Page 36 of Not Your Shoe Size

“What are you doing?” Kate asked, sounding wonderfully like she wanted to laugh.

“Just wait,” he said, pulling down his wet briefs and heading to the hallway. In the quiet of the loungeroom, he opened his briefcase and extracted his gift. Heart pounding, he returned to the bath. Kate was sitting up, her brown eyes bright, soapy water running down her small breasts. Ty marvelled at her perfection. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

“You can talk! But shut up, what’s the thing you got me?”

Ty grinned and held out the keyring. Kate took it, cupping the tiny Eiffel Tower in her wet hand. “Ty…Ty does this mean…?”

“I took the job.”

Kate’s mouth fell open. “Paris?”

“It’s yours, Middleton. If you want it.”

Her scream rang through the bathroom, bouncing off the walls and lowering his Airbnb rating by a whole star. Ty laughed and climbed back into the bath, drowning himself in his beautiful girlfriend and her delight in their brand-new future.

“I love you,” he said, kissing her ear. “I’ll love you forever and ever and ever.”

Chapter 8

One year later.

Parisian sun beat down on Kate’s face. She turned up her nose and let it wash over her skin. European sunshine didn’t burn the way it did at home. For the first time in her life, she had a tan. A soft whine made her reach under the table and scratch Kiwi, her French boodle, behind her velvet ears. “What’s wrong, baby?”

Kiwi whined again, flicking her small ears upward.

“Naww, you’re hungry, aren’t you? You won’t be waiting long, baby. Daddy will be here soon.”

The café waiter, dark and handsome as a cliché, reappeared and picked up Kate’s coffee cup.“Puis-je vous apporter autre chose, mademoiselle?”

“Non, merci. Tout était délicieux.”

“Je suis très content de l'entendre.”The waiter beamed down at Kiwi.“Quel beau petit chien!”

Kate smiled, rubbing her puppy behind the ears.“Merci, elle a six mois aujourd'hui.”

“Merveilleux. Eh bien, faites-moi savoir si vous avez besoin d'autre chose.”The waiter gave her another wide smile and strode away. Kate quietly marvelled at how well her French was coming along. She was still far from fluent, but ordering was a cinch and casual conversation was almost possible.

“A little more practise and people might stop glaring at me for being a filthy tourist,” she whispered to Kiwi, who looked utterly unimpressed. Very French of her. Kate scratched her silky back. “It’s okay, sweet pea. If you’re good, Daddy said—"

“What did Daddy say?”

Kate turned to see Ty, tall and golden in navy slacks and a white shirt. He carried a black laptop back and looked drained and slightly sweaty. She smiled at him. “Daddy said he’d buy me a pony. Or did I not hear that right?”

Ty grinned. “Give me a hug.”

Kate did, inhaling his cologne and sweat. “Bad day?”

“Just busy.” His hand slid down to her ass. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thanks. Do you want to get food?”

“Soon.” He pulled the chair across from hers out and sat down. “What have you been up to?”

“Working.” Kate indicated the laptop bag at her side. “It’s crazy how much stuff I can do remotely.”

“Glenda offered you a full-time position yet?”

“No, but I think she would if I asked.”

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