Page 165 of Perfume Girl
“Lumière.”As I spoke the word, waves of happiness flooded into me. Another dream was coming true in the most wonderful way.
“More good news,” he said. “Lumièrehas been picked up by the major department stores and will go on sale in a matter of months.” He reached for my hand. “I thought you might like to attend the advertising meetings so we can come up with an inspiring promotion.”
“I would love that.”
He kissed my wrist. “All that’s left is to celebrate. I booked us a table at Triple. Hungry?”
“Starving.”
He reached for the bottle and opened the glass lid, dabbing a drop on his finger. “I want you wearing it.”
Tilting my head, I felt his forefinger trailing down my throat and then he leaned in to sniff me. “Heaven on earth,” he whispered.
“You’re my heaven on earth, Astor Beauregard.”
A flash of happiness spread across his face. “Marry me.”
“You already asked me, remember?”
“So I did.”
“The answer will always be yes, Astor.”
“How did I get so lucky?”
“I’m the lucky one.” I let my gaze wander around the store. “Thank you for making this happen.”
“You made it happen, Raquel. This is all you.”
I gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “How’s your sister?”
“She’s doing great. Mom, too. She’s agreed to sell the house.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful news.”
“Mom’s excited to find somewhere smaller and she’s even decided to take up golf!”
“That will be so good for her.”
“Thank you, Raquel, for everything you’ve done for us.”
“I feel the same way.” I cupped his face. “This store is perfect.”
“My perfume girl is perfect.”
I wrapped my arms around him, feeling true peace from the love we had found together.
With the store securely shut and the state-of the-art alarm system set, we drove to Triple, sharing our enthusiasm for the meal ahead—especially the lobster bisque the restaurant was famed for, and its seafood ravioli, ready to be savored with a tall glass of white wine. We were shown to our table and didn’t even need to look at the menus. This was one of Astor’s favorite restaurants.
We talked as we waited for our server to take our order. Astor told me about all he’d been up to and I gave him the details of my routine, and when he reached over the table to hold my hand, it was a perfect ending to our day.
He flinched when his phone pinged, then pulled it out and stared at the screen.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s happening.”
“What?” My heart raced at seeing his conflicted expression.
