Page 93 of The Exception

“Oh.” His face fell. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know how much you love working on the château, and the crew will miss you. I hope everything is okay.”

I appreciated his saying that. The crew had become my friends, my family.

“I will miss being here every day, but my husband’s business is in LA, and we agreed to split our time.”

“Husband?” Luc jerked his head back. “I wasn’t…”

“I’ll introduce you later,” I said, trying to gloss over any questions. “And since I can’t be here all the time, I’d like for you to be my project manager. I want you to oversee everything and be my eyes and ears. I’m asking a lot, but I’m also offering you a raise.”

“I’m invested in the success of the château, and I appreciate the trust you’ve placed in me. I’m honored.” He held a hand to his chest. “I won’t let you down.”

“Thank you, Luc.”

“Thankyou.” He gave me a hug. But then he froze, dropping his arms and stepping back from me.

I followed his gaze to where Graham was standing, a menacing look on his face and Prince Albert at his side. “Ah.” I rushed over to Graham, eager to smooth out this misunderstanding. “Here he is now. Luc, this is my husband, Graham, and his…ourother dog, Prince Albert. Graham, this is my site manager, Luc.”

They shook hands, then Graham immediately wrapped his arm around my shoulder.Possessive much?

I wanted to laugh, but I was too busy delighting in his touch, trying to ignore my body’s response to him and the way he’d claimed ownership of me. Why was that so hot?

“What are you doing out here?” I asked, finally taking in Graham’s attire. He was wearing work clothes, and they looked worn-in, well-loved. I had no idea he even owned anything like that. “I thought you had meetings?”

“I cleared my schedule. The château is your project, but I want to help,” he said in French. Judging from Luc’s expression, Graham had risen a few notches in his esteem.

I wasn’t sure Graham had ever cleared his schedule. Actually, that wasn’t true. He’d done it once—for Brooklyn. He was so wrapped around his niece’s finger. I loved it.

“Help how?” He’d already invested a shit-ton of money into it.

“With the garden. Stripping lead paint. Whatever. Put me to work.”

Oh, I want to put you to work, all right.

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem interested inthat.It was like he had an off switch. Or maybe it hadn’t been as enjoyable for him as it had been for me. That seemed impossible, but he’d been nothing but proper and polite since, and I was going to freaking explode.

“How would you have time for that?” I asked.

“You make time for what’s important.” He peered down at me with something like tenderness and respect. Was he sayingIwas important?

“Besides…” Graham nuzzled my hair, lowering his voice. Though it wasn’t quite so low that Luc wouldn’t pick up on what he said. “It is our honeymoon after all.”

Honeymoon?I stilled.Ah. Right.

So much for thinking that he wanted to spend time with me for me. There was always a hidden agenda. Graham was always strategizing.

I mean, I applauded his dedication to making our fake marriage seem real. And I knew how difficult it must have been for him to step back and take time off, even if he was looking at the bigger picture. But this was the furthest thing from a honeymoon.

We might be staying at a romantic château, but our bed was falling apart. Forget sexy bikinis or lingerie, I was wearing work clothes that were caked in paint. And we were standing in the midst of a construction site.

Making time for what was importantwas probably code for keeping an eye on his investment.

“So, what’s on schedule for today?” Graham asked, confirming my suspicions.

“Luc?” I asked, my smile tight.

“As you can see, we’ve got the stonemasons on the roof. And I’ve got a team up on the first floor, working on removing the tiles so the cables can be installed. We need to remove all the original tiles and clean the edges so they can eventually be set back in place.”

“Is there something I can help with?” Graham asked.

---