Page 43 of The Magic of Provence (A Year in France #3)

Somehow, Noah Dufour managed to hold that moment of eye contact, however, and this time Laura had to stop herself snatching her hand, rather than her gaze, away from his, because it felt as though his touch was burning her skin.

Not that he gave any sign of having felt that heat himself.

‘ Enchanté ,’ he said, still wearing that undeniably charming smile. ‘I am delighted to meet you both. Please… sit down. Can I get you some coffee? Water? Wine, perhaps…?’

‘No. Thank you.’ Laura shook her head as she sat down, smoothing her dress over her knees.

She wouldn’t have been at all surprised if one of the cupboards in this office was stocked with an extensive selection of wine.

With time on his hands, she could imagine this man pouring himself a glass of a fabulous red wine, putting his booted feet up on the large antique desk, leaning back in his chair and possibly striking a match to light a cigarette to add the final touch to the image of a reprobate.

The man was not only charming, he was undeniably charismatic.

The kind of man that Laura Gilchrist would never dream of trusting. Certainly not on a personal level, anyway. She knew, too well, that if you did, they had the power to break your entire world when they broke that trust – and your heart.

Like her father had – for her entire family.

Charismatic, charming men were dangerous.

Laura pulled in a deep, steadying breath.

She wasn’t in any danger right now. This was disconcerting, that was all.

She’d just been reminded that somewhere, buried so deeply it shouldn’t even be accessible, that pull was still there, like the poignant whiff of a scent that evoked the memory of something precious you could never have again because it had been destroyed beyond repair.

She could still feel a residual warmth from that handshake – as if that match she’d imagined Monsieur Dufour using to light his cigarette was too close to the palm of her own hand – but it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

She could actually sense a mental door being slammed shut as she dismissed the visceral response she’d experienced that was both intrusive and unwelcome.

At least this estate agent’s English was as perfect as his receptionist’s had been, the accent only adding more charm to the laid-back welcome they’d received.

‘ Donc …’ Noah opened a file on his desk. ‘I understand you have both inherited a property called La Maisonette in Tourrettes-sur-Loup? From your uncle?’

‘Along with our other sister, yes,’ Laura confirmed. ‘Apparently we are his only living relatives.’

‘And everyone is in agreement that it is to be sold as quickly as possible?’

‘Yes.’ Laura turned her head to include Ellie in the conversation. ‘That’s right, isn’t it?’

‘Pretty much,’ Ellie agreed. She wasn’t meeting Laura’s gaze, however, and her voice was tight.

Was it because they’d gone ahead and made the agreement in the absence of their middle sister, Fiona, who had failed to respond to the invitation to the family meeting?

Or was the lukewarm response due to the fact that this inheritance had come from an uncle who had been a complete stranger?

They hadn’t even known he existed until the solicitor’s letter had arrived.

Or that they had a French heritage of their own.

This uncle’s French mother – their grandmother – had only moved to Scotland years after her marriage and the birth of her two sons.

A grandmother they’d never heard of before who’d been born and raised somewhere around this part of France.

It made being here an unwelcome link to the father who had walked out of their lives probably too long ago for Ellie to have any lasting memories of him, but Laura had more than she wanted.

Memories that could still surface in dreams that she had no control over – reminders of a dark side to that charisma and charm that could appear without warning and cause enough pain that the fear never quite went away.

If her sisters ever had nightmares without understanding what might have sown the seeds, that subconscious awareness could well have created another layer of reasons why her youngest sister didn’t really want to be here.

Laura wouldn’t have chosen to come here with that new knowledge of their family history, either, but it had been logical for the eldest Gilchrist girl to take charge – she was an estate agent herself, after all, and it was quite likely that a property in a desirable part of the South of France would be snapped up as a second home to a buyer on their side of the English Channel.

It had been their mother’s idea that Laura brought Ellie along on the flying visit to see the house.

‘ It might do her a bit of good, getting away for a day or two ,’ Jeannie Gilchrist had said. ‘ Mebbe it’ll take her mind off… you know… everything…’

Of course Laura knew. They all did. But, so far, taking Ellie away from their home town of Oban, Scotland, didn’t seem to be helping to distract her from what she’d had to deal with in the last few months, after the loss of her baby.

