Page 50 of Best Laid Plans
He looked up at her, flashing her a smile. ‘You inspired me.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, you. After you told me about your community cafe it made me realise that I’ve been too profit-focused for too long. I want to make a difference to people’s lives too. And that’s the best way I can employ my existing skills and knowledge in order to do that.’
‘Well, I think that’s wonderful, Julien, but I thought you loved living in Paris?’
‘I do, but you’re not there.’
The shock of his words reverberated through her head, making her feel a little dizzy.
‘You’d move here for me?’
‘Oui. If we’re to give a relationship a chance we need to be living in the same city, since we’re both very busy people.’
She gaped at him, her mind reeling as a small but persistent bubble of hope pushed upwards.
‘Anyway, you persuaded me whilst we were away that London could come a close second to Paris,’ he continued, abandoning what he was doing at the counter and walking back over to her at the sofa, ‘and it won’t take long to travel back there for a weekend when I need a fix. I can introduce you to my favourite parts of the city. I’d like that.’
He sat down next to her, taking her hands.
‘But what if it didn’t work out between us?’ she asked warily, unable to ignore the memory of how badly things had gone with Gavin. She didn’t want to feel responsible for Julien giving up everything he loved if it made him miserable.
‘Someone once told me that you’ve just got to keep positive and everything will work itself out in the end.’
‘Someone once told me that was total claptrap,’ she pointed out.
‘That guy was an idiot.’
She closed her eyes and smiled. When she opened them again he was looking at her with an expression of utter seriousness.
‘I’ve had enough time on my own to think about things. When we talked in Capri, I was afraid – afraid that I couldn’t give you the level of attention you deserve, that I couldn’t be positive enough for you, that you’d come to resent me for my dour outlook and selfish moods. I didn’t want you to think of me like that. I wanted to be ready and capable of showing you the real me. Not the shell of a man I was when we first met. It nearly killed me, walking away, but I had to be sure I could handle it.’
‘And are you?’
‘Oui. After panicking that I might have lost you, and realising that would make me so much more miserable, I know I can now.’
Indigo swallowed hard, feeling a familiar tightness in her throat, only this time it was from overwhelming excitement.
He leaned forwards, stroking his thumbs over the backs of her hands. ‘I’ve thought about you every single day since I left you, Indigo. Pretty much every minute of every day. What we had felt so right – no matter how much I tried to convince myself it wasn’t – and in a way that it never did with Celine, or anyone else I’ve ever met. As soon as I met you, I knew.’
‘Me too,’ she whispered.
He smiled, relief lighting up his eyes. ‘I want to be near you so we can make a real go of a relationship. If you want that too. What do you say? Has fate kept my slot open for me?’
She was so excited by what he was saying, but she still couldn’t stop a deep-seated worry from tugging at her.
‘What is it?’ he asked, clearly sensing her indecision.
‘I’m worried that I get too argumentative around you and that you’ll get fed up with it.’
‘You mean your fighting spirit? I love that you stand up for yourself.’
She felt a smile pull at the corners of her mouth.
‘But what if I become really self-centred again? I need to be able to concentrate on the cafe to keep it running and I might not always be around when you need me.’
‘You mean you’d put yourself first for once? Instead of always considering other people’s feelings before your own? I think I could handle that.’ He flashed her a wry grin. ‘I want to be here to support you, Indigo. Not with money,’ he added quickly when he saw the look on her face, ‘but to be here when you need me. In fact, I’d live in a cardboard box if it meant I could be with you. The money, the possessions, they mean nothing to me; they’re just noise. I have far more than I need to be happy and if me having money makes you uncomfortable then you can help me decide where it could best be donated in order to help other people.’
