The Vintner and The Vixen

Chapter 1

Jacques raked a hand through his hair then immediately pulled a comb out of his pocket and straightened the strands. Dieu merci it was Friday and he could escape from Paris to the Loire Valley. Except there he'd have to endure an entire weekend listening to his grandfather ask when he was going to marry again and continue the family name. Jacques was pretty sure his grandfather was still alive at ninety-five because he didn't trust his grandson to procreate without his continual reminders.

His phone buzzed on his desk seconds before his secretary's voice came over the intercom, preceded by a giggle.

"Jacques, your grandfather is on line one and he sounds very excited. And your brother is here—" Another giggle. Was there any woman his brother couldn't charm? Even Jacques's fifty-five-year-old, married-for-decades personal assistant was reduced to a schoolgirl when Daniel showed up.

"Send in Daniel; I'll take the call."

His younger brother strode through the door as Jacques picked up the handset. His granddad hated being on speakerphone.

"She's come," Grand-Papa said without greeting.

"Who's come?" Jacques rolled his eyes at Daniel, who lounged on the chair in front of the desk. His brother wore jeans and a white shirt with the top three buttons undone. And if Jacques wasn't mistaken, and he never was, a woman's lipstick mark was under the curve of his brother's jaw. Must be nice to indulge in lovemaking in the middle of a workday. Or any day for that matter. But Daniel had never had a problem attracting the ladies. Remembering where he'd left them was another story.

"Yvette." His grandfather's voice saved him from contemplating his brother's love life. At least he had one.

"What?" He stood and even Daniel sat up in the chair. "Grand-Papa, Daniel's here. I'm going to put you on speakerphone so we both can hear your news." He pressed the button on the phone but didn't sit back down. "Now, start at the beginning. Who has arrived?"

Jacques had been expecting this for a while, but his grandfather's mind suddenly snapping was still a shock.

"Yvette, or rather, her great-granddaughter."

"What?" He was beginning to sound like a parrot.

"Yvette has passed and left the cottage and land to her great-granddaughter. She's come to claim it." His grandfather's voice softened as though he were explaining a difficult concept to a child.

Jacques fell into his chair. "Where is this woman now?"

"I don't think this phone is working. Or you're not listening. I just said she's at the cottage. You are still coming home tonight, right?"

Jacques counted to ten, then backwards for good measure. "Grand-Papa, are you saying some girl showed up claiming to be the great-granddaughter of a woman you haven't seen in more than seventy years, and you just let her move into the cottage?"

"Yes."

Daniel put his hand over his mouth to cover a laugh. Jacques glared at him. Didn't he realize how serious this was? Not only had a complete stranger moved into a building on their property, but what if she also held the title deed to their very best grapevines? Jacques sent an IM to his secretary to get his lawyer on the line.

"Did she have proof of ownership?"

"I don't need proof. She has Yvette's eyes."

Jacques didn't even try to stifle the groan that rose in his throat. "So, to recap, you met someone who has the same eye color as a woman you knew before La Vie en rose was a hit? And that entitled this stranger to invade our estate?"