He had a blindfold and earplugs already prepared. His lips broke into a crooked, wicked smile. “As long as I can, sweetheart. It’s too much fun for me. You know how I love surprises.”
Audrey groaned. “Fine.” She took the finished bento box he passed her and tucked it safely into her work bag. “Safe for work napkin today, or not safe for work?”
“Decidedlynotsafe.” The sound of her snort was such a rush.
She held up an accusing finger. “And you’re going to pack me underwear for this trip, right?” She gave him a stern look. “I mean it, Theo. Give me some fucking underwear this time. I don’t want a repeat of Christmas.”
“Absolutely not. You don’t need it. Commando for ten days.”
She shoved at his shoulder before grabbing his collar and yanking his head down for a kiss.
It was the second best Christmas he’d ever had. The best was their first, when it was just the two of them exchanging gifts in his family’s quiet, snow-covered cabin in the Catskills in front of the fire. But this past Christmas at his mother’s house in Albany had felt like coming home in a different way—a new way, and one that actually fit.
There was no big, extended Christmas party filled with aging Manhattan socialites making incessant small talk at him, no Uncle Lloyd, no house servants cooking big, stuffy, formal dinners. Instead, it was just the three of them: Theo, Audrey, and his mother, wearing matching flannel pajamas and eating Chinese food with chopsticks straight out of the cartons while they lounged on the couch in the den and watchedIt’s a Wonderful Life.
It was perfect.
His dad would have loved it.
Audrey certainly did.
He spent yesterday packing their bags (includingsomeunderwear for Audrey) before Wesley picked him up. They went and got her next.
Then they went to the airport.
He kept her in the dark for most of the flight.
But she knew where they were when the pilot announced that they’d landed over the intercom.
And she cried.
Theo finally openedhis eyes.
Sunlight streamed through the billowing white curtains of their Airbnb apartment in the third arrondissement, spilling across the light-stained chevron-laid wooden floors. The night air was cool, so they’d left one of the windows cracked open while they slept, and the sounds of traffic crept through and mingled with their portable white noise machine. Somehow, the noises of the cars and the people were different here than they were back home in Brooklyn.
It was a big city, but still different.
He watched Audrey sleep and ran whisper-soft fingers through her hair so as not to wake her. She was curled into his chest, her eyes closed and her legs tangled with his, her breath warm against his skin. She’d changed from when they’d first met—her hair was longer, her curves softer, her cheeks more filled out.
Somehow, she was even more beautiful, more radiant, more precious.
Maybe it was because he knew her now.
She stirred in his arms, and he knew she was awake when sheyawned, arching her back while she stretched. After a moment, she finally opened her eyes.
“Good morning,” she murmured. Her lips twitched into a soft, sleepy smile, and she nuzzled deeper into his neck. “We’re inParis.”
“Yes, sweetheart,” he hummed, tightening his arms around her with a dreamy sigh. “We’re in Paris.”
“What are we going to do today?”
Theo tucked her under his chin and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply while he thought back to the texts from their friends that had come through once they landed:
Diego| Good luck tomorrow, Tedward! You’ve got this! She’s gonna cry
Violet| I swear to God, THEODORE
Violet| I swear to GOD
