Page 147 of Ten Years and Then…
Nora, three hours later
They’d been up here on the terrace for half an hour now. Nora was starting to lose the feeling in her feet. The view from roof of the flagship Galeries Lafayette Haussmann store was incredible, but even seeing every landmark in Paris at once wasn’t worth getting frostbite.
“Rachel, are we waiting for anything in particular? Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful, but it’s also freezing.” Her aunt could hardly deny it; she was shivering herself. “And what’s the deal with your job? You keep checking for messages every five minutes.”
She had the decency to look embarrassed, at least. “I’m just worried. I run a whole department now, I don’t want anyone thinking I’m not on the ball.”
Rachel grabbed her shopping bags and nodded toward the door. “And you’re right—it’s freezing. Besides, I think we missed a couple floors. There’s still some room left on my MasterCard.”
What had Rachel been waiting for up here? She’d spent more time looking at the handful of other people on the rooftop, and the door they’d emerged from, than at the beauty of Paris all around them.
Was it the same person she’d been hoping to spot at the ballet last night? If it was, why was her aunt keeping it secret? It made no sense. If the mystery man did show up, Nora would see him; why wouldn’t Rachel just tell her what was going on?
No—she could give her aunt some grace. Rachel was paying for this entire trip, and she’d been nothing but good to Nora her whole life. If she wanted to have one little secret, that was fine.
Daniel, a few minutes later
The Galeries Lafayette-Champs Élysées was tiring. And expensive. Daniel had spent 6,000 francs—close to $1,000. On the plus side, he had gifts for everyone, and a new shirt for himself that he might even wear once he got home.
“Now you see why I brought that second suitcase,” Bianca said, sipping her coffee. Her second coffee; they’d been sitting in the little café on the third floor of the store for twenty minutes now. And just like last night, she was aggressively people-watching—like she was expecting someone specific.
“You were right, Bee. I’m man enough to admit when you’re smarter than I am.” He hesitated before going on. “But are you ever going to tell me what you’re looking for? I go back and forth between thinking you’re secretly a spy and you’re looking for your contact—or you’re trying to spot your blind date.”
She nearly spit out her drink. “I’m flattered by both of those, but no such luck. I’m just curious—I’ve never been here either. I want to commit it all to memory. Every sight. Every person wearing haute couture just to buy a newspaper. Everything.”
That made sense. Besides, if she were a spy, she would totally have told him. She’d have asked him to be the Q to her James Bond.
Which was exactly the kind of thing Nora would have said. Out loud. With that smile.
Chapter 49
New Year’s Eve, Part 1—Paris, France
Daniel, December 31, one o’clock in the afternoon
“So what are we doing now?”
His cousin had scheduled every moment of this trip so far. Daniel figured she had something planned for the afternoon—and definitely for tonight.
She had her back to him, looking out the hotel room window. “Let me just try to check my messages and—what is wrong with this thing?” She jabbed at the buttons on her phone, then yelped as it slipped out of her hands, hit the radiator and clanged off the metal base of the floor lamp with a loud crunch.
She picked it up carefully, staring at it in horror. After a moment, she handed it to him.
“Daniel, please tell me you can fix this.”
The antenna was snapped off completely. The LCD screen was cracked beyond recognition.
“Uh…I think it’s dead, Bee. If I had a soldering kit, maybe I could maybe fix the antenna, but the screen’s toast. You’re out of luck until we get home.” He handed it back to her gently. “But I’m sure whoever’s been bugging you can wait a couple of days. The campus doesn’t even open back up until January 10th, right?”
Bianca hurled the phone onto the bed. “It’s not work! Everything’s ruined now! I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!”
Daniel stared at her blankly. None of this made any sense. What was she screaming about?
“Bee? Is there something you need to tell me?” His voice was soft, kindly. “You know there’s nothing you can’t say. There never has been.”
She reached over and grabbed his hands, and—was she crying?
“I’m so sorry, Danny. I did all this for you.” She was crying. Sobbing, almost. “And now it’s all for nothing. I don’t know where to go, I don’t know where she’s going to be. How are you supposed to kiss her at midnight and get your life back together now?”
