“To Louis Delacroix, who is ultimately responsible for the Chartier wines that will grace our tables in future.”
She thought Luc would say, “Touché,” but he didn’t. That pleased her.
She took a quick swallow without tasting it, and sat down so he wouldn’t come near her.
If he drank more of his wine, she didn’t watch.
Maybe other women could handle a situation like this without getting burned. Unfortunately Rachel didn’t know the rules.
Was Luc playing a game with her?
Some moments she could swear he wasn’t toying with her. Yet in the next breath he said something that knocked the foundation out from under her, leaving her uncertain and more vulnerable than she’d ever been in her life.
“How do you like your meal?” he inquired after a few minutes.
“It’s delicious. So is the wine.” She refused to meet his eyes.
“Does your sister live in London too?”
Now that she’d told him the jewelry was for Rebecca, he wasn’t about to leave the subject alone.
“No. New York, and everywhere else her advertising job takes her.”
A tension-filled silence followed.
“Rachel—what have I said that has upset you so much?”
The concern in his deep voice defeated her. She wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin.
“It’s nothing to do with you, Luc,” she lied. “I’m sorry if I gave you that impression.”
“Then this has to be about your sister.”
“Yes.” She seized on the kernel of truth he’d thrown her. “We haven’t been close in years. I don’t know how to fix it.”
“What happened to cause the breach between twins?”
Unbidden tears stung her eyes.
Damn.
“I—I wasn’t there when Mother died. I loved her desperate
ly, and I should have gotten there in time, but I was on business wi— Oh—it doesn’t matter what the reasons were that delayed me. The fact remains I got there too late and Rebecca has never forgiven me.
“No matter how many times Grandfather has told me it wasn’t my fault, I’ve never been able to forgive myself.
“He says the only thing I’ve done wrong is not allowing myself to get over this and move on. But how do you throw off that kind of guilt?” she cried before she realized what a fool she was making of herself. What was she doing pouring her heart out to a man she’d only met twenty-four hours ago? It didn’t make any sense!
Luc looked at her with too much compassion. She couldn’t handle it.
“Forgive me for breaking down in front of you,” she said in a dull voice. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m flattered that you felt comfortable enough with me to let go of your emotions.”
She sensed a pause before he said, “We all suffer from our own brand of demons.”
No doubt he was speaking from experience. Divorce left its scars.