Midnight in Montmartre: A French Kiss Sweet Romance (9 page)

W
hen Mia left
Luc's office, his tie felt too tight, choking into his skin. His neck itched. He grabbed at the knot and pulled it away from his neck, but even with the tie loosened, he still felt as if he was being choked.

He realized that his whole body had tensed up. It was probably its way of forming a big, heavy scab around his heart.

Luc was at least thankful that he'd been sitting down when Mia crushed him with her sharp words. At least he couldn't keel over while sitting in a heavy, industry-standard office chair.

The world really did revolve around women. They could build a man or destroy him. When he had awakened that morning, he hadn't expected the rejection to be so brutal. He hadn't expected rejection, period. His future with Mia had been so clear to him.

He had been planning on asking her out on a real date. He would've cooked for her, taken her out to a park for a picnic, perhaps along the Seine River, at the Tuileries, or Luxembourg Gardens. Something easygoing yet romantic, so they could talk and get to know each other even more.

The first date would lead to the second date and the second date the third. He could see them falling in love, moving in together. She'd move to Paris to be with him permanently because he would propose...

Perhaps he had really gotten ahead of himself. When was he going to learn to separate fantasy from reality?

Now that he knew how Mia really felt about the kiss, he was glad that he'd restrained himself from calling her during the weekend.

"I remember what I want to remember, and I can let go of the rest,"
she had said.

If only he could pick and choose what he wanted to remember, he wouldn't feel this wretched.

It turned out that he was the only one who felt it. The kiss.

Their kiss had been more than just lips meeting. It was lyrical and passionate and sexy at the same time. He couldn't just walk away from that.

But apparently Mia could.

"You look so serious, Luc. Who died?"

A woman's teasing voice. Not Mia's.

He looked up. Beth was at the door, the light from the hallway casting a perfect silhouette of her svelte body.

"Hope I'm not interrupting." She smiled.

Luc overcame his surprise quickly and stood up. "No, of course not. Come on in."

She closed the door behind her, and he greeted her with air kisses on the cheeks. She looked stunning as always in a tight baby-blue dress with silver swirling down the bodice at an angle, reminding him of a tornado. Her blond hair was styled in waves, framing her porcelain face. She wore dark red lipstick, a bold, sexy shade that he hadn't seen on her before.

"Did you get some bad news, Luc? The stock market down? You're really wearing a funeral parlor face, you know."

Luc shook his head. "Sorry, I was just thinking about our campaigns."

She arched an eyebrow. "About what could go wrong? You worry too much, Luc."

"It's just a case of the Mondays." He mustered a smile, hoping it would convince her. "What brings me the pleasure of seeing you this morning?"

Beth took out a folder from her tan Hérmes handbag. "I just wanted to bring you these, the contracts we have to get signed."

Luc took them and went back to sit at his desk.

"You came out all the way for that? You could've sent a messenger, you know."

He dropped the folder in front of him and was about to ask Beth to sit in the seat where Mia had just sat when Beth coolly strutted over to his side of the desk. She leaned over him, and he could smell her seductive perfume. In the past, a whiff of Beth's deadly drop of expensive perfume would've sent him into raptures, but this time, it had little effect on him, strangely enough.

"I just wanted to say hello," Beth said coyly.

He opened the folder and looked over the contracts in silence.

"Nothing has changed since we last talked," Beth said. "We're just making this official and legal."

Luc grabbed a pen and signed his name on several pages.

"Here you go." Luc closed the folder and gave it back to Beth.

She looked perplexed for a moment, but a smile reappeared on her face just as quickly. Perhaps she wasn't used to Luc being this silent. Usually he was the one struggling to make conversation.

"Are you working on the campaign this morning?" Beth asked.

"Yes. We're all working on our parts individually, and we're going to meet this afternoon to go over everything, Didier, Mia, and I."

He cringed when he said Mia's name.

"Oh, is that the American girl who came to the pitch meeting?" Beth asked. "Mia?"

"Yes," he said, looking back down at his desk, which was now empty.

"Mia. She was a firecracker. I was hesitant about the campaign at first, but her speech convinced me in the end. Which ad agency did she work for in America?"

"Actually, she was a journalist at
Seattle Life
magazine. She's just a natural at this advertising stuff."

"She certainly got lucky, if this is her first big campaign. Where did you find her?"

"On a street in Montmartre."

Beth raised an eyebrow. There were unsavory parts of Montmartre, such as Pigalle, which was full of sex shows and seedy bars.

"All innocent, of course," Luc quickly explained. He told her the full story, of how he'd been riding his scooter home late at night and saw Mia fighting off a mugger.

Beth was amused by the incident. "So you felt sorry enough for her to offer her a job?"

