Chapter 27
ASHA
I blush and move to the seat next to him when the table closest to us starts cheering at the spectacle.
“You need to eat. You’re recovering,” Callum says.
I take a bite to appease him. A cold croque monsieur is still an excellent meal, and I look around while eating.
“Oh, I think Thomas and Kevin are trying to order some more wine.” I start to get up when Callum stops me with a hand on my arm.
“Eat first. They’ll be fine in the amount of time it takes to finish your meal. Especially since you’re eating it at such as alarming rate.”
“But we’re working.”
“And you can keep working after you eat.”
“You are bullying me with your consideration!” Which I didn’t even think was possible.
But I take a bite. “Why are you so concerned about my food intake?” I ask that with a full mouth because I can multitask.
And if he’s going to make a big deal about me eating, then he’s going to have to deal with whatever happens as a result.
“Because if you get sick again, I’ll have to take your eighteen to thirties all by myself. Plus, I think every European country we’re visiting has labor laws that give us at least a mealtime. They’re very strict about that sort of thing over here.”
“We had tea and pastries earlier. That was a meal.”
“There are laws that give us multiple meals throughout the day.”
“You fancy Europeans.”
“America needs more unions if three mealtimes and a teatime is a luxury beyond belief.”
“I won’t argue with that.” I cheers him with my sandwich, and then realize that he’s already eaten his and is halfway through his dessert crepe so he can’t reciprocate. Dang, I need to eat.
I start shoveling food in my mouth, getting hungry now that I’ve sat down and started eating.
Really hungry, actually. I was so busy I wasn’t thinking about my stomach.
But now that I’ve started eating, my stomach is waking up and demanding more food.
Especially after not having much of an appetite when I was sick.
“I’ll order you another sandwich.” Callum looks around to get our waiter’s attention.
“No, it’s okay. This is enough. Especially once I eat my crepe.” Nutella and banana. Heaven.
“All right. But if you’re still hungry, we can get you some more food.” Callum stops trying to find a waiter but is still watching over me like a hawk.
“You’re putting a lot of pressure on me right now. Can you look away? We’re in Paris; there’s plenty to see that’s not me.” I wave my last bite of sandwich to the city street, but Callum doesn’t take the bait.
“I’ve seen the city a time or two.” He’s still laser-focused on me.
I bury my face in crepe, moving on to dessert because that’s easier to deal with than Callum. “You can never see Paris too many times. So look some more. Over there.” Surprisingly, he complies. Not so surprisingly, with a roll of his eyes.
I finish eating and everyone else is done too, so I stand to get everyone’s attention.
It has the downside of also directing Callum’s attention back to me when I had just succeeded in getting him to look at not me.
But Haussmann’s urban planning apparently can’t hold his attention now that I’m talking.
“I hope everyone had a great meal.” I pause for the incomprehensible happy cheers, made a lot louder and more incomprehensible by all the free wine they’ve been drinking. Very cheap wine, but in large quantities, it does not matter.
“Good. Laura is bringing the bus around to go back to the hotel. Anyone who wants to go out can grab the metro a block away and head to the Pigalle or Montmartre areas, or wherever you’d like.
I hope everyone has fun, but please be ready to leave tomorrow morning at eight a.m. because we have a long travel day ahead of us.
And we can take souvenirs back for anyone who wants to go out without them and you can pick them up at the front desk. ”
“Are you going to go out with us?” Emilio asks.
“Sure, we can. For a bit.” I choose to interpret the “you” to mean “you two” and include Callum.
It’ll be good for him. And spending time in a bar in Paris is not exactly a hardship.
“But we’ll probably stick close to the hotel, so if you want a more exciting Parisian night out I suggest referring to Callum’s lists, or I can give some recommendations.
But if you want a more relaxed night, you can come with us to a bar by the hotel.
It’s pretty, if you’re into architecture, but not as lively. ”
Callum settles the bill while I lead what’s left of our baby ducks across the busy streets to the bus.
When he gets on the bus, he sits down next to me instead of his seat across the aisle. I hide a smile. We’ve sat together for work and because I chose to sit next to him, but it’s nice to know that he wants to be near me as much as I want to be next to him.
Even though one of us is going to take the other’s job.
As chilling as that thought should be, it can’t completely push away the warmth that Callum causes just by being near. Because even though one of us is going to be back on the job hunt while the other gets to continue being employed, I can’t stop wanting to spend time with him.
