“Holly?” He was eyeing her warily, like she might spontaneously combust.
She forced her hands to unclench and took a deep breath. She had to get out of there before she lost it. She had spent the past few months trying to prove to Benjamin that she had matured since they’d last dated, way back in high school, and that she was now emotionally stable and even-keeled.
Picking her purse back up from the table where she’d just set it down, she feigned a calm she did not feel. “I think we should take a rain check on dinner. You’re going to need your sleep before the big trip and I’ve had a long day.” She faked a loud yawn as she reached for the door. She would walk out of there without causing a scene if it killed her.
* * * *
Later that night Holly was camped out on the couch in her apartment. After living out of suitcases for so many years, she’d learned to get by with the necessities, which meant that all of her earthly belongings barely filled the spacious loft’s closet. Her parents had given her their old couch and she’d invested in a good bed. Other than that, her place was depressingly spare.
It was more depressing than ever tonight, with Chinese food cartons scattered around the couch and an empty bottle of wine beside her. What was she doing with her life? That was the theme of this particular pity party. Had she made the wrong decision coming back here to this town? To Benjamin?
Maybe. But what was the alternative? To go back to the life she had been living, a life filled with adventure and travel and new experiences . . . and men just as flaky and afraid of commitment as she was. While men like that led to a fun time—okay, a really fun time—she wanted more from a relationship than one night stands or casual flings. She was ready for a commitment.
She and Benjamin didn’t have the kind of mad, passionate love that her sister had found with her new husband but so what? Passion wasn’t everything. Holly and Benjamin had history and, more importantly, trust. Weren’t her parents always telling her that was the foundation for a solid marriage? She and Benjamin could be happy together. She just had to make him see it.
If he wouldn’t woo her, she would have to do it herself. Adrenaline erased the lazy malaise she’d been wallowing in all evening. She sat up straight and threw off the quilt she’d been huddled under. She’d never been one to sit by and let an opportunity pass her by, why would she start now? Flipping open her laptop, she started to assemble a plan.
Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she sorted through flights with a well-practiced eye. Her heart was racing with excitement. She would be alone with Benjamin in the most romantic place in the world.
Her traitorous mind flashed on a certain villa in Tuscany. One of the most romantic places in the world, she mentally amended.
She took a deep breath and hit “Buy ticket.”
Paris, here I come.
* * * *
Sixteen hours and multiple cups of coffee later, Holly arrived.
She’d gotten some sleep on the plane but she was still exhausted, jet lagged and feeling the after effects of that bottle of wine she’d downed the night before.
She exited the train station near the Montmartre neighborhood, where she’d stayed the last time she was in Paris between teaching gigs in Prague and Istanbul. All symptoms of a hangover disappeared in a rush of excitement.
The sights and sounds of Paris were invigorating—a noisy bustle of people and cars filled her senses, and the smell—oh, the smell. Holly inhaled deeply. She had learned that every city had a unique scent and Paris’s parfum was intoxicating, a heady mix of fresh baked bread and exhaust fumes.
Holly had no trouble finding a room at a hostel. As soon as she was settled, she found a landline in the hostel’s common room and pulled out a pre-paid phone card. Ivy could spread the word to their parents; she’d always been the best buffer when breaking news to their parents. Like, for example, that she’d run off to Paris on a whim to find her future husband.
“I need you to tell Mom and Dad something,” she started the conversation.
Ivy groaned. “Oh no. What did you do?”
Holly ignored that. “First, how are you feeling?”
“Like a whale,” Ivy said. “A beached whale.”
“Well, if you’ve gotta be beached, you could do worse than a villa in Tuscany,” Holly said. Ivy’s husband was newly reunited with his family in Italy and the couple opted to stay there after the wedding to give Daniel a chance to reconnect with his relatives.
“True,” Ivy said with a laugh. “I’ve got a small army waiting on me, and they’re all being led by the General.” “The General” was Ivy’s affectionate nickname for Daniel.
“Is he driving you crazy yet?” Holly teased.
She could practically hear Ivy’s eyes roll. “The man is insane. He won’t let me do anything for fear I’m going to tire myself out. Holly, I swear to God…he tried to spoon feed me my cereal this morning.”
Holly burst out laughing at the image. “That’s kinda sweet in a weird way.”
“It really is,” Ivy said with a sigh that was so sappy and swooning, it was Holly’s turn to roll her eyes.
“So what’s up?” Ivy asked.
“Benjamin went to Paris for a conference,” she started.
“Yeah, I know, Mom told me.”
“Mom told you?” Incredible. Her mother had known he was going to Paris but he hadn’t thought to tell her.
“Yeah, his mom told our mom and you know Mom calls every day to check in on the baby. I get all the juicy Oakdale gossip.”
Holly took a deep breath and shut her eyes. “I followed him,” she said on a rush of air.
“Wait, what? You followed who?” Ivy asked.
“Benjamin. I followed him to his conference.”
There was a moment of silence before Ivy said, “But, why?” The sound of complete and utter incomprehension was as comforting as it was annoying. Ivy had always been the good one—she would never, ever go running after a boy.
“Because it’s romantic,” Holly explained.
“Oh my God, you have got to be kidding me. Are you still on this kick? You can’t honestly believe that you and Benjamin are destined to be together, I thought you were moving on. I mean, when I saw you and Jack at the wedding, I thought—”
“Nothing happened between me and Jack!” The phrase came out louder than anticipated and Holly rubbed a hand over her face.
The echoing silence was as obvious as if Ivy outright said the words, “Yeah, right.”
Maybe she was protesting a bit too much but every time Jack’s name was mentioned—and it seemed like it was mentioned daily in her family—it was almost always followed by some comment about how great they looked together or what a wonderful couple they’d make. Jack was exactly the type of guy she’d have gone for in the past but now that she’d turned over a new leaf? Never gonna happen.
Benjamin on the other hand….
“We would make the perfect couple,” Holly said.
“You and Jack?” Ivy asked. She honestly sounded confused.
Holly gripped the phone tighter. Why was everyone so obsessed with that man? “No, keep up. Me and Benjamin.”