"Oh. That's another long story. Long story short, Mia came into my office the next morning because she had to track down someone in one of the commercials our company made for personal reasons. The funny thing is, she didn't know I worked here. I was in the process of interviewing candidates for an English-speaking copywriting position for the company. Since Mia has plenty of writing experience, I thought it would be a good fit for her to work for us.”

"And you were right," Beth said. "As always. That's quite a serendipitous meeting."

"Yes. Quite a way for her to meet her future boss."

Casually, Beth sat on his desk. She crossed her legs, allowing her dress to hike up and expose her creamy thighs.

"I'm so happy that we'll be working on this campaign together," Beth said. "We're both so busy that we rarely get to spend time together."

"We saw each other at your birthday party," Luc said.

"Yes, but I don't recall getting much time with you, since there were so many guests. That can change now."

Her syllables and consonants were wrapped in an aroma of sexual tenderness. She'd never expressed an interest in spending time alone with him before. He should've been ecstatic. She looked good, she smelled good, and she was saying all the things he'd been waiting to hear, so why didn't he feel anything?

She shifted her top leg. The dress inched up even higher.

"Have you been working out, Luc?"

"Not really. I haven't had time to go to the gym at all."

"That's strange, because you look more fit than usual. Whatever you're doing, keep it up."

Was Beth trying to seduce him right here in his office? He'd seen her turn on the charm and get flirty with men she was interested in before, but he'd never experienced it himself. A mixture of emotions swirled in his brain. In the past, he wouldn't have hesitated to take the bait, but he was too upset about Mia.

"Is something wrong, Luc? You seem really distracted today."

Luc shook his head. "Sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"That's all right," she said, but her voice deflated in disappointment. "This business can give me a few sleepless nights too. Drink a glass of wine if you ever feel that way. It helps me. I do envy those people who are out like a light as soon as their head hits the pillow." She cocked her head at him. "Maybe you need someone to sleep with. That might be better than a glass of wine."

Her red lips spread into a mischievous smile. Luc had never known she could be so bold. Then again, Beth was the kind of woman who liked to get what she wanted and who had the power to do so.

If only she had wanted him before he met Mia.

"Maybe," he said vaguely.

Beth uncrossed her legs and frowned. She cocked her head at him again.

"Luc, why don't we have dinner tonight? It'll help get you out of whatever funk you're in."

"Dinner?" Luc looked up at her.

"Sure. As old friends and new business partners. We should celebrate."

"Oh. Sure," Luc said slowly. "That could be fun."

Luc just wanted to be alone at the moment. Luckily, Beth was standing up and picking up her bag from the table, ready to leave.

"Pick me up at eight?" she asked.

"Sure."

"How about Chez Antoine?"

"Sounds good." He mustered another smile. "See you then."

Beth smiled back, but she looked at him strangely. Perhaps she wasn't used to Luc being distracted. She was usually the one causing the distractions. He had always given her his undivided attention in the past. It was a bit strange that he wasn't jumping for joy that Beth had asked
him
out for dinner.

It did sound fun, sort of, if they were going out to celebrate the campaign as friends. But his gut feeling told him that it was a date.

A date with Beth. Even a month ago, that would've felt like winning the lottery. In fact, he had believed that he had a better chance of winning the lottery than going out on a real date with Beth Montaigne. Now the chance had fallen right into his lap without him doing anything. It happened so quickly, so easily.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to date Beth. Not at all.

After all, Mia wasn't interested in going out with him. And the most desired woman in Paris was.

A
rt was
a wonderful thing to take your mind off troubles...and men. Although oftentimes men
were
the trouble. Mia strolled through the gardens of the Rodin Museum, relieved that the gray clouds had dispersed and the sun was peeking out, illuminating the beautiful red and yellow roses in their glory among Rodin's powerful sculptures.

She was grateful for the beautiful distractions, the peaceful afternoon alone, and the wonderful spring weather that accompanied them. In these moments, she felt like Paris was really her own.

Rodin had been really prolific, she thought as she gazed at a sculpture of a male torso. Being prolific was something that might have been held against him in the United States. Authors who were prolific were often looked upon with suspicion. Eyebrows raised with sculptors, too. Many didn't believe that someone could produce high-quality art or writing in a short period of time. Mia thought Rodin's work was beautiful, precise, yet wild.

As long as a piece of art was enjoyed by others, nothing else mattered. Art had its own timetable. It didn't wait for man.

She went inside the Hotel Biron, the mansion where a majority of Rodin's work was housed. There were paintings, ceramics, prints, and more sculptures. Mia could have spent days in the little museum to look at everything. She hadn't even gone to the Louvre yet. When she did, she might spend an eternity there.

