“
Oh.”
I laid them gently on the floor next to my bed.
“
The floor again?” he asked in a shocked tone.
“
Or that small sofa over there, if you want, but your big feet will hang off the end.”
“
I thought we were gonna share the bed. It’s king-sized, and I was a perfect gentlemen in Namibia, right?”
I tapped my chin in thought. “I just don’t think it’s gonna work.”
“
Why not? I promise to keep my hands to myself, and I’ll be way over on the other side of that huge bed. There’s more than enough room for me.”
“
You sleep naked.”
“
And that’s a bad thing?” He inched closer. “Besides, you used to find that very sexy.”
I chuckled nervously and pushed him away. “Need I remind you that we’re not lovers?”
“
I can sleep in clothes if I have to, like I did in the desert.”
“
That’s because you were on the roof, but I’m really surprised you didn’t sleep naked anyway.”
“
I knew you’d never set on foot on that mattress if I wasn’t dressed for winter.”
“
If you insist on fighting about this, I’m going to get another room,” I said sternly. I was tired of giving him an inch, only to have him wanting to steal a mile.
“
You can’t,” he argued. “It’ll break the terms of the Will, and we’ll lose everything.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Guess you better take the floor then.”
“
Fine. You win.”
I unpacked a couple outfits from my suitcase, then walked inside the spacious bathroom. There were etched mirrors, a shower, a huge bathtub, and a toilet in a separate room. The hot shower felt wonderful after our long trip. Nothing in the hotel was cheap, not even the showerhead. It felt like I was standing under a pounding rainstorm; never had a shower been so invigorating. I slipped into a long, silk gown and wrapped a white, silk robe around me as I picked up some of the clutter in the room.
“
You’re still the same old neat freak I remember,” Jake said with a big smile on his face. He was all sprawled on
my
bed, watching television.
“
And you’re still a slob,” I said picking up his dirty socks and throwing them at him.
He laughed.
“
You mind getting off
my
bed?” I asked.
His eyes turned back to the television. “After this show.”
I pulled back the covers. “C’mon, Jake. I’m so tired.”
“
So hop in bed with me. I’m gonna go soon, and like I said back at the safari, I don’t bite…much.”
I shut the television off. “No. I’m going to bed now.”
“
Fine. I guess I better retreat to the floor.”
“
Thank you,” I said politely.
I slipped into the cozy bed and snuggled into my pillow. We would be heading to the Eiffel Tower the next day, to take the required photo. I hoped it wouldn’t take long, because I just wanted to hurry and put the whole escapade behind me.
Jake grabbed the blankets and started making a bed on the floor. After he switched off the light, he said, “Goodnight.”
“
Goodnight, Jake,” I said, and within minutes, I was fast asleep.
Chapter 4
“
No, I can’t fax it,” I told the lady on the phone. “I’m in Paris.”
Jake motioned for me to hang up.
I shooed him away and continued. “I had to change it to stay current. Remember, fashion is always changing, Miss Debare.” I sighed, shook my head, and hung up.
Jake smiled.
“
What?” I asked.
“
You’ll be quitting your day job anytime now. You’re such a fashion entrepreneur.”
“
Jake, owning a boutique and website is no different than owning any business. It takes hard work, know-how, perseverance, and dedication—some things you don’t know anything about.”
Ignoring the insult, Jake said, “Along with lots of money.”
“
Yes…money that I don’t currently have.”
“
Yet.”
I smiled. “You can’t just let dreams die, no matter what hurdles you have to jump through.”
“
I know you work hard. I’m proud of you.”
“
Thanks. It really is more than a fulltime job. It’s something I do all day every day, and then I have to squeeze in my real job. Luckily, I can work from home, at least most of the time. I still have to report in at the office.”
Finally, we left the hotel and headed to the Eiffel Tower. It had been a cool fifty-nine degrees the day before, but this day was a warmer sixty-five, so I opted not to bring a jacket, a blessing since the temperature usually hovered around fifty.
April is a wet month in France, and Paris is known for its sudden downpours, so I hoped we wouldn’t get all wet like we had on our elephant-back ride. I considered carrying an umbrella, but I didn’t want to lug it around everywhere.
We peered all around us as we slowly walked.
“
This is what we always talked about,” Jake said.
“
Yeah. I can’t wait to visit all the gardens and quaint little shops,” I said in an excited tone. I was quite happy to be there, in spite of the circumstances with Jake.
He threw an arm around me as we casually walked down the street.
I stared at his hand on my shoulder, then flung it off. He was cocky, and that only made me more determined to show him he couldn’t get any girl he wanted, at least not this one. “In case you’re forgetting, we are no longer romantically involved,” I said.
He smiled. “Not yet.”
