Breaking Love Full Hearts 2 (12 page)

“I say we spend the afternoon eating and shopping and drinking too much wine, then we see where the day takes us.”

“Deal.”

* * *

Luc arrived back at his apartment thoroughly pissed off. He was freezing and drenched, and the driver’s seat of his car had become soaked on the way home. He stormed through his front door, looking for Simone. As he crossed through to the kitchen he could smell her cigarettes, which caused his anger to build. He hated that she insisted on smoking in his home. She had been his assistant for years, but he was furious enough to fire her right then.

He found her reading a magazine at his table, drinking his wine. “Simone, are you feeling especially bitchy today? Is that why you had to upset an innocent woman?”

Simone gave him a slightly bored look, blowing smoke toward him. “So, you heard from the American? I did you both a favour. You can be rid of her now, and she will get over you quickly.”

“You forget yourself, Simone. I am your boss. Not the other way around. I never gave you permission to interfere in my personal life! And put out that fucking cigarette! I’ve told you before, I don’t like that in my home.”

He stalked down the hall to the laundry room. Finding the repairman gone, he turned back to the kitchen. When he got there, he found Simone putting on her coat to leave. He crossed his arms and glared at her.

Simone glared back as she picked her purse up off the counter. “I’m going, so you can finish your temper tantrum alone. I don’t get paid to be yelled at.”

“You also don’t get paid to be cruel.”

“Why does it matter to you what this woman thinks? She means nothing to you.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Because no one means anything to you, Luc. Not even me, and I have been the only woman in your life who has lasted more than a few weeks,” she declared as she walked out the front door.

Luc let her go without saying anything. He was pissed off and cold and was in no mood for any drama from Simone. He had just finished a long, boring meeting with his accountant, in which he had found himself unable to concentrate. He hadn’t been able to get Megan out of his mind since he woke up and found that she was gone. Pouring himself a brandy, he took a long gulp, feeling the warmth slide down his throat. He undressed as he walked down the hall to shower.

As the afternoon wore on, Luc sat at his desk in his home office, unable to get any work done. His mind would not let him think of anything other than Megan. When he first saw her walking in the rain, soaked, he had been excited. He was sure she would be happy to see him and that maybe he could bring her home and spend the night with her again. He had been rushing home to get changed so he could go find her.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, something had changed inside him when he was with her. For the first time in a long time, maybe ever, he had felt completely happy to be with a woman. He had had a taste of what it would be like to be with her and he craved more. Megan was beautiful and caring and strong and fun. But there was more. Something about the way she looked at him when they were alone, and the way she touched him, was irresistible to him. They had agreed to one night, but he knew that would never be enough for him.

Luc grabbed his keys and his coat. He needed to find her. He couldn’t live with himself if she left France thinking she meant nothing to him.

He tried calling Harper’s cellphone when he got to his car. No answer. Before he left the parking garage, he sent her a text.
Harper, I need to find Megan. She’s got the wrong idea about me. Please tell me where she is.

He drove over to the hotel and went straight up to their floor. He knocked, waited and then knocked again, louder. Checking his cellphone, he found no response from Harper. He went down to the lobby and used the hotel phone to leave a message on their room voice mail. Not sure where to go next, he took a seat at the hotel bar and ordered a coffee, deciding to wait.

* * *

Harper and Megan had just finished a leisurely lunch at the BHV department store and were wandering around the shops picking out gifts for Megan to take home when Harper’s cellphone rang.

She checked to see who was calling and then looked up at Megan. “It’s him!”

Megan rolled her eyes. “Why would he even bother? I was very clear that I wanted him to leave me alone.”

Harper put her phone back into her purse. “Well, that’s that, then.”

“Exactly,” Megan muttered as she flipped through some skirts on a sale rack.

They browsed around for a while longer. Megan selected a beautiful hat and scarf for her mom and some hand-painted toy soldiers for Elliott. Harper’s phone kept buzzing in her purse, indicating she had a text message. She swiped the screen on her phone and read the message from Luc, deciding to show it to Megan.

