Page 84 of Enemies to French Kisses
The doorbell buzzes, sending both of us running in opposite directions, her to the kitchen and me to the bedroom, like we’re teenagers who just got caught alone together.
She peeks around the kitchen door with a sheepish smile as I jog to the door.
What I see through the peephole isnotwhat I expected, and certainly not what I want to deal with at this of all moments.
“Charlotte.” I open the door only a crack.
“Marc.Elle est où?Where’s that lady of yours?”
“Charlotte, this really isn’t a good time. She’s gone through a lot.”
“I agree.”
Charlotte stands tall, but not the way she used to, when she had something to prove. Her voice is softer, and her hair is loose around her shoulders. To my infinite surprise, she’s not even wearing makeup.
“Listen, Marc. When everything went sideways at the party, I thought I might be in death’s presence. After all we’ve been through, it’s been tearing me up to think you might have lost the woman who finally deserved your heart.”
Laura is standing behind me. I open the door further.
“Oh, there you are!” Charlotte embraces Laura in a scene of affection more genuine that I thought her capable of.
“Thank you so much,” Laura says, hugging Charlotte back the way a sister might. “I don’t remember a thing, but if it weren’t for you—”
"I’m grateful I could do something.” Charlotte and Laura separate, and they both have glossy eyes.
A tear I didn’t know was there falls down my cheek. I wipe it away before they notice.
“Marc and I go way back, so if you need anything, anything at all, you just let me know.D’accord?”
“D’accord,” Laura replies, a gentle smile on her lips. “Andmerci.”
“Alright then, I’ll leave you two love birds now that I see you’re in relatively good health. Fabulous outfit, by the way. No one would ever question you’re American.Ciao!”
“Seems a zebra really can change her stripes.” Laura shakes her head, disbelieving. She bites her lip. “So…I’m gonna take off now.”
“I’ll walk you home.”
Her smile is coy, but the hand she presses against my chest is clear. “You stay right here, boy. It’s best we both get a good night’s sleep. We don’t know yet what’s coming tomorrow.”
The Dutch. They can cycle back to the Netherlands for as much as I care about work right now.
But she’s right.
“This isn’t the end, right, Laura?”
“It’s only just the beginning.” She backs out the door and pulls it almost shut but then peeks those mischievous eyes back in. “And you can hang your hat on it.”
CHAPTER34
Laura
Breathe in.Breathe out. Seven forty-five in the morning and I swear I’ve forgotten how to breathe. How is it that we breathe every day without ever even noticing? Now it feels like the most complicated biological function I’ve ever done in my life, anaphylaxis notwithstanding.
We’re waiting for the Dutch to show up. It’s serious question and answer time, and yours truly is going to be in the hot seat. Vincent provided the tech specs, Marc did the modeling, and the final choices were all mine as project lead—so it’s my head on the chopping block if they find holes in the proposal.
The nerves are at once destabilizing… and invigorating like crazy.
This is what those years of school were for. This is why I battled so hard for a scholarship, to reach a moment like this. I just have to not mess it up. Marc came to my rescue yesterday, but it’s time for me to sleep in the bed I made.
