Free Foreign Affair by Shelli Stevens

counter.
    “Check in?”
    “Yes, check in,” he repeated with obvious patience. “Where are you flying to?”
    She paused and then gave a slow shake of her head. “No where, at the moment.”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “No. I’m sorry.” She turned on her heel and ran through the airport.
    Her legs pumped hard, and her breath came out ragged. She caught him just as he was climbing into a taxi.
    “Tyler!”
    He paused and glanced around, a frown marring his face.
    “Tyler,” she screamed again, running toward him.
    He caught her just before she slammed into him like a tornado and held her a couple inches away.
    “Lena?” His eyes narrowed with concern and another emotion she couldn’t name. “Is something wrong, what happened?”
    “I…I need to ask you something.” She struggled to get a breath in, still winded from the run.
    “What? What do you need to ask me?” He glanced over her shoulder into the airport. “Lena, you’re going to miss your plane. What are you thinking?”
    “I’m not. I’m not thinking at all.” She gave an uneven laugh as she looked up into his eyes. “I’m going to Paris, and I want you to come with me.”

Chapter Six
    Tyler’s grip on her elbows tightened. “You didn’t get on your plane?”
    “No, I didn’t.”
    “Lena, you just missed your plane home.”
    “Deliberately missed it,” she emphasized. “Look, I’m not going home right now. That’s why I didn’t get on that flight. Did you hear the question I asked you?”
    “Yes, I did.” He turned to the taxi driver and waved him on to another waiting customer.
    “And?” Trying to think about how nuts she had to be right now, she waited, her breath locked in her chest.
    “Lena, it’s an amazing offer.” He hesitated. “I would love to go to Paris—especially with you. But I’m scheduled to be back at work in a couple days. Back at work in New York.”
    “Oh. Right. I-I didn’t even think of that. I’m such an idiot.”
    Turning away from him, she walked over to a bench by the windows and sat down, pressing her trembling fingers against her knees.
    “You’re not an idiot.” He came and sat beside her. “The timing is just a little off.”
    “Of course.” She shook her head. Try and salvage a little pride here, girl. “I know it was a real last-minute decision. Completely spontaneous.”
    “I think it’s great. Spontaneity makes life more exciting.” His words seemed to be a poor attempt to comfort her.
    “Okay. But I still come out looking like a moron.” So much for pride .
    “You’re not a moron. So, what are you going to do now?”
    “What am I going to do?” Lena frowned. “Well, I’m going to go to Paris, of course.”
    “Alone?” His eyebrows shot up.
    “Well, you can’t come with me, and unless I happen to meet another hot guy that I want to take to Paris… Then I guess it’s just me.”
    He made a quiet harrumph, not looking thrilled. “Don’t pick up a strange guy. You might get into trouble.”
    “Hey, you were a strange guy.”
    “Point taken, but still, I don’t like that visual of you picking up a stranger. Have you got a place to stay?”
    “I do. Stephanie rented an apartment in the city, and she’s given me free use of it for the next week and a half.” Here tone lightened. With or without Tyler, she still planned on going to Paris. “You know what? This is going to be wonderful.”
    “I’m jealous.”
    “And you should be. You need a real vacation where you don’t have to work all the time.”
    “Yeah, that’ll be the day,” he admitted and thrust a hand through his hair. “Well, Lena, have a good time in Paris. Maybe I’ll see you around some time.”
    No, he wouldn’t. And they both knew it. She sighed and gave him another searching look.
    “Hey. I, umm, hope I didn’t just make things weird with this whole running after you bit.”
    Tyler laughed and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “No, you didn’t make anything weird. You made