Lucky Charm (34 page)

“His ex-fiancé
e
.
Amanda. She is an actress. And get thi
s: now, she is kicking up her heels
at the Crazy Horse. You should have seen the two of them together
. S
he was all over
him, flinging her hair this way and that, sticking out her huge boobs, and Etienne was leaning in to her as they talked
. T
hey looked so intimate. And afterwards, he seemed really upset
. H
e even lit a cigarette, and I never saw him smoke before.”

“Did you talk to him about it?”

“Yes, and he said that he just ran into her on the street. But what if he’s still not over her?
You
should have seen that girl
- s
he’s like walking sex
.
I could never even come close.”

“She sounds real classy to me.” Lilly rolled her eyes. “Come on, Ann, don’t do this to yourself. A guy like Etienne runs into hot girls every day
. C
learly, he’s made the mistake of going for shallow looks before, and he’s paid for it. If he wanted to be with Amanda, he would be with Amanda. Instead, he spent the last three weeks swooning over you.”

“But what if he is not over her? It’s only been a few months since they split up.”

“It’s only been three months since your breakup with Jeremy
. W
ould you go back to him?”

“Jeremy did not look like Pamela Anderson, and I am not a man.”

“Stop torturing yourself
,
Ann. I
’ve seen
the way Etienne acts around you
. I
t’s obvious that he really likes you. I know I’ve told you to keep things light, but I was wrong
. Y
ou told me to open up to love, and I’m so glad that I did. Now
,
you should follow your own advice
.
I’m sure that if you really want to, you and Etienne will make it work. Now are you going to help me with this dinner or what?”

In the end, Lilly served a simple fare of roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, but no one seemed to mind. Just as they were about to begin their meal, Simon raised a glass of champagne and broke the news of his and Lilly’s decision to move in together. At the sound of Simon’s announcement, Etienne put his arm around Annabel, and as she felt him squeeze her shoulder, she believed that they too would find a way to be together.

Etienne loaded the last of Annabel’s luggage into the trunk of his Porsche, and Annabel slid into the passenger seat. Her flight for
New York
was leaving in less than four hours, and she was a nervous wreck.

“Annabel, come out for a second.” Etienne called
to
her.

“Yes?”

“We have plenty of time before your flight
. T
here’s something I wanted to show you before we left for the airport.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll see
. I
t’s a surprise.” Etienne took her hand.

“
Where are we going?" Annabel had to walk extra fast to keep up with Etienne.

“
It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it? Come on
. W
e don't want to be late for the airport.
”

“
Are we going to the Louvre?
”
she asked moments later when she saw that Etienne was heading toward the Pont des
Arts
Bridge
.

But he just smiled and winked at her again.

When they reached the bridge, Etienne slowed down, and once they were halfway across, he stopped.

Annabel followed suit, wondering why Etienne chose this particular spot
. O
ver the past three weeks they had crossed this bridge countless times as they roamed the streets of
Paris
together
,
and he had never lingered on it before. Her glance fell on all the padlocks that gleamed on the railings — an old tradition where lovers wrote their names on the padlock as a symbol of their eternal devotion and fastened it to the bridge.

“
I think this is one of the most romantic spots in all of
Paris
. I sure am going to miss it,” she added in a whisper.

“
Annabel.
”
Etienne took her hand.
“
Being with you during these past weeks has been amazing for me.
”

“
Me too,
”
she murmured.

“
And I can't stand the thought that what we shared would end with your leaving for
New York
...
”

Her heart raced — was he going to tell her that he loved her?

“Annabel, there is something that I’ve been meaning to ask you all week…” Etienne took her hand. “Do you want to keep seeing each other after you leave to
New York
?”

The question had been on her mind the entire time
,
and she found herself unable to speak.

“Now, I know it won’t be easy, but I am in
the
U
.
S
.
quite often for work, and I think that if we both wanted to, we could make it work until…” Etienne trailed off, “until we figure things out,” he stammered.

“Yes. I would really like that,” she murmured
.
“I’ve been hoping you would ask me that.”

“You have? Then why didn’t you say anything?” he exclaimed. “I’ve been wracking my brain about how best to ask you, and all the while we both had the same thought on our minds.”

“I guess I’m kind of shy.” She burrowed her face in Etienne’s broad chest. “But I’m glad that we finally came to the same conclusion,” she added, looking up at him.

“Me too.” He smiled, taking a deep breath. “Maybe you will think that this is silly, but I thought it might bring us luck.” Etienne took out a steel padlock from the pocket of his jacket. “I had our names engraved on it,” he murmured.
“
I wanted to have something to remember this moment by
. W
henever I’ll be missing you, I can come to this spot and be reminded of our time together.” Etienne fastened the lock on the railing.

“Or you can just call me.”

“You can be sure that there will be plenty of that.” He broke into a smile, his dark eyes dancing with sparks. “Come here, you.”