After a small French tour group moved on, Mia stepped in closer to look at
The Kiss
, Rodin's famous marble sculpture of a couple in a passionate embrace. They were characters from Dante's
Divine Comedy
who were later slain by the woman's husband, and the illicit lovers were condemned to spend eternity in hell.

Could a kiss have that much of an impact?
Mia wondered. If she hadn't kissed Luc, would she still be as sad as she was now?

There were plenty of other men in the world, so why did she have to be stuck on one? One Frenchman on a scooter that she met on a rainy night in Montmartre. With striking blue eyes, a warm smile, and soft lips.

Now that she knew the truth, that Luc was in love with someone else, she should try to move on. Logically, she had every good reason to forget about him. If she could have her way, Luc would still be the leading man in her life.

Unfortunately, it wasn't up to her to decide. The man was in love with Beth. He had been for years. They were both French, rich, educated, and beautiful. They had even gone to the same school. It was obvious to everyone that they were well matched in every way.

And what had been there between her and Luc? Now that she thought about it, she was foolish to think there could've been something. Luc had only been nice to her because she was in the process of being mugged. They had shared a few laughs, but when he dropped her off, he didn't want to exchange contact information even as friends.

He had hired her because he needed a native English speaker. Since she was already a professional writer, he thought she could fit in well at his company. When he heard that she was looking for her sister, being the generous soul that he was, he naturally wanted to help her. Not because he was romantically interested in her. No. In fact, he probably felt sorry for her.

She sighed, looking longingly at the sculpture. This piece of marble was what romance looked like, frozen in time. She had shared a moment like this with Luc in the middle of a beautiful Parisian street. One of his hands had held her firmly on her back, the other tangled into her hair, his lips pressed firmly into hers. That had been the best kiss she'd ever had. Every nerve in her body had been tingling, every hair had stood on its end. Her brain couldn't function and the world had spun around her.

No other kiss had even come close. Sure, she'd had boyfriends, two serious relationships in total, but they had been light, fun relationships with little consideration for the future. Her career had been her main focus in her twenties. Luc was the first person she had felt a strong and unusual passion for. She could talk to him for hours and kiss those lips for eternity. However, his affections sailed toward Beth, and there was nothing she could do about it.

At least she still had Paris. The city of lights, the city of love, the most beautiful city in the world was all hers. She had the rest of the year to explore. She planned on poking around every beautiful street, every museum, every shop, every bridge on the Seine. There was still so much she hadn't done and all the people she had yet to meet. Mia was an optimist not by nature but by choice. There was plenty of good still to come. She had good friends, she had enough money to live on, a cozy apartment—there were plenty of blessings to count on.

As she wandered into a room of Rodin's paintings, she caught a glimpse of a young woman walking out of the room on the other side.

Mia's heart raced. The woman was as tall as she was but more slender. She had a similar Afro, and her skin was the same café au lait color as her own.

Was this the woman from the Fizz commercial—the sister Mia was looking for?

She quickened her pace, her boots pounding against the linoleum floor as she followed the young woman into a new section of the museum. Mia could only see the back of her head. She was wearing a navy-blue dress and black ballet flats. She was with a friend, a blond girl, and they were chatting before a sculpture of Camille Claudel.

Mia slowed down.

What was she supposed to ask her? "Excuse me, are you my long-lost sister?" Or "Pardon me, did you happen to be adopted at birth too?" What if the girl didn't even speak English?

The members of Les Slinks had called Luc back, including Luc's brother Mathieu. They didn't know anything about this woman. It was nice of Luc to have wanted to help, but with no new information on this woman, she was back at square one.

The two women continued into another room. Mia followed them, trying to get a view of the young woman's face. Her heart was beating like crazy. She'd been searching for a blood relative for so long, and now this potential sister was so close that it took her breath away.

Mia was only six feet behind them now, and she could hear them speaking in French. They were saying something about getting coffee, possibly in the café in the rose garden.

Mia took a deep breath. Panic seized her chest and words got lost along the way up her throat. She took another deep breath. It was now or never.

"
Excusez-moi—
”

The young woman turned around. Disappointment shot through Mia's soul.

It was not her. This woman bore no resemblance to Mia or the woman in the commercial. Her eyes were dark and rounded, her eyebrows thick and shaped like half moons, and her lips were wider, thinner.

"Nothing," Mia said, feeling stupid. "Never mind. Sorry."

She turned around and walked away, feeling her body shake. When she was at a sufficient distance from the two women, Mia sat down on a free bench. She put her head in her hands, suppressing a groan.

Of course it wasn't her. It would've been too easy.

But this was a reminder. She couldn't just depend on Luc or anyone else to find this person for her. She was on her own.

"You're in Paris for a reason," she told herself in a low voice. "You're searching for your sister. Don't get distracted."