Her youngest sister was still lost in a darkness that Laura couldn’t begin to comprehend, possibly because she’d been so young when she’d learned that it wasn’t going to help anyone, including yourself, to allow overwhelming emotions get the upper hand. You had to keep control.

Or you might drown…

She couldn’t blame Ellie for not paying attention to all the information Noah was imparting about how complicated it was to buy and sell property in France, but it was a little annoying when she didn’t answer Laura’s query.

‘Ellie?’ Her tone was sharper than she’d intended it to be. ‘Are you even listening?’

‘Sorry… what?’

‘Noah says he’s got time to look at all the things that need doing to the house tomorrow, so I’m going to give him the key. You don’t want to go back there, do you?’

‘ No …’ Ellie’s tone was emphatic.

Had she really hated La Maisonette that much?

Laura closed her eyes for a heartbeat as her breath caught in her chest. It really hadn’t helped that one of the bedrooms had had a baby’s cot in it.

Thank goodness Noah had agreed to take care of whatever renovation and staging was needed for the presentation of this property to the market, but he was looking thoughtful as Laura handed over the huge iron key to the front door of the house.

‘Are you sure you don’t want to clean it up yourselves? It would save you a lot of money. Many hundreds of euros, I expect. Thousands, perhaps.’

Noah’s smile was hopeful. Maybe he wasn’t keen on the effort it would take to supervise an epic cleaning and restoration job.

That didn’t surprise Laura any more than the idea of him having a hidden wine cabinet in his office.

There was a lazy quality to his smile that suggested he didn’t let hard work interfere too much with his enjoyment of life.

The warmth of that smile seemed to be contagious. Laura could feel it seeping in to settle somewhere deep in her belly. Dousing it by tightening the well-toned muscles of her abdomen was an instinctive reaction. So was the firm tone of her voice.

‘No. I’m afraid that’s not an option.’

The disappointment in his face was simply part and parcel of that charm, wasn’t it?

‘ Pas de problème ,’ he said. ‘I will stay in touch.’ He picked a business card from a holder on his desk and reached to hand it to Laura. ‘Here’s the agency number. If I’m not available, then just leave a message with my assistant, Blandine.’

It was only polite to give him one of her own business cards in return. His fingers brushed hers as he accepted it and Laura caught a glimmer of something very unbusinesslike in his gaze again.

‘My private number is also on my card,’ he murmured. ‘Please call if I can be of any assistance.’

This felt far too personal. Almost an invitation? Laura shifted uncomfortably and broke eye contact.

‘When do you leave?’ Noah asked.

‘Tomorrow. I wasn’t sure how long things would take and the late flights were all full tonight.’

‘I’m sorry I don’t have the time to visit the property today but I have another appointment.’ Noah’s sigh was indeed regretful as he glanced at his watch. ‘In fact, I really need to go. I’m rather late…’

‘No problem.’ That was an understatement, really.

Having this man vanish could be the solution to a problem, in fact, because Laura could escape from whatever was causing this unsettling awareness of everything about Monsieur Dufour.

‘We’re planning to have a wander around the old town here,’ she added.

‘And then we’ll go and find our hotel in Vence. ’

She would be miles away from him by then.

Noah nodded as he got to his feet. He didn’t seem bothered by the prospect of her disappearing from his life forever in the next minute or two.

‘Leave your car here, if you wish. It will be easier to walk than find a closer parking place. You’ve got the Fondation Maeght just a bit further up the road if you’re fond of art. It’s a very famous gallery, and the Miró sculpture garden is just fabulous.’

One eyebrow, barely visible beneath the shaggy hairstyle, quirked just a fraction and a very different note made the tone of his voice richer. Warmer. The words were almost a caress.

‘I would love to be showing you around there myself.’

Oh no… Laura didn’t dare look at Ellie. Not just because she might be on the verge of giving her discomfiture away by blushing furiously.

This was also awkward because Ellie had been an artist herself until the unthinkable had happened.

Rubbing her nose into the fact that she’d lost more than her baby would be heartless.

‘Maybe not today,’ she said crisply, getting to her feet. She needed to escape for both their sakes now. ‘We’ll go and have a walk around the old town.’

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