Page 9 of Finally Forever
If it weren’t for the class webpage, I wouldn’t have known anyone was meeting today. I don’t—can’t—give out my cell number. It’s a pain and awkward when a fellow student asks but manageable. I check the time on the beautiful Cartier watch Sebastian bought me and see I’m early.
What to do?
Xavier will have to scramble to figure out the new plan I just made: wedding dress shopping to kill some time.
I open the door to the boutique that always draws my gaze with its white gowns and flowers decorating the window. A quick glance over my shoulder shows Xavier watching me with a displeased expression.
I resist the urge to text him:Relax. It’s a bridal shop. I doubt I’ll be in danger.
Gowns line the walls with a few on mannequins in the center of the store. Romantic piano music plays, and a soft powdery floral scent fills the air.
Not knowing where to start, I finger through a row of ball gowns on the left near the register. A woman as petite as I am stands behind the Parisian console table-turned-counter.
“Bonjour.” She greets me with a warm smile.
“Bonjour.”
A young man appears from the doorway to the back room. I smile and do a double take, my heart lodging in my throat.It’s not. It can’t be. OH-MY-GOD-IT-IS!
“Lowell?” I murmur without thought and stare at the man who looks identical to my high school bestie but with longer hair.
Confusion twists his model-worthy features. His turquoise eyes track the length of my body before stopping on my long, wavy hair.
He blinks and then his lips part with a smile I remember so well. “Ainsley?”
I should duck my head and run away. I shouldn’t have called his name or stared like I still am. Panic sets in, warnings blasting in my head for me to run, but I’m frozen.
Lowell bounds toward me, his arms spread wide for a hug.
As soon as he wraps me up in that familiar way from high school, I melt. He smells the same but different.
Tears burn my eyes. I sniffle and hold him tighter than I should, but I can’t let go. It’s like I’m hugging my lost past, a life that can never be mine again.
What I’m doing is wrong, breaking all protocol, but I can’t find it in me to care. I have a piece of my former life, one of very few good pieces. Besides, what can I do now? Release my death grip on him and walk away, pretending I’m not who I am. He knows me as well as I know him. It’s done. Sebastian will be furious with me. He’s so paranoid all the time.
How was I supposed to know I’d run into my old best friend? I never thought I’d run into anyone from my past life. What are the odds? Last I knew, Lowell lived in Paris. A part of me wonders if it’s really him I’m clinging to or if when I pull away, I’ll see a stranger who’s as confused as me.
Five? Ten? Minutes later, a mumbled voice says, “You’re choking me.”
I unlock my arms from Lowell’s neck and rest my weight back on my feet. When I glance up, it’s Lowell’s face that stares back at me.
“I can’t believe you’re here.Howare you here? I thought you lived in Paris?”Leave, hide before Xavier sees me,blinks in the back of my mind like a red flashing light. I ignore it.
“Me? How are you here?” Lowell takes my hands, as if to keep me here or from fear I’ll vanish before his eyes.
“I-I…” What do I say? What can I say?
“I…?” he prompts.
“I’m, uh, here visiting a friend.” My tone rises like I’m asking a question. I never created a lie to give to anyone I knew, because I never thought I’d run into someone I know. My heart races with panic again.
“Ainsley, are you okay?” Lowell looks worried now.
My hands turn clammy. I know he can feel the moisture. He can’t not. I’m surprised his fingers aren’t slipping from mine.
I glance around, my heart drumming loudly in my ears. My breathing turns shallow. “Can we… Is there someplace we can go in private?”
People stroll up and down the road outside the store windows. Is one of them Xavier? What will he do when he sees me?
