And definitely made her speechless. She hated being French. Hated being Collette’s daughter. Hated being Collette’s secret. And hated that she loved that he used French to strengthen her heart’s hold on him.
She laughed lightly. “I guess it is.”
“C’est la vie,” he breathed out, bringing her lips closer to his.
That’s life.
“You know.” She gazed down at his lips and then at his eyes. “The French don’t really use that expression. It’s more famous with the English—”
“Those bastards!”
A kiss between them was about a movement away until she ruined it with a heavy laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, confused.
Stephanie felt him attempt to pull back. Sensing that she had hurt his pride, she sat on his lap—her hands never leaving his face.
“The English, as in people from England, didn’t popularise that phrase. The English language did,” she explained.
Julian unexpectedly sighed. “I wish I had some grapes and a pear right now.”
Stevie threw her arms around his neck and pulled back slightly to squint at him. “Why?”
“Because I think we make a grape pear, Blondie.” His lips curved upwards, disarming her with an honest and ever so beautiful smile.
She didn’t want to smile. She pleaded with her mouth not to do so. But it had. It wasn’t a small one either. It was a large grin that included some teeth showing, and no doubt, her eyes showcased what that one sentence did to her.
Dammit, eyes tell no lies.
“You’re so up yourself. I tell you that we make a great pair with my fruit puns and you get all swooned,” Julian teased and then kissed the tip of her nose.
She wiggled in his lap and then frowned at him. “I did not swoon.”
“You swooned all over my fruit puns. You’re practically a puddle.”
“I am not!” she retorted.
Julian placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “Admit it; we make a grape pear, Stephanie.”
Slowly, she untangled her arms from around his neck and cradled his face. At that moment, walls hadn’t just tumbled; they had all but been obliterated by him. Fine dust had settled around her heart before his next kiss blew them away. No more walls. Her heart had decided it was time to live freely.
Stevie nodded. “I think we do.”
His brow shot upwards. “Think or know?”
Bringing his forehead to her lips, she kissed him innocently and intimately. “I know we do.”
“We’re going to be all right, Stephanie,” he admitted and then wrapped his arms around her.
“I know, Julian. I know,” she agreed.
“The magic hasn’t disappeared.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering Thailand and when he had pleaded for their connection to never dissipate. Then she rested her forehead against his and whispered, “It never will.”
“Stop stressing, James. The kids are going to be fine,” Louise, Noel’s mother, said to Clara’s father.
Stevie watched James Lawrence sigh and take a long pull from his Guinness. It had been half an hour since Noel and Clara’s family had arrived. And almost forty-five minutes since the couple had checked in.
“I’m getting worried,” Mr Lawrence pointed out. “They have to be at the gate in forty minutes, and they’re still over at the café talking.”
Stevie nodded along to the conversation but hadn’t added her input. Whatever Liam had said to Clara had affected her and her husband. But Stevie knew how much Clara loved Noel. This was just one of many speed bumps along the way.
The light squeeze of her hand under the table had her tilting her chin in her palm. Julian offered her a tight smile that she mirrored. She loved the way his thumb brushed against the back of her hand. It only made her want to wrap herself around him further. But this was a secret. And this they were to lie about. But she would try this. When the dust from her destroyed walls had fallen, she had decided to ignore the past. She was adamant that she’d never tell Julian. But whether they had something worthy of forever, she had to protect him. She’d let him know the girl behind the mockingbird. But Stevie would make sure he would never know about that part of her.
“You’re frowning,” he whispered after he had inched closer to her.
“Our best friends are supposed to be happy, but they look miserable. I’m actually worried,” Stevie explained.
He let go of her hand as he rose up from his chair. “Extended family, Stephanie and I are going to go speak to your children before we have to get back to work. Please give Granny