Ava pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and hurried back to Grandpa. “It looks like we won’t need our own taxi after all.”
She nodded to the baggage handler, who followed their slow pace.
As they neared, the man with the sign flashed a bright grin, and Ava stopped. She
knew
that smile. She’d seen it a hundred times that summer. She’d fallen in love with the smile first, and then…
Her heart beat hollowly in her chest. She studied the way the man stood with his feet planted wide and one hand tucked in his left jeans pocket. His dark hair was shorter—so short that no one would be able to tell it was curly. And even though he wore sunglasses, she saw he was watching her. His brow furrowed as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Dennis?” she mouthed. Her grandfather released her arm. Then he placed a hand on the small of her back, pushing her forward. For the briefest moment she wasn’t worried about her grandfather or the suitcases. She hurried toward Dennis, but when she got within a few steps of him, she hesitated.
“Ava?” He removed his sunglasses, setting them on his head, his eyes wide. He eyed her and turned to his grandfather, Grand-Paul, who was already sitting in the backseat of the car, overly interested in a map of the city. When Dennis turned back to her, the look on his face was clear. They’d been set up. Ava felt a slight trembling in her knees. It
was
him. He was really here. A hundred memories of their time together came flooding back.
“Dennis,” she said again. She hurried to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. He gave her a hug and then placed his hands on her arms and took a step back.
“Ava.” He put the sign on the roof of the car and then took her hand into his.
His eyes met hers, and then he studied her face. She wondered if he was remembering their summer. She was wondering if he was comparing how she looked then to how she looked now, and for some reason, she hoped he approved.
He looked at her mouth, her smile, and then looked back at her eyes. There was sadness in his gaze. Ava bit her lip. Yes, he was remembering. He no doubt thought back to the way that summer had ended. Another thing she hadn’t made amends for.
“Last I heard, your mom was bringing your grandpa. In fact”—he cleared his throat as he looked to his grandfather in the backseat—“that’s who I was told we were picking up today.”
Ava forced a laugh and shrugged. “Change of plans. It happened last minute. My mom broke her leg last week. I took her place.” She looked past Dennis to Grand-Paul, who quickly focused his gaze back on the map. “Maybe the news didn’t make it to your grandfather.” Even as she said the words, she knew they likely weren’t true.
“I’m sorry for your mom. I hope you still like the trip.” He forced a small smile, but it was still beautiful to her. More beautiful than the Paris skyline beyond.
“I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe you’re here.” She tilted her head up to meet his gaze.
Dennis’s eyes were darker than she remembered. They were blue, but a dark blue like the color the ocean had been when they’d been flying over it just before dusk.
She removed her hand from his and let it fall to her side. “It’s been so long.”
“Yes, well, that’s the way you wanted things.” He glanced over his shoulder toward a bus rumbling by.
Ava opened her mouth. She didn’t know what to say. He was acting as if their big fight had been last week, not all those years ago.
“Here, let me help you with that.” Dennis stepped forward, moving to the cart with their suitcases. In one fluid motion, he tipped the attendant and then took the cart around to the back of the car. She should have been thankful for his help, but instead she was concerned. He seemed to be helping her so he could get her to the hotel and drop her off. His lifted chin and stiffened shoulders made that clear.
“Grandpa, let me help you.” She turned back to him, telling herself he was what she was here for. Let Dennis give her the brush-off. She didn’t need any more complications on this trip anyway. Taking care of her grandfather and getting videos to Todd would be consuming enough.
Still, deep down in a hidden part of her heart, she felt a small loss. Even if nothing was to come of it, she at least wanted Dennis to be excited to see her again. Even though their relationship hadn’t ended well, there’d been a lot of happy memories. Was he forgetting all those?
Her grandfather reached the car door.
“Is that you, old man?” the voice from the backseat called.
Ava looked again to the hunched figure in the backseat. Grand-Paul waved and smiled.
“Grand-Paul!” Ava waved back.
“Who’s calling who old?” Grandpa Jack chuckled. “Your birthday’s before mine.” His laughter lightened Ava’s heart.
