Falling For His Unlikely Cinderella (Escape To Provence 2)
“Don’t let me keep you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Already he knew he’d like to take Cami out to dinner so they could get better acquainted.
“Isn’t your grandfather’s funeral tomorrow?”
She’d remembered and had shown concern for his loss though he hadn’t felt it himself. After living around his austere relatives, her natural warmth was like a healing balm. “Yes, but I’ll be back in the afternoon.”
Cami’s thoughtful gaze met his briefly before he walked away. He’d have preferred to stay and talk, but not while she was working with her mother.
After going downstairs, he met with two applicants for the nanny position. Neither he nor Arlette were impressed.
Raoul had been guilt ridden over having to give up Antoinette, knowing the pain he’d caused her. He hadn’t been there for the pregnancy he’d had no knowledge of.
Once he’d found out, he’d felt responsible for her death and the anguish he’d caused her and her family. On top of that he was well aware how deeply Arlette missed her daughter. Though she could have blamed Raoul, she’d never been any
thing but accepting and wonderful to him.
His latest worry was what kind of a father he was going to be. Could any nanny he chose measure up or tend Arlette’s grandson with the love and care she and Minerve had provided?
This was a difficult decision for him to make, in truth the hardest of his life. He decided he’d made a mistake by not bringing Alain to the villa today. During the interviews, Raoul needed to watch the women interact with his son on a first meeting simply to see if there was any chemistry at all. If not, it might be a long time before he found the right person to take care of his precious boy.
Raoul could only hope one of the applicants sent to the villa tomorrow after three in the afternoon would stand out. He was also looking forward to spending more time with Cami. Besides her having an intrinsic charm that was growing on him, she had a way of encouraging him, of making him feel he could be a good father. Somehow he felt instinctively he could talk to her and connect.
CHAPTER THREE
THURSDAY HAD ARRIVED, which meant attending the funeral. Raoul climbed in the Mercedes. “Thanks for picking me up, Dom. Why isn’t Nathalie with you?”
“We both felt the funeral was no place to introduce her to the family for the first time.”
“I hear you.”
“She wanted to go to Arlette’s and help tend Alain. Arlette will be bringing him to your villa in time for the nanny interviews.”
“What would I do without them?”
Dom flashed him a glance as they headed for the church. “They’re so thrilled you two have been united, and that you’re his father. They’d do anything for you. They love you.”
“I don’t deserve it.”
“Never say that again. As far as I’m concerned, what Sabine did to you and Antoinette was evil.”
Raoul agreed.
They pulled in the parking lot of the church where the hearse was parked. “I’ve been dreading today,” Dom admitted.
Raoul groaned. “Tell me about it. Let’s get this over.”
The Fontesquieu family was laying a despotic patriarch to rest with all the grandeur of burying a king. Raoul couldn’t take much more.
Both of them had dressed in black. They slipped in the back behind everyone else, refusing to join their individual families. Sabine, also in black with a veil, sat next to Raoul’s parents with her family as if there’d been no divorce. They were all in denial. She turned her head when she saw them come in.
“Sabine never gives up, does she?” Dom said under his breath.
“Of course not,” Raoul bit out. “I’m still waiting for Papa to inform the press of the truth. It’s been five days...”
“He’s waiting for you to come around.”
Raoul shook his head.
Once the services were over, he and Dominic escaped out the back of the church with relief and walked to the Mercedes.