She mulled it over before nodding. “You’re right. I think I will appreciate being able to talk to someone who really knows all the ins and outs and who can give me the bad with the good.”
“So you’ll be willing to speak to them?” Hope flared in my chest. I really thought I hadn’t done a great job of convincing her to give it a try, but if she was willing to talk to an agent, maybe she was starting to come around after all.
I glanced at her as I pulled into our next parking spot. She nodded again. “There’s no harm in having a chat with someone, right?”
“Right.” As I released the gearshift, I wrapped my hand around hers and brought it to my lips, brushing a kiss over her knuckles as I smiled. “Obviously, I can answer your questions, too. If there’s anything you forget to ask or that you’d rather talk to me about than a stranger, then I’m here. This is just precursory.”
She let out a soft breath. Then she kissed the back of my hand and reached for the door handle. “Let’s do it, then. Thanks for this, by the way. It’s very thoughtful of you.”
More like selfish, but okay.We’d get to that part later. Taking her hand again after we climbed out of the car, I led her into the agency and approached the consultant. She gave us a big smile, motioning us toward the seats across from her desk.
“Hey there, folks. What can I help you with today?”
“We’d like to see some material on Paris, please,” I said to her before turning to Emma. “That’s my first stop on my trip to Europe this summer, so it’s a good place to start.”
The consultant grinned and nodded, getting up to collect some brochures from a stand near her desk. She came back and settled in her chair again, then placed the brochures down in front of Emma and proceeded to explain things to her as she leafed through them.
“Let’s start with the flights,” she said. “Since Paris is the capital city of France, there are plenty of options to choose from for flights between here and there. One can choose to fly direct or to have stopovers depending on your budget and the time you have available.”
“We’ll be flying direct,” I said. “I have to go for work, and I’m already running about a week late, so time will be of the essence once we finally leave.”
“I understand,” she replied.
Emma glanced at me with questions in her eyes, but she didn’t ask them.
Sliding the brochures of flights off the stack, the agent drew Emma’s attention to some of the sights to be seen. “Obviously, there’s the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees, but Paris has a lot of other, less well-known options to explore. The big sights, including Notre Dame, can be seen in a day or two at most, so if you’ll be staying longer, there are so many other places to add to your list.”
“We can walk along the cobblestone streets of Rue Cremieux and visit the catacombs, for instance,” I said.
The agent seemed surprised but then nodded and continued enthusiastically. “If you’re interested in the more secret spots, I have a wonderful brochure over here that sets a few of the places out for you.”
She pushed it over to us. “You can also go to the Sinking House and see the flame of liberty. Then there’s the vineyards of Montmartre or you can ride the curious Dodo Manege. As I’m sure you know, Paris is also the city of love. Aside from the typical tourist attractions, they’ve got plenty of restaurants and activities that are specifically aimed at romance and couples.”
After discussing different activities with her, and Emma asking a few questions, she smiled at the consultant and pushed her chair back. “Thank you so much for your help. We’ll be in touch.”
“Anytime,” she replied, walking us to the door.
Emma turned to face me as she buckled up, but before she could say anything, I beat her to the punch. “Can I take you to dinner? We need to talk, and I’d rather do it over a meal and a good bottle of wine.”
“There’s a great bistro on Fifth Street that makes an incredible risotto. I know it’s an Italian dish and not a French one, but it’s close enough.”
“Sure is,” I said, glancing at her as I drove us out of the parking lot and to the place she’d suggested. “Italy is on our list for the summer, too. We need some food before I make my pitch, though.”
“Your pitch, huh?” She chuckled, but the sound wasn’t as light and carefree as it usually was. Leaving it be for now, she directed me to the bistro, and since we were early for the dinner rush, we found a parking spot and a table without any problems.
Then again, is parking or space at the restaurant ever an issue in Rockdale?I suspected that it wasn’t, but I didn’t bring it up because it wasn’t exactly a point that counted for any other place on the planet.
Once we were seated in the small but cozy dining room and placed our orders, the waiter filled up our glasses with wine and then Emma folded her hands on the table and looked at me across from her. “Okay, I’m all ears for this pitch of yours.”
“It’s simple, really,” I said, picking up my glass and taking a big sip of my wine. “Come to Europe with me for the rest of the summer. School is out, so you don’t have any work-related excuses. We can give things between us a try in the real world, see where it goes, and if it works, we can figure out the long-term logistics from there.”
She stared back at me wordlessly for a minute, just blinking those bright blue eyes like she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. I gave her time to process my offer, knowing that it wasn’t exactly something small.
“What would we tell Teddy?” she whispered once her eyes came back into focus.
“Since I sent Teddy on a long honeymoon, she won’t notice that you’re gone. If things go well between us, we can meet up with her and Scott in Europe and tell them then.”
Once again falling silent, she drained almost half her glass in one long gulp before she finally looked back at me. “Okay, Colt. I’ll come to Paris with you. We’ll talk about the rest of your stops once we know if there’s any point in even discussing them.”