by Jamie Conner
Megan could hardly believe that she and Brandi had found each other under such strange circumstances.
"What time is it?" Brandi mumbled from under the covers.
"Four o'clock," Megan answered softly. "Time for us to get up."
Brandi groaned and stretched.
"Are you sorry you didn't leave yesterday?" Megan asked. "If you had, you'd at least be sleeping in your own bed right now instead of rushing to the airport to catch a flight and then going straight to work."
Brandi pulled Megan close to her under the covers.
"I don't regret a single minute I spend with you," she said kissing Megan softly.
Megan felt a warm surge.
"Hey, stop that or you might miss your flight."
Brandi shrugged her shoulders and pulled Megan on top of her.
"There'll be another flight after that."
Brandi brought her lips up to meet Megan's and wrapped her arms around Megan's waist. The moment felt so warm, so comfortable that Megan almost let herself drift into the moment.
"No. No. NO!" Megan said emphatically and pulled herself away from Brandi. "As good as this feels, I will not be responsible for you being late for a job you love. It's time for you to get up!"
Megan sat up in bed and pushed Brandi with her feet.
Brandi groaned again and sat up on the edge of the bed.
"Fine, but can I interest you in a shower?" She wiggled her eyebrows seductively.
Megan put her hands on her sides in mock indignation and pointed toward the bathroom.
"Okay," Brandi said as if she was upset. "But it's your loss."
Megan watched as Brandi slid out of the bed and walked toward the bathroom. It took everything in her not to follow her.
While Brandi was in the shower Megan ran downstairs to the cafe to see if she could get Brandi a breakfast croissant. By the time she got back upstairs she hardly recognized the woman she'd left just a moment ago.
Brandi was dressed in an expensive fashionable business suit. Her hair was slicked back away from her face and clipped at the base of her neck in a tight bun. She looked very sophisticated — and also very stern. It was a no-nonsense, take no prisoners kind of look that somehow made Megan remember that in spite of her being the same age as Brandi, Brandi was miles ahead of her on the career ladder.
"You ready to go?" Megan finally stuttered.
Brandi looked around the room one last time.
"Yep. I'm ready."
The ride to the airport was mostly silent. At every stop light, Brandi picked up her cell phone and swiped her finger across the screen as she quickly scanned one email after another.
"Lot's of work waiting for you when you get back?" Megan asked softly.
Brandi didn't answer immediately. "What? Oh, yeah. There's always lots of work," she said focusing on the phone again.
Megan bit her lip nervously.
She didn't know this side of Brandi. So focused, so serious. It made her wonder if what she'd experienced over the past week was just a vacation fling. Something that allowed Brandi to get away from the stress of her life for a few days.
Megan twisted the ends of her hair nervously. Maybe she was taking what she and Brandi had shared too seriously. After all, they really hadn't talked about what came next — or even if there was a next.
"I'll just wait for you to call me then," Megan said as if her internal dialogue had been happening out loud. "I wouldn't want to disturb you at work."
Megan turned her attention out the window and tried to swallow the knot that was forming in her throat.
"Hey." Brandi reached over and turned Megan's face toward her. "What's going on over there?"
"I…" Megan paused trying to find the right words. She didn't want to sound too needy or too desperate. After all, she had things she needed to focus on too. "I guess I'm just not sure what happens now."
Brandi was about to steer the car into the valet car rental drop-off line, but instead, she pulled into a parking space and cut off the engine. She reached over and took both of Megan's hands in hers.
"What happens now is I stop obsessing over email that I can check on the plane and I use these last few minutes to concentrate on the beautiful woman sitting in the car next to me."
Brandi pulled Megan closer and touched her lips softly to Megan's.
"What happens now is that I implant the memory of those luscious lips in my brain and dream about the moment I'm able to hold you and make love to you again."
She leaned in for another kiss and Megan's heart melted. She tried to fight the tears that were forming, but it was too late. She was overwhelmed with relief now knowing for sure that this wasn't just a vacation fling for Brandi either.
"Look," Brandi said wiping and then kissing away Megan's tears. "I know we haven't talked about who will visit whom first or when, but it's only because I didn't want to think about being apart from you while I was still here with you. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that I know you need to focus on writing your book we'd both be getting on that plane right now."
"Really," Megan said softly.
"Absolutely! I don't want to get in the way of what you set out to accomplish while you're here in France. But know this, I don't plan on being away from you for too long. In fact,"
Brandi reached into her pocket and pulled out a small burner phone. She handed it to Megan.
"I know you can't afford to use your cell phone while you're here, but I can't afford to not talk to you every day. I put my cell phone, my home phone and my office phone on speed dial. Use it whenever you want to."
Megan couldn't fight the grin she felt emerging anymore than she could fight the tears that emerged the moment before.
She reached over and planted a slow, soft deliberate kiss on Brandi's lips.
Brandi let out a moan.
"Okay, we'd better get out of this car before I pull you into the back seat and create a show for all these people passing by.
***
Megan was still grinning when the taxi dropped her off in front of Mrs. Leroux's house.
"Bonjour, mon ami!" Mrs. Leroux's voice called out as Megan stepped through the back gate.
