Billionaires second chan.., p.15
Billionaire's Second Chance in Paris,
p.15
The priest eyed Fleurine. “Now repeat after me. I, Fleur Binoche Dumotte, take you, Raoul Ronfleur Causcelle, to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life.”
Fleurine’s response thrilled him to the depths of his being.
“May the Lord in his kindness strengthen the consent you have declared before the church. What God has joined, let no one put asunder. May the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the God who joined together our first parents in paradise strengthen and bless in Christ the consent you have declared before the church, so that what God joins together, no one may put asunder.
“In the sight of God and these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss.”
Those violet eyes that had ensnared him as a young man gazed at him with so much love he trembled before lowering his mouth. No bride could ever have been more beautiful than Fleurine was to him. His brothers had warned him to be careful in front of a full audience of people. Somehow he managed not to devour her until the mass was over and they’d left the church to walk outside past the cheers of the crowd.
* * *
The bells rang out, proclaiming their joy as Raoul helped Fleurine into the rear of the waiting limo. Once they started moving, he pulled her into his arms. “Madame Causcelle... How long I’ve waited to be able to call you that.”
“Not as long as I’ve waited to hear it, my darling Monsieur Causcelle.” Their mouths fused in passion, and she received the husband’s kiss she’d been dying for. They didn’t come up for air until they reached the chateau fifteen miles away.
The limo parked in front of the entrance. “Beloved,” he murmured against her lips, “all we have to do is get through the toasts. Once the helicopter arrives on the grounds, we’ll escape to Ischia and blot out the world.”
Her heart leaped in response. “You’re taking us there?”
“Where else?” Giving her another kiss, he opened the door to help her out of the back seat and escorted her inside with her bouquet.
“Oh, Raoul,” she gasped when they reached the ballroom, clinging to him. “Your sisters and mine have transformed this gorgeous room into a fairyland. Look at all the trees and tiny white lights!”
Her gaze took in the many round tables covered with fine écru-colored linen, baskets of white roses and candelabras. The rectangular head table on one side of the room featured two wedding cakes on either end. They were stunning replicas of the Château Causcelle. Her mother had truly outdone herself. She’d put small bride and groom figurines on top of both.
“Look, Raoul! Maman managed to affix a picture of our faces over the faces of the dolls. Can you believe it?”
His smile made her legs go weak. “My mother-in-law is not only an artiste she’s one incredible woman who gave birth to the most amazing woman on earth. We’ll have to save them for our children.”
Their children...
He caught Fleurine to him and kissed her unabashedly in front of their guests who had filled the room and were taking their places.
She heard the sound of someone tapping the side of a goblet to get everyone’s attention. The room quieted down as Raoul swept her along to the center of the head table. Once they were seated, Pascal stood up looking fabulous.
All the men in the wedding party including Marti, Raoul’s father, brothers and brothers-in-law wore black tuxedos with flowers in the lapels. She looked around, but no one could match her new husband who always appeared drop-dead gorgeous no matter what he wore.
“Dear family and friends, my Oncle Louis asked me to greet all of you. We’re honored to have Father Didier seated at the table with us on this red-letter day for Raoul and Fleur. He’s been a comfort and friend to the Causcelle family and everyone on the estate.
“All of you who want to say a kind word to Fleur or embarrass Raoul will be given the chance later.” A roar of laughter went up. “First let me say that Raoul and I became good friends when we were little and our fathers worked together. I never had so much fun in my life as I had with him.
“I never saw a man more in love than he was during his teens. Then he and Fleur became separated. Raoul and I have seen each other through thick and thin. It got pretty thin for him over the last ten years. Then he accidentally saw Fleur again, and a miracle happened that spread light over the whole estate. Fleur returned, and my cousin hasn’t stopped grinning ever since.” More smiles came from the crowd. “Enjoy this remarkable moment in time. Bon appétit.”
The food turned out to be a divine feast, but since they’d taken their vows Fleurine couldn’t have told anyone what she’d eaten. She kept glancing at Raoul in disbelief that they were actually married. In the midst of her reverie about him, Pascal got to his feet once more.
“Before the cutting of the wedding cakes, Louis would like to make a toast.” He handed the microphone to Raoul’s father who remained in his wheelchair.
“My wife and I were young like Fleur and Raoul when we fell in love. Fortunately for us, we were able to marry in our late teens and were blessed with six beautiful children. On the night before our triplet boys were born, we talked about the great responsibility and joy ahead of us.
“So much has happened since that moment. Today I’m surrounded by all my children and their spouses and my grandchildren. Of course I’m expecting more.” Raoul winked at her. “Can you believe I’m still alive? My cup runneth over. Raoul and Fleur’s marriage fulfills the culmination of every dream.
“I only have one more dream, and that is for all of us one day to be united with my beloved wife, Delphine...their mother and grandmother. Thank you all for making this the perfect day.”
He raised his wineglass. “I propose a toast to Raoul and Fleur. May you cherish every moment of your lives from here on out.”
* * *
The breeze off the Mediterranean filtered from the upstairs patio into the bedroom toward morning. Raoul had taken his father’s last wish to heart. In the last twelve hours he and Fleurine had become the lovers of Raoul’s dreams. But the reality of making love to his adorable wife went beyond any expectations his mind could have conceived. They would never be able to get enough of each other. There was no end to her giving. He couldn’t bear the thought of ever being alone again. He needed her like he needed air to breathe.
