So she had lied about her name.
“She’s twenty-nine. Address is 302 Fair Oaks Drive, Santa Barbara, California. I’ll call you if I learn anything else.”
“Merci, Louis. You do excellent work. Bon nuit.”
For Laura to be living in Guy’s home as Laura Aldridge, it was evident her marriage was in trouble. Lies had destroyed Raoul’s own union. What part did they play in the disintegration of hers?
After hanging up, Raoul leaped off the bed and went into his study. Before he started making phone calls, he’d do a little research first and see if anything came up on the Internet.
He put in her full name. Almost instantly whole pages of Web addresses appeared. He scanned the listings. One stood out—theodorestillman.com.
Raoul clicked to it. There she was, bigger than life and utterly breathtaking, sitting in a raft near a typically blond American male. The article beneath the photo read:
Mr. Theodore M. Stillman, known as Ted to his older brothers in the law firm of Stillman, Stillman and Stillman, of Santa Barbara, sons of Former Congressman William Stillman of Santa Barbara, and the late Governor Richard Stillman of the great State of California, is seen here with his beautiful wife Laurel Aldridge Stillman, formerly of Manhattan Beach, California, as they take time out from their busy schedule to float down the Colorado River. Ted is planning to run for the congressional seat next year once occupied by his father. Donations to his campaign can be made by clicking here.
Adrenaline filled Raoul’s system as he looked for a date when the picture had been taken. When he couldn’t find it, he clicked to the other sites. For the most part she was shown in a photograph at a lunch or a gala looking more subdued than her husband who was always smiling—like the kind of slick car salesmen Raoul couldn’t abide.
One site put up by the Manhattan Beach Police Department drew his interest. It was a picture of her in a simple summer dress standing next to the police chief. Raoul studied her exquisite features. She was beaming.
The article read:
Chief Jose Garcia presents the Meritorious Service Award to head lifeguard Laura Aldridge for her constant devotion to duty. She holds the record for the most saves in Manhattan Beach in ten years—467 people can be grateful she was on duty the day they found themselves in trouble.
Raoul could hear himself taunting her, “Can you prove it?”
Two mornings later Laura was pulling weeds around the side of the villa when her cell phone rang. Only two people had her new number, her attorney and Cindy.
She checked her watch while pulling off her gardening gloves. Eight-thirty in the morning in Cap Ferrat meant 11:30 p.m. in California. For either of them to phone her this late their time meant something was wrong. She couldn’t handle any bad news where Ted was concerned. Please be Cindy, she murmured to herself as she slid the phone from her blouse pocket.
When she saw her friend’s name on the caller ID she expelled a sigh of relief and clicked on.
“Hey, Cindy. What’s going on?”
“Plenty. Guess who just got the landlord to let him into your apartment?”
For once her body didn’t break out in a cold sweat. In fact, Laura could jump for joy. “You’ve just made my day, Cindy.”
“You mean you’re not upset?”
“I reached that stage months ago. Don’t you see? This means Ted’s minions lost track of me the day Guy flew me here in his helicopter. I can guarantee he thought my boss was lying to him when he told him I was still in Europe, so he decided to break into my apartment and try and catch me at home.”
“Why doesn’t he just give up?”
“His pride. No other Stillman has had a divorce. He wants to use me, but it’ll never happen. My attorney’s going to love hearing this. Ted has ignored the court order. Unless the Stillmans own the judge, Ted’s in big trouble.”
“I’m glad.”
“So am I.”
“How’s it going with Chantelle? Are you making any progress?”
“I’ve gotten her to come outside in her wheelchair while I weed. We talk about the history of Provence. She’s very knowledgeable. I’ve learned tons, but I don’t see her warming to her husband yet. It kills me because he’s always so sweet to her. Today I’m going to ask her if she’ll go to lunch with me somewhere exciting, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“All things taken into account, you sound happier than I’ve ever known you to be.”
Laura turned on her stomach and stretched out on the grass lining the flowerbed. “Oddly enough, I am. Guy’s villa is a Garden of Eden. I’m sitting in the middle of the most gorgeous arrangement of rose beds you’ve ever seen. Beyond them is the Mediterranean. This morning it’s a dazzling blue dotted with sailboats. The air is so fragrant a good perfumer should market it.”
“It sounds divine, and no serpents in sight.”
“I didn’t say that, Guy has a brother.”
“Older or younger?”
“Younger. The dynamo at the Laroche Corporation.”
“Handsome?”
Laura closed her eyes, pressing her hot cheek against her arm. “Find a picture of Adonis and add ten years to him. Even then you won’t do him justice.”
“Good grief—”
“You can say that again.”
“Laura—”
“Yes. I’m in lust with him.”
Cindy burst into laughter. “How wonderful!”
“It’s what I call pleasure-pain. I still haven’t found out his marital status and he believes I’m Mata Hari. When we are together, it’s like a duel. He has a rapier tongue that can slice you into pieces faster than Zorro.”
“What?”
“It’s a long story. Do you have time?”
“All night.”
She rolled back over to feel the full rays of the sun on her face and legs. With her eyes still closed, she told her about the outing to Tourettes Sur Loup and ended with the other night when she’d discovered him waiting for her outside the Villa Leopolda. She hadn’t seen him since and had missed their lethal skirmishes a lot more than she was willing to admit.
After she’d told Cindy all her theories about why Raoul had been so cruel, her friend said, “Maybe he’s in a bad marriage like you and is frustrated to be attracted to you when he’s not free. Since he hasn’t chosen to tell you his marital status, why don’t you ask Chantelle?”
Laura expelled the breath she’d been holding. “I could,
