One Kiss in... Paris. Robyn Grady
were shown to a table by a window facing north across the fountains and enjoyed a night of exquisite cuisine, the best of champagne, while surrounded by a glittering blanket of city lights.
When the waiter removed their dessert dishes, Mateo slid a hand across the white linen tablecloth. His fingers folded around hers.
“Did you enjoy the meal?”
“I enjoyed everything.”
He grinned, and the smile lit his eyes. His index finger had begun to toy with her bracelet’s charms … the heart, the bear…. He looked down but then frowned and took a closer look.
“You ought to have that catch checked out. It’s near worn through.”
Worried, she inspected the clasp then each of the charms to make certain none were missing. “Guess it should be worn. I don’t take it off.” Bailey’s stomach looped and knotted at the thought of losing it. “After so long, I wouldn’t feel whole without this around my wrist.”
“We’ll get a safety chain for it tomorrow.”
“I’ll look after it when we get home.”
Mateo didn’t look pleased. But it wasn’t his place to insist.
He reached and took her hand again, angling her wrist to study the charms. “Have you added to it since your sixteenth?”
“It’s never felt quite right. It’d have to be a really special charm.” She didn’t own much, but this possession was sacred. Not that her father would understand that. Even now he probably thought she was a day away from harming or losing it.
“What about you?” She asked, looking up from their twined hands; hers looked so small and pale compared to his. “Do you have any childhood mementos hidden away?”
Mateo’s gaze grew distant and his brows knitted before he shook his head. “No. Nothing material.”
Bailey’s heart went out to him. Given all his chattels back in Sydney, that answer made sense.
“But I do have something,” he said. “A memory I treasure.”
She sat straighter. “Memories are good.”
“The day Ernesto came back to the Chapelle for me. It was spring and everyone was playing outdoors. He called me over, beside that old oak and he said, ‘Mateo, if you’d like to be my son …'” His Adam’s apple bobbed before he seemed to come back from that distant spot. Then he shrugged and gave an offhanded smile. “How’s that. I’ve forgotten the rest.”
From the way his dark eyes glistened, she didn’t think so. But she understood. Memories were the most valuable of all keepsakes. He was entitled to protect his. He’d certainly given her some amazing memories these past days to cherish.
Leaning closer, she confessed with all her heart, “I’ll never forget our time here.”
When his gaze darkened more and his jaw jutted almost imperceptibly, Bailey sat back as a shadowy feeling slid through her. They’d shared so much. Seemed to have gotten so close. But was that open admission too much? Had she sounded too much the lovesick schoolgirl?
But then a smile swam up in his eyes and the tension seemed to fall from his shoulders. He lifted her hand, dropped a light kiss on the underside of her wrist and murmured against her skin, “I won’t forget either.”
After dinner they strolled again, but the weather had turned even chillier and, while they’d been lucky so far, Bailey smelled rain on the way. She tried her best but when she couldn’t keep her teeth from chattering, Mateo stopped to turn and envelope her in his coat-clad arms.
“I’ll take you back to the suite,” he said.
Her heart fell. “I don’t want to go in yet.”
“We can always come back.”
Come back? She searched his eyes. Was she reading him right? “You mean … to France?”
“And sooner than I usually plan.”
Bailey couldn’t take a breath. It was a generous, wonderful offer but … should she read more into it? She supposed she ought to ask herself, How much more did she want? They’d been sleeping together, enjoying each other’s company, but did she want a relationship, if that’s what he was saying?
Her smile quavered at the corners as she tried to contain her whirling mix of emotions. As they headed for a cab stand, she smiled a jumpy smile and said, “I’d like that.”
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