She was sitting on a bench near the edge of the garden and using a sprayer to water her plants. At least she wasn't walking around Megan thought gratefully.
"Bonjour," Megan replied.
Mrs. Leroux waved and patted the empty seat beside her.
Megan walked over and sat down. I guess it's back to hand signals she thought, laughing to herself.
"Brandi go?" Mrs. Leroux asked in broken English.
Megan nodded trying to mask her sadness. "Oui."
Mrs. Leroux turned her head and looked Megan in the eye.
"She good for you," Mrs. Leroux said emphatically.
Megan blushed not knowing exactly how to respond.
"Les escrvains vivent ici," she tapped the side of her head at the temple.
Esccriv… Megan sounded out the French word.
"Writers!" she said pointing to herself.
Vivent? Vivre… to live.
"Writer's live in their heads!" Megan said excitedly. "Yes, we do," she said with a laugh.
"Ils not besoin de…" Mrs. Leroux stopped when she saw the confusion on Megan's face. She tapped Megan's shoulder. "Need real world."
Megan burst out in laughter. "Oui! Oui!," she agreed. Writers certainly did need someone in the real world to keep them from living inside their heads. Megan couldn't help but wonder if that's what Mrs. Leroux had done for Rachel — kept her in the real world — but she was going to have to get better at French before she tried to have that conversation. Instead, she just sat with her new friend and enjoyed being outside on such a beautiful day.
Chapter 16
Brandi spent the hour and a half flight back to Paris hovered over her laptop compiling her notes about the properties she'd viewed last week. Unfortunately, she hadn't found the stellar property she'd hoped to find — at le
ast not one she could report on — but since Quentin wasn't expecting anything at all something was better than nothing. Hopefully, it would be enough to score her some points on her mid-year review even if it didn't quite cinch the promotion she was shooting for.
When Brandi got back to her office everything seemed surprisingly normal. Cara, the department administrative assistant, gave her an update on the past week's office activities, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened while she was gone. It made Brandi wonder if she'd been cheating herself by not taking vacations more regularly. She certainly put in enough hours that no one would complain if she took a few days off here and there.
Brandi had to laugh when she realized that the only reason taking a vacation seemed appealing now was because she imagined Megan being with her on any trips she might take. Maybe all of Mrs. Leroux's stories about traveling with Rachel were getting to her.
It was kind of crazy. Brandi had left Paris a week ago certain that a committed relationship was something for the future, not the present. Now all of her present thoughts included Megan. Was it too soon to be thinking like that? She wondered. Sure, St. Amelia was only a short flight away, but the summer would be over be for they knew it and then Megan would go back to New York — hopefully with a finished novel on her laptop — but what then?
Brandi needed to pace herself. Considering a relationship was new enough without adding the detail of long distance into the mix. She couldn't exactly see herself moving back to New York. It would seem like such a waste with all the work she'd put into building a career at Rousseau. Sure, her accomplishments would open doors at U.S. Companies, but she was quite sure that the competition back home was even more fierce than what she had to deal with here. She needed to take it slow and see how things unfolded.
Not only was Brandi thinking about Megan, but she couldn't seem to get Mrs. Leroux out of her mind either. The elderly woman reminded her of several property owners Brandi had dealt with during her time at Rousseau. She'd always considered the methods she used to convince them to sell their property as something that was ultimately good for everyone. The development company would get what they wanted and the sellers would be compensated appropriately. Of course she did always try and save the company as much as she could in the negotiation process, but in the end, the sellers got a fair price out of the deal. Usually, much more than they would if they'd just sold their property to a private buyer. At least that's what Brandi told herself.
She clicked an old file on her computer and looked at the list of successful deals she'd made over the past three years. Most of the seller's names didn't even ring a bell anymore and she certainly couldn't recall their faces or anything in particular about their lives. Brandi wondered if any of them had stories like Mrs. Leroux's. Had she unknowingly persuaded any of them to walk away from land where they'd shared time with someone they loved?
Brandi shook her head. She had to stop thinking like this. If she didn't she would be no good at her job anymore. It was enough that she'd kept Mrs. Leroux's property from being put on the potential site list. That was all she could control at this point.
***
By Wednesday, Brandi had shaken off the doubts she was feeling and had gotten back into the flow of things at work. Victor was even being unusually friendly and less creepy than normal. She tried not to be suspicious of his change in behavior, but something about it kept nagging her non-the-less. Sadly, all she could do was keep her eye on him and stay on guard for any of his little office tricks.
The rest of her work day breezed by and before she knew it she was at home stretched across her bed waiting for Megan to call. She was pleasantly surprised by how fast they'd fallen into a regular pattern. Megan wrote mostly during the day while Brandi was at work so other than a text message or two they really didn't communicate until the evening.
After Megan had dinner with Mrs. Leroux she'd walk back up to the cottage and call Brandi. They'd usually talk for a few hours until Megan could tell Brandi was getting sleepy and forced her off the phone. It wasn't an exciting routine, but Brandi was loving it none the less. Tonight when Brandi answered the phone Megan sounded even happier than usually did.
