“Well, I was on the phone with the head office right before coming here. They said not only can you have Garrett as your cameraman since he already lives in France…”
“Oh thank God,” I mumble, but apparently not quiet enough to not cut into what Lydia is saying. “I mean, yay,” I add when they all turn to me.
Garrett just laughs. He knows perfectly well why I’m excited Sophia has been paired with him. It’s the same reason Marc was excited to hear he had an all-female crew.
“Anyway,” Lydia says with a side glance at me. “They’re giving you a full month off so you can hunt for a home.”
Soph looks over at me, her brilliant smile mirroring mine.
“Ahh, crap,” I say, pulling a look of mock frustration over my face. “I’m going to have to learn French, aren’t I? Baby, you know I can barely speak English.”
With a laugh, Sophia shoves at my shoulder, knowing I’m teasing her.
“If you’re nice, I’ll lend you Marc. He’s a marvelous teacher, he’ll have you parler français in no time. I’ll also introduce you to a great estate agent if you’d like,” Garrett said with a wink.
“Parfait. Merci,” I respond.
So I lied a little to get a laugh from Sophia. I discovered in high school that I pick up languages relatively quickly. It won’t hurt though to brush up with Marc anyway.
The rest of the evening, we relax as plans are made to return to our homes or what will be ours soon. Starting tomorrow, we have one month to find somewhere to live before Sophia has to meet the new production staff in Paris.
* * *
Our month is quickly drawing to an end. We’ve looked at houses all over the French countryside with no luck. It didn’t take us long to decide that we didn’t want to live in Paris. Between the cost and pace, we both agreed we would like somewhere quieter. It’s still important, however, that Sophia can reach it easily by train when she needs to work from her office.
Staying in Garrett and Marc’s guest room while hunting, our French has improved greatly. Especially since Marc insists we only speak French when we’re all together.
The house we’re being shown today is an old farmhouse that will need some work. Actually, saying it’s a fixer-upper might be a bit of an understatement. It’s going to require a lot of hard work and skills I don’t have.
Our estate agent keeps reassuring us that she has a list of contractors that would help me turn it into a showplace. I’m not the kind of guy that needs to keep up with the Jones, but indoor plumbing would be a bonus.
On the plane from Bosnia, we agreed that we would rent a flat for a couple of years before buying. After the first week, we realized that was harder than we expected. Since then we have been looking at anything we can buy in our price range.
Which means that, even with Grayson helping me with the down payment, it will involve at least a year of manual labor. But then, a little hard work never hurt anyone.
There are some good things about the place we’re currently looking at though. It has plenty of space in the house and the internet signal is supposed to be pretty strong. There is also close to ten acres included with the house, but it still isn’t too far from neighbors.
The village down the hill is within biking distance with plenty of shops and small restaurants. There’s even a farmer’s market on the weekends when the weather is nice.
Walking outside, I find Sophia standing next to a low wood fence, covered in wild roses, looking out across the valley below us. Our agent left a few minutes ago ensuring me that we are welcome to take as long as we need before leaving us to return to the city.
Sophia doesn’t hear me stepping out of the back door, so I have a moment just to take her in. It’s a beautiful spring day with the sun just starting to wane in the sky.
She’s dressed in a long light blue dress patterned with flowers and sandals. Her hair is swirling in the light breeze, bringing out the highlights that lace through it. I can see why the Impressionists were inspired by the beauty of the area. But even if I had their artistic skills, I don’t think I could ever do her justice. Watching the setting sun turn her skin bronze, I marvel again that someone so beautiful could love someone like me.
“I don’t know, Teddy,” she says. “The house needs so much work.”
Her amber eyes take another sweep at the valley below. She’s biting on her lower lip in thought, something I’ve noticed she does when she’s worried. In that instant, I want to wrap myself around her and assure her that everything will be fine.
“But it’s so beautiful. What should we do?” With a sigh, she closes her eyes as the setting sun lights up the sky. “Tell me, where do you want to live?”
“Wherever you are,” I answer.
Turning around as if in slow motion, Sophia gasps, finding me on my knees. Between us, I’m holding up the ring between my thumb and index finger that I’ve carried in a jewelry bag for weeks in my pocket.
“I’ve loved you since I was fourteen, Sophia. You’ve been the only woman I’ve ever loved. The only one I’ll ever give my heart to. The only one I want to grow old beside. I crossed a desert to be with you and I’ve followed you around the world just to have another day of happiness. Marry me, my love. Let me be the one man you can never forget. Let me be your forever.”
You might think it’s unmanly or I’m a complete sap, but I truly do believe in happily-ever-afters. Mine began when I was just thirteen and a man I had never met before sat down across from me in a small room at a boy’s home.
