Free French Twist by Glynis Astie Page A

head up and slowly began to smile as a thought occurred to me.  He has beautiful blue eyes….and his name is pronounced “Louie.”  Perfect!  “Bluey” will now be my term of endearment for him.  I’m brilliant!
    I tried to turn my attention back to my work, but my mind was swirling with thoughts of last night.  When I woke up this morning, I called Kate to tell her Louis was staying in the country.  She was so excited she started squealing with delight.  At that point, Nick took the phone and asked me to wait until his alarm went off next time before driving his wife into such a frenzy.  I scanned the clock and saw it was only six in the morning.  Oops.  I apologized to Nick, who merely grunted and gave the phone back to Kate.
    Once I had her back on the phone, I began my freak-out.
    “What’s wrong with me, Kate?  I should be thrilled, but I can’t stop the crazy in my head.  I feel sick to my stomach.”
    “Sweetie!  This is great news.  What are you worried about?”
    “Before I wasn’t worried because it was temporary.  I knew it was going to end soon.  Now it’s REAL.  He isn’t going anywhere - at least for a while - and he could break my heart.”
    “He could also be the love of your life.  Why do you always see the downside of any situation?”
    “Look at what’s happened in my life so far.  Every time I take a risk, it ends badly.  How am I supposed to know it’ll be different this time?”
    Kate sighed.  “You don’t.  You just have to try.  You’ll never get anything worth having if you don’t take a risk.”
    “That’s easy for you to say.  You met Nick when you were a teenager.  I keep floundering around with men who cause me pain. I’m tired of it!”
    “Syd, slow down.  Take a breath.”  She paused.  “Did you do it?”
    “Yes.” I rolled my eyes at her. It was satisfying even though she couldn’t see me.
    “Now take another one.”
    I exhaled slowly.  “OK. Now what?”
    “Tell me how you feel about Louis.”
    “Um, he makes me happy.”
    “Good.  What else?”
    “He’s funny, intelligent, sexy…he’s wonderful.”
    “So what are you afraid of?”
    I took a shaky breath.  “That it isn’t real.  That it won’t last.  That I’ll get hurt.  Again.”
    “Has he ever given you a reason to not trust him?”
    “Kate, I’ve only known him for a week.”
    “True, but I’ve never seen you fall for a man this hard, this fast.  AND he’s picking up his entire life and moving it for you .”
    “Come on, Kate.  He isn’t moving for me.”
    “Really?”  Kate scoffed.  “Didn’t you say he told you he’d been asked several times to move to California?”
    “Yes, but...”
    “Didn’t he tell you he finally agreed because of you?”
    “Yes, but...”
    “No, buts!!!  Have a little faith in the guy.  He’s obviously very into you.  Stop thinking so much and enjoy being with him.  I know a few women who would gladly trade places with you.”
    I sighed.  “I know you’re right; I just don’t know how to turn my brain off.”
    “One step at a time, little sister.  Focus only on the day ahead of you.  STOP thinking five years down the road!”
    “OK, OK.  I get it!”
    “Good!  It takes a lot to get through to you.  Am I going to have to do this on a daily basis?  Because I don’t think Nick can take it.”  She started to laugh.
    “So glad to amuse you this early in the morning.”  I smirked. “I love you, goofball.”
    “I should be saying that to you, nut job!”
    We both collapsed into giggles.
    “Thanks for always making me feel better, Kate.”
    “I’d do anything for you, Syd.  You know that.”
    I heard a beeping in my ear.  “I have to run, Kate.  I’m getting another call.  I’ll talk to you later.”
    “Say hi to Louis for me...”
    I hung up on Kate and picked up the other call. “Hello?”
    “Good morning, sunshine!”  Maya?  She was decidedly not a morning person.  Something