PART ONE
Ahh, Paris. The City of Lights. The City of Love. Who would not love to be in Paris in the spring?
Me, that's who.
Not a person for sightseeing, Brooke dragged herself out of bed. She hated being stuck somewhere over a weekend. She preferred to fly in, get her work done, and then fly home again, all within one week. Her time was too valuable to spend it doing nothing.
After lingering as long as she could over breakfast in the hotel dining room, she returned to her room to check her emails. Nothing was pressing. Shutting down the computer, she stood in front of the window and tried to decide what she would do for the rest of the day. Whatever it was, it had to be away from the hotel. It was awkward to be around when housekeeping came to clean the room so she wanted to be out before they came.
The lobby seemed a good place to read the newspaper. That would kill at least an hour. Brooke had just settled herself into the deep, plush chair when a crowd of people suddenly descended upon her quiet corner. They had come to see the paintings hanging in the lobby as part of an exhibit. The crowd moved from canvas to canvas while the artist described each work in detail.
Annoyed by the intrusion, she picked herself up and walked outside. Even though it was still rather early, the sidewalks were already crowded with tourists heading off to see the sights. She sighed. There had to be somewhere she could go to have some time alone to read her newspaper and contemplate what to do for the rest of the day.
With no destination in mind, Brooke began walking. She paused now and again at a shop window, but nothing held her interest for long enough to go inside. Before long, she found herself in one of the many parks in the city. Although it was crowded, this seemed a perfect place to spend some quiet time.
Walking along the manicured path, she saw families and couples on the benches and the expanse of fresh-mowed grass. Everyone was laughing and enjoying each other's company. No one was paying attention to her. Why should they? She was just a lone woman in a foreign country.
Sighing, she plopped herself down on the ground and hugged her knees to her chest. Paris was a city filled with so many things to do and to see, none of which appealed to her. Why did this business trip have to be so long? How was she ever going to get through the next two days?
"
Pardon, mademoiselle," a deep voice interrupted her thoughts a moment later.
Using her hand to shade her eyes from the sun, Brooke looked up and saw the man belonging to the voice. He was tall, with the trim but muscular body of someone who worked out regularly. What impressed her most, though, was his incredibly perfect posture. She had never seen anyone stand so straight and tall.
"Yes?" she asked. "Can I help you?"
A smile softened his square jaw. "You're an American. From the Midwest, if I had to guess."
Brooke arched a brow. Although she was originally from Kansas, she had lived in the D.C. area for the last fifteen years. Hardly anyone made mention of her accent anymore. This man was either a master of linguistics or he was from the same part of the country where she was born.
As if reading her mind, he went on, "I'm from Oklahoma myself, and I can always tell a neighbor when I hear one."
He then gestured to the ground next to her and asked if he could join her. It was hard not to like his manners and easy charm so Brooke gave a noncommittal shrug. She welcomed the company but did not want to give the wrong impression by appearing overly eager.
"I'm Christian Anders," he said as he sat down a respectable distance from her. "But everyone just calls me Chris."
Without the sun glaring in her eyes, she could now see his face better. He had very angular features, as if chiseled from stone, and a nose that had seen several breaks over the years. His light brown hair was short, almost a crewcut, and was touched with grey at the temples. In sharp contrast to all that cragginess, he had warm hazel eyes that twinkled with mirth, as if he had a great joke he could not wait to share, and a ready smile.
"Brooke Stewart," she replied.
He took her hand and shook it warmly. As he did, he let his eyes flicked over her and Chris very much liked what he saw. It was clear that Brooke had a brain behind her intense green eyes. As for the rest of her, well, she was softly rounded in all the right places. It was those lush curves that caught his attention the moment she came into the park.
By the time they talked about Paris and the unseasonably warm weather for so early in the year, they began to feel more at ease with each other. The conversation quickly moved on to topics that were more personal. Brooke told him about her job at a major international bank, about the work that had brought her here, and how she would be in Paris for another week.
His eyes lit up. "It's a stroke of fate that we ran into each other today. I'm on leave until Friday and I was wondering what I was going to do in Paris all by myself."
She arched an eyebrow. "On leave? You're in the military?"
"Yes ma'am. I'm in the Marine Corps," he replied proudly. Chris saw the look of doubt as her eyes moved over his civilian attire and added, "There are times and places when the military does not want not advertise the presence of servicemen on leave."
Her mind flashed to the recent news report about five sailors viciously attacked in a South American bar. She never would have guessed Paris to be a problem city for Americans, but she guessed that the military knew how best to guard its servicemen.
Brooke's look of doubt softened into a smile. So he was a Marine. Well that certainly explained his posture and self-confidence, not to mention his well-toned physique. She was surprised that she had not guessed it right away.
As he continued to speak, she learned that Chris was a Captain and currently stationed in Baghdad. This was his first leave in fourteen months, having just completed his second tour of duty in Iraq. It was amazing to hear him speak so matter-of-factly about these places. Dangerous places that figured so prominently in the nightly news.
They continued to talk and to laugh about all the things they had in common. Before either of them noticed, the afternoon sunlight started to fade with the approaching sunset and lights began to wink on around the city. When the Eiffel Tower lit up, Brooke sighed dreamily. She had seen it many times before but the sight of the twinkling lights soaring to meet the stars never failed to send shivers up her spine.
Watching her face in the last rays of sunlight, Chris felt a stirring in his chest. It took him a moment to realize it was the sound of his heart beating. Beating as it had not beat for a very long time. Yearning for a companionship he had not shared in a very long time. It took all of his self-control not to sweep her into his arms and to kiss her until they were both drunk with passion.
He would kiss her, though, that was sure. But not now. Not until he was certain she would welcome it. No matter how much he wanted her, he would not force himself on her the way he would have done in his youth. He had learned the hard way of the price there was to pay for such impulses.
Pushing thoughts of his past aside, he concentrated on the present and the woman next to him. He wanted to spend more time with her, as much time as he thought necessary while waiting for the right time to steal that kiss. Clearing his throat, he asked if she would like to join him for dinner.
It did not take but an instant for her to consider the invitation. Having dinner with this charming man was far preferable to her original plan for room service in front of the television. Smiling her best smile, she nodded and said, "I'd like that a lot."
Pleased with the response, even though he already knew she would say yes, he got to his feet and held out his hand to help her rise. Brooke felt her face pink. She was hard pressed to recall such gentlemanly manners from anyone she had dated. Ever. Fighting the urge to giggle, she slipped her hand into his.
The maneuver of standing up brought their bodies close, almost touching. For a split second, she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. Looking up, she saw the look behind his level gaze. It was a look that said he hoped they could be more than just friends. She tensed.
Vacation romances were never meant to last and only ended in hurt, and becoming romantically involved with someone while on a business trip was even worse. At times like this, when she felt the situation heading in a direction she did not want it to go, she would pull away, make an excuse to break their dinner date, and push the incident and the person out of her mind.
This time was different. This time, she did not pull away. She had no idea why, but she found herself eager to pursue a relationship with this man and see where it led. This time, she relaxed and savored the moment of their closeness.
His heart sank when he felt her tense. Once again he had been too forward, too eager to get to know a woman. Would he never learn his lesson? Just as an apology started to form on the tip of his tongue, he saw the change in her expression and demeanor. His heart soared. Fate brought him to this park so he could meet this woman. A woman he was looking forward to getting to know much better over the next week.
(copyright 2011 Judith McGuinness)
