“Cash, wait.”

Tally ran after him, but his legs were much longer than hers, and he had a head start. She couldn’t figure out what had happened to spook him so much that he’d felt the need to take off. After all, they’d spent the last twelve hours or so with their lips locked together. There’d been nothing different about that last kiss from her perspective. It had the same impact as every other kiss they shared. She’d been spellbound, engrossed in how he made her feel everything at the same time as making her forget everything.

She reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, her hamstrings burning because of the speed of her descent. The church was even busier than before. Her chest tightened. She couldn’t see him anywhere. Tally dodged the crowd gathered at the entrance and scanned the area, spotting his baseball cap at the front, by the altar. She eased into the pew to sit beside him and rested a hand on his thigh. “What’s up, ace?”

His hand closed over hers, and he squeezed her fingers, but he didn’t make eye contact. “Is that because I am?”

She frowned, wondering what he meant, then smiled when she figured it out. “You really do need to work on your lack of confidence. No, it’s because you serve a lot of them. It’s always been my nickname for you.”

He chuckled under his breath. “I love it.” Standing, he tugged on her hand. “Come on. Next stop awaits.”

“Wait a minute,” Tally said, forcing him to sit down again. “Why did you run off like that?”

He looked at her then, and Tally’s heartbeat kicked up a notch as the smile drained from his eyes.

“Honestly?”

“Yes.”

He swept a hand over the back of his head. “I’m not exactly sure.”

She held her breath, scared at what he might say next but needing to hear it anyway.

“When I kissed you up there, I felt… shit, I don’t know how to explain it. Uneasy, weird.”

“Just what a girl wants to hear after a guy kisses her,” she said, trying desperately to make light of the situation even as her heart headed south.

Cash half smiled and stood up. “Time to go.”

“Hang on,” she said, but Cash had already started walking away.

She’d rather have kept talking to get to the bottom of his weird feeling. She nearly shouted, This isn’t over! but guessed that yelling at the top of her voice wouldn’t go down so well inside a church. Plus, she doubted it would get her anywhere. Cash was the most stubborn man she’d ever met. Even this early in their relationship, she’d already figured out that if he didn’t want to talk, there wasn’t a way to force him.

She mulled over what he’d said as she followed him out of Notre-Dame. Perhaps all her questioning about other women had pissed him off, and he was trying to find a way to dump her so he could return to his old life, one where he didn’t get weird feelings that made him uneasy.

As they stepped outside, Cash reached for her hand. “Sacré-Coeur next?”

She nodded and tried to muster a smile. “Is it far?”

“It’s a little far to walk if we want to get around to all the sights today,” he said as they set off in the direction of the car.

Cash kept hold of her hand on drive over to Sacré-Coeur, his thumb drifting across her knuckles. Once or twice, he brought her hand to his mouth, his lips soft and warm as he kissed her, causing ripples of desire to feather across her skin.

The car stopped a couple of minutes away from the bottom of Montmartre. About three quarters of the way up the steps towards Sacré-Coeur, Tally put her hand out. “Give me a minute.” She gasped, trying to catch her breath.

Cash laughed. “Paris is not a city for the faint-hearted.”

“Or the seriously unfit.”

“Poor baby. Shall I carry you the rest of the way?” He bent down as though he planned to toss her over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift.

Tally skipped out of his reach. “Don’t you dare.” She set off walking again, scowling at the sound of Cash laughing behind her.

“Seen enough?” he said after they’d spent about half an hour walking around Sacré-Coeur.

“I guess,” she said, taking a last look at the view over the whole of Paris. “I think I prefer this place to Notre-Dame.”

“Ah, we’ll have to agree to disagree there, sweetness.” He captured her hand. “Let’s grab some lunch and then take a riverboat cruise.”

“Do I get to sit down on the cruise?”

Cash laughed. “Yep.”

“Thank God for that.”

Cash took her to a typical French restaurant on rue Lamarck, where he persuaded her to try frogs’ legs for lunch. Despite her reservations, they tasted very similar to chicken—bloody delicious. As they were leaving the restaurant, a couple of fans stopped Cash, asking for selfies and autographs. Tally hung back, watching, as he patiently posed and signed scraps of paper and what she hoped were unused tissues.

A flashbulb went off in her face, and she automatically raised her arm, her head flinching backwards.

“What the—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Cash grabbed her arm and muscled his way past the photographer, who seemed to have his finger permanently on the shutter release.

“For fuck’s sake,” Cash muttered. He knitted their fingers together and broke into a run, with click, click, click following them as the photographer got his fill.

After dodging down a couple of side streets, they managed to lose the photographer. With her lungs burning, Tally bent over, hands on her knees, as she tried to suck in some much-needed oxygen.

“Are you okay?”

Still short of breath, Tally glanced up at Cash. His face smouldered beneath a chilly expression.

