Captivated By The Brooding Billionaire. Rebecca Winters

both figured two weeks would be all they could afford.

      “Any ideas where you’d like to go?”

      Zoe took a deep breath. “If I had the chance, I’d fly back to Greece in a minute.”

      That didn’t surprise Abby. Their divorced friend hadn’t said anything, but Abby sensed there was a man involved. “What part exactly?”

      “Patras. I didn’t get to spend nearly enough time in that area.”

      “Maybe we could take a small tour of some of the Greek Islands too. What do you think, Ginger?”

      “Not that I wouldn’t love to travel there, but to be honest, I’d rather go back to Italy. There’s so much to see and it’s so glorious. I couldn’t get enough of it.” By the tone in her voice, Abby wondered if Ginger had also experienced some kind of romantic interest.

      As for Abby, she’d met a mysterious Frenchman earlier today, but it was best she never saw him again. “Where do you want to visit in Italy, Ginger?”

      “Venice. It’s the most romantic city on earth.”

      Well, well. Their friend did have a reason to want to go back. Abby was sure of it.

      “I have an idea. If we pool our resources, we can afford a two-week vacation. Maybe we could drive to Venice tomorrow and spend a few days there before visiting Rome. From there we’ll fly to Patras and tour around that area for a week before we go back to California. What do you think?”

      Ginger looked at Zoe before she said, “What do you want to do, Abby?”

      She wanted to stay longer and see if she could find that rumored poem, but it probably didn’t exist. “I’ve been living in Switzerland since January and am ready for a new adventure.” Which was true.

      “Not even one guy has caught your eye who wants you to hang around?”

      Zoe had just given herself away.

      Abby shook her head. “I’m not ready to meet a man.”

      Ginger’s eyebrows shot up. “You will be when the right one comes along.”

      Someone out of this world had come along earlier today, but she needed to run from him and keep running. “Let’s change the subject. Are you guys on board with our plans?”

      “According to Magda, we have to visit the Maison Cailler Chocolate Factory in Broc,” Zoe interjected. “She has already paid for us to take the tour. Why don’t we at least do that tomorrow to make her happy?”

      Abby eyed them both. “I toured that plant in March. It’s really worth the time. While you do that, I’d like to do a little more research on Byron while we’re in St. Saphorin.

      “Maybe you guys should drop me off at the local library in the village. That’s one place I haven’t visited. Then I’ll walk back to the farmhouse and wait for you. If you two leave in the morning, you’ll be back by afternoon and we can leave for Italy.” Magda was funding their rental car.

      They agreed it was a great idea and drove back to the château. If Raoul Decorvet was still around in the morning, Abby didn’t plan to be here. She would be insane to hope they might see each other again. She had the fear that getting involved with a man who made her feel this besotted without even knowing him could destroy her.

      * * *

      After a shower and shave, Raoul Capet Regnac Decorvet, the elder son of the duke of the Vosne-Romanée region in the Burgundy department of France, concluded his business with the new owner of La Floraison.

      Once Raoul had assured him he’d be back at the end of June to tie up any loose ends, he hung up the phone and ate the breakfast Gabrielle had brought to his room in the château. He drank more coffee and made half a dozen calls to members of his staff while he looked down from the upstairs window that faced the courtyard.

      The three women had left early in their rental car and hadn’t returned. He knew from Gabrielle they hadn’t checked out. To his shock, Mademoiselle Grant hadn’t left his thoughts all night. He was overwhelmed by unfamiliar feelings for her that made him desperate to see her again. It astounded him he should have these desires when he’d only spent a few minutes with her. Nothing like this had ever happened to him in his life.

      Raoul had of course enjoyed relationships with women from time to time growing up. It had been his destiny to marry the woman his father had demanded he marry, but he had felt nothing like this. Two years ago his wife and baby had tragically died in a car accident. Since then he’d been a slave to work.

      When he came to Switzerland on business, he’d never dreamed he’d meet a woman who seemed to have invaded his mind, his psyche, his body the way she’d done yesterday. He couldn’t explain it, but her effect on him had brought him alive.

      His senses were involved from the moment he’d seen her sitting on the bench at the train station seemingly happy on her own. She’d made a breathtaking picture.

      The sun’s rays had turned her hair to liquid gold. Instead of wearing sunglasses like the typical tourist, she’d been drinking in the landscape and had that look of a young woman on the brink of life.

      He could feel her reacting to everything she saw. It made him breathless with excitement to observe her. She’d been in sync with his emotions when she’d wanted to know about that fragrance in the air. That aspect of her had fascinated him on a level that went deep beneath the surface.

      There was a quality of innocence that appealed to him too. A gift like that wasn’t present in the women who inhabited his world and certainly not within the confines of his own family. If innocence had been there once upon a time, their lifestyle and entitlements had robbed them of such an enticing virtue.

      Why did he have to discover it now, with this woman who would be returning to the States shortly? She could never mean anything to him. Yet she already did mean something to him in a way that was so profound he couldn’t let it go.

      Lines darkened his Gallic features. They would never cross paths again unless he made it happen. The longer he sat there, the stronger his resolve grew to see her again. He needed to explore these powerful feelings or lose his mind.

      While he contemplated an idea that had been percolating in his brain all through the night, his cell rang. It was his private secretary getting back to him. He picked up.

      “Félix?”

      “You were right. Jules didn’t think it was time yet, but he checked and said black rot has shown up in the terroir to the north.”

      “I knew it,” Raoul murmured. “The weather has been warmer than usual. Even though I’ll be home tomorrow, tell him to get started on the fungicide immediately. By now the infection is releasing spores.”

      “I’ll get right on it.”

      “Don’t let him put up an argument. The spray will stop this infection prior to the bloom period. Last year the spore production didn’t happen this soon. I’ve told Jules all along this has to be checked every year due to weather changes. We may have to add an additional fungicide application after blooming occurs. Tell him I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

      Raoul hung up in time to see Mademoiselle Grant come walking up the drive. His pulse raced to realize she wasn’t with her friends. He watched her pause at the vegetable garden to inspect some of the plants. She’d dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved green top, darker than her amazing eyes. On her feet she wore shoes for hiking.

      He reached for his phone and keys, then left the room in jeans and a T-shirt to catch up with her before she disappeared. On his way out the door, he told Gabrielle he would inspect the château’s powerboat to make sure it was in good shape for the new owner.

      By the time he reached the outside, he glimpsed the younger woman walking along one of the vineyard paths beyond the vegetable garden. He strode toward her, admiring her shapely body as she paused to lean over and smell