by Nina Singh
It wasn’t as if she was some virginal maiden. But her realm of experience was vastly limited. She may have been intimate with a man in the past, but she’d never actually felt close to one. She simply didn’t have the necessary skill set to try to decipher a man like Adam.
She just hated that she wanted to try so badly.
Philippe glanced between Adam and Ani, still seated in her chair. “Might I suggest walking along the river to get back? This time of evening, it’s quite romantic.”
Was it her imagination or had he emphasized the last word unnecessarily? Dropping a small peck on her cheek, he gave Adam a small nod before walking away.
One thing was certain, Adam wouldn’t be at all interested in any type of stroll, particularly a romantic one along the Seine. She glanced at the walkway leading to the riverbank with abject longing and sighed. Maybe tomorrow morning she could bring Snowball here and take him on a nice, long walk. Who needed a man when she had her trusted canine companion?
But he surprised her yet again with his next words.
“I could use some fresh air and exercise.” He extended his hand. “I say we take Philippe up on his suggestion.”
It took a moment for the words to register in her brain, for her to convince herself that she’d actually heard him correctly. Wordlessly, she placed her fingers in his open palm over the table. Still, she couldn’t seem to get her legs to work and stand up until Adam gave her hand a small tug.
“What do you say, kitten? Come walk with me.”
CHAPTER THREE
“ACTUALLY, I’VE CHANGED my mind.”
Adam’s announcement as they reached the riverbank had Ani halting in her tracks. She knew it! Whatever had compelled him to suggest going on this stroll with her, he’d up and changed his mind. Nothing like getting a girl’s hopes up. He really did have whiplash-inducing mood swings.
She bit down on her frustration and tried to settle the tide of anger threatening to burst through the surface of her calm facade. When was she going to get a chance like this again? She liked to think she’d get another opportunity to come back to Paris. To sit in another café, maybe even with a man. To walk with him as they took in the beautiful sight of Paris in the evening.
But she wanted that experience here and now. Even if the man currently present was only here as a favor to her brother, who was paying him to keep an eye on her.
“Fine,” she bit out, turning on her heel to walk back to the hotel.
“Whoa.” Adam stopped her with a touch at the small of her back. Even in her ire, she felt the electricity through the thin fabric of her dress.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Back to the hotel. You said you changed your mind.”
He smiled at her, a twinkle of mischief in his eye. “Just about the walk.”
Well, that was something of a relief. She eyed a nearby park bench. He didn’t seem the type to sit around and people watch for fun. But what did she really know?
“Hang on a second,” he ordered, then stepped a few feet away. She watched as he made a phone call and proceeded to converse in French with whoever was on the other line. When he was done, he came over to her once more.
“Here, let’s go.” He guided her along, again with the hand at her back just above the waist. The contact was wreaking havoc with her emotions.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
A minute or so later, they approached a docked, glass-covered canopy boat. She could see a number of tables on board topped with white linen cloths and lit candles.
“It occurred to me neither of us really had a chance to have dinner.”
She couldn’t seem to summon the words as he guided her to the vessel and helped her on board.
“Uh...you arranged for a dinner cruise? Right there on the pathway?”
He shrugged. “I have a few contacts in the city. We can do something else if you’re not up for it.”
Was he serious? She’d have to be daft to turn this opportunity down. She told him as much.
A tuxedoed crew member greeted them and led them to a table. The glass canopy made for an amazing view and they hadn’t even left the dock yet. Ani had to bite back her excitement. This was so unexpected. A girl could get used to such surprises.
Oh, yeah. Despite his tendency to frequently and consistently heighten her emotions, Ani figured she could get used to Adam Steele in all manner of ways.
A sommelier appeared before she’d even had a chance to fully be seated. The woman greeted them with a smile and popped open a chilled bottle of champagne. At Adam’s nod, the smiling woman started to pour the bubbly liquid into two tall glass flutes.
Adam lifted his glass as soon as the sommelier walked away. “A toast to your upcoming performance.”
“Thank you.” Ani clinked her glass to his and took a small sip. The buttery, crisp taste exploded on her tongue. It was exquisite, a burst of flavor filling her mouth and running over her tongue.
Her senses were in overdrive. Watching scene after charming scene as they floated along the river, the taste of the rich champagne and the lure of the man sitting across from her made for a heady mixture of emotion.
Ani watched in awe as the boat passed a group of young adults dancing along the river’s edge. The Eiffel Tower stood majestically in the distance, breathtakingly lit up.
“I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend the evening, Adam. I don’t know how I’ll be able to repay you for this.”
