Julian laughed. Camille thought he was carrying on a running affair with Madeline. And she was jealous. Huh. Imagine that. “Did she tell you we were...?” Or maybe she didn’t like having it thrown in her face.
“Yes.” Camille nodded. “In graphic detail.”
No wonder she was angry.
“Chéri, have you forgotten...?” He paused, and managed to contain his laughter to just a thought. “Madeleine is the reason I married you.”
A look of torment crossed her face. “I just don’t get that.” She paused, waving a gesture into the air. “Why didn’t you just marry her? In your room this morning, she made it clear you’ll be continuing your affair.”
“What are you talking about?” He tried to hide his confusion, but it escaped in his coolly disapproving tone.
“She was in your room this morning.”
“No, she wasn’t.”
“Yes, she was.”
“When?” There was no way Madeleine was in his room, and he didn’t understand why Camille thought otherwise.
“Oh, she was there. You were in the shower.”
He shook his head, hardly able to believe Madeleine’s nerve. “She must have come in when I got in the shower.”
“Of course.” Camille closed her eyes and seemed to be letting reality sink in. “You said she’d do this.” She shook her head in a slow, rhythmic movement and looked at Julian. “I feel like an idiot,” she said, almost laughing at herself. “She insinuated she’d been there all night.”
A sense of sadness hung a long brittle silence in the air. He shook his head regretfully. “She’s crazy. She was no more in my room last night than I was in yours.”
“You did say she’d set out to have me catch the two of you in bed together,” Camille said. “I just didn’t realize it would all be a charade.”
He felt bad now, that Madeleine—who thought the marriage was authentic—had thrown a faux affair in his wife’s face.
“Chéri, I’m so sorry.” He closed his eyes for a second or two and then looked back at Camille. “Even in a business arrangement, you didn’t deserve to be humiliated.”
Her cheeks reddened a tinge. He could see it, even in the dimly lit candles’ glow.
Should he make his move? Or, should he bid her goodnight and let her contemplate all she’d learned?
He had to be very careful. Moving too quickly could ruin his chances forever.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
AT SOME POINT during the night the storm had passed and the Naoma Louise had set sail. The night had been restless for Camille. What possessed her to think she could pretend to be married to a guy like Julian de Laurent for six months and not develop a consuming desire to have sex with the man?
All night long, he’d invaded her thoughts, her dreams, her heart. The only place he hadn’t invaded was her bed. And that was the one place she wouldn’t have turned him away, even though it was the smart thing to do. But he’d slept on the sofa in their bedchamber.
She’d thought it looked uncomfortable, but he’d fallen asleep almost instantly and hadn’t awakened, even after she’d started moving around in the bathroom that morning.
Sunshine and blue skies peeked in through the window. She slipped into a black bikini that fit like it had been made specifically for her body. Camille studied herself in the mirror, surprised at how good she looked. She grabbed a towel and her sunglasses and ventured outside.
Finding a swimming pool on the upper deck surprised and pleased Camille. She grabbed a lounge chair and made herself at home. For a while, she drank in the sight of the open sea, observing nothing but water and small dots of land off in the distance. Soon, drowsiness accompanied her into a nap.
She couldn’t be certain how much time had passed since she’d fallen asleep, but footsteps fell over the deck and Camille opened her eyes behind her sunglasses. Julian in a pair of deep green boxer shorts jolted her heart. She swallowed hard. Acting on such an attraction—no matter how much she wanted to—would be perilous, because in six months he’d send her packing.
His eyes raked daringly over her, and his mouth softened. “Good morning, Chéri.” He straddled the chair beside her. “I trust you slept well last night?”
Hell, no. She’d had the worst night ever. And how dare he tease her like that? “Fine, thanks.” Fortunately, she had the shades to cover her eyes, which probably contradicted her lie.
“How about lunch? Are you hungry?” He extended his hand, his knuckles skimming against her bare thigh.
She inched her leg away and tipped her sunglasses, peering at him with one eye closed. “What’s on the menu?”
“Whatever you want.”
Whatever I want. A slight moan trickled up her throat. To stop it from blasting out in a full-blown expression, she lunged forward and threw her legs over the edge of the chair. “Lunch. That sounds like a plan.”
Julian chuckled and stood, reaching for her hand. She draped her fingers over his, igniting a quick shiver that rolled through her. On the far side of the boat, a fully furnished table under an umbrella commandeered her attention.
He let go of her hand and seated her with her back to the sun. She worried about him as he moved to the other side, hoping the umbrella would provide him with shade.
The attendant, Jonathan, appeared with two lobster tails, fresh fruits, and various green and pasta salads.
Lobster tails? For lunch? “Oh, no,” she said, thinking about the fat and calories that came as a packaged deal with all this rich food.
“What?” Julian asked, as if his feelings had been hurt. “You don’t like lobster?”
“Oh, no...I like lobster just fine.” She didn’t want to sound ungrateful. “In fact, I love lobster.” She paused, and while she didn’t want to hurt his feelings, there were consequences for eating so recklessly. “But if I keep eating like this...in six months, I’ll be as big as a house.”
A flash of humor curled on Julian’s lips. He grabbed his champagne glass. “Make a list of the foods you’d prefer to eat and give it to Soren when we return home. He’ll relay your instructions to the kitchen.”
“Man, you sure are accommodating.” Camille dipped a piece of lobster in fresh butter. She popped it into her mouth and the flavors, sweet and rich, engaged her taste buds and filled them with immense pleasure.
“Well, I aim to please,” Julian said.