“Jeez, Gallagher,” she said with a laugh, hoping to jerk him from his obvious annoyance. “You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

“Fucking paps.” He tried to hide the small smile creeping across his lips.

With her breathing easier, Tally managed to stand upright. “Well, today’s taught me one thing.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“It’s about time I got a gym membership.”

 

* * *

 

By the time they arrived back at the hotel, Tally’s feet had blisters upon blisters, and she craved a long soak in the bath.

“Do you mind if I leave you for an hour or so?” Cash said as he let her into the hotel room. “I need to get a workout in at the gym.”

“You still have energy for exercise after today?”

He winked suggestively. “I’ve got bags of energy, sweetness. I’ll be happy to demonstrate later.”

She grinned. “No, I don’t mind. I’m going to have a hot bath. My feet are killing me.”

Cash clasped her hips and pulled her close. “Thinking of you all soapy and naked in the bath will help me get through this workout twice as fast.” He kissed her forehead, grabbed his gym bag, and left.

She watched the closed door for a minute or so. Cash was such a bundle of contradictions. He had a reputation as a “love ’em and leave ’em” type selfish and self-serving enough to put his own interests above those of anyone else. Yet when they were together, he made Tally feel as though she was the most important person in the world. He was attentive, caring, considerate, and always asking her what she wanted to do or if this or that was okay.

Tally wandered into the bathroom and spotted some bubble bath on the side. She unscrewed the top and lifted the bottle to her nose. The smell was heady, caramel with an undertone of honeysuckle. She tipped a decent amount into the enormous tub and, while she waited for it to fill, headed back into the living room. Automatically drawn to the window, she stared at the view before her. Paris certainly was beautiful, and in this one visit, she’d fallen in love with the city.

She limped back into the bathroom, glad to see the bath was finally full, then sank into the water and rested her head on a folded towel. The combination of heat and bubbles eased her aching muscles. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what Em would say about what had happened at Notre-Dame. Em had miles more experience with men, and Tally had a yearning to talk to her even though they’d just spoken the night before.

Tally jumped out of the bath and dashed into the living room, dripping water and bubbles everywhere. After grabbing her phone, she dialled Em and climbed back into the warm bathwater. Em answered on the first ring.

“Hey, Tal. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. Bored already?”

Tally laughed. Just hearing Em’s voice made her feel better. “Hardly. He’s gone to the gym, so I thought I’d give you a quick call.”

“Babes, if he’s got energy for the gym, you ain’t doing it right.”

She laughed again. “Honestly, Em, I’ve never known anyone with so much stamina. We’ve been walking around Paris all day, and I’m absolutely knackered, yet Cash is still bouncing on his toes.”

“So if everything’s great, what’s up?”

“Who said anything’s up?”

“Come on, Tal, I’ve known you my whole life. I can hear it in your voice. Fess up.”

Tally briefly told her about the kiss at the top of Notre-Dame and how Cash had run off straight after and then refused to tell her anything other than he felt weird.

“Hmm,” Em said. “Not exactly what a girl wants to be told after she’s been kissed.”

“That’s what I said.”

Silence. Then Em said, “Aha! Got it. He’s falling for you.”

Tally snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. This is Cash Gallagher we’re talking about. I’m fully aware of the fact I’m just another notch carved into his extremely knobbly headboard.”

Despite promising myself I wouldn’t be that girl.

“Don’t be so sure. Even George Clooney got nabbed in the end,” Em said.

“Yeah, but George was fifty-three when he got nabbed. Cash is twenty-eight. That’s a whole lot of notches yet to carve.”

“Or he may have found what he’s looking for and can now retire his chisel.”

She giggled. “Oh, Em, I knew I’d feel better talking to you.”

“Has he told you why you’re having an unexpected break from work yet?”

“No. I’ve tried to ask a couple of times, but he keeps changing the subject. He’s expert at it.”

“Then be tenacious. Pin him down. Don’t take no for an answer.”

“I’m going to. Tonight.”

“Good.” Em chuckled. “I gave Dozer a call today.”

Tally grimaced. “How is he?”

“Pissed. Very pissed. Cash seems to have a knack for pressing every one of Dozer’s buttons. He was worried about you too, but I put him right on that score. He may not like Cash, but let’s be honest—he’s in a minority of one.”

“I’ll call him as soon as I know what’s going on.” She adjusted the towel behind her head. “If I keep him in the loop, he’s less likely to worry.”

“Good idea.”

“Right, I’ve got to go. The bathwater is getting cold.”

“You called me from the bath? You decadent witch.”

“You should see the size of it too. It’s bigger than our entire bathroom.”

“Bugger off, Tal. You know I don’t like the way my face twists when I’m jealous.”

Tally chuckled. “I’ll call you in a day or so.”

She climbed out of the bath and bent over to pull the plug out when she heard someone clearing his throat. She spun around. Cash was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded. He raked her from head to foot with eyes that left burns in their wake.

“I knew it was worth rushing through that workout.”