Free Midnight in Montmartre: A French Kiss Sweet Romance by Chloe Emile Page B

twos."
    "What's her name?" Mia asked.
    "Lorraine. She sleeps early, so I better get going if I want to see her. You guys have fun. There's a nice cocktail bar down the street."
    "I know the one," Luc said.
    "Great. I'll take the limo first. Just call the driver when you're ready and he'll come back for you later on."
    " Bonne soirée ," Mia said. “ À demain .”
    "Learning a thing or two from those French classes?" Luc teased Mia as Didier got into the car.
    "I'll teach you a thing or two," Mia teased back.
    When the limo turned the corner, they were alone on the sidewalk. The sun was starting to set, casting a warm glow over them. Luc had the desire to take Mia into his arms and kiss her. Of course he restrained himself. He wasn't sure how Mia would feel about the impromptu gesture.
    She was still wobbling a little as they walked to the bar. He didn't know how women could walk in high heels. It must be a challenge. He put his arm around her shoulders to help her balance. At least that wasn't weird. Her skin was soft, but she was starting to get goose bumps as the temperature dropped in the evening.
    He took off his suit jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
    "Thanks." She smiled up at him. The sun shone behind her like a glowing golden aura.
    They went into Pêche 22, a cocktail bar with more than a hundred different kinds of cocktails on the menu.
    A waiter showed them to their seats at a round table with a gold stencil of a lace pattern on the surface. The bar was dim, more romantic than Luc remembered. There were couples holding hands all over the place.
    It wasn't a bad thing. The waiter came by with a lit candle and placed it in the center of the table.
    "Certainly sets the mood," Luc remarked to Mia. Then he wished he hadn't. It was an awkward thing to say. He suddenly felt like his old, gawky teenage self, at a loss for words with a girl he liked.
    Mia didn't seem to notice any awkwardness between them. She looked through the expansive list of cocktails and exhaled in amazement. "The options are endless. You've got the Bloody Mary, the Bloody Maurice, the Bloody Henry—everybody in this family is bloody."
    Luc chuckled. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm actually going to have some wine."
    "That sounds good, as long as the only choice is between red and white."
    "Red," Luc and Mia said at the same time, then laughed together.
    "I'll tell the waiter," Luc said.
    At Luc's request, their waiter, a serious young man with gaunt cheeks and dark eyebrows meeting at a thin point in the middle, came back and poured them the most expensive bottle of red on the menu. Mia deserved it, although since she still didn't speak French all that well, she didn't know how much the bottle cost.
    Mia took a sip first.
    "What do you think?" Luc asked.
    Mia shrugged. "It's good. I mean, it tastes like wine. Why? Are you a wine connoisseur?"
    "I wouldn't say that."
    "You'd seem the type to know a lot about wine, and you'd be disappointed to know that I don't know anything about it."
    "Well, wine is ultimately grape juice," Luc said, amused. "Have you ever been to a wine tasting?"
    "No, have you?"
    "Yes. It's pretty funny. Everybody's smelling and swirling, and spitting—”
    "Spitting?"
    "Oh yeah. Into a little bucket. It's so that they don't get too drunk."
    She shook her head. "But that's the whole point of drinking wine."
    Luc laughed. He found Mia to be utterly unpretentious and refreshing. He raised his glass.
    "You said it. Let's toast to a successful campaign."
    "Congratulations," Mia said, "for landing the contract. Were you nervous, too?"
    "I was. Those board members are a hard bunch to please."
    "Yes, it was intimidating. Everyone's so fancy. I thought I was visiting the queen."
    "Yeah, well, most of them grew up wealthy," Luc said. "Beth does come from an aristocratic family. The Montaignes even have a family crest."
    "A family crest?" Mia said incredulously. "And here I am, a girl from Seattle who doesn't even know