Midnight in Montmartre: A French Kiss Sweet Romance (13 page)

W
hen Luc
and Mia arrived at Parc de Villette, a large park in the 19th arrondissement, Les Slinks started playing the first song.

"Is that...Les Slinks?" Mia asked.

Luc nodded, grinning.

"I didn't know they were playing here," Mia said. "Is it a free concert?"

Luc was holding Mia's hand. It felt good to walk together holding hands. At the office, they had to maintain a professional distance, so when they were together out of the office, he never wanted to let her go. When they weren't together, he counted down to the time when he would see her again.

"Surprise," he said. "This concert is for you."

Mia's jaw dropped. "What? What do you mean?"

All he wanted to do was to make her happy, and he hoped she would be as soon as he told her what this was all about.

The park was crowded with fans dancing to Les Slinks’ big hit song, "Beaux." Luc's brother was gyrating to the beat of the drums, then he began shouting into the microphone. Mathieu looked a lot like Luc, but with tanned skin and shaggier hair. The crowd sang along with him.

"I know you still haven't had much luck tracking down the woman in the Fizz commercial, so I figured I could bring some of that luck to you. The mystery woman came out to a free concert for Les Slinks once, even when the footage was going to be in a commercial, and I figured she would be a big enough fan to come out to another free concert. She was in the front row the first time. It meant she had come hours earlier to get that spot, so she must be a devoted fan."

"I can't believe you did this." Mia hugged him.

"It was about time I did something. You moved to Paris to find your sister, and I've been distracting you with a job and all the romantic dates."

Mia giggled. "But I didn't mind, especially the dates."

"My brother finally recovered from touring, so I figured why not force him to play one last show in his hometown before he starts recording for the next album? We rented out the space here and sent a blast to all the media outlets and social media two weeks ago telling them about this concert. I guess you must not be a Slinks fan if you didn't know about the free concert."

"I listen to Beyoncé," Mia said. "French alt-rock is not on my radar, I must admit."

Luc chuckled. "I figured as much. I don't listen to much rock either. It's funny how siblings can have such different musical tastes. My brother was the loudest person in the house growing up, but back then, we called it noise. It was annoying. But now he gets paid to make noise."

"It is quite loud," Mia said. "Even from back here. How are they not going deaf up in the front?" Mathieu was singing a refrain in French that Mia couldn't quite understand. "It is quite catchy, though. Do you really think there's a good chance my potential sister could be here?"

"If she's a big fan, she would've received the blast. The question is, would she have been able to make it to the concert? Today's a Sunday, and so I figured there's a good chance, if she's in Paris, that she's free to attend."

"True," Mia said. "Everything in Paris is closed on Sundays."

"We also ran a contest asking people to send in videos answering why they are the biggest Les Slinks fan. The winner gets a free trip to Paris to see them. If your sister wasn't in Paris, perhaps she would've sent in a video submission. Unfortunately, we went through the videos and none of them were her."

"Oh. Well, she could be from Paris."

"Yes, and we're also running another contest here, live. We've set up some cameras in the white tents over on the right side. See those tents there?" Mia nodded. "All the concertgoers are encouraged to enter the video contest. They have to look into the camera and tell Les Slinks why they love them. If they win, they get to meet Les Slinks backstage after the concert. We'd have their information and them on camera."

"You’ve thought of everything, haven't you?" Mia asked.

"We also have employees scouring the crowd looking for anyone who looks like you, just in case. They'll report to me if they do see someone who fits the criteria. So far, my phone hasn't rung, but there are over five thousand people here, and more are still coming."

"I can't believe you did all this for me." Mia hugged him again. "This must've been so expensive."

"You're worth it, Mia," Luc said softly. "I know how important this is for you."

She looked at him with such appreciation that Luc felt warm all over. "Thank you, Luc."

"Come on." He gently tugged her arm. "Let's go over to the contest tents."

