Page 29 of Meet Me in Paris

I paused. “You have clients stay with you? Here?”

“Of course. I take care of my clients.” He looked surprised. “You do not receive such a service in United States?”

“Not that I’ve ever seen.” Did he offer this “service”to male clients, too, or just females? Did he even havemale clients?

I caught sight of the bed again and yanked my gaze away.

He cleared his throat. “I wonder, beautiful Miss Kennedy, if you would do me the honor of a favor?”

I tensed, every muscle in my body ready to flee.

“This is not something I usually ask, but would you accompany me on a river cruise tonight instead of our café excursion?”

I stared at him in surprise.

“I feel I can convince you that Paris is your future,” he rushed on. “I sense you are feeling conflicted.”

A hint of adorable embarrassment crossed his face as he spoke, and I felt all my doubts fade. Just a real estate agent with a little crush. He’d been nothing less than a gentleman all this time. Even here.

All at once, it hit. A handsome Frenchman wanted to take me on a romantic cruise on the Seine. I’d be able to cross that one off the list with a big, fat check.

Take that, Hunter.

“I would love to join you,” I told him with a happy smile.

“Well, then.” He took my hand and kissed it, royalty style. “My driver will take you home so you can get ready. I’ll pick you up in two hours. I very much look forward to tonight.”

“You haveto wear black again. The contrast with your pale skin and beautiful dark hair yesterday was stunning,” Jillian said, pushing through the revolving glass door into the department store. This would have to be one of the fastest shopping trips in history.

I plunged in after her, narrowly missing the swinging section behind me and barely missing getting my “beautiful dark hair” ripped out. “I don’t know. Black seems a little too formal for this, don’t you think?” Besides, I already had a black dress. I would have worn it again if it weren’t at the dry cleaners. And I wanted to stand out, but I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard, either. Tonight needed to be memorable in all the best ways.

Jillian looked around the store with a fierce, catlike determination. “Black is timeless. This could be the most romantic night of your life. I can’t believe you snagged a handsome Frenchman by falling down the stairs.”

I felt my cheeks heat. “That’s not?—”

“Ooh, look at this one.” She scrambled over to a mannequin, examined the skirt, and turned triumphantly toward me. “A mermaid cut would be so flattering on you.”

I examined it with growing alarm. “I have a standing rule. If the neckline plunges to the navel, it’s too low.”

“Come on. It isn’t that bad. You’re better endowed than this mannequin is, so it’ll fit you better.”

“The slit too,” I continued. “It’s practically to the waist. How do you even sit in that thing?”

“Proudly and without fear,” she said, fumbling through the dresses on the rack and retrieving my size. “Just like a Parisian. Now, where’s the changing room?”

A few minutes later, I stood staring at myself in the mirror. I knew better than to fight Jillian on matters of fashion. She’d mastered the cat eye at age eleven and the beach wave by thirteen. She woke up looking like a model, for heaven’s sake. And the dressdidlook good. It featured all my curves in a way no gown ever had. It even made my bust look perky and full rather than hidden under layers of cloth.

But I felt uncomfortable and on display. Parisians were supposed to be easygoing. Couldn’t they be easygoing with their formal events too? Like, allow for a sturdy pair of jeans and comfortable sneakers?

Jillian knocked on the door and pushed her way in without waiting. Then she clapped her hands with glee. “Yes! This is the one. Am I good, or am I good?”

I swallowed hard at how the dress pulled around my midsection, grateful for all the walking the past few days. “You don’t think it’s too much? It’s only our first date.”

“Second. He had drinks with you at the restaurant last night, remember?”

“That was an accidental run-in. He didn’t invite me anywhere.”

She gave me a stern look. “Kennedy, we’re leaving in two days. There’s no time for coyness. You need to live this up, sis. Be spontaneous. Let yourself be free to enjoy him tonight.” She winked.

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