Champagne and Lemon Drops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance (19 page)

"Well, let's just take it step-by-step. It
can't be that hard." Cynthia started clicking little boxes and
asking for information. "Confirm?" she asked finally, peeking at
Beth.

Beth nodded.

"You can afford this, right?" she asked,
squinting at the screen, her mouse's arrow hovering over the
confirm-flight button.

Beth wet her lips and swallowed.
"Barely."

Cynthia turned to face Beth full on. "Paris
isn't cheap." She lowered her voice, "Nash doesn't strike me as the
slumming type, Beth. He's going to want to stay in fancy places."
She tapped her fingers on her desk, thinking. "You're going to need
more money."

"He's paying for everything but the
flight."

Cynthia's finger tapping ceased
abruptly.

"I know," Beth said softly, ignoring her
sister's probing gaze. She tried to ignore the heat spreading
through her body, lighting her skin on fire. Nash wanted her. And
did she dare think that it might be for a fling or even more? She
brushed the idea from her thoughts. She wasn't going to assume
anything. She was going to put one foot in front of the other and
see where it took her.

"Let me know how it goes
becoming a member of the mile-high club when you rendez vous avec
le doctor in the avion," Cynthia said dryly and clicked
confirm flight.

***

Beth stopped in front of
the door marked
administration
and shook her hands out at her sides. She had no
reason to be nervous. She'd filled out the request form for time
off and handed it to the admin secretary yesterday. If she didn't
take much time at Christmas she had enough time off to swing
Paris.

She could do this.

She rolled her neck and entered the
office.

"Hey, Justin," Beth said, taking the seat
across from his desk. What she wouldn't give for an office even
half this size. With all the extra paperwork and projects she was
prepping for the outreach her office looked like a craft shop had
collided with a sporting goods store. Whereas Justin's office had
room to turn around without worrying about knocking things over,
plenty of bookshelves, and room for a guest to stretch their legs.
Really, they should switch offices. He didn't need all this room.
"You wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes." He swept a file folder to the side
and plucked another one from his in tray. He opened it on the desk
and placed a finger on a sticky note, reading while she waited.

"I'd like—" she began before he raised a
hand to stop her. He continued reading and she leaned back in her
chair and tried not to sigh. He could be such a jerk now that he
was admin. He was a lot more fun back when he was Oz's closest
cousin and knew how to swamp a boat in the frigid mountain lakes
without sinking it. Now he was all neckties and business.

He nudged the folder forward and propped his
elbows on his desk, leaning toward her. "So. You'd like time off in
October?"

"Yes." Beth nodded. She'd learned to get
what she wanted from her boss that the best plan of action was to
say as little as possible.

He consulted the page again and Beth rolled
her eyes. For heaven's sake. It was only a couple of days off.

"Six days?" he asked.

Beth leaned forward to look at her form and
he pulled it back toward him. "Seven, actually."

"Seven days. In October."

"Yep." She gave him a smile, biting back the
urge to start talking, make excuses, and explain.

He leaned back and polished his glasses on
his tie. He held them up to the window to gaze through them, then
gave them another polish before setting them back on his nose.
"It's difficult to find a replacement for you. It is a niche
position. Although you would think there would be more people lined
up to get paid to do crafts all afternoon. Of particular difficulty
will be finding someone to come in on a Saturday for your
outreach."

Beth bit back a retort and said calmly, "I
understand it can be difficult finding qualified help that is
willing to come out to Blueberry Springs for a short leave. That's
why I've asked for this time off as early as possible." She rubbed
her damp palms on her thighs. "There are seven weeks until—"

"Six and a half," he corrected.

She gave him a bright smile. "Right." She
pointed to her form. "I also requested a change to my Christmas
schedule."

"Christmas is already set."

"I'll be working more at Christmas to make
up the time I'm taking in October. This will actually be better for
the hospital because it will be easier to find someone in October
rather than in December when everyone is requesting time off."

"I'm not sure we can find someone to replace
you for such short stretches of time in both October and December.
It can cost someone more than they will make after they pay their
temporary living accommodations."

Beth clamped her jaw. She knew darn well
that the hospital's cottage for temporary fill-in workers wasn't
booked in October and that she was actually making things easier
replacement-wise.

"I think the timing is off for a vacation,
Beth."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," she said
quietly.

"Right now I think it is important that you
demonstrate stability as well as your dedication to your patients'
well-being."

She resisted the urge to jump up and give
him a piece of her mind. Instead she folded her hands in her lap
and said carefully, "I would have thought you'd be happy to have me
out of your hair for a few days seeing as you found my ability to
keep my patients safe inadequate."

"Are you under the impression we don't value
your contribution and find you less than able to fill your role?"
he asked in a hard voice.

"No," she said slowly.

"And do you value your role, Beth?"

She struggled to keep her poise. "Of course.
The job is very gratifying and I make a difference in the lives of
my patients."

"Right now is not the time to run away from
your problems at work."

"I'm sorry?"

He lowered his gaze to his desk, then gave
her an earnest look that gave her chills. "This is not the time to
run off to Paris with some man."

Fury swirled inside her. How dare he? He was
her boss. Nothing more.

She gave him a smile that just about cracked
her face and bit back all the retorts flooding her mind. She'd
remain quiet and get what she wanted: Paris with Nash. And now,
more than ever, she wanted it bad enough to jump through hoops of
fire.

"Have you put any consideration into what
this trip might do to your relationships at home?" he asked. His
look was kind, gentle, and caring and Beth's shoulders drooped.

Of course. Men stuck together and male
cousins even closer—despite the adoption of neckties.

