Jack couldn’t take it anymore. “Who’s the guy?”
All eyes turned to him and he cleared his throat a bit. Perhaps that had come out a tad more…intense than he’d intended.
He tried again. “I mean, why is she chasing after this guy?” Leaning back in his chair he tried to project calm indifference but he didn’t miss the odd looks he got from the others at the table.
“Benjamin,” Ivy said his name on an exasperated sigh.
“Who’s Benjamin?” Now it was Daniel’s turn to sound a touch too angry, but it didn’t seem to strike anyone as odd coming from the overprotective brother-in-law.
“Is she in trouble?” Brunelli asked. The old man’s wrinkled brow was creased more than usual in concern.
“No, not really,” Ivy said.
Jack let out a pent up breath.
“She just wants to marry him.”
Jack froze. “What?” Luckily his not-so-manly screech was drowned out by similar outburst from everyone at the table. “So are you telling us that Holly has a boyfriend?” His voice sounded strange to his own ears. Oh God, he sounded like a jealous lover.
Daniel and Brunelli both turned to him with a glare and Brunelli gave a short nod toward the magazine, which was currently jutting out from beneath Jack’s behind.
Lucia answered this one, a hint of a smile hovering on her lips. “Had a boyfriend. He’s the one that got away.” She reached over to grab a grape from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table. “I think it’s romantic that she’s going after him.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “Benjamin is sweet and all, but….”
But? Jack waited for her to continue but she just shook her head and sighed. But what? Was he a bad influence on her? Was he a player? Would he break her heart?
“It doesn’t matter why she followed him, the problem is, Holly followed him to the wrong Paris.”
Daniel frowned at her in concern. “Have you gotten too much sun today, sweetheart?” He reached over to place a hand on her forehead to check for a fever but she swatted him away.
“Holly is in Paris, France,” she stressed again, “and Benjamin is in Paris, Texas.”
There was a quiet beat as everyone digested the fact that Texas had a Paris of its own.
Lucia’s eyes widened in horror. “So Holly is alone in France and Benjamin is—”
“At an IT convention in the lone star state,” Ivy finished. “Yeah, that sums it up.”
“Can’t we call her?” Daniel asked.
Ivy shook her head. “Her phone is off since she’s out of country. She won’t check in again for days, maybe a week. And she’s terrible at checking email.”
“Do you know where she’s staying?” Brunelli asked.
“No, she didn’t say. But calling would do no good. She always uses different names when she travels.”
Jack and the others looked at one another in confusion and Ivy added, “You know, like celebrities use?” At their silence she mumbled, “You guys don’t know Holly very well, do you?”
Jack opened his mouth to protest but stopped himself. Of course he didn’t know her well, they’d only spent one night together. One incredible night—but still.
Daniel reached over to grab his wife’s hand. “Don’t worry, honey, I’ll go to Paris and make sure your sister is safe.” Ivy gave him a grateful smile.
Jack’s heart was pounding faster than usual and he was suddenly sweltering despite the air conditioning. Holly was close. Well, closer than the States, at least. She was on the continent, just a short plane ride away. The words were out of his mouth before he could think it through. “No, I’ll go.”
* * * *
Everyone turned to Jack in surprise and he shifted uncomfortably under their stares. “What? We all know Ivy could go into labor at any moment and nobody wants her or Danny stressing out about him not making it back in time.”
Ivy and Daniel shared a look that said he was right.
“Are you sure?” Ivy asked.
“Of course. I’ve been meaning to take a trip to Paris to visit my brother and his wife.” That was an outright lie but it sounded good and made his sudden eagerness to head to France slightly less bizarre.
So he was excited to see her. He could admit it to himself. He liked her. There. He admitted it. They didn’t have a future together, obviously, and there was a good possibility that she hated him right now but still, he liked her. He wanted them to be friends.
They would be in one another’s lives forever thanks to Ivy and Daniel and the new little baby on the way. He might as well get this apology over with and start making amends.
Ivy seemed happy with this new solution but Daniel was eyeing him. Jack could practically see the gears turning. When Ivy and Lucia left, happy in the knowledge that Holly would be found and not be left wandering the streets of Paris, France, for eternity, he was left alone once again with Daniel and Brunelli.
“What’s this all about?” Brunelli asked.
“Don’t tell me you suddenly developed an urge to eat croissants,” Daniel said.
“I told you, my brother moved there with his wife and—”
“Since when are you and your brother on speaking terms?” Daniel asked.
Jack grabbed some fruit and ignored the comment, focusing instead on juggling the apples and orange he held in his hands. “What’s your solution?” he asked. “You don’t want to leave Ivy. Are you really going to ask Grandpa here to go on this wild goose chase? No offense, Brunelli.”
The old man shrugged off his apology, “It’s true, I’m old.”
Daniel was still watching him with narrowed eyes. “Does your sudden desire to go to France have anything to do with this?” He pulled the magazine out from underneath Jack and held it up accusingly.
“I told you, nothing happened.” Jack snatched the magazine out of his hand. “Nothing of significance, anyway.” Unless you found amazingly perfect moments significant. In which case, maybe he’d lied.
“Look, I don’t know how she feels about me right now or about the picture, but I do know that I owe her an apology—” He held up a hand to stop the question that was coming. “I want to make things right. For Ivy’s sake and for Holly’s. I don’t want things to be weird between us.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair, apparently accepting Jack’s explanation.
Ivy came back into the room and handed Jack a sheet of paper. “I don’t know if this will help but here are the names of some hostels where she might be staying. I know she likes this neighborhood.”
“Hostels?” Brunelli spit out the word with distaste. “Holly can’t stay at a place like that, I refuse to allow it. Jack, you will bring her to my pied-a-terre. No friend of mine will stay with…backpackers.” The word backpackers sounded like a curse word coming from Brunelli.
“Sure thing, boss,” Jack said, as Brunelli continued to grumble about filthy backpackers. He looked over the list of hostels. They were all in Montmartre, a well-known tourist destination.
“So Holly has been to Paris before,” Jack said, taking the paper from her. “That’s good.” Ivy gave him a funny look and he added, “At least she won’t be intimidated by the big city.”
That made Ivy laugh. “Trust