Love Story Next Door!: Cinderella on His Doorstep / Mr Right, Next Door! / Soldier on Her Doorstep

“Stop worrying, Alex. You had every right to be angry!” she shouted back before running around the side of the château.

Since the rest of her day was free, she would go sightseeing. After grabbing her purse from the pantry, she made sure the door was locked, then got in her car and backed around to the front.

Her heart didn’t resume its normal beat until she’d driven a good fifty kilometers on the repaired tire. At the next village she pulled off the road into a park. In the distance she saw some swans on a lake. The serene scene mocked the turmoil going on inside of her.

After the experience with Neal she’d promised herself she wouldn’t get close enough to a man again to expose her deepest feelings. But the pathetic little stunt she’d just pulled revealed holes in her best intentions, forcing her to come face-to-face with her own idiocy.

The need to channel her roiling emotions drove her from the car. She spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the lake, making plans that had nothing to do with Alex. On the way back to the château she stopped for a meal and didn’t return to Rablay until five-thirty.

She was relieved no one had gone to their hotels yet. With everyone still around, Alex would make himself scarce. That gave her time to reach her room without him noticing. She’d hibernate there until tomorrow. New day, new beginning.

No sooner had she started down the upstairs hall than she saw Saskia coming out of her bedroom. The brown-haired model turned actress could turn any man’s head, but she didn’t have the same effect on Dana. The invasion of privacy infuriated her under any circumstances, but if she’d been snooping around on orders from Dana’s father, she was ready to declare war.

“Hi!” Saskia was a cool customer. She didn’t have the grace to blush or act embarrassed. Dana couldn’t bring herself to reciprocate with a greeting. “What did you have to do for the owner of this fabulous estate to give you special privileges?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“I haven’t met him yet, but the girls in makeup tell me he’s beyond gorgeous.”

That was one way of describing him. Saskia’s jaw would drop when she saw Alex for the first time. “Didn’t Paul tell you the petit salon and this bedroom were off-limits?”

“I didn’t think he meant me.”

“Why not?”

Throwing back another question managed to unsettle her a little. “Actually I was looking for you in the hope we could talk.”

“About what?”

“Now you’re being obtuse. You know very well your father and I aren’t getting along right now. I was hoping you’d be able to tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

“I can’t fault you for anything, Saskia. I wouldn’t presume.”

“That’s no help.”

Dana took a steadying breath. “That’s because there is no answer. You’re not my mother, but you’ve always known that, so the truth couldn’t be a surprise to you. If it’s any consolation, I can’t do it right, either.”

Saskia flashed her a shrewd regard. “Maybe if I stayed here at the château, Jan would worry about me sometimes? See me in a different light?”

You mean, as mistress of the manor with a real live Frenchman attached? Now things were beginning to make sense. She’d been looking for Alex…

“I’m sure I don’t know.”

“Do you think the owner of the château would let me stay here?”

“Haven’t a clue.”

She pursed her lips. “I suppose it helped that you’re Jan’s daughter. Maybe being his girlfriend would work for me.”

“It’s worth a try.”

Her green eyes gleamed in anticipation of confronting Alex. “I agree. Thanks for the talk.”

Dana watched her slender figure disappear before she went to her bedroom. Saskia had been fighting a losing battle when it came to Dana’s father. No doubt seeing the eight-by-ten photograph of Dana’s mother and a smaller photograph of her parents propped on the dresser underlined the futility of Saskia’s relationship with him.

As for Dana, she had her own problem in the futility department where Alex was concerned. He couldn’t leave for the States fast enough. How ironic that because she’d seen his ad on the Internet, she’d unwittingly made it possible for him to reach his goal sooner. Saskia could dream all she wanted, but she was in for a shock.

Alex worked in the orchard until twilight. One more trip to the landfill and he’d call it a night. The delicious, filling lunch Dana had delivered air express without consideration for her personal safety had kept him going through the dinner hour.

Much as he’d wanted to go after her, he hadn’t wanted an audience that included her father, grace a dieu. Since no one knew what had transpired, he decided it would be better to apologize to her after hours when they were alone.

On the way back from his last haul, he locked the gate for the night and drove on to the front of the château. The sight of her rental car meant she was home. His pulse shot off the charts as he hurried inside and made a quick inspection of the ground floor in the hope he might bump into her.

To his chagrin all he found besides furniture in the grand salon was an empty basket and thermos placed at the foot of the paneled door. It was identical to the one she’d brought Alex. He carried it to the kitchen where he’d put his on the way in from the truck.

A few minutes later after a shower and change of clothes, he phoned her while he was warming some food for his dinner. Maybe she’d come down and join him.

“Alex?” She answered on the fourth ring. “Is there something wrong?”

“Yes,” he blurted. At this point in their relationship, nothing but honesty would do.

“Did you lose your remote and can’t get in the château?”

“I’m afraid my problem can’t be fixed that easily.”

He felt her hesitate before she said, “Did the studio from Paris cancel on you for mid-September?”

The strong hint of anxiety in her tone plus the fact that she remembered what he’d told her humbled him. He’d grovel if necessary to get back on the footing they’d had before she’d brought him his lunch.

Alex cleared his throat. “I appreciate your concern, but the truth is, I was rude to you earlier today. It takes a lot to frighten me, but when I saw you appear among the leaves like some impossibly adorable wood nymph and realized how far you were from the ground, I lost any perspective I should’ve had.”

She let out a wry laugh. “The relegation from cherub to wood nymph is a subtle improvement I like, so I’ll take it.”

Dana…

“As for the rest, I’ve had all day to ponder my actions over that brainless stunt. Chalk it up to the enchantment of this place.”

He had to clamp down hard on his emotions. “I can safely say it was the best meal I ever had in a tree.”

“That’s another distinction I’ll treasure, but to save you from an early heart attack, I’ll leave your lunch basket on the fender of your truck from now on.”

“Why don’t you come downstairs and we’ll talk about it over a glass of wine.” If he hadn’t made the rule that he would never take advantage by going up to her room after dark unless invited, he’d be there now.

“Lovely as that sounds, I’m already half asleep. May I confess something to you?”

“By all means.” He had to swallow his disappointment.

“You’ll think me more superstitious than my father.”