Page 35 of Rosé with My Fake Fiancé
I get out on the street and grudgingly admit that it is a gorgeous day. I’m usually really good about not working on Sundays, but after a week of settling in, I didn’t get as much work done as I wanted to. Nothing’s urgent, but if I was back at the apartment, I probably would have cracked my laptop open before my coffee had even cooled.
I like the streets here in Tavira. I’m right downtown, minutes from the Gilão River and the Mercado Municipal, where I’ve been buying my produce. The old buildings are all whitewashed with little embellishments here and there that I’ve come to love: single buildings tiled in bright blue or painted accents in bright golden yellow and Juliet balconieseverywhere.
With the weather this nice, I really should get out to one of the beaches today. This region is famous for huge beaches and ginormous cliffs. As I approach the cafe, my eyes rove over the customers seated outside and...
Huh. That guy looks like Luc.
That guyisLuc.
He’s sitting at a table outside my destination, coffee and pastries in front of him, and an older woman—much older—sitting across from him. He says something to her, making her laugh, and the answering twinkle in his eyes nearly stops my heart.
He glances up and spots me, and his smile somehow contorts to smoldering while still keeping that spark of excitement that makes me feel lit up from my head to my toes. How can this man make me feel so sexy with just a look?
What the hell is he doing here?
As I approach, Luc folds his arms on the table and bites his lip, clearly pleased with himself. With his attention diverted, the woman with him—his grandmother?—carefully turns in her chair to see what he’s looking at.
“Luc,” I say, trying to keep a sternness in my tone that he absolutely ignores. He rises and kisses my cheeks, muttering a low and affectionate “Tessa,” that makes me want to curl up into him.
But I won’t. Because that would encourage him.
Before I can reprimand him, Luc offers the woman a hand so she can stand and introduces us. “Tessa, this is my grandmother, Anouk. Mémé, this is Tessa.”
The woman leans forward, and we kiss cheeks. “Tessa, it is lovely to meet you,” she says in slow, practiced English. Anouk is petite and gray-haired, stylish, and smells faintly of cigarette and perfume.
“My pleasure,” I answer in French. “I was not expecting to see you.” I direct a glare at Luc, but it’s not very stern. It’s hard to be when he just grins back at me. “What are you doing here?”
“Please,” Anouk gestures to the third chair at the table. “Join us.” We sit and get settled in, Luc waving for a server, who takes my order in English before walking off, and we can get back to my question. “I have never been to this part of Portugal before, so we thought we would visit. It’s been so long since Luc and I took a trip together, and he’s humoring his grandmother.”
“A tourist trip? What will you be doing? Surely not waiting around all day, hoping to run into me.” Then the lightbulb switches on. “Oh, my friends are in on it, aren’t they? You had help.”
My coffee comes, and I thank the server, the Portuguese clunky on my tongue. I only know a few words, and I try to use them as much as I can.
“Don’t be mad at them. They wouldn’t tell me your address and said that if you didn’t want to see me, I had to go away, or they’d—” He glances at his grandmother. “Well, let’s just say Jade can be graphic and creative with her threats, and Emma was less creative but surprisingly more terrifying.”
I shake my head. “They told you where to go for coffee this morning and then worked together to get me here. Iknewsomething was up.”
“You don’t have to stay,” he says, all traces of amusement gone. “I will leave you alone if that’s what you want. But...” He smiles again. “We’re going to walk the beach, visit the fortress, have lunch at the marina, and if there’s time, visit the museum. And let me be clear.” He leans in, more serious now, and places a chaste hand on my arm. “This is just a friend inviting another friend to have some fun.” He thinks for a moment. “With his grandma.”
I had just been thinking that if left to my own devices, I would be working, and that defeats the purpose of being here. Iwantto get out and explore the region, and while I can do it on my own...
“Okay, I’m in. They were on my agenda anyway,” I say, a white lie, though Luc seems like he’s trying to keep expectations low. “Where are you staying?”
We talk about their hotel around the corner, and they tell me that they’re staying two nights and flying back to Paris on Tuesday. When I’ve finished my breakfast, Anouk insists on paying for us, and then we walk to the fortress.
On the way, I check my phone.
Sara
I hope you aren’t mad at us. It was only a little meddling.
Emma
He promised he’d behave. And we swear he was going to go anyway, with our help or not, so we were really just narrowing down his search radius so he could find you.
Tessa
I’m not mad. We’re sightseeing together. His grandmother is a treat and Luc’s offering friendship and not being pushy.