"If you are worried about me finding a
replacement, I'll find someone. According to your secretary, the
rental cottage is free that week. As well, my taking less time at
Christmas may lead to not needing a replacement at all because of
the way Christmas falls this year." She strode to the door,
speaking quickly and lightly, "I'll let you know who I find."

Before Justin had a chance to protest her
taking charge, she shut the door.

Chapter 11

She'd made it.

Paris was fantastic.

It was so fantastic she was never going
home.

The croissants were crisp and fresh and made
with real butter. The champagne was lovely. Beth had fallen in love
with the city and the romantic essence the very name evoked. And
she hadn't even exited the plane. In fact, she wasn't even sure
they were in France yet.

But she'd made it.

She reclined her seat and sighed happily.
She'd made it to October. She'd made it to the passport office.
She'd even made it to the plane despite having way too much
luggage. Nash had laughed at her pile and she'd just had to shrug.
What did she know about packing and foreign countries and what she
needed to bring?

Beth closed her eyes and relaxed. She hadn't
chickened out and she'd found a replacement for work without a
problem. And while she didn't think anyone bought her trip's cover
story about the two of them backpacking France—especially since it
was pretty clear Nash wasn't the backpacking type and she had more
luggage than even a Sherpa could comfortably carry—the misdirection
made her feel better. The town could gossip about how neither of
them were backpackers instead of what they might possibly be doing
while overseas.

But
damn.
She didn't know a thing about
France. Were the people of Paris called Parisians? Parisonians?
Parasites? No, it couldn't be the last one. She emptied her flute
of champagne and shook her head. It didn't matter if she didn't
know anything about Paris. That's why she was going—to discover
more. Plus, Nash would help her out. She hadn't been able to get
French Euros from the Blueberry Springs bank—because nobody had
ever needed any according to the teller and so they didn't have any
on hand—and so Nash had loaned her some pocket money. That man
would keep her from trembling and running back home early. He'd
even gently guided her away from the little exchange booth with all
its cool exchange rates displayed in red at the airport, whispering
that he knew where she could get a better rate.

Beth sucked in a deep breath and tried to
quell her nervousness. It felt weird flying over the ocean to a
foreign country. It should be someone like Katie who
special-ordered French design and fashion magazines and had taught
herself how to read basic designer-related French. But here she
was. Off to France when she couldn't even order the food.

Nash groggily lifted his eye mask and
squinted at her. "You should sleep. The time change is quite
difficult."

"I'm too nervous and excited. I don't know
what to expect. The airport wasn't the nightmare everyone said even
though I had to pay extra for my luggage being overweight." She
lightly shook Nash's arm, prompting him to lift his mask again.
"What do they say? The English say, 'bloody brilliant.' What do the
French say when something is out-of-this-world fantastic?"

Nash looked at her for a long moment then
murmured sleepily, "C'est fantastique or c'est inçroyable. And you
should really try to nap."

Beth relaxed into her seat and rolled her
tongue over the exciting, foreign words. Nash groaned and slid the
mask over his eyes.

She willed the plane to go faster. This trip
was going to be inçroyable.

***

Riding in the limo to the hotel Beth felt as
though she could be anyone in the City of Love.

She was free.

Nobody knew her. Nobody was
going to judge her for vacationing with the handsome, single Nash.
It was all perfectly cool in their glamorous, foreign eyes. And
it
was
cool.
Because she was single.

Deep breath.

"Single!"
trilled an inner voice and pangs of excitement
zinged inside her ribcage.

She could see anyone she wished.

And she wished to see Nash.

All of him. Naked. No strings attached.
Here. Now.

Her body sung with heat and she tried to
quell the feelings of need mixed with her anticipation to see the
city. He was just a friend, she reminded herself. A friend she'd
kissed—twice. She was only excited about being here. She couldn't
jump on him and shove her tongue down his throat without their trip
getting awkward. She had to play it cool. Yeah right. She was going
to take matters into her own hands. That is, if she wanted anything
to happen.

And did she? Her body was saying yes. But
her mind seemed to be sitting on the fence doing its nails.

She sighed and tried to focus on the sights
whizzing by their limo's window. It was so overwhelming. Everything
was so different from Blueberry Springs.

"There is so much history," Nash said. "Did
you see the damage on that building?"

"The big stone one?" she asked.

"Yes, it still has damage from World War
II."

"Why don't they fix it?"

"Reminders, I suppose."

She nodded and continued to gawk out the
window, pointing at every old building they passed, making Nash
laugh and pull her hand down, gripping it in his.

"Holy crap!" she blurted. "It's the Eiffel
Tower!"

Nash smiled. "We'll have a view of it from
our hotel. You'll love the way they light it up at night. And we'll
take a river tour at dusk. It's amazing." He released her hand,
pointing to the Eiffel Tower. "Did you know they built the tower
for the World's Fair? They had planned to take it down after."

"That would have been a shame."

He nodded. He looked so relaxed and at home.
This ride seemed like the real him in a way none of their shared
moments in Blueberry Springs had. It made her wonder if she seemed
as at home in the limo.

She shook her head and smiled. "I still
can't believe you hired a limousine."

"This is the proper way to be introduced to
mon Paris, chéri," he said, leaning closer, his breath warm on her
cheek. He kissed the back of her hand, his eyes never leaving hers.
Tingles rushed down her spine. His lips were close and she resisted
the urge to push him onto his back and place her lips firmly on top
of his. French truly was the language of love. Romantic, frisky
language. Hummuna.

"A girl could get used to this treatment,"
she said, their lips almost touching.

"Please do." Nash brushed her cheek with a
thumb as the car slowed. His attention flicked to the window and
she reluctantly followed his look. Outside was an ornate, historic
building spouting peaks, towers, and gargoyles, and appearing as
though it should house a dozen princesses and have at least one
fire-breathing dragon.