Annabel smiled as Etienne leaned to kiss her.

But as they walked back to his car, her smile slowly faded away. Just how exactly did Etienne feel about her? Apparently, he was fine with going through the trouble of engraving their names on a padlock, but he could not bring himself to tell her that he loved her.

“Cheer up, Ann.” Lilly nudged her friend as they waited in their seats for the plane to take off. “You and Etienne will figure things out. Did you guys make any plans for who is going to visit next?”

“No. Nothing specific.” Annabel sighed. “I should have listened to you when you told me to keep things light, but I guess it’s too late for that
.
I’m what they call a ‘serial monogamist.’
”
Annabel managed a smile at her own feeble attempt at a joke
. S
he did not feel like laughing in the least. This trip to
Paris
had been magical, and now she felt like she was being woken up from a wonderful dream.

She could still feel Etienne’s arms around her when he hugged her for their last goodbye
.
T
he smell of his skin, mixed in with his cologne lingered in her mind
. T
he taste of his lips was still fresh in her memory. Already, she was missing him immensely, and even though the plane ha
d
not yet lifted for takeoff, Annabel felt as though she were already miles away from Etienne. She wondered what he was doing now: whether he was back in his top-floor apartment on the bank of the
Seine
or in his busy office.
Probably in his office
, Annabel thought, since she knew that Etienne had put much of his daily business responsibilities on hold while she was in Paris
.

From their first encounter, or to be more specific, from their second encounter, the two of them had been inseparable. It was almost impossible to believe that a disastrous blind date could grow into such a whirlwind romance, but the million-dollar question that Annabel found herself asking now was whether this passionate love affair would survive geographical separation. The last thing she needed was another heartbreak. Over the past couple of days, she
had
found herself wishing she could simply pack up and leave, having no greater memory of her time with Etienne than that of a satisfying restaurant meal. Wasn’t that what casual sex was supposed to be all about? Annabel certainly was no expert on that subject
. S
he had always been in a committed relationship, and when she finally did try her hand at casual sex with Etienne, she ended up falling for him, hard.

“It’s going to be fine,” Lilly squeezed her hand. “You just have to have faith, like you told me
. I
f the two of you are right for each other, it will work out.”

Annabel smiled, remembering the conversation Lilly was alluding to
. A
t the time she was still with Jeremy, Lilly had just met Simon and was terrified by the prospect of falling in love. It was only a few months ago, but so much had changed since then that it felt like ages ago.

“Yeah, I know.” Annabel nodded, but somehow failed to convince herself.

She tried to squash the nagging thought that kept buzzing in her brain like a fly but failed. She knew she was being foolish, needy almost, but deep down she could not help wishing that Etienne had told her that he loved her before they parted. True, it was still early in their relationship - if she even could call it that
. W
as a three-week romance a relationship? She was not sure, but she really wanted it to be.

And yes, she knew all about the hang ups most men had when it came to saying those three coveted words women so much longed to hear -
I love you
. Had it not been for the circumstances, she was sure that she would not have been so pathetically clingy. But she and Etienne were about to embark on a long distance relationship, and she needed some reassurance to carry her through the lonely days that loomed before her back in
New York
. The thought made her twinge with sadness
. H
ere she was, going back to her dead-end job, her love life future uncertain, all of which she would have to face on her own
,
as Lilly would be moving to Paris to tend to her flourishing career and to be with Simon. Not that Annabel was jealous of her friend’s good fortune -- she just wished there was a way for her not to have to lose her best friend to love.

“I’m gonna miss you, Lilly. I’m not sure I like Simon anymore
. H
e’s stealing my best friend.” Annabel managed a smile, fighting back the tears that were threatening her eyes.

“Hey, you know we’ll always be best friends, Ann
. N
othing will ever change between us. Besides, Simon and I still haven’t decided where we’re going to settle down
. H
e has put in a request at work for another transfer to
New York
, so if that comes through, I won’t have to move.”

“Really?”

“Really. Do you think that it would be easy for me to leave? Sure, I love
Paris
, but
New York
is my home, and I would miss it like crazy, not to mention missing my awesome friend here.”

#

Etienne Gerard lingered in the airport terminal to watch the plane for
New York
take off. He ended up waiting for almost two hours
,
since the flight was delayed. During the entire time, he fought an intense urge to storm into the plane and ask Annabel to stay with him
. H
e hated the idea of her leaving, but there was nothing he could do about it yet. They had only known each other for three weeks, and despite the fact that to him these three weeks felt like a lifetime, conventions had to be observed
. T
hey needed to take things slow
ly
, get to know each other better, and then, in a few months’ time, he would pop the question. How was it that he managed to fall in love with a girl he barely knew, an American to boot? As if there were not plenty of gorgeous Parisian girls walking around
. N
o, he had to make things hard for himself and fall for a woman who lived in a different time zone.