“I hate that I’m not doing it. I know my life will be better if I do, but I don’t, and then I hate me and everything else more. I used to be known for portraiture, but I abandoned it.”
“Can I see?”
He looked through some canvases and pulled one out. It was of an older woman sitting on a stone windowsill, in the sunlight. The painting caught her warmth and personality.
Marlow drew in a breath. “Is it Madame Belleville?”
Luc nodded. “About twenty years ago and a lot less grumpy than she is now. She posed for my final project in art school. It won first prize in the competition.”
“Why did you stop?” she asked.
Silent, he put away the painting.
“So,” she said, feeling bold from the wine, “you can’t lecture me on not making a film.”
“Of course I can.”
“And since when are you the boss of me?”
“Since I saw you kiss Guillaume.” They locked eyes, and then he walked out of the studio. “Let’s have dinner.”
“I can see you want to talk about it,” she said, following.
“Your love life is your own. Your foolish choices, too.”
“There’s nothing foolish about kissing Guillaume. He’s a catch.”
Luc waved her off as he entered the kitchen.
“Please tell me one way in which he isn’t,” she said.
He unwrapped the chicken and put it on a cutting board.
“See? You can’t. He’s handsome. He’s kind. He’s smart. He’s generous.”
“He’s rich.”
“First off, I feel very judged. Second, you say rich like it’s a bad thing.”
Luc laid the table with cracked plates of different patterns and mismatched cutlery.
“Oh my God,” she said. “You’re jealous.”
“I’m just saying that maybe your kiss was not about the man but the things around him.”
“You don’t think very highly of me in that case.”
“I don’t mean to say you would pursue him only for his money. I mean …” He trailed off, eyeing his humble surroundings. “Let me ask you this. Was the kiss good?”
“Are you saying you’d kiss better?” she asked. Was that a dare? What was she doing?
He stepped closer, only an inch between them. So close, it made her tingle.
“You tell me,” he whispered. She could smell the wine on his breath. Her knees went weak. He leaned towards her, and—
There was a knock at the door. Luc broke away from her and went to open it.
“Bonsoir,”said Guillaume.“Je cherche Marlow.”
