They were up early the next day for the car to take them to the Palace of Versailles. As they stood in line to buy tickets, Charlotte squeezed Jack’s hand. He was still awkward and she marvelled at the fact that he normally had people to do this for him.
Imagine never lining up for anything again!
As they explored the grounds, Charlotte was mesmerised at the beauty around them. Jack pointed out some of the more interesting sights, since he’d been here once before. After several hours spent walking the gardens, they collapsed into chairs in the restaurant, ravenous from all the exercise.
“Every item on the menu sounds amazing.”
“That’s because you’re starving.”
“I know—I could eat a horse.”
“I’d definitely recommend a steak, but perhaps not horse,” he smiled at her.
“You can order for us in French, right?”
“Probably. How did you know that? I haven’t spoken French while we’ve been here.”
“You were reading the French newspaper the other day. I’m guessing even people who know basic high school French can’t read the newspaper, and you looked like you were doing more than looking at the pictures.”
He laughed at her assessment and nodded. “I studied French for six years—part of the beauty of alternative schooling for child stars.”
“Wow. What an opportunity.” She saw the waiter approaching them, “I’ll have the chicken. You order for us, so I can hear you.”
Jack obliged and ordered their lunch in perfect French. Charlotte was grinning crazily at him the whole time. “That’s amazing. Such a beautiful language. Do you speak any others?” He looked uncomfortable and she realised she was about to be amazed by whatever came out of his mouth. “How many, Jack?”
He sighed before he answered. “I speak French, English,” he inclined his head with a smile, “Spanish, and a tiny bit of German.”
She sat back in her chair. “Four languages? Are you some kind of genius?”
He laughed, “Definitely not. I just had a lot of time on my hands on set. My mother got me tutors who could teach me, and that was that.”
“Very cool.” Charlotte nodded toward his left shoulder, “Do you know that woman?”
“Oh God, another fan?”
“No, she seems different, like she’s trying to get your attention.” He turned slightly to see who she was talking about. To her surprise, he raised his hand and gave a little smile—all the encouragement the woman needed to leave her table and rush to theirs.
“Jack! I thought that was you. What a coincidence!”
“Cindy. It is a surprise.”
“What are you doing here?”
Ignoring her question, Jack took Charlotte’s hand, “Cindy Cade, please meet my girlfriend, Charlotte Shipton.” At her questioning look, he continued, “Cindy does the PR for the band.”
“Nice to meet you, Cindy,” Charlotte reached out her hand as the woman took it in her cold grasp. She knew she didn’t imagine the calculating look in Cindy’s eyes as she dropped her hand and turned her attention to Jack.
“So, what are you doing here? You’re a long way from home.”
“We’re having a romantic vacation in Paris.” He smiled at Charlotte, and she felt the edge of his foot touch her shoe under the table.
What’s he trying to tell me?
“But you never go on vacation, “ Cindy frowned.
“Of course I do.”
“What was the last vacation you took, Jack?” She pushed for an answer, not content with dropping the subject that was obviously annoying him. As the silence stretched, she snorted and said, “See, I told you. You never take vacations.”
He never took a holiday until now?
“Would you like to catch up for dinner tonight?” She wasn’t looking at Charlotte as she addressed Jack.
“We already have plans. Maybe some other time.” The look on Jack’s face said that he’d had enough and wanted Cindy to leave. She didn’t appear to be getting the hint, though, and it soon became obvious that she wanted to hang around.
“Can I sit with you guys?”
“No.”
“Jack, it’s okay,” Charlotte said quietly, touching his hand with her finger. His foot pressed harder into hers, and she didn’t say anything else.
“No, Charlotte, it’s not. I have plans for you later.” He turned his movie star smile on her and she felt her face flush. He’d never smiled at her like that before—it was dazzling.
“What kind of plans?” Cindy was still standing by their table, apparently unable to take the strongest of hints.
Jack sighed and looked up at her, raising his eyebrows and nodding his head to indicate she should return to her own table. “I can’t say, Cindy. It’s a surprise for Charlotte.”
“Oh, really,” she smiled, but the expression didn’t reach her eyes. She glanced at Charlotte before she finally moved away from them. “Aren’t you the lucky one?” she threw over her shoulder.
“She seems sweet,” Charlotte said, and he almost sprayed his wine across the table. “I’m assuming she’s the Cindy who Reid was referring to—the one who’s been trying to get in your pants for three years?”
“That’s the one.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
“What? Why are you asking me that?”
“Because I want to know. She seems quite possessive.”
“No, I didn’t sleep with her, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Oh, but it is my business. We’re getting engaged, remember?” He rolled his eyes at her tone and looked relieved as the waiter arrived with their meals.
As they ate in silence, Charlotte remembered his words. “What’s my surprise?”
“You’ll have to wait to find out.”
“Will I like it?”
“I hope so—wouldn’t be a very good surprise if you didn’t.”
She grinned at him as she chewed her chicken. “You know I won’t be able to stop thinking about it, now. Surprises are exciting.”
“Well, forget about it for a little while. I might not give it to you until tomorrow.”