“He really seems to want to talk to you, Meg. I’m starting to think Simone was messing with you. She’s seriously a bitch, and I wouldn’t put it past her to try to upset you just for her own amusement.”

“Harper, please don’t start going soft on me here. He’s a total womanizer. He probably just wants to see if he can get me to sleep with him again before I go. That would be a real conquest for him.”

“Maybe, Meg, but I don’t know. I’ve known Luc for a long time and the more I think about it, I really don’t think he’s like that.”

“Well, even so, he got what he wanted and it’s over. He’s just another dick I have to forget.”

* * *

Two hours later, Megan and Harper walked through the front door of the hotel, arms loaded with purchases. Megan was finally feeling better as the pair made their way across the lobby, chatting about what they were going to do that night.

Megan glanced over toward the bar. “Oh, fuck me,” she said under her breath.

Harper turned quickly to her friend to see what was wrong. She looked over in time to see Luc striding over to them, appearing very uncomfortable. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks and a concerned expression on his face.

Megan rushed to push the elevator button, dropping some of her packages on the ground. One of the toy soldiers rolled across the floor, landing in front of Luc. He picked it up and looked at it for a moment, then glanced up at Megan. She was doing her best to ignore him, scrambling to get her things gathered up as quickly as possible. He walked over and picked up a couple of her bags, then stood waiting for her to look at him. Megan sighed and gave him a cold stare.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Megan. I need to talk to you,” Luc said quietly.

“There’s really nothing you have to say that I want to hear,” Megan replied curtly, snatching the toy back from Luc and dropping it into the bag.

“I know you don’t, but I’m asking you to listen anyway.”

The elevator doors opened and Harper and Megan stepped in. Luc followed them before the door could close.

He stood beside Megan and took a deep breath before he started to speak. “I don’t know exactly what Simone told you, but she spoke out of turn. She was in the mood to cause trouble today. You need to give me a chance to explain.”

Megan scoffed. “Why do I need to do that, Luc? I already
spread my legs
like you knew I would. I don’t think I owe you any more than that!” The doors opened again and they started down the hall to the suite.

“Why do you keep saying that? About legs spreading?”

“Isn’t that your charming saying about American women? We hear the accent and then spread our legs?” Megan hissed at him.

“
C’est quoi ce bordel?
Fucking Simone,” Luc muttered, shaking his head.

“Have you said that or not, Luc?” Megan snapped.

He winced. “Yes, I’m ashamed to admit that I did say it once, but not in reference to anyone I was with. I was referring to some women at the club one night.”

Harper dropped her bags and fished around her purse for her room key. She looked up and glared at Luc. “Nice,” she muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Okay,” Megan replied, nodding her head, “I think I’ve heard all I need to, Luc. You can go now.”

“I admit it was a horrible thing to say. It was crass, and I’ve hurt your feelings. I’m sorry, Megan. I never thought of you that way. I promise. Please don’t go home so angry with me.”

“Why does it even matter to you, Luc? Honestly—why? I am
leaving
in the morning. We are never going to cross paths again. It’s over. Goodbye.
Au revoir
. I just want to enjoy the rest of my trip with my friend.” Megan gave him an exasperated look.

Harper managed to get the door open and push her bags into the suite, using her feet as she held the door. Neither Luc nor Megan noticed her struggling or the door shutting behind her. They stood in the hall staring at each other, each one waiting for the other to give in.

Luc looked up at the ceiling and rubbed his face, sighing before he spoke. “Megan, I don’t know why it matters to me, but it just does. For some reason, I just can’t live with the idea that you will go home hating me. I care about you, Megan. I want you to be happy. Everything I said yesterday was true. All of the things we felt together were real. None of it was a lie. I meant everything I said. I
wanted
to show you those places, to take care of you, to take you away from your life, even if just for a little while.” Luc touched her cheek with his fingertips.

Megan moved her head away from his touch and glared at him. “Is that whole plan yesterday a thing you do? You take women to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower and then book a yacht for dinner?”

Luc looked genuinely surprised at her question. “No! I have gone to these places with other women before, but it is not some
regular
thing I do. I just took you where I thought
you
would want to go.”

