Cami had to pinch herself to believe she was here again when she’d thought she’d seen the last of him. While she was sipping the hot liquid, she heard footsteps. Suddenly Raoul entered the kitchen with the cutest little boy she’d ever seen in her life.
With curly black hair and a lean build, his son Alain couldn’t belong to any other man and would grow up to be impossibly handsome like his striking father. Both were in jeans and T-shirts. Alain wore a light blue one with a bulldog on the front.
Raoul flashed her a smile and hunkered down by him. “Alain, this is Cami.”
Her heart melted as she leaned toward him and smiled. Talk about the perfect child! What she would have given for a son like this, but not when she’d been in a bad marriage.
“Bonjour, Alain—” You darling boy. Obeying an impulse, she touched the dog on his shirt. “I like your chien.”
He didn’t hide from her. Instead he stood very still, staring at her through piercing black eyes exactly like his father’s.
“I’m planning to get him a bulldog as soon as I can find the right nanny and she gets settled in. We’ll all train it together.”
“They’re a lot of work, but they’re wonderful.”
“I wanted one all my life, but there was a no pets rule while I was growing up.”
“Really? More than once I heard my father say a child needed a dog.”
“Not all parents feel the same way.”
She frowned. “That’s no fun, Raoul. We had two dogs while I was growing up. I’d get home from school and play with them for hours.”
He smiled. “Lucky you.”
“I know I was, especially because I didn’t have any siblings. When the last one died, we didn’t get another one because by then I was married. Then after the divorce, I started working with my mom. We didn’t get a new dog because we couldn’t give it the attention it deserves.”
“That’s not going to be our problem around here,” Raoul murmured.
“A b
oy and his dog. Could anything be cuter?” She reached for her purse on the counter and pulled out the little present she’d bought for his son at a toy store on the way here. “You were so excited about Alain coming home to live with you, I wanted to get this for him in celebration. This is for your nursery collection.” Cami had noticed he didn’t have a white toy car.
Raoul’s eyes thanked her as he took it from her and unwrapped it. “Look, Alain. A white Porsche Cabriolet. You couldn’t have bought him anything more exciting.”
Alain’s attention fastened on the car before reaching for it. In the next instant he got down on the floor with it and started pushing it around making funny sounds she was sure his father had taught him. That brought laughter from both of them.
“I can tell you’ve already been teaching him the important things of life, Raoul.” His eyes met hers in amusement, causing her heart to beat faster. “I don’t know what it is about men. They all love sports cars. I have to admit I love them too.” But she’d never had the fun of driving in one. Her friends and acquaintances couldn’t afford them.
His burning black eyes played over her, sending sensations of warmth through her body. “I’m hoping he’ll love to swim too. I’m giving him his first lesson in our indoor swimming pool.”
“Are you sure you want anyone else there while you’re teaching him?”
He cocked his dark head. “I’m thinking if he sees someone else swimming, it will give him courage.”
“That’s a thought, but I’m only an average swimmer.” The doctor hadn’t told her to curtail her normal activities, but he’d cautioned her not to overdo. As well as instructing she should do no heavy lifting or running marathons, he’d said she shouldn’t take part in swimming meets either.
An enticing smile broke the corner of his mouth. “All it takes is a little practice.”
“I’m sure that’s true.” This could be the last time she ever went swimming in her life, let alone with this man she adored. Raoul had to be the most eligible, hunky male on the planet. “How about I just dangle my legs over the edge of the pool.”
Raoul’s eyes flickered. “You won’t get any complaints from me.”
Why did she have to say that?
“After our swim we’ll have a meal in the kitchen that you and your coworkers have made shine.”
She hadn’t been imagining it. Last night Raoul had told her he wanted to be with her all the time, but it could be a very short-lived relationship. It all depended on the result of the operation.