“I’m sorry if I’ve said something to upset you,” he says, matching my pace.
“It’s just that I forgot I’ll be starting over with vacation time, along with everything else.I’ll be lucky if I get two measly weeks.Some companies make you jump through hoops just to earn that.”I let out a dramatic sigh.
Luca shakes his head.“That’s so depressing.We get five weeks off, plus eleven paid holidays.I’m actually on holiday right now.As a matter of fact, I’m taking the rest of the month off.”
“The rest of the month?”I gasp.
“I earned it.”He flashes me a quirky grin.“I wanted to take the rest of the month off, so I am.”
I scrunch my face upward.“Okay, you can quit rubbing dirt into my wound any time now.”
“In France, we work to live, not live to work.Joie de vivre; it’s the French way.”
“Well, I might have to move to France then.”
“Maybe you should.”He playfully bumps his shoulder into mine.
My pulse races at the thought.“If only it were that easy.”
“If you want something, Jemma, you have to make it happen.Like your blog.Just make it happen.”
“Now you sound like my best friend, Gretchen.”
“Gretchen sounds like a smart girl.”
“Gretchen’s great.She’s the reason I’m here right now.Well, she’s the one who put the seed of the idea in my head.”
The reason the seed grew is a much longer story and a little unbelievable.Fate, magic, Santa—eh, either way I’m here.
Luca turns to me, his blue eyes shimmering.“I’m glad she did,” he responds, and my insides turn into mush.“And if you wouldn’t have lost your job, by the sounds of it, you wouldn’t be here either.So, it’s a good thing you got fired, right?”
“I’d prefer not to be homeless in a few months, so I don’t know if I’d go that far.”
“Everything happens for a reason, mon petit lapin.”
Did he just call me a little rabbit?
* * *
The brisk air kisses my cheeks as we enter the Luxembourg Gardens, arms still linked.I don’t feel the need to pull away, and it seems he doesn’t either.I like being close to him.He makes me feel safe.
Luca offers several facts about the gardens as we pass by happy people munching on baguettes and sipping wine from real glasses—not those flimsy plastic cups.People-watchers are perched on green metal chairs and benches, while tourists wander the park with their phones glued to their hands, taking pictures of everything in sight.
Which reminds me.
I slyly slip my fingers into my clutch and fish out my phone.As we walk, I snap a few photos of the scenery and some statues, but what my fingers are really itching to capture is a shot with Luca.If today is the last day we see each other, I want proof he existed.I want a memory of him, but how do I do it without looking like a total creeper?
As if reading my thoughts, Luca reaches for my phone.“Shall we?”He turns us around, and before I can even nod, he leans in and snaps a selfie with the Luxembourg Palace behind us, forming the ideal backdrop.
When he hands my phone back, I gleam with giddiness at the image staring back at me.
Gretchen’s getting this photo pronto!
Jemma: We make a cute couple—even if Luca doesn’t know it yet.
I clicksend, and immediately my phone buzzes with a response.
Gretchen: Hello, handsome!
