Falling For His Unlikely Cinderella (Escape To Provence 2)

“I reminded Sabine that those were your private possessions and she had no right to them. She hasn’t been kind about a lot of things for a long time. She was especially negative about Camille Delon. I’m afraid I wasn’t friendly to her when she answered the door. She said she was a friend and that she’d helped clean your house.”

“Maman, Camille Delon is the love of my life and the woman I’m going to marry,” Raoul declared. It was a relief to say it out loud.

“Married? I guess that doesn’t surprise me. I’m very much aware you love that little boy’s mother and no one else. How soon are you planning the wedding?”

“I hope to have that answer soon, but I need to tell you the truth of things. Cami’s not his mother.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alain’s birth mother died ten days after he was born.”

The silence was deafening. “She’s dead?”

“That’s right. Over eighteen months ago. Her name was Antoinette Fournier. She’s buried in La Gaude. I’d planned to marry her. Instead I had to give her up. Her wonderful mother, Arlette, and her stepsister, Nathalie, raised him until a few months ago when Nathalie traced him to me.”

“Dominic’s wife?” Too many shocks in one day, but his mother needed to know the truth. Of necessity there’d been too much secrecy.

“Yes. She was looking for me when she met Dominic and they fell in love. She is Alain’s adored aunt. Now I’d like him to get to know and love you. You’re his gran’mere. I’ve already told his nanny that you don’t need an invitation to know you’re welcome at the villa anytime. Cami knows it too.”

“When did you meet Cami?”

“The day after gran’pere passed away.”

“And you’re in love this fast?”

“Madly, desperately. I didn’t think it could happen again in this life, but it did and I wanted you to know before anyone else.” He told her about Cami’s story and her trips to the vineyard with her father and mother. “She used to dream she was the princess in the château.”

“She sounds very sweet and was very polite to me. Why don’t you plan to marry her in the château chapel? It would thrill me to know you’re going to marry the woman of your heart there, even if you have moved out.”

Raoul couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What about Papa?”

“Leave him to me. He’s suffering over you. A marriage at the château might be just what he needs to feel better about everything.”

That had to be a first. “I’ll think about it.”

“I can see there’s a lot we have to discuss. Je t’aime, mon fils,” her voice trembled. “I’ll visit soon to get acquainted with her and my grandson.”

Those were brave words considering she had to deal with his father. “Can you come over tomorrow? No one else will be around. Alain will love it.”

“I’ll work something out and let you know.”

His throat swelled with emotion. “Je t’aime, Maman.”

* * *

Raoul couldn’t sleep all night and finally got up to shower and shave. At seven the next morning he hurried to the nursery. Alain was standing up in his crib waiting for him. The sight thrilled him every time. He put him in some rompers and carried him down to the kitchen where they both ate breakfast.

Cami had gone home last night and there’d been nothing he could do about it. The second Alain had discovered she’d gone, he’d started to cry. It had taken Raoul quite a while to console him before he fell asleep in his crib.

If his mother could come over later, she’d phone him first, but he worried his father might have other plans. Raoul decided to take Alain to Arlette’s for the day. He needed to have that serious talk with Cami, and didn’t believe she wasn’t ready for marriage. She was holding a secret he needed to get out of her.

A part of him had hoped she might try to reach him last night, but it hadn’t happened. All morning he waited for a phone call, then he phoned her. To his chagrin, the call went through to her voice mail. Worse, he couldn’t leave a message because the box was full.

He hung up in frustration. Toward the end of the day he walked into the kitchen where Arlette was feeding Alain. “I’m leaving for a while, but I’ll stay in touch with you.”

“Go for as long as you want, or overnight. We’ll have great fun here, won’t we, Alain?”

“Thanks, Arlette. I couldn’t do without you.”