated, bright, funny and so damn attractive. But she was planning to fly to Italy after she’d seen the notebook.
The thought of her going anywhere was anathema to him. But he needed to be careful. He knew she didn’t trust him completely yet. The sooner she saw what she’d come to see, the sooner he could carry out his plans for them to explore what could be between them.
After hanging up, he left the cottage and walked around the back to get in his ten-year-old black Jaguar. He preferred to take the convertible on trips, but used his older car around the village for business.
When he caught up to her, Abby had walked quite a distance on her long, slender legs. Though the sky had clouded over, she stood out from her surroundings. Raoul’s gaze took in the sheen of her silky blond hair, which the breeze had disheveled. His eyes couldn’t help but follow her womanly shape clothed in a sundress that looked made for her.
He slowed down when he reached her. At first she stared at the car without recognition. “Have you changed your mind about dinner?”
Then her eyes, green and alive, met his. In that moment he knew she was excited to see him.
“Oh—it’s you!” She hurried around and got in the car, bringing the scent of her strawberry shampoo fragrance with her. “I didn’t know you had another car. I love the British pronunciation of this one. Jag-u-ar. You must think I’m crazy. I don’t know why I like the sounds of certain words. It’s a quirk of mine.”
Raoul didn’t think she was crazy. “I like your quirks.” He turned the car around and they drove out of the estate beyond the gate to the road that would take them into the village. It was then he heard a sigh from her that sounded troubled. “What’s wrong?”
“Not wrong, but there’s something I should tell you.”
He knew it. The last twenty-four hours had been too good to be true. “I presume you had a phone call from your friends. They think I’ve preyed on you and now you believe it.”
“That’s not it,” she muttered.
He pulled over to the side of the road. “Can you look me in the eye and tell me you never once wondered if I’d been lying to you?”
She moistened her lips nervously. “No. I believed you.”
“Then let’s start again. Something’s bothering you. Have you decided you don’t want to stay here after all?”
Her head turned in his direction. “Anyone who didn’t want to stay here would have to be comatose.”
“But?”
“While I was walking by the pond, I met your brother.”
A grimace marred his features. That was all he had to hear to understand.
“He said he thought I’d come to the estate with a buyer and offered to show me around while I waited. I thanked him, but told him I was waiting for you. His shocked reaction surprised me.”
Abby’s instincts were right on. His brother wouldn’t have believed Raoul had invited a woman to come to the estate for personal reasons. He knew Raoul had been in mourning since the funeral.
Jean-Marc would be inordinately curious over what was going on. It was only natural that his brother would have taken one look at Abby and decided to make her his next conquest.
“What did you tell him?”
“I gave him my name and told him I was a tourist from California. He wanted to know how we met. I told him it was in Switzerland, but of course I didn’t say anything else.”