He gave her a smile that made her stomach do a little flip. “No need. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
She didn’t get a chance to respond as yet another server appeared with two salads. Or maybe salad wasn’t the right word. On her plate sat a work of art—a romaine leaf topped with perfectly cubed avocado and bright red sliced tomato surrounded by a smattering of exotic-looking herbs laid out in an eye-pleasing design. Ani fought hard to resist the urge to pull out her phone and take a photo. That would look less than sophisticated in such a setting. She didn’t want to appear like the awestruck tourist that she was.
The main course was a seared fish fillet topped with a drizzle of zesty plum sauce. It was followed by an airy dessert of fruit-topped macarons that practically melted in her mouth.
“This is perfect,” she announced, stabbing a fork into a plump slice of strawberry. “I don’t like to eat too heavy before a performance day. This was the ideal meal, light and delicious.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Ani leaned back to take in the breathtaking view of the riverside as their plates were cleared and the interior lights dimmed even further.
“You speak French,” she ventured at last.
He gave a small shrug. “It was my assigned language class in school. Picked it up some more during a couple tours overseas. Then when I bought property out here, it was pretty much immersion learning.”
Ani knew she was being silly, but she couldn’t help the feeling of inadequacy that washed over her. Adam was worldly, successful and knowledgeable. By contrast, most of her life had been spent honing her musical skills and trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered family after their tragic loss.
“You look like you traveled a thousand miles in your head just now,” Adam told her with a small smile.
She hadn’t meant to drift off. “I was just admiring the city. It’s taking my breath away.”
“First time in Paris will have that effect. I take it you haven’t been here before.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“I must say I’m a little surprised. Considering... Never mind.”
She knew what he’d been about to say. Her family had certainly had the means. Not only did her father come from money, he’d inherited a successful business and grown it. Of course, there’d been opportunities to tra
vel. She just hadn’t wanted to leave home. Not until her father had somehow finished grieving. Only, he never really had.
“I would have loved to,” she admitted. “Just didn’t ever really get a chance.”
Not with a father and older brother to look after. Brant himself had been in no condition to lend any kind of emotional support to their grieving parent. She either had to step up or watch her father withdraw further from the world and life in general.
“Why is that?” Adam probed.
Surprisingly, she didn’t find herself annoyed by the question. This wasn’t a topic she normally opened up about. But for some reason, it felt natural to do so with Adam. Probably because she’d known him as a child. What other reason could there be?
“My father needed me around,” she found herself explaining. “So did Brant. Neither were interested in taking any kind of vacation. Dad sort of immersed himself in his work.” And Brant had withdrawn.
“Sounds like you took on a lot at a young age.”
“I had to.” She sucked in a deep breath. “The thing about having a devoted and loving parent is the unbearable depth of grief that results from their loss.” She studied her fingernails. She’d never said as much out loud before. Despite living with those exact thoughts every single day.
Adam was quiet for a long while before he finally spoke. “I guess I wouldn’t know.”
Ani found herself asking the question she’d wondered about for the past several years, ever since she’d first met him. “How did you come to live with your aunt and uncle?”
Another shrug. “No big mystery. My old man just left one day. And my mother split soon after.”
She didn’t have the words to respond to that—the concept was so incomprehensible. Despite the unbearable pain, she’d been lucky to have her mom for the short amount of time Ani had been given with her.
A strange yet comfortable silence ensued between them until Adam finally broke it. “Should I order another bottle of champagne?”
“Absolutely not. Not for me, anyway.” As tempted as she was by the offer, she did have to perform tomorrow. Bubbly that good was easy to overindulge in. Not to mention, she didn’t want to risk too much of a drop in her inhibitions around this man. She had already confided much more than she had ever intended to.
Although, he seemed to have confided as well. She couldn’t be too cross with herself. She could chalk it up to two old friends simply catching up. Though her feelings for him were starting to edge out of friendship boundaries.
“In that case, let’s go above deck,” he suggested. “We’re approaching the Eiffel Tower. We can watch it from the outside.”
He walked around the table and pulled her chair out. Once more, she felt his hand at the small of her back as he guided her above deck. He had no idea what that intimate touch did to her insides. Probably because he didn’t view it as intimate at all. He probably wouldn’t give it a second thought. Whereas she felt warmth resonate from his hand and travel all the way down to her toes.
* * *
He wasn’t usually an impulsive man. In fact, he was characteristically calm and controlled. Every minute of his day was typically planned out. Tonight, he was supposed to have gone back to his hotel room, gone over some more details about the layout of the theater with his crew and then answered some emails. Afterward, he’d planned to work on a bid for an expansion of his firm into the Eastern European market. But then Philippe had mentioned a stroll along the riverbank and Ani’s eyes had taken on a wistful look at the suggestion.
Admittedly, he had taken things to a whole other level by arranging for a dinner cruise for the two of them. He couldn’t even explain it to himself.
Not that he regretted it. And therein was the real kicker. It was a beautiful night. Paris, as usual, didn’t disappoint. He was glad to be out here, watching the sights of this dynamic, historic city with Ani Terrance.