"You must have had a good writing day," Brandi said. "Your energy is jumping right through the phone."
"Oh," Megan giggled. "Yeah. It was an okay writing day. I didn't get as many words in as I wanted to because I had to go to the hospital with Mrs. Leroux."
Brandi felt a sudden rush of concern.
"She's okay I hope."
"Yes, she says she's feeling fine, but the doctor wanted her to come in to get the results of one of the tests she took. He thinks everything is okay, but he really wants Mrs. Leroux to have one more appointment with a heart specialist just to be sure."
Brandi still couldn't figure out why Megan's voice sounded so upbeat if there was one more doctor's visit to navigate.
"The specialist is in Paris," Megan said and then fell silent.
"Oh, really?" Now Brandi understood what was going on. "And does that mean Mrs. Leroux's new friend is going to be traveling to Paris with her?"
"That's exactly what that means," Megan said giggling. "And the appointment is next Thursday."
"Are you serious, Megan?"
"I sure am. You wouldn't happen to know any place I could stay cheep? Mrs. Leroux's family offered to put me up, but they've got two kids and a dog and I think it's gonna be pretty crowded at their place."
"Mademoiselle, Chateau Turner awaits your visit."
For the next several days all Brandi could think about was Megan coming to visit. So much so, that when her cell phone rang the following Tuesday her first thought was maybe it was Megan calling — but it wasn't.
"Hey," Brandi answered trying to mask her disappointment.
"Gee, don't sound so excited," Renee teased on the other end of the line. "Maybe I should give someone else the present I brought you back from my honeymoon in New York."
"Now. Now. There's no need to be hasty," Brandi said wondering what her friend had brought her from her home state.
"Okay, but only if you promise to be more cheery when you meet me for lunch."
Brandi glanced down at the time on her phone. 12:26. The morning had flown by.
"Alright, give me twenty minutes and I'll meet you at our usual spot."
When Brandi arrived at the restaurant Renee was already seated and munching on an appetizer.
"Sorry, I couldn't wait for you. I was famished. We just got back last night and we were too tired to go grocery shopping before we got home. There wasn't a thing in the fridge to eat for breakfast this morning."
Brandi smiled at her friend. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed her in the two weeks she'd been away. Well, to be honest, she'd only missed her for a week since Brandi had been with Megan during the first half of Renee's honeymoon.
"So, how did the rest of your vacation in St. Amelia go?" Renee asked. "Did you actually find any time to have fun or did you spend the whole week working?"
Brandi let her eyes fall to the table to avoid looking directly at Renee. She hoped that her friend didn't see her cheeks turning crimson.
"Oh my god! You little hussy! Did you hook up with someone after we left?"
Brandi twisted her lips trying to hide her smile.
Renee's eyes flew open wide.
'Did you and Megan get together!"
Brandi jus dropped her head knowing fighting the grin stretched across her face was useless.
"Yeah. I guess you could say that," she whispered.
Renee shook her head from side to side eying her friend.
"Wait a minute. There's something different going on here," she said waiving her finger in spiral motions as if she was scanning Brandi's body looking for a clue. "Has my dear friend and consummate bachelorette gone and fallen in love?"
"Oh, stop it!" Brandi said pushing Renee's finger out of her face and trying her best to sound indignant.
"Ha! Sophia
is gonna love this! And you my friend, are never going to hear the end of it. Hey," Renee said suddenly as if she'd just had a brilliant idea. "Maybe Megan can be your date for the La Sanctuaire Gala. I mean after all the Woman of the Year needs a proper escort and it could be a really fun night."
Brandi just smiled. She'd already thought the same thing. Now she just had to wait two more days until she shared the idea with Megan.
***
When Megan walked out of the Paris doctor's office with Alfred and Mrs. Leroux Thursday afternoon she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The test showed no blockages in Mrs. Leroux's heart and the only recommendation from the specialist was that Mrs. Leroux cut back on the amount of coffee she drank daily. Maybe the two of them could start taking walks instead of their usual coffee time. That would help Megan too since the rolls and strawberry jam Mrs. Leroux usually served with the coffee were starting to stretch Megan's waist.
"Are you sure we can't give you a ride somewhere," Alfred asked as he opened the passenger door of the car for his mother.
"No. Thanks. Brandi's office is only a few blocks from here and I can use the exercise after sitting on the train all day. I'll see you on Sunday." Megan said as she reached through the window to hug Mrs. Leroux. "Have fun with your grandchildren and I'm so glad that you're okay!"
Mrs. Leroux's smile let Megan know she understood.
Megan waved as the car drove off. She was so happy that Mrs. Leroux was okay and now she was about to see her girlfriend!
Unlike downtown Paris, La Defense actually looked like a modern city. There were tall skyscrapers and other modern structures. It probably looked a lot like New York at night when all the building lights were shining.
Megan took the short walk to Brandi's office and ten minutes later she stepped off the elevator and into the plush lobby of Rousseau Development. Everything about the office said money. There was expensive art on the walls, furniture that looked like it was custom designed for the space, and an immaculately dressed receptionist behind the front desk.
