Chapter 4
“Guys, please stay inside the boutique. I’m going to run outside to make a quick phone call,” she said to her group. They all nodded and continued browsing the store. Myles stood with Josephine, Erica, and Pia as they tried on hats, not even noticing her as she passed them and walked outside. She pulled her cell phone from her purse and called her best friend, cringing at the charges she’d rack up from making calls to the US while she was here.
“Hello?” a sleepy voice answered after several rings.
“Mel? Hey, it’s Adrienne. I’m having a crisis,” she replied, glancing into the boutique window to see Myles watching her. She turned away and started to pace.
“Adrienne? Aren’t you supposed to be in Paris?” her friend asked with a yawn.
“I am in Paris.”
“Well, it’s two in the morning here in California. Unless you’re being murdered or something, can’t this wait until a decent hour?” she mumbled. Adrienne huffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder.
“Sorry. It’s around eleven here. But no, it can’t wait. It’s about a guy,” she said. Noises could be heard in the background along with Melody’s boyfriend, Chandler, complaining about her coming back to bed.
“A guy, you say?” Melody asked, her voice sounding more alert.
“Yes, a guy.”
“So what’s the crisis?”
“The guy I texted you about earlier asked me to dinner,” she said.
“…okay and you said yes, right?” she asked.
A sheepish grin pulled at her lips as she shrugged. As if she can even see me. “Um…no, I didn’t. I actually kind of ran away from him.”
“What the hell, Adrienne?” shrieked. “Are you going to be single and celibate for the rest of your life?”
Adrienne rolled her eyes and continued her pacing. “Of course not, but it’s complicated.”
“Is it actually complicated or are you making it complicated?” her friend asked. She could hear the smirk she probably wore through her tone.
“He’s in the Navy,” Adrienne said.
“Oh.” Melody was quiet for a moment. “Then I see why this is a problem.”
Adrienne groaned and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m so torn. He’s so sexy and nice and I want to go, but what happens if I get to close to him? You know I can’t date his type.”
“Now hear me out on this,” Melody started. Adrienne shook her head. They’d had conversations like this plenty of times since Miguel passed and anytime Melody asked her to “hear her out” on something, it was usually something Adrienne didn’t want to hear. “You’re in the City of Love and a guy, who is sexy according to you, has asked you out for dinner. No one is saying to fall in love with him, but it wouldn’t hurt to actually get some action.”
“Mel!” Adrienne shrieked, her cheeks burning from embarrassment. She started to wonder why she even called in the first place. Melody had been trying to get her laid for the last three years, claiming that one year is enough to do nothing but grieve.
“I’m serious, Adrienne! You just need to loosen up a bit. I know you have your ‘no men in uniform’ rule, but what if that’s keeping you from your soulmate?”
She rolled her eyes. “I hardly know anything about this man to know he’s my soulmate.”
“Yeah, because you're cock blocking yourself,” Melody said with a giggle. Adrienne smiled. “But seriously, getting hurt is a part of life. You can’t restrict yourself from a guy you like—“
“I didn’t say I liked him.”
“Yeah, if you didn’t like him at least a little bit, you wouldn’t be calling me right now with this so-called crisis,” Melody stated. Adrienne couldn’t necessarily argue with her on that. She did kind of like him. He was easy to talk to and definitely nice to look at. “Look, you can’t count him out just because of the job he has. Even if he wasn’t a man in uniform, he could still get hurt or killed in any job.”
“But—”
“Just take it a day at a time. It wouldn’t hurt to have a little fun with him while you’re on the trip. Worry about the rest when you get home, but for now, just enjoy him. If I weren’t with Chandler, I wouldn’t think twice about jumping a hot sailor’s bones,” Melody said.
The image of Myles standing in a towel soaking wet flashed to the front of her mind, making her feel warm all over with desire. Though she’d wanted to pull her eyes away, she couldn’t. She couldn’t stop watching as a bead of water rolled down his chest and it took everything in her not to lean forward and lick it off of him. Maybe Mel was right. She’d been so cautious all these years; maybe she needed a moment to let loose for once. Whatever happened here would stay here anyway, so what would it hurt?
She turned and looked through the glass of the boutique and watched Myles as he laughed and joked with his sister and the other students. He lifted his eyes and met her gaze, giving her a small, apologetic smile.
“Okay then,” Adrienne finally said.
Melody yawned. “Okay what?”