“
Jake, stop it,” I said. “It’s too late for us. I’m getting tired of saying it.”
“
It’s never too late,” he said.
“
Why don’t you go hit on some of these beautiful Parisians?”
“
Because I don’t want them. I want you.”
I stepped onto the cobblestone path. “And what’s so special about me?”
“
You’re one of a kind, Ashly.”
“
Me?”
“
I want to spend every moment of the rest of my life with you, Ashly.” He stopped midstride and pulled me close, wrapping his arms around my waist like he used to so long ago. He rubbed small circles on my back.
“
What are you trying to do?” I asked.
“
Don’t you remember all the plans we had for Paris?” he asked.
In fact, I did. I remembered every single detail, from kissing passionately under the Eiffel Tower to making mad, passionate love in the shower. I let out a tiny gasp as his eyes bore into me. He leaned in until his lips were just inches from mine, and I shuddered in anticipation. I could feel his hot breath on my skin.
Is he going to kiss me?
My heartbeat quickened, and with all the strength I could muster, I stepped back and blurted out, “We’re here to get the pictures we need and move on.”
“
You can’t tell me you’re not feeling what I am,” he said. “The chemistry between us is stronger than ever.”
I looked away.
He continued, “You could have left with me with that croc, but you didn’t. I saw how scared you were for your life, but you were scared for me too. Why? Because there’s still something between us, something that never died.”
“
Of course I care about you, Jake,” I admitted. “You were my first love, after all.”
“
No, there was more to it than that. Your eyes gave everything away.”
“
You’re reading more into it than you should.”
Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about his kisses or how much I craved his touch. It’d been so many years, and we’d both gone on with our lives. Even still, my heart had never stopped caring about him. He was my very first love, and that gave him a special place in my heart, but I had to stay strong and try to be his friend, at least until the trip was over.
Every time we passed a flower market or florist, Jake bought me a single flower, each one a different color. I knew if he didn’t stop buying me flowers, we’d never get to our destination.
“
You definitely fit the part,” Jake said as we made our way to a park.
“
What part?” I asked.
“
You’re in Paris, and you’re a fashion icon.”
“
Thank you.” I smiled. “That’s about the best compliment you could give me.”
“
It’s no wonder you and Nadia are trying to design your own fashion label. Nadia told me a little bit about it.”
“
I’ve always dreamt of starting my own clothing line, and Nadia has come up with some amazing designs herself. If we combine our creativity, I can’t even imagine what the two of us could do! We dreamt about it for years, until I finally went all Nike and said, ‘Let’s just do it!’ Nadia sewed an original line created from my sketches, and I added my own color and fabric swatches to help her make the garments, and then…well, the rest is history.”
“
Did you take art classes?”
“
No. I’m kinda self-taught, I guess. I also use a fashion design program called
Digital Fashion Pro
. I started showing people in the fashion world our work, and we got an amazing response. A few of the models even wore our clothes to big Hollywood parties.”
“
Wow. That’s cool.”
“
A fashion journalist wrote this big article on Tina Evoza’s dress, and he wondered who the designer was. He guessed a bunch of famous ones, but it was only little ol’ me!”
“
How exciting! Are you thinking about mass producing or just doing a small production run to see how things go?”
“
Either way, we need a lot of money to get our line off the ground, but for now, we’re just doing a small production. We already wasted $5,000 on a botched production run, and I’ve practically tapped out my savings trying to get this thing going.”
“
Don’t give up, Ashly. If anyone can pull it off, you can.”
“
I hope so. Our clothes are different and unique. They stand out. Every day, I think of new ways to broadcast our brand, to make a name for ourselves. We’ve got so many ideas, from casual to formal.”
“
What’s casual?”
“
We started out with fashion t-shirts in cute colors with glitter. We went to every event in town, all the fairs and festivals, and tried to sell them. Last summer, we made almost $20,000.”
“
Whoa! Twenty grand on t-shirts? That’s insane!”
“
Yeah, but we wanna go bigger. I love designing t-shirts, but I want to design regular shirts, pants, and dresses.”
“
I love your big dreams.”
“
Yeah, I hope to be the next Coco Chanel.” Jake cocked a brow and I continued. “It’s a famous fashion icon.”
He grinned.
“
I’m always aware of cutting-edge fashion trends, and working in that world only helps. But people need to know we exist, and we need to create a bigger buzz, so I landed a spot for a radio interview for the two of us next month.”
“
You’re so passionate about your work. It’s impossible for your vision not to become a reality.”
“
Well, I sleep, eat, and breathe fashion. Nothing would make me happier than seeing people wearing creations designed by our brand. I have inspiration, dedication, passion, and one heck of an imagination.”