Luc stared at her as she turned and pulled her key card out of her purse. She inserted it in the door and opened it. He picked up her bags and put them inside for her, then blocked the door with his arm, keeping her in the hall with him.

She finally looked up at him, hurt in her eyes. “It just all seems so . . . 
targeted
, you know? So calculated. You knew if you did certain things I would end up in your bed. I am ashamed that I’m so predictable and gullible.” She grimaced, displaying her disdain.

“Oh, Megan, please don’t think that. Of course I wanted you, but is that so wrong? You are a remarkable woman. Since you fell into my arms the other night, I haven’t stopped thinking about you. Even when I was with my accountant this morning. She had to ask me at least twenty times if I was listening. It was embarrassing, actually. I haven’t felt this turned upside down . . . maybe ever.”

“So, the woman you were with this morning was your accountant?” Megan gave him a hard look.

“Yes. Why?” He looked temporarily confused and then his jaw set tightly as he put the pieces together. “Did Simone tell you I was with another woman?”

“She did,” Megan answered.

“I don’t know what her fucking problem is. I might have to fire her,” he said.

“Isn’t it obvious? She must be in love with you, Luc.”

“No, she isn’t.” He dismissed the idea. “And even if she were, there is no excuse that I will accept for her upsetting you like this. I’m sorry for her rudeness. Can we please start over?”

Megan shook her head sadly. “No, we can’t. I’m going home.”

“I know, but I can’t let you leave here hating me. Please don’t let Simone ruin our time together. Everything was real, Megan. All of it.” Unable to help himself, Luc lifted his hand and held her cheek in his palm. The door shut quietly behind him, leaving the pair standing alone in the hall again.

Megan made no effort to remove his hand, softening at the tenderness of his touch. “I believe you, Luc, but I’m also disappointed with some of the things I’ve learned about you today.”

Luc sighed heavily. “I will always regret that I disappointed you, Megan. When I woke up this morning, I reached for you but you were gone. I decided I would come find you as soon as I got out of my meeting. I hoped I could have just one more day with you and maybe, if I was really lucky, one more night as well. I was fooling myself last night to think that one night would be enough with you. It would take a thousand nights for me to even begin to get my fill.”

“Those are sweet words, Luc, and I appreciate that you came to find me. I’ll go home feeling less of a fool than I did this morning. But it doesn’t change the fact that whatever this was, it’s over. I’m going to go pack now and spend the evening with my friend. Take care of yourself, Luc.”

Luc sighed, realizing he had gotten as far as he could with her at the moment. “I will go, but I’m walking away from you with many regrets. I will regret the things I said and did that upset you. I will regret that I never got the chance to wake up with you in my arms. Most of all, I will regret that you are not with me.”

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her one last time. “You
are
a beautiful woman, and I hope you will let yourself have the life you deserve.”

Megan’s hands were pressed against his chest. She could feel her body respond to his touch and her anger melt away. “I hope you’ll do the same. Goodbye, Luc.”

He kissed her lips slowly and carefully, both of them taking in the feel of each other one last time before he walked away. Megan felt a sense of heartache settle over her as the door closed behind her. She was confused. Part of her wanted to believe it all was real, part of her still felt used, but most of her knew it really didn’t matter. They were done. He would now be just another memory for her.

NINE

The next day, Megan felt completely drained as she waited for her connecting flight in New York. The flight was delayed a couple of hours due to bad weather. She had called her mom to let her know about the delay and then wandered around the shops in JFK for a while. She desperately wanted to get home to her cozy house on her quiet street and return to her very predictable life with Elliott and her mom.

Try as she might, she couldn’t help feeling overcome by swells of emotion throughout the day. Luc had occupied her thoughts for most of her flight from Paris and she had finally decided to allow herself the day to get over him. It had come as no surprise how much this was affecting her. It was as though being with him had opened up a floodgate of feelings she had managed to hold back for half a decade. She had allowed herself to be truly vulnerable and intimate with him, and it had been a mistake. Leaving Paris with a sense of humiliation and sadness was not at all what she had wanted.