Weddings: The Proposals: The Brooding Frenchman's Proposal / Memo: The Billionaire's Proposal / The Playboy Firefighter's Proposal. Rebecca Winters

wanted it to be true.”

      “But there’s a part of you that still believes it?”

      “Laura—”

      “You do!”

      He shook his head. “I know Guy wants you for comfort. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

      “Comfort is a far cry from a sexual relationship!”

      His eyes had a desolate cast. “They can be two sides of the same coin.”

      “That’s true if you’re in love. Guy’s in love with Chantelle!”

      “She doesn’t want him anymore.”

      “So you assume he’s turned to me?” Right now she was so hurt she wanted to die. “I want to go back to the villa. Would that be too much to ask, or shall I just jump out and walk home?”

      The tension vibrated between them before he started the motor and pulled out of the parking area onto the main road. He worked with calm precision. His movements automatic. Poetry in motion, but it had the effect of infuriating her more.

      The silence on the drive back to Cap Ferrat was louder than any more questions he could throw at her. All the time he’d been vetting her, he refused to satisfy her curiosity about him on a solitary thing.

      As he pulled up to the front of the darkened villa she tried to get out, but he’d set the lock. When she glanced over at him, he lay back against the seat seemingly relaxed for the moment, but she wasn’t fooled. He could pounce at the slightest provocation.

      “Perhaps now that we’ve both had a chance to cool off,” he drawled, “you’ll tell me the real reason you accepted my brother’s invitation to stay with them.”

      She bowed her head. “Since you’ve already been told the first version, perhaps you should be asking your nephew. He was at the Palio and heard Guy ask me to come.”

      “Paul doesn’t have a clue about a woman like you.”

       “Merci.”

      His muffled French curse rent the air inside the car. “You know what I was implying.”

      “I’m not sure I ever know what you really mean and I’m too exhausted to undergo another interrogation.”

      “That’s too bad because I want an answer. Even you have to agree that after one meeting in Siena while you’re supposedly working, it was highly irregular for you to come into his home the very next morning and end up being his wife’s companion for the next two weeks.”

      She flung herself around so she was facing him. “You obviously meant ‘highly suspect.’ I suppose it is … coming from a paranoid, bitterly jaded, twisted mind like yours. It’s evident someone scarred you for life, Raoul, that’s why I have no intention of answering any more of your questions. It would be pointless. Let me out of the car.”

      “I’m not through with you yet,” he countered, making no move to undo the lock button at the side.

      Laura had reached the limits of her tolerance. “Then let it be on your head.” Without thought for the consequences, she reached over with the intention of pressing on the horn so security would come running, but Raoul was too fast for her and caught her in his grasp.

      “Let’s finish what we started a few minutes ago, shall we? Nighttime means we don’t have an audience, so you don’t need to worry that I have any other interest than enjoying myself with you.”

      Once more his mouth descended on hers, stifling any sound of protest she made. With an urgency that seemed part of the need that was driving both of them, he coaxed her lips apart again, provoking a kiss from her she couldn’t hold back. Like a match to kindling, the pressure of his mouth, the feel of his hands running up and down her arms set her on fire.

      Raoul’s sensuality made her feel things she’d never felt in her life. How could she be doing this after only a couple of days of knowing him? This had to stop, but when she tried to ease away from him, he pulled her closer against him and this time the horn did sound loud and long.

      The shrill din brought Guy out the front door where the lights from the foyer of the villa illuminated the interior of the Mercedes. Paul was right behind him. On a groan she moved back to her side of the car, but Raoul held on to her wrist and her action wasn’t fast enough to escape him. They’d been well and truly caught.

      Guy came down the steps to open the door for her, but of course it didn’t give. Laura struggled in vain to pull her hand out of Raoul’s grasp. To her chagrin he used the button from the control panel to lower her window.

      With her left hand still trapped in his, he leaned across her body. The action caused his shoulder to brush against her chest. “Sorry for the noise, Guy. It was an accident. I hope it didn’t upset Chantelle.”

      After a slight pause, “No one was in bed yet. What happened to Pierre?”

      “I caught up with him at the Villa Leopolda and told him I’d bring Laura home.”

      Guy studied Raoul thoughtfully before glancing at Laura. “Were you able to do some drawings?”

      “Yes. The light was perfect.”

      “Maman wants to see them. The Villa Leopolda is one of her favorite places. Can I take them to her?” Paul asked.

      “Of course. Here.” She reached in her bag for the sketchpad and handed it to him. “Let her keep it tonight. I’ll get it back from her in the morning.”

      “I’d like to see them first if you don’t mind, Paul.” Guy started looking through it. He kept shaking his head before staring at her. “You’re not only an angel, you have genius.”

      His kindness after Raoul’s cross-examination brought tears to her eyes. “It’s not true, but thank you.”

      In the awkward silence that followed, Laura was tempted to expose Raoul to his brother, but at the last second she couldn’t do it, not in front of Paul. In truth this fight was between the two of them and no one else.

      Since Raoul still had hold of her, there was only one thing to do. Let Guy think what he was already thinking, that she and Raoul had been kissing and somehow in the enclosed space they’d honked the horn by accident.

      “Paul? I understand you wanted me to start teaching you CPR tonight. Sorry I wasn’t around. You name the time and we’ll do it.”

      “Okay. Can my friends learn it, too?”

      “Of course.”

      “Thanks.”

      Guy smiled at her. “Don’t worry about locking up when you come in, Laura. I’ll still be awake and will take care of it.”

      Raoul’s hand tightened just enough to prevent her from getting out of the car to join him.

      “All right. See you two in the morning.”

      With sketchpad in hand, Guy followed his son into the house. As soon as he shut the door, Raoul said, “The fact that you didn’t say anything to Guy about me means you’re willing to put up with almost anything in order to remain here the full two weeks. I’m giving you warning I’ll be watching every move you make.”

      She smiled so he could see it. “Like I said, men have a habit of hanging around me whether their company is welcome or not.”

      His eyes glittered. “It’s that chemical reaction they’re after.”

       “Et tu, Brute?”

      “I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit it.” He kissed the palm of her hand before letting it go. Thanks to Raoul, she discovered her palm was as sensitive to his touch as the rest of her. She heard the click of the lock. Now that he was tired of torturing her, she was free to go, for the moment.

      Raoul watched