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“We are having dinner out. That will give you a chance to explore something different from the cafes.”
She looked down at her outfit of faded denims and a chunky orange sweater. “Should I change? You know how I hate dressing up.”
He grinned at her. “What you are wearing is fine. See you later.”
She sat at the counter and picked up her cup, cursing her trembling hands. For the first time since Greg had crushed her heart and stomped on it, she was feeling something. She had stayed away from all of that, and it had not been that difficult.
She had been approached by members of the opposite sex, including some of whom had been sent her way by Michael. She had gone out several times but had not been interested enough to get into anything serious. Her sex life was non-existent. And that had not bothered her.
Until now. Pushing the cup away, she dragged a hand through the thick strands of hair she had decided to leave loose.
She was attracted to him, that much she could admit to herself. She was acutely aware of him. And oh God! She wanted to sleep with him. Lifting a shaky hand, she rubbed the back of her neck wearily.
Which would complicate things. She was not the type to have casual sex, she wished she was that person. If that were the case, she would have followed her desire and gone straight to his room and just jumped him.
But she could not go to bed with a guy and simply tell him goodbye, it has been nice. And she had a distinct feeling that it would be much more than that with Leo. Michael was right. She had deluded herself into thinking that she could be with him, live with him, be in close proximity and not feel anything except mild feelings.
And they were just barely two days into the week. How the hell was she going to survive the next few days? She could enter into a sexual relationship and see where it went… No! The minute the idea took root; she shook it loose.
Leo was a very wealthy man and an extremely handsome one. She had never been able to keep Greg in her bed and he was not half as dynamic as Leo. She was not sophisticated enough to turn a blind eye on infidelity.
She did not believe in sharing her man.
She was also horribly inexperienced. Aside from Greg, the only other relationship had been with someone in college, and he had broken it off with her, because ‘she was not doing it for him’…
It had been painful and a lesson she had taken with her over the years. With Greg, she had been awkward and apologetic, and he had told her he understood.
He had teased and called her his ‘virgin fiancée’, and she had thought it was cute. But he had been so dissatisfied, he had turned to her best friend to make up for her lack in the bedroom.
A man like Leo was highly experienced and would be disgusted with her lack of experience and would quickly get tired of her.
“I am not doing this.” She muttered into her cup. “No matter how tempted and Lord, am I tempted.” She finished the coffee and tried to settle her heart.
*****
They made a day of it. She stopped in the little café, owned by Aimee and her husband William who just happened to be an American. She was greeted like a long-lost friend and invited back to the kitchen.
“I met my Aimee when I came here on vacation.” He was a thin looking man with a wide smile and an air of fatherly comfort about him. his light blue eyes sparkled when he talked and he had a habit of slapping his belly when he laughed, which was every five minutes.
“That was twenty years ago and I did not return home.” He nudged a nervous looking chef out of the way and took over. “We serve American and French meals and get a lot of tourists.” He smiled at her. “You are a chef?”
“Pastry.”
He nodded and reached behind him to pluck a covered plate from a glass case. “Patisserie. My Aimee makes the best. Taste, go ahead.”
She did and it just melted in her mouth, the taste of it floating through stomach. “My good Lord.”
He laughed at her amazed expression. “I took one bite of this when I stopped in and fell in love with the pastry and then with my Aimee.” He beamed at his wife who bustled in to pick up several plates and spoke to him in rapid French.
“English, my dove, or go slower. Twenty years and I am still trying to grasp the language.” Aimee shoved at him fondly as he wrapped his hand around her ample waist and stole a kiss.
“We have a crowd,” she gave Sherrian a wink before slipping out.
“I am going to need this recipe and please don’t tell me it’s a secret or I am going to have to kill you.”
His laughter boomed and he slapped a hand to his stomach, eyes twinkling. “You are a fellow American, so yes to the recipe.”
*****