“I’ll go to dinner with him,” she said, never breaking her gaze from Myles.
“Good,” Melody said and yawned again. “And try to get laid tonight, will you?”
“Mel!”
“I’m serious. Get some loving in the City of Love. Deal with the rest when you get home and decompress. I’m going back to bed now. Have a good date and good sex tonight!” Melody said and hung up, leaving Adrienne shaking her head.
She walked back into the boutique and joined the others. Myles cleared his throat. “Um, can I talk to you for a sec?” he asked. She nodded and followed him to the back of the boutique. He looked around to make sure no one else was close enough to hear him before he spoke again. “I wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn’t mean any disrespect or—”
“Yes,” she simply said, a small smile forming on her lips when his brow crinkled with confusion.
“Yes?”
“Yes. I’ll have dinner with you tonight,” she said. His confusion quickly melted into surprise and excitement as a handsome smile lit up his face.
“Wow,” he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. “That was unexpected. I thought you were upset about me asking. I hear there’s a nice restaurant in the lobby of the hotel. Would you like to meet there at 8?”
“Sounds fine, though I think the dress code there is suit and tie,” she said.
He smiled and gave her a small shrug. “I brought one just in case.”
“Oh really?” she asked with a smirk, folding her arms across her chest. “Were you already planning to ask me out to dinner or something?”
“Something like that,” he answered. “So I’ll see you there at 8?” She nodded and watched him walk back over to his sister, who seemed to be teasing him about something. She grinned to herself as she joined her own group. After all this time, she actually had a date.
They spent the next hour and a half browsing through the rest of the shops on the strip. They now stood in a souvenir shop, browsing at beautiful snow globes and trinkets. She couldn’t help glancing over at Myles from time to time, as he’d basically followed her and her group to every shop they went in. It wasn’t like she minded; if she was being honest, she actually liked the attention she got from him.
They finally left the souvenir shop and met the rest of the students in front of the boutique as planned. “Okay, guys,” Adrienne said, clapping her hands together. “We have two choices now. We can either walk around some more and find a nice place to have lunch, or we can go to our rooms and relax and order room service. Which—”
“Rooms,” everyone answered in unison. Adrienne smiled and nodded.
“Rooms it is,” she said and led the way back to the hotel.
Once they were on their floor, she watched as everyone retreated to their rooms, noticing Myles walk a little slower. When he reached his door, he turned to her and winked.
“Eight o’clock,” he said before disappearing into the room.
***
Adrienne stepped out onto the balcony, inhaling the cool night air. The streets below were still busy with life as the sun set along the horizon. She gazed up at the sky with a sigh.
“I miss you so much, Miguel,” she whispered, feeling tears burn her eyes. “But I’m scared.”
She’d spent the last couple of hours debating with herself on whether or not she should go on this date. A part of her figured that it was just dinner and it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him. But another part of her warned her about her “no man in uniform” rule and how she didn’t want to start anything she wasn’t sure she could finish. There were a few times when she was nearly halfway to his room to tell him she’d changed her mind, but then thought better of it. It’s seriously just dinner.
“I know you’d probably fuss at me if you could. You always wanted me to be happy, but I can’t seem to find my happiness without you,” she continued, a single tear sliding down her cheek. She’d met Miguel her junior year in high school when he’d moved to Tampa from New Hampshire. From the moment they met, they were stuck at the hip, never leaving the other’s side. Even when she went off to college and he went into the police academy, he made sure to stay close to her. She’d dated other guys in the past, but she’d never felt anything as deep as she did when she was with Miguel. He was her soulmate and now that he was gone, it felt as if her life had been put on pause, as if waiting for him to return. She wished that it was just a four-year-long nightmare that she’d wake up from soon and have Miguel there to comfort her, letting her know that things were okay.
But it wasn’t a dream.
Reality hit her every time she went to put flowers on his grave. The loneliness settled when she entered her empty house with nothing but memories and no one to tell her day to. The void grew bigger when she’d reach out in the middle of the night to where he used to sleep and be greeted by nothing but air and cold pillows that no longer smelled like him.
Her hands tightened on the railing as she took a deep breath. That was the reason she made that rule. The pain she felt from first hearing the news still cut her as deep as it did then to this day. If she were to go beyond a friendship with Myles, she’d be putting herself at risk for the same pain all over again. Losing the love of your life once is enough for a single lifetime; she didn’t think she’d survive it another time.