She sighed next to him as they leaned over the railing, watching as the Eiffel Tower approached. “My kids would love to see this. I’m going to try to find a way to fund a trip when I get back.”
“They mean a lot to you, don’t they? The kids you teach.”
Her features softened as she smiled. “They’re family. Particularly the girls. Like the sisters I never had. I like to think they view me the same way.” She chuckled. “I know that must sound silly. I’m only there to teach them piano. Not for some deep, intense connection.”
He instinctively stepped closer to her. The barest brush of his shoulder against her arm. “It doesn’t sound silly at all. The people I count as my family aren’t blood relatives at all.”
“Oh? What about your aunt and uncle?”
Adam felt the familiar churning in his gut at yet another mention of his so-called kin. “I’ll always feel grateful to them for taking me in. But we’re not particularly close.” Aunt Rose and Uncle Stan had been dutiful enough to fulfill their responsibility. But it had been hard to ignore, all those years, their reluctance to have an unwanted teenager thrust into their lives.
Ani didn’t press when he said no more. Thankfully.
“Yeah. My ‘family,’ quote unquote, include the crew back at the hotel, the men I served with, including your brother. A handful of others I’ve been fortunate enough to have enter into my life,” he told her.
She bit her top lip with her lower teeth. “And a girlfriend, I imagine.” She’d barely gotten the last word out when her hand flew to her mouth. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from. It’s really none of my business.”
“It’s all right.”
“I’m just not very good at making conversation.”
He felt oddly disappointed in her explanation.
“Well, the answer happens to be that there is no girlfriend. I’m not in one place long enough.”
“I see.”
“What about you? You never really answered my questions back at the apartment about any men in your life.”
She huffed out a small laugh. “I recall you wanting names.”
He chuckled at that.
She ducked her head, looked down toward the water. “Are you asking as my bodyguard now? Or would you personally like to know?”
He shrugged. They were in dangerous territory here. He knew he should answer the question the only way that a professional would. But he couldn’t seem to stop himself when the right words did not come out of his mouth. “Maybe I’m just making conversation too.”
She looked away with a slight smile. “But you’re not. You’re asking because it’s your job.”
The truth was, Adam couldn’t even be sure anymore. The lines were becoming increasingly blurred. Which was completely unacceptable. He knew all too well the danger of blurring such lines. The risks could be tragic and near deadly. Memories assaulted him before he could push them away. Memories of a deafening explosion, followed by a surreal quiet, then nothing but smoke and fire.
“So, what’s your answer then?” he prompted, forcing himself to focus.
She sighed deeply before shaking her head. “No. I have no name to give you. And I’m not much of a social media or online type of girl. I spend way too much time at a different kind of keyboard. So no dating sites. I find myself very single currently.”
Currently. “And before? There has to be someone in your past. I’m afraid I have to look at every possibility, Ani.”
She shut her eyes. “The only person who even came close was a man named Peter Myer. But he was the one who walked away. Wanted much more than I was willing or ready to commit to.”
Adam made a mental note of the name. He would do some research on this Peter later. He already felt an inexplicable, intense dislike for the man. A man he’d never met.
“Peter Myer is a fool,” he spat out, before he thought better of it.
She turned to him, gasping in surprise. “C
ome again?”
No turning back now. “Only a fool would walk away from you, Ani. You’re attractive in all manner of ways. I’ve always thought so,” he found himself admitting, simply because he wanted to get it off his chest. Plus, he figured she deserved to hear the truth after all these years. Clearly, the mood and the magic of Paris had gone to his head. “Since we were teens.”
She stared at him with her mouth agape. “You what?”
“You had to have suspected.”
She guffawed. “No, Adam. I didn’t. After all, you looked utterly disgusted every time I tried to talk to you when you came by to visit Brant. You left the pool if I so much as dipped a toe in it. You canceled plans to go to the movies or to a party if Brant agreed to bring me along. In fact, I got the impression you couldn’t stand me.”
“I tried very hard to have you believe that.”
She pulled her hair off her forehead. “But why? Why did you act like you thought I was a pest all those times?”
Adam sighed. He hadn’t realized his efforts all those years ago had been quite so successful. A twinge of guilt settled in his chest. “Self-preservation, kitten. I had to save face.”
“Save face? I don’t understand. What exactly were you thinking?” She seemed genuinely confused.
“Aside from you being the baby sister of one of my closest friends? Or how about the fact that you were way out of my league? The cherished daughter of a prominent Dallas family while I was a castoff nobody wanted. That’s what I was thinking.”
“You were so much more than that.”
He didn’t know how to respond to that. A long silence ensued. He’d shocked her. Well, he was a little surprised himself. At no point during the evening had he ever intended to get into all the ways he’d felt for her as a teen.
