Page 16 of Love in Bloom

CHAPTER FOUR

The Proposal

Camille submitted to her sunrise yoga class and replayed her time with Tristan. Their day had been delightful, their dinner exquisite, and the walk on the beach romantic, though nothing happened. She liked his playfulness and how he could match her wit. They could talk on any number of topics, especially their love of botany, though they’d gone in different directions. He was growing on her by the hour.

Thoughts of their imminent parting attempted to taint her memories, but she forcefully pushed them away. Tristan was teaching her how to live in the now instead of racing into the future. She’d always been so focused on being one step ahead that she rarely appreciated where she was and who she was with. However, she doubted she’d ever come to love this yoga instructor. In shavasana, she contemplated the day ahead and wondered how soon Tristan would pop up with a new adventure for them.

The morning went by without his appearance. She ate breakfast, took a morning swim in the sea, and was half-heartedly attempting to read her romance novel, but her eyes kept wandering away from the page, looking for Tristan. She worried he’d left due to an emergency without saying goodbye, when she saw him striding through the sand toward her. She set her bookmark in place and ran her hands through her mostly dry hair. She swung her legs to the side to make room for him on her lounge chair.

He sat and asked, “Have you ever heard of the French Royal Château and Garden Tour?”

“Of course. It’s the tour for an obsessive flower lover like me, but it’s terribly exclusive and impossible to get tickets for. Not to mention it’s by invitation only. You can’t even research it online because it’s so hush-hush. I bet there’s a waiting list a mile long, if they even have one. I wouldn’t have any idea how to go about getting into it, so I’ve never tried. Why?”

“My mate’s wife is a posh travel agent for the uppity-ups.” His hands fidgeted. “And I made inquiries if she knew of any adventures we might go on. I explained your love of botany, particularly flowers.” He brushed his hair off his forehead.

“And?”

“I thought we might snag a tour to the nearby lavender fields or a quick overnight we could drive to and sightsee a garden château.” One leg pumped up and down, shaking the chair.

What in the world was going on? Why was he acting so strange? Camille put a hand on his knee, and he stopped bouncing it. “Spit it out already.”

“She called me a few minutes ago and said there’s an opening on the tour. Totally last minute and could we be there by check-in?”

“No! Really? That’s impossible. That’s amazing. Oh Tristan!” She flung her arms around him and caught his scent. “I can’t believe it. I can be packed in—how soon do we need to leave? Oh, I can’t believe it!” She pulled back, leaving her fingertips on his shoulders. “Oh I could kiss you! But I should probably kiss your mate’s wife instead. This is too good to be true!”

His leg jiggled again, harder this time, and he averted his eyes.

“Tristan?”

“There’s one small detail about us going. To be honest, I have no idea what you’ll say. It might be a deal breaker to the tour.”

Camille moved her hands to her lap. “You’re being awfully cryptic, and I’m getting worried. Don’t keep me in suspense. I’m sure whatever it is we can work through it.”

He looked out over the sea, and his chest expanded with his large intake of breath. He exhaled slowly while a blush crept up his neck. “The tour is for married couples only. We’d have to pretend to be married.”

Camille gawked at him and shook her head. “Pardon, what? I couldn’t have heard you right. You said we have to be married?”

Without looking her in the eye, he took her hand in both of his. “Yes. We have to be married.”

“Oh.” Camille’s head spun. She focused on the waves. “That does put a damper on things.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Not exactly how I pictured my marriage proposal.” She felt him studying her, but she wasn’t uncomfortable.

His fingers captured her chin, drawing her eyes to meet his. “It wouldn’t be a real marriage, of course. We’d need to act married to convince everyone so we didn’t get booted out, but I don’t think anyone will check the paperwork.”

“A fake marriage?”

“Yes.”

Camille swallowed. Her adventure with Tristan had universally expanded, and she didn’t have a clue how to process the moment. Her emotions and thoughts were as tumultuous as a shell being tossed by a wave. “And how long is the tour?”

“Eight days. We need to be in Sainte-Maxime by four. It’s a short drive if we take the quick route, or we can drive along the coast and sight-see as we go.”

“Which means we need to leave almost right away.”

“Yes. I know it’s a lot to ask, pretending to be married for the tour. I’ll understand if you don’t want to.”

She tightened her grip on his hand. “Ask me properly so we have a good story to tell to all the uppity-ups.”

His eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

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