“Oh no, that’s not fair. Do I have to wait longer, because we ran into Cindy?”
“Possibly. Knowing she’s there has definitely killed the mood for me. Just don’t mention it again. I’ll decide when it’s time for the surprise.” Jack was amused to see Charlotte glaring at Cindy for the rest of their meal.
***
After lunch, they set out to explore Marie Antoinette’s estate. The crowds had slowly waned during the afternoon, and they wandered around beautiful waterways and explored the charms of a long-dead country lifestyle. As they rounded a corner of the Queen’s house, they found themselves surrounded by flowers. Jack stopped dead, reached out and captured Charlotte’s hand, and tugged her toward him. She looked up at him, wondering why he was holding her hand here—there were no spectators to take pictures to perpetuate their fake relationship.
Before she could ask him what he was doing, he dropped down onto one knee and looked up at her, still holding her fingers lightly in his. Her eyes widened as he dipped a hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she watched him lick his lips and clear his throat.
Holy shit! He’s actually going to do this!
Jack’s eyes twinkled with merriment as he took in her shocked expression. Licking his lips again, he drew a deep breath and spoke up to her. “Charlotte, I know we don’t know each other that well. The more time we spend together, though, the more I feel like we’re meant to take this adventure together… and it’s sure to be one hell of an adventure with you. Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”
Even though she knew it wasn’t real, tears pricked her eyes. Even though they’d agreed to marry when they’d signed that secret contract, her heart leaped with excitement and longing. Even though she knew he didn’t love her and couldn’t possibly want
to spend the rest of his life with her, she squealed and jumped into his arms, knocking him off his knee and onto the grass.
Overcome with the excitement of the occasion, she kissed him hard on the lips, on the cheek, and then on his forehead. He was laughing at her enthusiasm as she once again pressed her lips to his; suddenly, he stopped laughing and kissed her back. His arms tightened around her and their lips fused together, both of them lost in the moment. Jack licked her lip and pressed his tongue inside her mouth as she opened up for him. They stayed that way for several moments, before Charlotte rolled off Jack and lay on her back on the grass with her arms outstretched.
He struggled to catch his breath. “Wow. That was some reaction!”
She laughed and smacked him on the hand, which reminded him that he didn’t yet have her answer. He rolled up onto one elbow and pulled her toward him. “Is that a yes?”
“Oh, of course! That’s definitely a yes.”
“Phew. I thought maybe you were just going to avoid the question, altogether. Here,” he sat up and reached for her hand. “I chose this for you—I hope you don’t mind.”
Jack slipped the ring onto her finger and Charlotte held it up to the light. Her engagement ring held the biggest diamond she’d ever seen. “Oh my God, it’s beautiful. Thank you, Jack.” She looked up and met his eyes. They smouldered at her, and she was aware that she could still feel his lips on hers. As though he’d read her mind, he leaned forward and gently kissed her again.
“You’re welcome.”
***
The return trip to the hotel took around an hour, and they passed the time playing I Spy, much to Jack’s disgust. Charlotte chose obscure items that he had no chance of guessing.
“You’re really observant, you know that?”
“I am?”
“It might be that you see the world a little differently than everyone else.” He was holding her hand in the car—something he didn’t normally do. “You surprise me every day.”
“How?”
“I thought you’d be even more pretentious than me, honestly. I assumed you’d be high-maintenance and a thorn in my side every single second we were together.”
“And you’ve decided I’m not?”
“Well, the jury is still out. Let’s just say it appears that three years married to you will not be the worst three years of my life.”
Charlotte smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. “So far, these few weeks have been the best of mine.”
CHAPTER TEN
Charlotte snuggled in as she slowly woke up. She was warm and comfortable, and the room was once again bright with sunlight. Jack must have opened the curtains when he’d gone to shower.
Wait—I got into bed last. I didn’t shut the curtains. Damn!
That meant it could be anywhere after 6am, as the light was different in Paris and she could never guess the time. About to reach for her iPhone to check the time, her fuzzy brain worked out the reason she was so warm. She froze.
Jack’s arm was around her shoulder, and she was pressed against him with her head on his shoulder. The hand that held her engagement ring rested lightly on his chest.
Oh shit.
She thought about the night before. She hadn’t had any alcohol with dinner, and they’d gone to bed early, since they were tired from walking all day.
Thank God! That means we didn’t have drunken sex that I don’t even remember!
She kept still, trying to decide how to handle this. Should she make an attempt to slide out from his arms without waking him, or should she just wake him up and make a joke about him taking this marriage thing so seriously? Something along the lines of, “Hey, first you propose like a real boyfriend, and then you want to snuggle,” would probably break the tension.
The only problem was that she didn’t want to move. She wanted to lie there as long as possible and pretend it was real—kid herself that his arm around her tightly meant more. She wanted to imagine for a few seconds that she could wake up like this every morning. She even wished he hadn’t worn a t-shirt to bed.
Woah, Charlotte. What. The. Actual. Fuck?
As she lay there, barely daring to breathe, she suddenly noticed Jack’s even breathing had changed. It seemed like he was holding his breath, just like she had a moment ago.