Even knowing one of us will probably feel worse if we do get physical, his magnetic presence is too hard to stay away from. He’s entertaining, even when he doesn’t mean to be. And surprisingly sweet.
“So we’re going out, then?” Callum asks, his eyebrow lifted.
“Are you going to abandon the babies in a country where they don’t even speak the language?”
“In a second.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why I expected you to say anything else. Heard it as I was asking the question but for some reason still kept going. Are you still going to come, manipulation aside?”
He sighs, but says, “Yes.”
“Cool.” I try a bit of Callum’s understatement, but I’m smiling cheek to cheek as I say it, so I don’t think I’m pulling it off.
And the knowing look in his eyes is confirmation that I’m not pulling it off. Ah well, subterfuge was never my strong suit.
“For work. Since I need to be more accommodating to the tourists,” Callum says sternly.
See, he is much better at understatement.
He’s looking me right in the eye as he says it, no hint of a laugh or any tells.
So it would work if that was all the evidence I had to go on.
But he kissed me, chose to sit down next to me, brought me a souvenir when I was sick, spied on a date for me, and cares if I eat.
So even though I’m not usually confident in men being attracted to me, this time I’m going to say that he wants to go out for more than a commitment to his job.
“But not for long, because we have a travel day tomorrow and you’re still recovering,” Callum says.
“Aye, aye, Captain Responsible.”
“Someone has to be.”
If this were a week ago and Callum hadn’t done all those things I just thought about, I would be offended by that. But now I know the grumpy Irishman is a front! For a slightly less grumpy Irishman.
The truth is out!
“Excellent. I’ve always wanted to go to bars with my grandpa. Are you going to make sure I’m wearing a jacket, drinking enough water, and have enough Werther’s hard candies?”
“I’m not your grandad.” His eyes are hot and focused when he says that, slightly narrowed to focus even more of that affronted energy directly toward me.
I gulp. Well, no. There are a lot of differences between him and my grandpa.
Laura saves me from my own thoughts by stopping the bus in front of the hotel. I don’t know if she and Paris are conspiring to make things a little less awkward with Callum, but I appreciate it, either way.
Stepping out of the bus helps calm me down even more, since the Parisian night is nice and cool.
“We’re at the hotel for those who want to call it a night, and the bar is this way for those who want to stay out a little longer!” My voice cracks, and I have to clear my throat and take two tries to get the words out. I don’t look back to see how Callum reacts to that.
While people are deciding, Callum and I unload souvenir bags to leave at the front desk for those who are already out.
Task done, we start the short walk to the bar.
A few blocks later, I’m ushering the small crowd into an Art Nouveau bar with its characteristic design of long, curving lines and arches, with painted images of women in diaphanous dresses, arms full of plants surrounded by golden columns and other delicate designs.
The space is covered by a green painted ceiling, and there’s a giant stained-glass mosaic behind the bar which must be artificially lit from behind at this time of night.
It’s quiet, despite how gorgeous it is. It’s usually busier during its daytime hours when it’s a café and quieter at night because of its location away from most of the nightlife. But it’s close to the hotel and I personally love the décor, so this is where I always end up.
Plus, I can use the quiet at this point in the trip.
The group shuffles in, taking in my favorite bar in Paris.
“Let me know if you need help ordering.” The words are helpful, but Callum’s tone suggests that he would bite off anyone’s head if they actually dared to ask for his assistance.
But I’m still surprised that he made the suggestion without me prompting him. Progress.
“I can also help with ordering, although my French isn’t as good as Callum’s, or give advice on what to drink.” I smile at the crowd as they move to the bar, grabbing a seat at a table with Callum until they get drinks.
“Look at you! And it wasn’t even painful, was it?” I nudge Callum’s arm with my own.
“Fair play, the offer wasn’t that bad. But making the offer is never that bad. It’s when they all descend upon me with inane questions, then I can’t cope.”
“They’re not that bad. And they ask less questions over time as they get more confidence traveling.” I look out over the group that followed us. “I’m surprised Thomas and Kevin chose to come with us. I would have thought they would find a more stimulating night out.”
Callum snorts. “They were off their bloody tits the first night in Paris, even at the beginning of the night tour, and barely made it through without puking. I don’t think their livers care for them to have another night like that.”
“But they did make it through the walking tour.”
“There’s the Wee Sunshine.”
“There’s the Wee Rain Cloud.”
“We’re making that a thing, then?”
“Most definitely.”
Little does he know, I love the rain.