“Come upstairs with us first and I’ll get him changed. Then we’ll go down. We want company, don’t we, mon gars?”
It was crazy, but there was nothing in the world she wanted more than to be with him like this. “Let’s go.”
When they reached the nursery, Raoul put the Porsche on the dresser and pulled a little swimsuit out of the drawer with baby sharks on it.
Cami chuckled. “Did you buy this?”
There was a glint in his eyes. “I couldn’t resist.” He lowered Alain in the crib and put a clean diaper on him like he’d been doing it forever, then followed with the suit. Alain kept staring at her.
“I’ll take him to my bedroom while I change. You would know there’s a bathroom off the hall with towels outside the indoor pool. You can change in there and we’ll meet at the pool.”
She hurried off with a throbbing pulse and discovered the luxurious bathroom that now contained every amenity and a supply of beach towels. Someone had been busy adding all the furnishings. Cami removed her jeans and blouse. She’s brought her modest blue bikini.
On her way out the door she reached for three towels and went to the pool.
Raoul had beaten her there and was pushing his son around on a blue inflatable raft. Fully clothed or in a swimsuit, he had to be the most exciting-looking male alive with a dusting of black hair on his chest.
She felt those matching black eyes appraise her as she walked to the shallow end. After putting the towels on a deck chair, she sat on the top step of the pool.
Alain saw her and pointed. “That’s Cami,” his father said. “Can you say Cami?”
“Cam—” he blurted to her delight.
“That’s right, Alain,” she cried. “I bet you’re having fun with your papa.” Her gaze darted to Raoul’s. “Has he ever been swimming?”
He pulled Alain off the raft and moved closer. “Nathalie took him to a pool a couple of times during the summer, but that’s the sum total of his experience.”
She noticed how tender he was with his son, swishing him around in the water at the shallow end without alarming him. In a minute she slipped in the warm water and swam by them. Raoul urged him to kick his legs. Cami stretched out alongside and kicked her legs too. Pretty soon Alain got so excited Raoul’s laughter resounded in the pool room.
She swam over to them. “Shall we watch your papa?” Cami instinctively reached for Alain.
CHAPTER SIX
RAOUL WAS EXCITED to see that his son went to her willingly and didn’t cry for him.
“Let’s see how big a splash he can make,” she said to him.
Raoul sent her a smile before he starting swimming on his back. His legs and feet created a geyser that fascinated her and Alain. “Papa—”
“That’s right, Alain. Your papa didn’t tell us he was an Olympic champion!”
More laughter escaped Raoul’s lips. It was all too fun. In another minute he joined them and put Alain through another series of kicking exercises. She swam to the raft and pushed it over to Raoul. He lifted Alain onto it so he could move him around again.
She followed them while Raoul made figure eights and circles. Alain was loving it. So was he. In fact this was the most fun he’d had in ages.
“You really are an amazing swimmer. Did the château have a swimming pool?”
“No. I wish there’d been one. On occasion I was allowed to swim on the estate of a friend my family approved of. In my midteens Dominic and I swam in the ocean when we finished our vineyard work. That’s another reason I bought this villa. My son is going to be able to swim whenever he wants.”
“He’s taking to it already.”
Raoul pushed Alain on the raft toward her. “I want him to love his life growing up. I wasn’t as happy at home or at school.”
Cami pushed Alain back to him, causing him to laugh. “Why didn’t you like school? I love hearing about your life.”
“You already know a lot. The private school I attended was structured the way my grandfather ran everything.”
“In other words, you didn’t get a break.”