Probably lying awake, thinking, “Oh shit.”
Knowing one of them was going to have to break this up, she said quietly into his chest, “Are you awake, Jack?”
“Uh huh,” came the reply.
“Any idea when or how this happened?”
“Nope, but just let me enjoy it another few seconds before you freak out.” Her heart leaped into her throat at his words. Surely he was teasing her—or he was still tired and had actually meant that he didn’t want to wake up and not that he wanted to stay wrapped around her in a Parisian hotel room. She dared not think of the consequences, if he meant the second option. “What are we doing today, Mrs. Tour Guide?”
“I have booked us a couple’s massage downstairs at eleven, and the rest of the day is free for you to sit around and relax. After dark, we’re going out dancing.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” He still hadn’t moved, and she dared to trace her fingers across his shirt.
“Of course. I love dancing. You’ve got serious moves in the movies; It’s time to test them out on the dance floor. We’ll see if I have to send you to dancing lessons before the wedding.” She felt his chuckle, rather than heard it, as he surprised her and rolled onto his side without moving his arm. She ignored the thrill that shot through her as he glanced down at her cleavage before meeting her eyes again.
“How’d you get them to book the massage without my credit card?”
“I paid for it. How else?”
“You don’t need to do that. I promised you the vacation to Paris.”
“I know. That doesn’t mean you have to buy every bread roll and glass of water, though. I thought it would be a nice surprise.”
Jack tapped her nose with his finger. “It is a nice surprise. Thank you.” Then he rolled away and she lifted her head to let him go to the bathroom. “The best surprise is that we’re not spending the whole day pounding the pavement—my feet are killing me,” he said as he closed the door.
***
Charlotte checked her make-up one last time. She was excited to be going out for a night on the town, and she wanted to look perfect for Jack. Their days together had loosened him up and he was more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. He emerged from the bathroom, looking handsome and smelling divine, and she could have pinched herself that she was going to marry this gorgeous specimen of maleness.
If only it were real.
They caught a cab to the club she’d chosen, because she didn’t want to walk there in high heels, and Jack feigned surprise that she hadn’t made him catch the subway. They lined up like everyone else to enter and then headed to the bar for drinks.
The club was huge, with several dance floors, multiple levels of strobe lights, and various seating arrangements. They had a VIP section, and Jack shouted at Charlotte that they should head there. She shook her head, and pulled him to a couch along the back wall. They plonked down with their drinks and she snuggled close to him.
“When you’ve finished your drink, we’re dancing.”
“I’ll drink it slowly, then. We should have sat in VIP.”
“No. Besides, I’m drinking Coke. You hardly need VIP for you to have a beer and me to drink soft drink. Besides, we’re a regular couple this week, remember? Regular couples can’t afford VIP.”
“You’ll never be regular, Char,” he shouted into her ear as she grinned at him. When he finished the last of his drink, she got up and held out her hand. He took it and they headed into the throng of pounding beats and surging bodies. The bass pulsed through them as red, blue, and yellow lights swirled across the throbbing crowd.
She slipped them into a gap and put her hands around Jack’s neck.
With so many people moving in time to the music that he had no choice but to pull her close, and with her heels on, she was the same height as him. They laughed and shouted their conversation at each other as the music blasted from the enormous speakers near the DJ.
They danced for more than an hour and then headed back to find a seat. Jack went to the bar and Charlotte headed for the ladies room. When she came out, a brawny man blocked her exit from the toilets. “Hey, lovely. Want to dance with me?”
“No, thanks. I’m here with someone.”
“Well, he’ll just have to get lost, won’t he? Come dance with me,” he grabbed her arm with more than a little force and she dragged it away from him.
“No, really. Please, let me past.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll kick you in the balls, asshole.” She pushed him backward with all her strength, and he was drunk enough that it made him lose his balance as she slipped away and disappeared into the crowd. In her hurry to get away, she’d gone in the opposite direction from where she’d left Jack, and she lost her bearings in the enormous club. The club had several bars and multiple dance floors, and they all looked exactly the same. She casually walked through the building, trying to work out where she’d left him.
Finally, she pulled out her mobile to send him a text. The signal, however, didn’t reach in here, and she shoved it into her bag with a growl of annoyance. Thirty minutes later, she was still searching. She was worried the woman who had been eyeing him on the dance floor earlier might have cornered him somewhere.
I’m going to hear about this for days.
Not knowing what else to do, Charlotte went down one level to see if he’d gone there to look for her. She was sure he wouldn’t have, but she didn’t know what else to do. Not finding him, she left the club to see if she could get a phone signal outside—she knew he’d eventually call her. Maybe she could go to a café nearby until she heard from him.
When she stepped into the cool air, she fired off a text to let him know where she was and walked up the street, looking for somewhere to sit down. She hoped he wouldn’t be too angry with her; they’d had a nice holiday up until now. Almost a block away, she looked around for a café and her stomach dropped at the sound of a familiar voice.
Contracted For Love: Famous Love Series Page 10
