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

That particular word wasn’t on the growing list of adjectives he found himself ascribing to her. The mention of her father in the same conversation didn’t improve his mood. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

“Somehow it seems sacrilegious to drink anyone else’s wine on Belles Fleurs property. Does that make sense?”

His eyes closed tightly for a minute because deep in his core he’d had the same thought last night. Like the seed of the precious chenin blanc grape buried in the soil of the Anjou centuries ago, it seemed to have germinated out of nowhere, reminding him of his mother’s roots.

“More than you know,” he answered huskily.

Until last night he hadn’t felt that emotional connection. Now, suddenly, it tugged at him and he realized it was all tied up with Dana, who had everything to do with this unexpected awakening.

“Alex? Are you still there?”

“Mais oui.” He gripped the phone tighter. “Do you remember asking if I could see the famous Belles Fleurs vineyard from the top of the tree?”

“Are we talking about the same question you didn’t answer?”

“Meet me out in back in the morning at eight. There’s something I want to show you.”

“I thought I’d been warned off climbing trees.”

Alex rubbed the back of his neck absently. “This requires some walking. Wear boots if you have them.”

“I don’t. Will trainers do?”

“Those will protect your feet better than your sandals.”

“We’re not going to be trekking through some snake-infested region are we? I have an irrational terror of them.”

A low chuckle rumbled out of him. “Few of the snakes in France are venomous. Even then their bites aren’t worse than wasp stings. So far I haven’t come across any.”

“That’s not exactly reassuring, Alex.”

“I’ve survived the snake worlds of Indonesia and Africa.”

“But you’re—”

“Yes?” he prodded after she broke off talking midsentence. She’d left him hanging, the perpetual state he’d been in since meeting her…and didn’t like.

“I was just going to say you’re invincible.”

“Not quite.” She’d been making inroads on his psyche from the moment they’d met, infiltrating his thoughts. No woman he’d known could claim that distinction. “For what it’s worth, I promise to protect you.”

“Thank you.”

He wanted to be with her now. “Are you sure you’re too tired for Scrabble? I brought the game with me from Bali. My father and I often played.”

“In how many languages?”

He couldn’t suppress his laughter. “Why don’t we find out?”

“Maybe another night when I’m not worn-out.”

“What’s your birthdate?” She’d be turning twenty-seven. That wasn’t a day he was bound to forget, not after his assumption that she’d been much younger.

“The sixteenth.”

“Next Monday. Don’t make any plans. We’ll celebrate and I’ll let you beat me.”

“I intend to.”

He grinned. “Where did you go today?”

“I don’t really know. I kept driving until I saw this park and a lake. There was a mother swan. She had three cygnets who followed her around, matching her exact movements like they had radar. I kept running around the lake, watching them. You’ve never seen anything so sweet or fascinating.”

Yes, he had…The picture he had in his mind of her made his whole body ache.

“No wonder you’re tired. If you’d rather make it nine o’clock—”

“I’ll probably be out there by seven-thirty before any of the crew arrives. I don’t like them knowing my business.”

Did that include her father? Alex had the strong hunch there’d been little communication between them by phone since she’d chosen to sleep at the château against his wishes.

“That’s understandable.”

“To be honest, I don’t see how you can stand to have your own privacy invaded by a ton of strangers wreaking havoc.”

He drew in a sharp breath. “It’s called money.”

“I know. Let’s hope word has spread throughout the film world and you’re flooded with new requests. Nothing would make me happier for you. Good night.” The definitive click cut off his lifeline.

While he locked up and turned out lights, it came to him Dana was a gift that might come along once in a millennium if you were lucky. Her father had to know that. Perhaps it was the reason he guarded his golden-haired offspring so jealously.

In a very short period of time Dana had brought out the possessive instinct in Alex. Evidently it had been lying dormant these many years just waiting to spring to life when or if the right person ever made an appearance.

For the rest of the night he was taunted by dreams of a certain blue-eyed wood nymph smiling at him through the foliage. If the handsaw and the basket hadn’t been in the way, the two of them might still be up there in a bed of leaves while he made love to her over and over again.

Chapter Six (#ulink_e206665b-d16e-536e-9551-551be147f113)

“SALUT, ma belle!”

She waved to Alex, who stood by the truck, dressed in thigh-molding jeans and another white T-shirt that revealed the outline of his cut physique. The sun brought out the black-brown vibrancy of his overly long hair, a style that suited him to perfection.

He’d seen her coming around the back in her white-washed jeans and T-shirt in her favorite mocha color. His eyes followed her progress with disturbing intensity, making her feel exposed.

“It’s such a beautiful morning I’m not going to ask if you’re fine because you couldn’t be anything else.” He was freshly shaven and the faint scent of the soap he’d used in the shower permeated the air around them.

“You’re right about that,” he murmured. She watched him pick up a pair of long-handled pruning shears. “Shall we be off?” There was a slight curve to his lips she’d only tasted for a brief moment the other night. Unfortunately it had set up a permanent hunger nothing but a much longer repeat of the experience would satisfy.

Dana nodded before following him down the path that bisected the orchard. Maybe she was crazy but she felt something crackling in the air between them, the kind of thing that sizzled during a lightning storm.