Page 114 of Angel Eyes

I blinked. Benoit. Flipping to my email, I found one unread message from him. “It looks like he did reach out yesterday.” I must have missed it between the party and, well, everything that came after. “I … I think my brain might be short-circuiting.”

I could practically hear Simone’s smile. “Well, let me help you rewire that bad boy—let’s go out tonight. There’s a new cabaret bar in Montmartre I’ve been dying to check out.”

“I don’t know.” I chewed on a thumbnail. “I wouldn’t want to celebrate prematurely. I mean, I’m thrilled to have made it to the final round, but I don’t want to jinx it.”

“Boo, you’re no fun,” Simone whined. “Fine, we’ll put a pin in it for now, but win or lose, we’re definitely celebrating. This is a huge accomplishment, babe.”

My mouth tilted into a smile. “Thanks. By the way, did you get the invitation to Gabriel’s gallery opening?”

“Yes, I did.” She gasped, snapping her fingers. “Oh, you know what? Why don’t we all go out for drinks after his event? It could be a two-for-one celebration.”

I froze on my way to refill my glass. “Crap, I didn’t even think about that. I’m his girlfriend, and I haven’t planned anything to celebrate his artistic debut.”

“So, is that a no on drinks, then? I know it’s not exactly glamorous, but we could make a party out of it. Carter and I will be at the opening, and Dean and Karin said they might come too.”

“We could do that, but …” I trailed off, not wanting to shoot down Simone’s idea, especially when I didn’t have a better one.

Except … wait. Maybe I did.

Placing the phone on speaker, I hurried over to my purse, digging out the flyer for the opening at Marcel’s.

It was tomorrow night.

Cristian said he didn’t want me to come because he would be too busy to hang out. But that didn’t mean Gabriel and I couldn’t have a nice time by ourselves.

“Actually, I think I have an idea.”

Thirty-Nine

Gabriel

As soon as I stepped out of the cab, I blinked in surprise at the sidewalk filled with people. When Juliet told me we were going out for dinner to celebrate my opening, I’d assumed she would pick a nice place, but I hadn’t expected there to be a line spanning the entire length of the block.

“Where did you say we were going?” I extended a hand to help her from the taxi.

“I didn’t. It’s a surprise.” Leaning through the window, she handed the driver twenty euros, swatting my hand away before I could stop her from paying. “It’s your night, Gabriel. Let me do something nice for you for once. Please?”

A grin tugged at my lips. “You really didn’t need to go through all this trouble.” I wound our fingers together and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, my eyes snagging on a sapphire bracelet dangling from her wrist. It looked like the same one she’d worn the night of the gala.

“It’s the least I could do. I just hope you like it.”

More than a few people glanced our way as we bypassed the line, heading for a set of double doors cordoned off behind a velvet rope. My grin slipped. Even if we had a reservation, I doubted we could just waltz through the front doors.

Before I could say anything, Juliet raised a hand, waving at a man standing by the door.

“Caleb.”

He turned his head in our direction, batting a fistful of blond curls away from his forehead a second before his eyes widened in recognition. “Juliet, so good to see you again. If you and your guest will just head to the hostess station, Amélie will get you seated.”

“Wow,” I said as we cleared the doorway. “I had no idea my girlfriend was so famous.”

She blew out a laugh. “Haven’t you heard? I’m a finalist for La Nouvelle Revue Française. I’m practically literary royalty now.”

“Is that so?” I chuckled, tucking her under my arm as we approached the hostess stand.

A petite woman with pink hair looked up, her features lighting with a grin. “Juliet, right?” Her eyes ticked to me before dropping to the screen in front of her. “Let me see, the main dining room is full right now, but …” She glanced up again, chewing on her lip. “Okay, I’m probably not supposed to do this, but since you’re Cristian’s guest, I’m sure he won’t mind. One of our VIP tables is available until ten o’clock. Think you can finish up by then?”

“I’m pretty sure that won’t be a problem,” Juliet said.

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