“But we’re not in love. We’re just…enjoying each other’s company,” she mused out loud to herself. Maybe she was overthinking all of this. The man only invited her to dinner, for crying out loud. It’s not like they’re going to be dating after dinner or running off to get married under the Eiffel Tower. It wouldn’t hurt to have a little fun with a man that is obviously attracted to her. And if she were being honest, she couldn’t deny her attraction to him either. Her cheeks warmed at the memory of him standing in a towel, making her curious to know what he looked like without it. It was hard not to like him. He was easy to talk to and made her comfortable on the plane ride here. It was also cute how he interacted with Josephine, which made her miss her own older brothers.
Her ringing cellphone in her room snapped her out of her reverie. Melody’s name and photo was on the screen when she retrieved it.
“Hey Mel,” she said upon answering, sitting on the bed.
“So? How did it go?”
Adrienne raised an eyebrow. “How did what go?”
“Your date! You didn’t back out of it, did you?”
“It’s not even time for it yet. There’s still another two hours. It’s only six here right now.”
“Oh gotcha,” she said. “Well, are you prepared at least? Sexy outfit? Killer heels? Condoms?”
“Mel!” she exclaimed with a giggle. “Who said anything about having sex with him?”
“I said you’re going to have sex with him. You’d be crazy not to. I’m sure those toys get boring after a while,” she said. Adrienne shook her head.
“I have to start getting ready anyhow. Was that all you called for?”
“Not exactly. I just wanted to call to remind you that it’s okay to be scared, but you’re also human. You need some action every once and a while.” She was quiet for a moment before adding, “Miguel would want you to be happy, not living your life as you are right now.”
Adrienne clenched her teeth together. It was so easy for Melody to give her that kind of advice when she hadn’t experienced the kind of pain she had. She knew Melody was only trying to help, but she wasn’t necessarily in the position to give Adrienne that kind of advice.
“Yeah,” Adrienne mumbled.
“Don’t be mad. I just…I want to see you happy again. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that my friend died that day as well,” Melody said. Adrienne ran a frustrated hand through her hair.
“Um, I’ll keep all of that in mind, but I have to start getting ready now. I’ll text you when I get back in,” she said and hung up before Melody could get in another word. No matter how frustrating it was hearing Melody’s words, she couldn’t deny that they were true. Miguel would have never wanted her to be sad for as long as she had been and he definitely wouldn’t want her to limit her dating options just because of what happened to him.
“It would be so much easier if you could give me a sign,” she said out loud as she got up and headed for the bathroom. It would be so much easier if you were still here.
***
After spending an hour and forty-five minutes preparing, she finally took a final look at herself in the mirror. The tight, white lace dress molded her curves, the off-the-shoulder straps putting her full cleavage on display. Her black stilettos made her legs look long and lean as she turned to inspect herself in different angles. She’d taken the time to shave, curl her hair, and perfectly apply her makeup, thoroughly satisfied with the end result.
“Hopefully he likes it,” she said with a sigh, grabbing her clutch and heading for the door.
Nerves ran rampant within her as she rode the elevator down to the first floor. It’s not too late to turn back around, her voice of fear reminded her. She pushed the thoughts away and continued walking forward. Even if she’d wanted to turn and go back to her room, she was unable to stop moving forward when her eyes landed on Myles. She can’t remember the last time she’d seen a man look as good as he did in a suit. He stood next to the fountain in the lobby, checking his watch. It was as if someone had plucked him from a GQ magazine and brought him to life. When he looked up and saw her approaching, his eyes widened briefly before a sexy smile lit up his face.
She returned his smile, her stomach feeling as if it was doing backflips as she crossed the lobby. He met her halfway, desire in his eyes as he looked her up and down.
“Wow,” he said softly. “You look beautiful.” Adrienne blushed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Thank you. You look handsome as well,” she said. She watched as his eyes roamed her body, a tingling sensation settling at her core when he licked his lips. She cleared her throat and giggled. “Should we go inside and have dinner?”
He chuckled and nodded. “Dinner…right. That’s probably a good idea,” he said, extending his arm to her. “Shall we?”
“Oui,” she replied, linking her arm with his and heading to the restaurant.
“Bonne soirée, monsieur et madame. Bienvenue á Chez Lapel,” the host said when they entered.
“Bonsoir, monsieur,” Myles said, surprising Adrienne. “Table pour deux s’il vous plaît.”
