Page 45 of All the Gossip from Paris
As he followed her back to the elevator and up to the main lobby of the hotel, Liam tapped away on his cell phone. ‘What do you buy a billionaire heiress for Christmas?’ When the answer came back, listing private jets or antique art, he amended his search. ‘What do you buy a billionaire heiress for Christmas when you don’t have much money?’ The second response wasn’t much better than the first, leaving him to wonder.
What on earth does the internet think is a thoughtful, handmade gift?
The hotel shuttle service dropped them off out the front of Galeries LaFayette in Boulevard Haussmann, with the promise to come pick them up again in three hours. Sophie took one look at the Christmas shopping crowds and shuddered.
“Why does everyone leave their shopping to the last minute,” she muttered.
Liam leaned over to her. “Including us.”
“I did try to arrange the private buying service. But they are all fully booked today.” It was rare for anyone outside her family to tell her ‘no’ but apparently even the major department stores couldn’t muster up a miracle this close to Christmas. She was going to have to brave the masses.
At least I have Liam with me.
“Let’s get inside. I hate standing in the street when there’s this many people around. I always feel like I’m about to get my purse stolen,” she said.
Liam nodded. “Yeah, New York City at Christmas is pickpocket central. I never have my wallet in my pocket.”
They made their way through the throng and into the department store. The first floor which housed all the perfume and makeup counters was a crush. Sophie grabbed a hold of Liam’s hand and towed him toward the nearest escalator. “Come on, let’s get out of this part of the store and upstairs. Hopefully the crowd will have thinned by the time we get up a couple of levels.”
Moving up through the elegant red and cream painted art nouveau building Sophie took the opportunity to show Liam the view. She pointed to the giant Christmas tree. It was suspended from the center of the glass topped dome which formed the roof.
“They have a different theme for decorating the tree each year. And the lights change color every half hour. It’s so beautiful.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” replied Liam.
She pulled her cell out of her cross body bag, and tapped away on the store’s app. When she was finished, she proudly announced. “I’ve just booked us a table for lunch. I’m thinking after an hour of shopping in this madness, we’ll both be needing food and a drink.”
“I like how you think,” he replied. He slipped an arm about her waist and brushed a soft kiss on her cheek. Sophie’s heart went pitter patter at Liam’s touch.
The kiss had taken her by surprise. But it was a good surprise.
They hadn’t talked about the heat which had been building between them the night of Camille and Ryan’s wedding. She’d sensed something might happen with her and Liam. But then Patrice had stepped in and totally messed with her head.
Liam shifted his arm, and turned away. When he looked back at her, the expression on his face was one of guarded curiosity.
Sophie read her own thoughts into it. He’d made a small move. Now he was waiting to see how she reacted.
Reaching out, Sophie took a hold of Liam’s hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. A silent gesture of thanks. Of understanding.
Sophie was a clever shopper, she had a clear idea about what sort of gifts she would be looking to buy. Every so often she would pull a handwritten list out of her coat pocket, whisper a name, and then announce which department they were next headed to within the store. She seemed to have a mental map of where things were in her head.
Liam wasn’t a big one for shopping, so he trailed along hoping to pick up gift ideas as he went. At the stationery department Sophie chose a special planner for Camille. Liam picked out a leather bound notebook for Ryan. His brother was always jotting down notes on scrap pieces of paper.
“I might get Ryan a Montblanc pen to go with that book,” said Sophie.
“What should I get Camille?” asked Liam. He didn’t know his sister in law all that well, and didn’t want to buy her something she wouldn’t like.
“Cami has very particular taste, which means she’s never been easy to buy for. But I do know she misses France. So anything she can take back to the US which reminds her of home would be a welcome gift. The café we are going to for lunch is in the home and food annex of Galeries Lafayette. It’s across the road. You could look in there for something for Camille.”
“Thank you.”
“Speaking of lunch, I wonder what the time is now. We are booked for half past twelve,” said Sophie.
Liam checked his watch. “It’s almost midday.”
And I still haven’t got Sophie’s gift.
“How about we each head off on our own for half an hour. Then we can meet back here and go to lunch,” he suggested. That would give him thirty minutes of panic buying. Hopefully he would come up with something during that time.
