He looked down at her hand, then tilted his head up with an inscrutable dark gaze. “No?”
Stiffening, Carrie pulled back her hand and tried to laugh. “Any employee of yours deserves all the vacation they can get,” she muttered.
Théo barked a laugh. Coming very close, he looked down at her. “Without my cousin we’ll be alone at the castle. Doesn’t that make you nervous?”
Her heart stopped in her chest.
“No,” she stammered. “Why would I be?”
He leaned forward to whisper, “Because, whether you admit it or not, you know you’ll soon be in my bed.”
Their eyes met, then their fingertips brushed as they both reached for the handle of the stroller at the same time. Carrie sucked in her breath, ripping her hands away as if he’d burned her.
He took the handle in both his large hands and turned toward the square. “The market is crowded, so stay close,” he said casually. “I would hate to lose you.”
An hour or so later, after sampling cheeses and fruits and bread across the outdoor market—even once having Théo feed her a piece of chocolate truffle— Carrie was congratulating herself as they left the crowded street with their bags packed beneath the baby stroller. She’d made it through this outing with Théo without making a total fool of herself. Well…mostly.
He turned to her abruptly as they left the market.
“I have something I need to do,” he said. “I’ll meet you at the Auberge in an hour.” He handed her a platinum credit card. “Buy toys for the baby. Clothes for yourself. Gifts for your family. Anything you want.”
He was leaving her here—and paying her off with a credit card. She stared down at the card in dismay. “I don’t want that.”
“Take it.” He pushed it into her hand. When she didn’t move, he lifted an eyebrow. “Unless you are so enamored of my company you don’t want me to leave you—not even for a moment.”
Carrie lifted her chin. “Are you kidding? Being without you for sixty whole minutes? It’ll be paradise!?
?
His lips twisted with amusement. “I thought you might feel that way.”
She bit her lip. “But where are you going?”
He just gave her an inscrutable smile. “See you in an hour.”
Without another word, he turned and left.
Against her will, Carrie watched him go, her eyes lingering on the shape of his body as he disappeared back into the crowd of shoppers. He was so aggravating. How dare he make her laugh? How dare he make her enjoy herself? How dare he make her want to like him again, when hatred was her only defense?
She came back to herself with a start when she heard her baby whine, squirming in his stroller seat. “Sorry about that,” she told Henry brightly. “We can go.” Straightening, she looked at the credit card in her hand. She tapped the card thoughtfully against her cheek.
So…Théo wanted her to shop, did he?
Théo took the bags out of the back of the SUV and brought them into the main hall at the château. He had to make a second trip. He’d never seen so many bags.
“Is that it?” he said finally.
“Yes, I believe so.” From the rocking chair by the window, where she was nursing the baby, Carrie gave him a serene smile. “I had the rest of my packages sent directly to the States.”
Théo tried not to look toward her full, bare breast, covered only by a blanket. He licked his lips, his eyes looking everywhere but at her breasts, though he could think of nothing else. “What else did you buy?”
She waved her arms expansively. “Gifts for friends and family.”
“Gifts?”
She looked at him innocently. “For Christmas.”
He stared at her. “It’s June.”