The host clicked around on the small computer in front of him and nodded. “Ah. Droit cette façon,” he said and motioned for them to follow him.
“I didn’t know you spoke French,” Adrienne whispered. He smiled and shook his head.
“I don’t. You don’t want to know how many times I practiced saying those two lines before coming down here. I don’t even know what he just said after that,” he said and chuckled. She smiled. It was nice that he took the time to learn a few things for their dinner.
“Well, you did very well. I’m impressed,” she said as they sat down.
“I’m glad. It makes all those times Josephine slapped me upside the head when I said it wrong worth it,” he said and laughed. Adrienne giggled.
“You poor thing. I hope she didn’t hurt you too bad.”
“Nah. It’ll take more than a seventeen-year-old to hurt me,” he said with a smile.
A dark-haired, tanned waitress with a bright smile came to their table. “Welcome to Chez Lapel. What can I get you to drink?” she asked, her accent thick.
“Feel free to get whatever you like,” Myles told her, looking over the menu.
“I’d like Bergerac,” Adrienne said in fluent French. “White, please.”
“And you, sir?” the waitress asked, turning her attention to Myles. Adrienne didn’t miss the dreamy expression on the waitress’ face as she looked at him. The man was incredibly sexy. She smiled to herself. Incredibly sexy and on a date with me.
“Annoeullin L'Angelus Bière de Froment,” he said to her.
“Good choice, monsieur,” the waitress told him with a shy smile. “I’ll put that right in for you.”
When she was out of sight, Adrienne playfully smirked at him. “Seems like someone has a little crush on you,” she teased.
“Nah.” Myles shook his head. “I think she’s just trying to get a good tip.”
The way he looked at her across the table made her feel heated, waking up parts of her that had been dormant for awhile. She pulled her eyes away and tried to focus on the menu.
“Any idea of what you want?”she asked. He picked up his menu and shrugged.
“I don’t even understand anything on it,” he confessed with a chuckle.
“Well, you could do the tasting menu and have the chef pick four dishes and two desserts for you,” she suggested.
He smiled. “Sexy and smart,” he said, causing her to blush. “I’ll go with that. Doesn’t hurt to taste…new things.”
His emphasis on the word “taste” and the lust harboring in his eyes made Adrienne squeeze her thighs together. If he was implying that he wanted to taste her, she definitely wouldn’t object.
The waitress reappeared with their drinks and placed them down in front of them, giving Myles a flirtatious smile.
“Are you ready to order, monsieur?” she asked. Myles cut his eyes to Adrienne, who smirked at him, before turning his eyes back to the waitress.
“The tasting menu is fine,” he said.
“Wonderful choice. The tasting menu comes with four dishes and two desserts handpicked by our head chef. You’ll definitely enjoy it.” She turned to Adrienne. “And you, madame?”
“I’ll have the tasting menu as well,” Adrienne responded, handing her the menu. The waitress nodded and scurried off to place their order, leaving Adrienne and Myles alone again.
“So,” Myles started, taking a drink from his beer.
“So,” Adrienne repeated.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Does my military affiliation bother you?” he asked. She paused mid sip.
“Um,” she started, putting her glass down. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s guys in uniform in general, not specifically military men.”
“Ah.” He hesitated a moment before adding, “Because of your late fiancé?”
Adrienne nodded as she grabbed her wine glass, taking a few gulps from it to calm her nerves.
Myles’ gaze softened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said, reaching out to place his hand over hers that rested on the table.
“It’s fine. It was an innocent question,” she murmured. His thumb caressed the back of her hand as they sat in silence for a while. When she finally looked up at him, he was staring at her with sad eyes. She gave him a small smile. “Really, it’s okay. I’m okay.”
He nodded and gave her a small smile in return, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Wanting to chance the subject, Adrienne sat up a little straighter. “I’m anxious to see what the chef picked. Have you ever eaten French food?” she asked.
“This will be the first.”
“Then the tasting menu was a good idea for you. You get to taste a little bit of everything,” she said.
He leaned back in his seat and took another swallow of his beer, his eyes darkening as he looked at her over this glass.
“Well, Ms. Barrera,” he started, putting the glass down. “I hope to taste a lot of things by the end of the night. This dinner is just a start.”
She looked at him with wide eyes, squeezing her thighs even tighter when he winked and licked his lips. If dinner didn’t get here any quicker, she’d ditch this place and find out what else he wanted to taste tonight.