tell me you would’ve come to my father’s funeral,’ Xavier cut in. ‘You didn’t even turn up to Harry’s.’
And he thought he had the right to call her on it? She lifted her chin. ‘I had my reasons.’
He said nothing. Waiting for her to fill the silence? Well, she didn’t have to explain herself to him. ‘So, what—you thought that as you’re his business partner Harry should have left the vineyard to you? Is that it?’
‘No, of course not. There’s no question of that. You inherit his possessions because you’re his closest family.’ He paused. ‘Not that anyone would have guessed, these last few years.’
‘That’s a cheap shot.’ And it had landed dead on target. Smack in the middle of her guilt, like a hard blow on an already spreading bruise.
‘Just stating the facts, chérie. When was the last time you came back to see him?’
‘I spoke to him every week on the phone.’
‘Which isn’t the same thing at all.’
She blew out a breath. ‘You probably know Harry and I fell out pretty badly after I went to London.’ Over Xavier—not that she was going to tell him that. ‘We made it up eventually, but I admit I was wrong not to come back and see him.’ Especially as half the reason had been the fear that she might have to see Xavier again. Not that she had any intention of admitting that to him, either. She didn’t want him to have a clue that she still had a weak spot where he was concerned. That seeing him again had knocked her for six and the old, old longing hadn’t died at all—it had just been sleeping, and now it was awake again and desperately hungry for him. ‘If I’d had any idea that he was so frail, I would’ve come back. He didn’t give me the faintest clue.’
‘Of course not. He was a proud man. But if you’d bothered visiting,’ Xavier said coolly, ‘you would’ve seen it for yourself.’
There was no answer to that.
‘You didn’t come back when he was ill,’ Xavier continued.
‘Because I didn’t get the message that he’d had a stroke until after it was too late.’
‘You didn’t even turn up for his funeral.’
And he seriously thought she wasn’t bothered about that? ‘I intended to be here. But I was on business in New York.’
‘Not good enough.’
She knew that. And she didn’t need him to tell her. She lifted her chin. ‘We’ve established that I’m firmly in the wrong. And it’s not possible to change the past, so there’s no point in rehashing it.’
He simply shrugged.
Infuriating man.
‘What do you want, Xavier?’
You.
The realisation shocked him to the core. After the way Allegra had let him down, he shouldn’t want anything to do with her. And she was no longer the petite rose Anglaise she’d been at eighteen, sweet and shy and a little unsure of herself and then blossoming under his love. Right now she was impeccably groomed and as hard as diamonds beneath that smart business suit. Her mouth was in a tight line, not soft and promising and reminding him of the first roses of summer.
This was crazy. For pity’s sake, he was supposed to be working out how to get the woman to sell her half of the business to him, not looking at her mouth and remembering how it had felt to kiss her. How it had felt to lose himself inside her. How it had felt to see her expression soften and her eyes sparkle with love when she looked up from the book she was reading and caught him watching her, on those drowsy summer afternoons.
Oh, Dieu. He really had to get a grip.
‘Well?’
‘I just happened to be on my way back from the fields. I called Hortense to see if you were in, because I was going to be neighbourly and polite and welcome you back to France.’ That was true—though it wasn’t the whole truth. He’d also wanted to see if he could gauge her reactions. To work out a plan for persuading her to sell the vineyard to him. ‘But, seeing as you raised the subject, let me give you something to think about. You haven’t been to France in years and I can’t see you being interested in the vineyard now. I’m more than happy to buy you out. Consult whatever qualified oenologist you like to get a price and I’ll abide by his or her decision—I’ll even pay the survey fee.’
‘No.’
She wanted more than a fair price? Well, if it would keep his vineyard safe, it was worth paying over the odds. ‘How much do you want?’
‘I’m not selling the vineyard to you.’
His stomach turned. ‘You’re planning to sell to someone else?’ To someone who would neglect the vines, so they’d end up diseased and it would spread into his fields? Or, worse, to someone who decided to use pesticide sprays and to hell with the neighbours—when it had taken him years to get organic certification for the vineyard. All that work could be ruined in a matter of weeks.
‘I’m not selling to anyone. Harry left me the house and his half of the vineyard. The way I see it, this was his way of telling me it was time to come home,’ Allegra said.
He waved a dismissive hand. ‘That’s guilt talking.’ Guilt that he’d just encouraged, admittedly. ‘You know as well as I do, the practical thing to do here would be to sell your share to me.’
She shook her head. ‘I’m staying.’
He stared at her, incredulous. ‘But you know nothing about viticulture.’
‘I can learn.’
‘I don’t have time to teach you.’
‘Then maybe someone else can.’
Over his dead body.
‘And in the meantime I can deal with the marketing—it’s what I’m trained to do.’
Xavier folded his arms, goaded into reacting. ‘I don’t care what you’re trained to do. You’re not dabbling in my vineyard. You’ll get bored within a week.’
‘No, I won’t. And it’s my vineyard, too.’ She folded her arms, reflecting his own defensive body language, and glared at him. ‘Harry left his half of the business to me, and I owe it to him to make it work.’ Her blue eyes were distinctly icy, and Xavier realised that she was serious. She really did want to make this work, for Harry’s sake.
Impossible; but, right now, she looked too stubborn and defensive to listen to common sense. So it would be better to leave now, think about the best tactics to make her see reason and talk to her again tomorrow. ‘As you wish,’ he said. He pushed his chair back and stood up. ‘Did Marc tell you the time of the meeting tomorrow?’
She blinked. ‘You’re on first-name terms with Harry’s lawyer?’
‘Actually, he’s my lawyer, too.’ Xavier judged it politic not to