Grandpa Jack extended his hand, and Ava thought it was to shake Grand-Paul’s hand. Instead Grand-Paul grasped it and used it to help pull himself out of the backseat. The two men stood there, gazing into each other’s eyes, and what seemed like a hundred memories passed between them. Then, with a quivering chin, Grand-Paul opened his arms and pulled Grandpa Jack into an embrace, saying something that Ava couldn’t make out over the noise of the airport.
With a firm hand, Grand-Paul patted Grandpa Jack’s back and then sat down again, sliding across the seat to the other side. Ava approached and helped Grandpa Jack into the backseat next to his friend. She chuckled as they both began talking about their trip. She wondered which one was supposed to be listening.
Dennis slammed the trunk shut. His shoulders were wider than she remembered. His cotton shirt stretched across his muscular back as he lifted the suitcases and placed them in the trunk. He looked strong. Handsomely strong.
“Have you been here long? Or did you just arrive too?” She tried to make her tone friendly, hoping he realized they could still be friends despite what had happened.
“I had some meetings in Versailles, so I rented this car. Grand-Paul told me your grandpa and mom were coming in today, and we thought it would be a nice surprise to pick them up.”
“Thank you. I was going to get a taxi, but this is better.”
“You’re darned right it’s better,” Grand-Paul called through the open door. “Do you know how much those guys charge?” She approached the elderly man through the open side door. She leaned down and gave Paul a big hug. “It’s been too long, old man. You look great, by the way.”
He shrugged. “Not as sharp as the first time I was in these parts, but not so bad, considering the wear and tear.”
“You look like a spring rooster,” Grandpa Jack chimed in.
“A rooster with graying feathers.”
Then Dennis—a very grown-up version of the boy she had once known—opened the passenger door for her. His eyes stayed on her as she got in, and she wondered again what he was thinking.
Ava tried to hide her own trembling as Dennis climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. He looked in the rearview mirror.
A smile brightened his handsome face. A true smile. Obviously Dennis was happy about seeing her grandfather. “Mr. Andrews, how’s one of my favorite heroes? It’s been far too long since I shook your hand.”
“Dennis, my hand shakes on its own these days.” Grandpa lifted his hand and overemphasized its natural quiver.
More than anything, Ava wanted to ask about Dennis’s life. For all she knew, he could be married with a few kids at home. She hadn’t heard anything for the last five years at least—and then she’d only heard that he was in India somewhere working on homes for the poor. Handsome and a humanitarian. Someone would have snagged him up long ago. Then again, there was his attitude…
Ava glanced at his left hand on the steering wheel. He wasn’t wearing a wedding band, but she knew that didn’t mean he didn’t have a wife, or kids, or a girlfriend somewhere.
Dennis spotted her looking at his hand. He lifted it. “Nope, not married. You?”
Heat rose to Ava’s face. She laughed, trying to make light of her obvious curiosity.
“Nope, single as ever.” Then she let out a sigh. “It’s nice we got that out of the way.”
Ava buckled her seatbelt and did her best to push the rest of her questions into the hidden recesses where she’d been carrying her memories of Dennis for nearly fifteen years.
It had been a summer romance, nothing more. They were young. They were stupid. And when she’d tried to be realistic, it had ruined everything.
Silence filled the vehicle, and it was only then that Ava realized the old guys in back had stopped talking.
Dennis realized it too. He pointed to the skyline ahead. “Quite a thing, isn’t it?”
“I’ve always wanted to see it,” she said, knowing full well that Dennis knew. If she’d told him once about her dreams of traveling in Europe, she’d told him a hundred times.
After awhile, they pulled onto a narrow street. Tall buildings lined both sides of the curvy, cobblestone road. Blocks and blocks of buildings that looked as they must have five hundred years ago. The ground level consisted of small shops. Apartments were layered above them with black wrought-iron balconies graced with flower boxes. On the narrow sidewalks, men and women strolled along at an easy gait, and on one bench a young couple shared an intimate kiss.
Heat rose to Ava’s cheeks.
