Page 17 of If You Were the Only Girl in the World
Alice had told her of her own neighbor, a French lady who owned Alice’s building, who had been taken in for such an examination. “The police kept her for two days. No more speculation from her!”
On this Saturday morning, with some hushed reports of the end of a major advance by the French and the British to the north of Paris, Big Bertha was silent. Katrina welcomed the change. The sound of the gun had unnerved her more than any other irritant brought on by the war. Indeed, where it not for the smiles on the faces of those men and woman whose health Katrina had the honor to help improve, she would run away…if she only knew where she’d possibly go. She’d never admit her negativity to anyone, guilty that she should buck up, ashamed to let anyone know she often wanted just a little peace. Yet leaving for America, even if she could bear never seeing Nate again, seemed less and less safe as German U-boats destroyed enemy shipping with fierce regularity.
She cast off the idea of drowning at sea. She’d always had trouble crossing the Atlantic. A sudden death by drowning sent shivers up her spine.
She rounded the corner toward her flat, and noted that on the stoop sat a man in British khaki. Braid on his shoulder. Gold epaulettes. An officer.
She blinked. Paused.
Nate?
Nate!
She walked, then ran, and raced and called to him. “Nate! Oh, Nate!”
He met her mid-way and caught her up in his arms. He felt…oh, he felt healthy and vital, warm and everything she’d imagined he was.
Then his lips were on hers. Ravenous, demanding and oh so delightful.
She grinned and pinched his arm. “You are here!”
“Imagine that! And kissing you on the street!”
She cast him a mischievous glance. “Eh, Monsieur!C’est Paris!”
“Let me look at you,” he said, his voice an urgent and gruff drawl. He lifted her chin.
“You look wonderful,” she said stupidly. “So early in the morning, too. What are you doing here and how and when and…oh, forget it. Would you kiss me again?”
He chuckled and his mouth took hers once more in the most sumptuous claim. This time, his tongue invaded and she kept him there, opening wide to take him, have him, keep him. She pulled away, shocked at her reaction but not interested in pushing him away.
He hugged her tightly. “Do you mean to discourage me or are you just surprised at how much I’ve missed you?”
“Surprised and not discouraging you at all.” She cupped his jaw, then ran her fingers through the shock of his soft brown hair over his brow. “Did you come for breakfast?”
“Only for you. Only for you.”
“But you must be here on business and it is eight in the morning. Are you hungry?” She indicated her baguette. “Rather crushed but it will cook up with some bacon fat I saved from a few slices I had yesterday.”
“I thought I’d takeyouto breakfast. The Ritz?”
“Ou, la, la.How can I refuse?” She narrowed her eyes on him. “Tell me they actually have eggs and ham and vegetables.”
“More than that.” He pushed her a bit away but still held her in his grip. “I think you need me to fatten you up.”
“All the work and walking and…yes, fasting, takes its toll. Take me to the Ritz, Colonel. I’d go if the Kaiser invited me.”
He threw his head back to laugh and circled his arm around her waist. “Shall we go now?”
“No. I have to feed my Nana first.”
Shock lined his face. “Your grandmother is in Paris?”
“Oui, Monsieur! She came to waggle her finger at the poor French army!”
He stood there, blinking in confusion. He knew her family were all from Germany and her parents and her grandmother had become happy American citizens decades ago. “I don’t understand. The Germans attack anything that sails. How did she cross the ocean?”
She hooked her arm in his. “Nana is my cat. Inherited her, I did, when she decided to camp on my windowsill weeks ago. So many leave Paris these days and there are three flats vacant in my building in the past month.”