"Hey, even if you don't find her from the contest videos, you can turn the submissions into a video montage of the fans and upload it onto Les Slinks' channel."

"That's a great idea," Luc exclaimed. "That's why you're a marketing genius."

As they walked across the park, which had been turned into an impromptu music festival, Mathieu had finished the first song and was now speaking to the crowd in French. Mathieu was giving appreciation to everyone who came to the concert, and the crowd erupted into cheers.

"I'm nervous," Mia said.

"Don't be. I'm here to support you."

A portion of the crowd had lined up to enter the video contest. Five cameras had been set up, managed by staff in black Les Slinks t-shirts. Luc observed the line. There was no one who resembled Mia, to his immediate disappointment.

"How's it going, Arthur?" Luc asked a young man who was in charge of the contest.

"Good. We've got around three hundred entries already," Arthur replied. "But nobody yet." He looked at Mia and switched to English. "You must be Mia, hello."

Mia gave him kisses on the cheek, as was the custom in France whenever you were introduced to someone. "Nice to meet you."

"As soon as we see someone who could be her," Arthur said to Luc, “we'll call you."

"Thank you so much." Mia's voice shook.

She also looked a bit emotional, and Luc took her to the side.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that I'm so overwhelmed. Everybody is here to help me, and you made it happen. Just the effort you've put in alone, I'll never forget it. You're so creative. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

Luc kissed her on the nose. "It's the least I could do. The Montaigne campaign is blowing the competition out of the water, the Damour campaign is also on fire, and now we've just landed the big Greek yogurt campaign. But I'm not doing all this because you've helped my company grow."

Mia's lips formed a playful smile. "So why are you doing it?"

Luc cleared his throat.

"It's because I love you, of course."

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say it."

"Don't I say it enough?"

"Yes, but I never get tired of hearing it."

"Well, I love you. Yes, even when you get impatient. Even when you eat off of my plate in restaurants. Even when you're so overly optimistic in this cynical nation. I love your crazy hair, your terrible French accent, your loud laugh. I love everything about you."

Mia laughed loudly, appropriately enough.

"Now it's your turn," Luc joked. "Why do you love me?"

Mia shrugged. "Some things are beyond reason."

At the unamused look on Luc's face, she broke out into laughter again. "Just kidding. What's not to love? You're handsome, you're smart, and you smell nice."

"That's all?"

"No, of course not. I love you for your soul. You have the most beautiful soul."

Mia's smile was so cute that Luc wanted to pinch her cheeks. Instead, he kissed her again, in the middle of the park, where Les Slinks were playing a slow love song, the perfect soundtrack to their romance.

L
uc led
the way to the V.I.P. section behind the stage. She was still in awe that Luc had put this concert together in less than three weeks. She hadn’t even known about it. No man had ever gone to the lengths Luc had to prove how much he cared about her. She had to pinch herself. Was this really happening?

The V.I.P. section was another big white tent set up behind the stage. The decor was like that of a cocktail lounge. It was roped off from the rest of the park and guarded by security.

When they approached, a bouncer unhooked the velvet rope and let them in.

"Luc, there you are!" A young woman came over and hugged Luc.

"Audrey, this is Mia, my girlfriend. Mia, this is my youngest sister."

Audrey’s blunt blond bangs made her look younger than her twenty-one years. She had dimples on both cheeks, and she looked petite and adorable in a green Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress and metallic sandals.

She greeted Mia with air kisses on the cheeks. "Luc has told me so much about you! Really. You're all he ever talks about all day long." She turned to Luc with a mischievous smile. "Am I embarrassing you, big bro?"

Luc shrugged. "Mia knows how obsessed I am with her."

"Must be terrifying." Audrey winked at Mia.

"Your brother is very sweet," Mia said.

"I have to admit he is. He's definitely the most romantic one in the family. He's the only one of my brothers who actually enjoys watching romantic comedies."

"Really?" Mia turned to him in surprise.