“Thanks again for the ride.” Ava didn’t know what else to say. Dennis’s arm rested on the armrest between their seats, brushing her elbow. Needles danced up and down her arm, and she told her body to stop responding like that. The old guys in the back again launched into conversation about the trip, the flight, and the weather. Ava looked at Dennis’s profile, wondering what she should say.
It’s been so long.
You’re as gorgeous as I remember.
What if…
She didn’t have to worry about making small talk. Even as he drove, Dennis kept glancing into the rearview mirror, joining in with the conversation in the backseat, chuckling after each comment. Acting as if she wasn’t even in the car.
Their car merged into traffic and then stopped at a light. Ava turned her head just slightly, noticing Dennis’s eyes on her. “So, do you have big plans for tonight?”
“Just making sure my grandpa gets settled in, and then I’m meeting my old roommate for dinner. I might have told you about Tana—way back when. We’ve been friends forever it seems.”
Dennis nodded, and she wished she’d seen a hint of disappointment over the fact she had plans. More than that, she wished she wasn’t suddenly so concerned about what Dennis thought.
O Lord, I need help here. I can’t let my emotions get wrapped up in this.
She hadn’t prayed much lately, but the thought was there before she knew what to do with it.
His arm brushed against hers as he changed the flow of the vent, and she tried to ignore the quiver in her stomach. Ava instead focused on the strange world outside the car window. There were shiny cars everywhere, but different models than she saw in Seattle, mostly smaller. Big, white, historical-looking buildings lined the spotless streets, and ornate fixtures covered them like decorations on a wedding cake—not that she should be thinking of wedding cake either.
Ava stared at the people sauntering down the sidewalks. The women dressed far differently from those in the Northwest. Classier. One lady strolled along wearing a large hat, elegant coat, and high heels—with a saucy sway of her hips. The woman turned her face to their passing car. Her skin was wrinkled and hung under her chin. She had to be eighty, at least. Maybe she remembered these veterans rolling through town many years before? Ava almost wished she could have stopped and asked.
Another lady walked a poodle on a shimmery silver leash. Even the dogs here were high class.
Finally, Dennis parked in front of a swanky-looking hotel. Down the street she spotted the Plaza de Concorde
,
and in the distance, the Eiffel Tower.
She was here, just like she’d always imagined, and Dennis was here with her. Being with him reminded her of what she’d walked away from.
It also churned up painful memories that had nothing to do with Dennis—of being the one left behind.
She thought again of Jay’s text. Maybe he was serious. Maybe he really did want to make things right. Seeing Dennis again reminded her that breakups not dealt with properly would just lead to more hurt. She was reassured that it would be better to at least smooth things over with Jay before fifteen years passed.
It’s not like I’m going to get back together with him,
Ava told herself. But Jay seemed to be open to the idea—unlike the handsome man who seemed intent on staring straight ahead. Not glancing at the hotel they’d just parked in front of, lest he glimpse her in his peripheral vision. Trying to ignore her and the fact they were together once again.
Chapter Six
Ava glanced up at the hotel, which was just one section of a block-long building. Rows of windows and small balconies looked down onto the sidewalk, the street, and the lush park on the other side. A blue and white canopy fluttered softly in the breeze, shading the doorway. Ava climbed from the car and was met by a squeal. Before she knew it, arms wrapped around her, and she recognized Tana’s signature fragrance that smelled like a rose garden after a misty rain. Ava didn’t remember the name, but it was a scent she’d never forget. It had been all over Tana’s schoolbooks, her clothes, and in her car during the two years of college that they’d roomed together. It seemed Tana hadn’t lightened up on the stuff.
Around them, well-dressed Parisians cast glances but continued their pace. Peering over Tana’s shoulder, she took in the street. It was lined with small shops on the ground floor and apartments on top. A bell from a bicycle jingled. The smell of fresh-baked bread mixed with Tana’s perfume, and Ava guessed there was a bakery nearby.
Ava squeezed Tana tighter, trying to convince herself it was really her—that she was really here. “I thought you weren’t going to come by until tonight. Didn’t you have to work today?”
Ava took a step back and eyed Tana, realizing that France had been good to her—a sophisticated elegance had replaced the grunge look from years prior.