A faint pink flush crept onto her cheeks, but she nodded. “Like a baby that’s now fully grown. You?”
“Same.” I inclined my head toward the breakfast buffet. “Are you hungry, or have you already eaten?”
“I’ve already eaten,” she said. “I’ve been up for a few hours, so I was down for breakfast early. I don’t mind sitting with you if you still need to eat, though.”
“Nah.” I waved a hand. “I had something earlier in my room. Are you ready to go, then?”
She dragged in a deep breath, but then her smile widened as she motioned toward the door. “I’m ready. I know we’ve got a big day ahead of us, but I can’t wait to get out there anyway. Even if we only see the sights while we go from one engagement to the next.”
“We’ll make some time to look around,” I promised, falling into step beside her when she started for the door. “Have you had a chance to look over our schedule for the day?”
“Yep. We have a brunch with some of the French investors in the new perfume line, which makes me wonder why you offered to have breakfast with me if we’re on our way to brunch.” She glanced up at me with laughter in her eyes, her tone teasing. “Are we not supposed to eat at brunch?”
I scoffed at her, hiding a grin as I opened the door and gestured for her to precede me. “Of course, we’re eating at brunch. I just wanted to check that you weren’t ravenous since we never quite made it to eating dinner last night either. I wasn’t going to make you wait until brunch if your insides were about to start eating themselves.”
“Good save.” She laughed, looking up and down the street with longing in her eyes before she climbed into the car waiting for us. “So, okay. We’re starting the day with this brunch. Then we have a photo shoot in the afternoon and a rooftop dinner campaign event, right?”
“Right,” I said. “The investors are owners of big companies in the industry, so get ready to charm the pants off of them.”
“Gee, thanks. That really helps my nerves,” she joked as she settled into the backseat of the car.
I slid in beside her, then gave her a look as I took her hand and squeezed it. “You have nothing to be nervous about. I know these people, and they’re all very excited to meet you. They know all about the fragrance and the campaign, so this is more of a meet and greet than a meeting.”
“A meet and greet where I have to charm the pants off of them,” she said, scooting closer to the window as soon as the car started. “Do you think they’d be offended if I try speaking French to them?”
“You speak French?” My brows shot up.
She gave me a grin over her shoulder but quickly turned back to the window. “I’m not even close to fluent, but I’ve taken some classes and I learned a bit while doing my culinary courses.”
“I definitely don’t think they’ll be offended,” I said. “In fact, I think you might be well on your way to charming the pants off them just for trying to speak it.”
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, she nodded and spent the rest of the short drive craning her neck to see as much as she could from the back of the car and snapping some pictures with her phone whenever we stopped.
When we got to the restaurant where we were having brunch, most of the investors had already arrived. We’d been placed in a private room overlooking the street through a wall of windows, and Leah immediately snagged one of the seats with a view after I made the introductions.
Pierre, a man about Jefferson’s age with red cheeks and white hair, smiled as he sat down across from her. “Is this your first visit to Paris, ma chérie?”
“Yes, it is,” she said honestly. “I’m afraid we haven’t gotten to see much of the city yet, but I can’t wait to explore a little. It’s so much more beautiful here than even pictures make it seem.”
He chuckled. “If you think Paris is beautiful, you should see the countryside. Have you got any plans to travel while you’re here?”
I had taken a seat beside her, but I didn’t answer for her. She had our itinerary, so she knew what our plans were, but if she needed me, I was ready