LITMIR.BIZ

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Paul.” The other man had come back. Dominic still held her green gaze. “Just remember not to kill yourself off today. You’ll need your strength for tomorrow.”

      She smiled. “I appreciate the warning. Merci, monsieur.”

      Dominic nodded to Paul, then walked toward the truck in the distance. On his way back to the office, he ate his snacks, but he’d need coffee. To his relief Theo had already made it for both of them.

      No sooner had Dominic poured himself a cup and walked into his private office to get busy than Raoul arrived. All the family offices were in the same building.

      “You’re a sight for sore eyes, mon vieux. Come on in and shut the door.”

      “I was hoping you’d be here.” He’d brought a cup of coffee with him and planted himself on a leather chair opposite Dominic’s desk.

      “Anything new at the conference in Saint Tropez?”

      Raoul shook his head. “The Provencal vineyards seem to be doing marginally better, but it’s going to take years before every vintner in France recoups losses from two years ago. Dieu merci for the personal investments you’ve helped me make.”

      “You’re not worried about money, are you?”

      “I might be.”

      “That sounded cryptic.”

      “Let’s just say I’d like you to go over my accounts and let me know what I’m worth. I might need some of it before long.”

      Dominic sat forward. “I’ll look into it before the day is out. But promise me you’re not thinking of doing something drastic.”

      “Like what?”

      “I don’t know. Like leaving the way I did, maybe?”

      He knew his cousin’s marriage had been in shambles from the start, and that both Raoul and his wife carried a deep sorrow from losing their little girl, Celine, who had died at one month from a bad heart. Dominic wondered how much longer the two could keep up pretensions.

      “My greatest regret is that I didn’t go to Paris with you years ago. Let’s face it, Dom. You were the only one in the family with the guts to get out before being swallowed alive.”

      “But I’m back now.” For how long he didn’t know. It depended on Nathalie Fournier, who’d swept into his life on Friday, bringing a beauty and charm that had put some kind of a spell on him. His desire to get to know her had stoked an unprecedented hunger in him, though his cousin didn’t know that.

      Raoul stared hard at him. “Yes, but you’re still free to make your own decisions. Nobody owns you and your life is intact.”

      “No one owns you, Raoul.”

      “You’re right. I take ownership for my guilt and mistakes with Sabine.”

      Dom let out a troubled sigh. “As you can see, the tentacles brought me back temporarily.”

      “The day you came home was my salvation.”

      “You’re mine, Raoul. Whatever you’re planning, don’t leave.”

      “Not yet anyway. I need to know where I stand financially before I do anything.”

      “I’ll get busy on it.” Something serious was going on with Raoul.

      “Thanks. Now enough about me. I hear Etienne is still sick.”

      “He’s finally getting better. I’m filling in for him a while longer, but something odd has come up I want to talk to you about.”

      “Go ahead.”

      Dominic told him everything, but didn’t reveal the strength of his attraction to the pharmacist. “Am I being paranoid that she’s up to something questionable?”

      Raoul studied him for a minute. “Being an undercover freelance reporter is a big stretch from being a pharmacist. But I’d trust your instincts as they’re rarely wrong. If you feel something isn’t right, then it isn’t. What’s your plan?”

      “I’m going to get to know her.”

      “After a few days you’ll know if she’s out for a scoop on the business. It has happened before. Grand-père forced the perpetrators to pay stiff fines and do jail time.”

      “That’s our grandfather.” Dominic didn’t want her to have to face that type of punishment for trespassing. If that was what she was doing.

      Just then, Raoul received a text. After reading it, he looked up. “I’ve got to get over to my office.”

      “I’ll call you tonight.”

      “What would I do without you in my corner?”

      On that note, he dashed off.

      Dominic sat back, pondering his cousin’s counsel to follow his instincts about Miss Fournier. He planned to find out what made her tick.

      After pulling all the information on Raoul’s investments, he did some figures and prepared a form to give his cousin. By afternoon he’d finished his work, so he drove his car back out to the terroir. Dominic made sure he’d shown up early enough to catch sight of the woman who was constantly on his mind.

      Paul and Gregoire kept moving up and down the rows to help the workers. At 4:30 p.m. he saw her and several others leave the vineyard, though she walked down the road rather than climb into one of the trucks.

      Dominic called to her as he pulled his car alongside her on the road. “Mademoiselle Fournier?”

      She swung toward him, her eyes lighting up when she saw him behind the wheel. “Bonsoir, monsieur.”

      “Since I’m on my way back to the chateau, allow me to drive you to your mobile home.”

      “Oh—thank you very much.” It surprised him that without hesitation she climbed in the other side with her backpack.

      He started driving at a slow pace. “How was your first day?”

      A fetching smile broke out on her flushed face. “You don’t want to hear about it.”

      Her comment made him laugh. “It had to be a change from preparing prescriptions for people.”

      “Working here with the vines is another existence. No matter how sore I am, it makes you part of this world of living greenery.” She had a unique way of putting things that seemed to confirm his suspicions that she could be a writer. She darted him a smile. “How was your day?”

      Was she trying to get information from him? “You’d be bored to tears.” In truth he’d accomplished less than usual and it was all because of the beautiful woman sitting next to him.

      “I’m sure that’s not true. For my part, I already feel a camaraderie with some of the other workers. The Lopez family next to me is so cheerful.”

      Dominic remembered interviewing them after she’d left the tent. “It doesn’t sound like you’re ready to quit yet.”

      “Oh, no. I’m in for the count.”

      “Why?” More than ever he wanted an answer to that question.

      “I learned as a child that way back when one of your ancestors was titled and given this land. Not very many people can claim a heritage like yours. It made fascinating reading.”

      All her answers sounded truthful. “Why fascinating?”

      “When I was a little girl, I grew up on fairy tales. Your chateau is the embodiment of those painted on the covers of the books I loved. The thought of working in your vineyard sounded intriguing. Is it true your grandfather holds the title of Duc?”

      “It’s a defunct title.” Maybe she

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