"I do," Luc admitted.

"He's seen them all. We have some really bad ones in French."

"I like the American ones too. If you must know, my favorite is
Hitch
."

"With Will Smith?" Mia asked. "The one where he coaches men how to behave on dates?"

"Oui."

Mia laughed. "That's a good one. I've seen it at least twice."

"Now you know that I have taste in movies like an eighteen-year-old girl," Luc said.

"It's cute."

"Where are the others?" Luc asked Audrey.

As if on cue, two handsome men vaguely resembling Luc entered into the lounge.

"Philippe, Xavier." Luc greeted them with hugs.

Philippe was still dressed in his white chef uniform without the hat. His light-brown eyes, dark hair, and soft, rounded features made him look sweeter than his more rugged brothers. Xavier looked like an athlete with his square jaw and sculpted body. He was an athlete, a professional boxer in training. Dark gym clothes showed off every muscle, and he wore black-and-white Adidas sneakers. He was more tanned, like Mathieu, and his dark hair was shaved on each side of his head, giving it a short, mohawk-like look.

Luc introduced them to Mia. They both spoke English with charming French accents that were stronger than Luc's.

"I hear you're looking for your sister," Philippe said. "If she's as beautiful as you, I really hope we find her soon. Luc keeps telling me that you're the most beautiful woman in the world. I thought he might've been exaggerating, but now I see that he's right for once."

"Are you flirting with my girlfriend?" Luc joked.

Philippe put both his hands up. "Just paying a compliment. It's what you do with beautiful women."

Audrey rolled his eyes. "My brothers all try to play the role of the seductive Frenchman. It's very cheesy. Don't buy it."

"Watch out for this guy." Xavier pointed to Philippe. "He's the ladykiller of the family."

"It's because he can cook," Audrey said. "That's why. Every woman likes a man who can cook."

Philippe grinned proudly, while Luc groaned.

"That means I have to spend more time in the kitchen with Philippe," Luc said.

Xavier laughed. "Luc can't cook for beans."

"Actually, Luc cooks okay," Philippe said to Mia. "Not as well as I can, of course, but he can make a decent ratatouille and a vegetable lasagna if he really follows the recipe."

"They're Mom's recipes," Luc added.

"Speaking of our parents," Audrey said, “they're in the country visiting our grandparents, so they can't make it after all."

"It's just as well," Luc said. "They've seen enough of Mathieu’s concerts."

"It's probably better that Mom's not here," Xavier said to Luc and Mia. "She'll probably bug you two about getting married and giving her grandchildren as soon as possible."

Mia blushed. She didn't dare look at Luc. Their relationship was new, and they hadn't discussed the future yet.

"Mom still can't get enough of kids," Audrey said. "Sometimes I wonder if seven kids is enough for her. I'm the youngest, and she still babies me. I love her to death, but I'm moving into my own apartment as soon as I graduate, so she'll probably have empty nest syndrome. They were looking forward to meeting you, Mia. I'm sure we can all get together for dinner in the next few days. It's a little difficult to get everybody together at once, though, so we'll have to do without some people."

"Right," Xavier said. "Alain's on one of his work trips, and Madeleine's shooting a film in Prague."

"Meeting five out of seven Deneuve siblings is not bad," Mia said. "As soon as I meet Mathieu officially, that is."

Mia had been nervous about the idea of meeting Luc's siblings, but if the rest of the family were as easygoing and as welcoming as Audrey, Philippe, and Xavier, it would be a blast to spend more time with them.

Audrey was already chatting with Mia as if they were long-lost girlfriends. Philippe was a joker, and Xavier might have appeared to be a tough guy at first, but when he smiled, he looked like a cherub.

She chatted with them over drinks until the concert was over. Audrey told her a lot about the art history classes she was taking, how she was an artist, and what kind of paintings she was working on. They even made plans to visit the Montmartre museum to see some impressionist art.