Ten years of hunger couldn’t be satisfied in one divine wedding night. He thanked heaven they had the rest of their lives to show each other what it meant to lie entangled in each other’s arms day and night and pour out their love. Her beauty enchanted him inside and out. They’d brought each other intense pleasure over and over again.
He particularly loved the curve of her luscious mouth that drove him crazy whether waking or sleeping as she was now. He kissed her cheeks and hair, the curve of her brows and the tender spot in her throat where a nerve throbbed. She moved closer to him, brushing her hand over his upper arm without realizing it. Her touch, her innate sweetness, overwhelmed him. Unable to hold back, he began kissing her mouth awake.
“Darling,” she murmured and started to respond. He pulled her over so she half lay on top of him. Within seconds the whole wonderful ritual began again. The next time he became aware of their surroundings, the sun had come streaming in from the patio.
“Good morning, mon épouse.”
She opened her violet eyes and gazed at him with love. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me? How you’ve changed my whole life? I’m not the same person.”
“Yes, you are. You’re my precious Fleurine who enslaved me the first time I ever looked at you and heard your gentle laugh. I’ve never been the same since. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. I’m so in love with you. Help me.”
She smiled. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know exactly. I can’t explain what I’m feeling.”
Fleurine kissed his mouth. “I feel just like you. It’s as if my love for you is exploding inside me. The solution is to hold onto each other for dear life.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” he cried.
They clung to each other. “We had the perfect wedding, Raoul.”
“Amen. Even if we missed the first ten years, we’re going to have the perfect life forever. We vowed to deal with the good and the bad times because our love will see us through anything.”
“It already has. Look where we are now. I’m in your arms where I’ve always wanted to be. I’m the luckiest woman on the face of the earth. I love you, Raoul Causcelle.”
“I love you, Fleurine Causcelle. I’m the happiest man on the planet. Come here to me and never, ever, let me go.”
* * *
If you missed the previous story in the Sons of a Parisian Dynasty trilogy,
then check out
Falling for Her Secret Billionaire
And if you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Rebecca Winters
Capturing the CEO’s Guarded Heart
Second Chance with His Princess
Falling for the Baldasseri Prince
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Cinderella’s Secret Fling by Michelle Douglas.
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Cinderella’s Secret Fling
by Michelle Douglas
CHAPTER ONE
My darling Audrey,
I know this is going to come as a great shock to you, and I’m hoping you do not blame me too much for not revealing this to you sooner, but I know how much family means to you. And this is not a secret I can take to the grave. The decision for how to proceed is yours, my dearest girl—not mine, not your father’s and certainly not your mother’s.
My mother? I can almost hear you ask. Yes. She is not who she claimed to be and I have discovered her true identity. I’m sorry to tell you she passed away many years ago, and it was a brief news item reporting her death that prompted my suspicions and subsequent investigations.
Rather than being a poor orphan, as she always claimed, she came from a very old, very powerful and very wealthy Italian family. And apparently, you have an Italian grandmother and a plethora of cousins.
Your aunt Beatrice is now in possession of all the associated documentation, and she has been in contact with your maternal grandmother’s lawyers. Your grandmother’s name is Marguerite Funaro, and she wishes to meet you. If you wish to meet her, you can now do so. The choice is yours.
Wishing you all joy and every happiness and a life filled with love and family.
Your ever-loving Nonna
AUDREY STARED AT the letter in her hand and then up at her aunt Beatrice. Aunt was an honorary title, but Nonna’s best friend had always felt like family. For the past month she’d been in Lake Como staying with Aunt Beatrice, and yet all this time she’d had a family she’d never known about? ‘This says...’
‘Yes.’ Beatrice nodded.
‘I have...?’
‘A family? Si, Audrey, it would appear so. Your grandmother wanted me to make contact with them first as she did not want you getting your hopes up if they did not wish to recognise you. On the contrary, though, they very much want to meet you.’
A champagne fizz of excitement bubbled in her chest. And something deeper. Something that made her catch her breath.
If she was being brutally honest—and she was always brutally honest, at least with herself—she’d not fully regained her balance since Johanna had died. Losing a twin... It felt as if she’d lost a part of herself.
She’d been finding her feet again, though, slowly, every step hard-won. Then her father had made the shocking announcement that he was marrying and relocating to America. She hadn’t even known he’d been seeing someone!
Then Nonna had died. Her throat thickened. She doubted anything could fill the gap that now yawned through her. It took a superhuman effort to swallow the lump stretching her throat into a painful ache. Her family, never large, had suddenly dwindled to her, her cousin Frankie and her aunt Deidre.
But to now discover her mother’s family... A grandmother and a plethora of cousins. She’d been searching for something to anchor her, a safe harbour. Could this be it?
‘Would you like to meet them?’
It felt as if the sun had come from behind a cloud and bathed her in light. A big extended family? She clasped her hands in her lap. She wanted that more than she’d ever wanted anything. ‘Yes, please. How soon can it be arranged?
Copyright © 2023 by Michelle Douglas
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ISBN-13: 9780369727886
Billionaire’s Second Chance in Paris
Copyright © 2023 by Rebecca Winters
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Rebecca Winters, Billionaire's Second Chance in Paris
