After telling Theo he’d be gone from the office for the rest of the day, he drove to the chateau to change into casual clothes, then left for La Gaude.
When he reached the town, he turned on the GPS to find the La Metropole Pharmacy and parked near the front. He didn’t know if she’d be working there today, but this was a place to start.
After parking the car, he entered the pharmacy that had a number of customers. One man stood behind a counter waiting on people. Dominic looked around until he spotted a striking older blonde with a slender figure who had to be Nathalie’s mother. She was talking to a customer in the back. There was no sign of her daughter. That meant Nathalie was probably home.
Dominic walked back out and drove to the address on Olivier. She lived in a very modest, soft-yellow Provencal bastide. A red car had been parked in front. Around the side he caught sight of her blue car. His heart skipped a beat. He walked to the front door and knocked.
There was no response so he knocked again. Maybe she’d seen him from one of the front windows and intended to ignore him. After another minute he turned and headed for his car, defeated for the moment.
“Dominic? Wait!”
He wheeled around in time to see her hurry toward him wearing a colorful top and jeans. Her hair flounced around her shoulders. “I didn’t realize you were out here.” Her normally beautiful skin looked mottled from crying.
“I received alarming news today to hear you’d quit your job and given up the rental. Gregoire told Etienne it was because of an emergency at home. I tried to reach you on the phone. When I didn’t hear from you, I came to see if you were all right.”
“I’m fine, and I’m so sorry about everything. Now they have to find a replacement for me.” She sounded full of remorse.
“They already have, but you and I need to talk. I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
She nodded. “Just a minute while I grab my purse. I’ll be right out.”
His world had just gotten a little better while he waited to help her in the car. She returned and he drove them into the hills. He parked on an overlook shaded by more olive trees and turned off the engine.
“I planned to phone you later today because I owe you an explanation, Dominic.”
“How about starting with the truth. Why did you quit?”
“I had a good reason.”
“Convince me.”
She moistened her lips in a nervous gesture. “After your brother left the other evening, I didn’t like what was happening to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“The news that you wouldn’t be coming for dinner disappointed me much more than it should have.”
“That’s a bad thing?” he asked in a husky tone.
“It is for me. I never dreamed that working at the vineyard would mean I could be attracted to another man. I felt it was best to leave and still do.”
Dominic had been listening. “Nathalie... You and I have experienced coup de foudre. It makes no sense that you’re trying to put distance between us when we know we’re both on fire for each other. That kind of attraction is so rare I still haven’t recovered and know you haven’t either. Which means there’s something else you can’t or won’t tell me. I’m not going to leave you alone until you do.”
She’d been looking out the window, then turned to him with a sober expression. “I came to the vineyard because...because I’m looking for someone.”
That’s what all this was about? He took a deep breath. “A man or a woman?”
“A man.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “Obviously it’s someone who’s important to you.”
“Yes.”
Ciel. “How important?”
“So important I’ve gone overboard looking for him and am regretting it.”
“You mean you wish we hadn’t met.”