Mathieu came in, all sweaty in his light-blue graphic t-shirt and ripped jeans. He was chugging down a bottle of water.

Luc waved him over. "Mathieu. I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Mia."

Even though his face was flushed red and he was obviously tired from performing, Mathieu lit up when he greeted her. "So you're the one my brother's been so crazy about. I'm losing my voice because of you."

His voice was unusually hoarse. Screaming into the mic for an hour or two could do that to a person.

"Your voice is hoarse because you've been touring for the past three months," Philippe said.

"True," Mathieu said.

"Thanks for doing this," Mia said.

"No problem. I was thinking about doing a free concert for my fans anyway. Luc approached me with the offer to sponsor this concert, and I figured we can kill two birds with one stone. Any luck so far in finding your girl?"

Luc shook his head. "Not yet."

"But that's okay," Mia quickly added. "I was thinking if she doesn't show up today, we can always send your fans a link to my Facebook page. Maybe someone from your network would recognize her."

"That's a good idea," Mathieu said. "I can even write a letter to my fans myself."

"Really?"

"Sure. It's no problem. It'll be all over the Internet."

"Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Luc said. "You're a celebrity. Of course you can command that kind of attention. We didn't even need to put on this concert."

Mathieu laughed. "It's because you dream big. Simplicity doesn't suit you."

"So do you," Audrey said to Mathieu. "You weren't going to stop until you got to play in Madison Square Garden."

"And we did," Mathieu said. "But only as the opener for the Strokes. Next time, we'll headline."

"We all dream big in this family," Philippe said.

"A family of dreamers," Mia mused. "I like that."

"As you can see," Mathieu said, "the family is divided into athletes and artists. Xavier is the athletic one. Philippe too, when he's out of the kitchen and onto the soccer field."

"I have to work out," Philippe said. "Otherwise, with all the food I consume on a daily basis, I'd be pretty stout."

"Luc and I are the musical ones in the family," Mathieu said.

Mia turned to Luc in surprise. "How?"

"He sings too," Mathieu said.

"I have a fair voice," Luc said.

"More than fair. He's very good. When we were little, we sang in the church choir together, and they used to give him solos."

"Yes, but that was before I went through puberty and my voice changed."

"Oh, I don't know, I still think you have it in you." Mathieu turned back to Mia. "I keep asking him to duet with me on a record."

"Why don't you?" Mia asked Luc.

"Mathieu is always recording in obscure places," Luc said. "Where was the last place you recorded?"

"This cabin in Montana. It was great. My band and I got some fresh air—”

The chanting in the crowd got louder and louder.

Les Slinks, Les Slinks, Les Slinks.

"That's for you," Audrey told Mathieu.

"I have to go do an encore," Mathieu said. "Nice to meet you, Mia. See you guys in a bit."

Audrey, Xavier, Philippe, and Luc continued their conversation with Mia. They asked her a lot about her job as a journalist for
Seattle Life
magazine and the stories she used to work on.

"Mia writes great features," Luc said. "There was one that I read recently, about parents whose daughter died from leukemia."

"That was a hard one," Mia said. "I kept having to go out and take walks when I was listening to the interview recording and trying to write it. I get really emotional when it comes to those types of stories."

"I'll have to read it sometime," Audrey said. "Are you planning to get back into journalism, to your old job at
Seattle Life
?"

Mia and Luc looked at each other.

"I don't know yet," Mia said. "I was supposed to go back to Seattle in eight months and take my position back."

Luc looked a little tense. He didn't say anything.

"We're just trying to enjoy the moment," Mia added. "See what happens."

"Of course," Philippe said, clapping his brother on the back in support.

"I think it's so wonderful that you have such a big family," Mia said.

"I hope you find your sister," Xavier said.

Audrey smiled. "Even if you don't, remember, you always have us."

The words touched Mia. She felt tears coming to her eyes, but she willed herself not to cry. Instead, she laughed and said
Merci
.