AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What does it remind you of?I’d asked.
Wanting. It reminds me of wanting,she’d said.
I feel the same. This sweet, heady smell reminds me of wanting. It reminds me of her.
Like a man in a trance, I walk to a nearby display of bottles, delicately carved and with old-fashioned spritzers and pumps. There are crystal ones with gold etching, purple leaves, pink and glass. It’s all so feminine, so alluring. I stop at the one that’s been calling to me, then read the display card next to it.
Come What May, made by a perfumer here in Paris. An American named Joy Danvers. There’s a description, too, and it reads: “The smell of the first kiss and a last kiss. It is the promise that somehow, someday, we will meet again.”
All at once, a pang of longing digs into my chest. I lift the bottle, bring it to my nose, and inhale, picturing Jules.
Each time I see her, she shares carefully, ever so carefully, bits and pieces of herself. Every time I talk to her, I learn a little bit more about who she is and the layers she contains, like a trunk you take your time opening so you can savor the letters, the notebooks, the photos you find inside.
She’s so different than Marilyn. So very different that I’m standing in a shop here in the First Arrondissement, inhaling a perfume like a man obsessed.
Like a man wanting.
But I don’t simply want another night in bed with her. I want to explore her. Understand her.Know her.
“Excuse me? Can I help you with something?” A soft, French voice breaks my daydream.
Can you help me get my best friend’s daughter out of my every waking thought?
I don’t say that. Instead, I say to the shopkeeper, “I’ll take this and can you please send it to this hotel?”
Even though there’s no room in my life for an obsession, I begin one anyway.
Or really, I continue one.
* * *
The perfume does the trick for a couple hours. That afternoon I’m pure focus as I meet with a European-based mobile company that we’re wooing. My hope is that they’ll carry our service on their phones. We want to give big shots like Webflix a run for their money, so deepening our partnerships will go a long way. I keep my blinders on during those meetings and I don’t let thoughts of honeysuckle or garden kisses win.
When I say goodbye to my colleagues at the end of the day, I feel accomplished, despite my earlier distraction. I check my watch. All I need to do now is stop by the nearby set in Le Marais for a quick meeting with Solange to keep her apprised of the marketing plans. It’s a few blocks away, and I head through the artsy, fashionable arrondissement.
I pass Place des Vosges, the central square filled with trees and ivy-colored buildings. Is visiting that on Jules’s Paris list? No. That’s too pedestrian for her. But maybe spreading out a blanket somewhere nice in the evening, sipping champagne, eating olives and cheese has made the cut.
Or maybe it’s just on a new list I’m writing in my mind.
Get it together, man.
I snap my gaze to the sidewalk in front of me and keep it there till I reach a quieter street with white flats boasting planters in their windows. One of them is the location for the heroine’s flat inThe Rendezvous.
Already, there are signs of the show—some permits for shooting are plastered outside the apartment. After I check in with security, I head into the building. The crew in the lobby are finishing up their pre-production work for the day. I look past them, and then my pulse spikes annoyingly.
Jules stands at the other end of the foyer by the elevator, where the opening sequence will shoot tomorrow. Chatting with Solange, Jules looks beautiful, even in a short-sleeve black blouse, jeans, and flats. Or perhaps she’s beautiful because of the simplicity of her outfit. Her chestnut hair is cinched back in a clip, with a few loose tendrils framing her face. She wears her glasses and keeps a serious expression on her face. All-business Jules is in her element. She’s focused and diligent, entering details on a tablet. I feel like a stalker even though I’m supposed to be here.
I watch her closely until she turns around and makes eye contact with me.
Jules doesn’t change her expression—she’s a guarded woman—but a subtle sparkle lights those brown irises. I stride across the foyer, and when I reach them, Solange offers me a cautious smile before she says, “Don’t give me bad news that will make me mad.”
Damn, she’s tough. “I only have good news.”
Jules steps back. “I’ll leave you to it. I need to send out some emails with call times anyway.”
“Thank you,” Solange says, then pats the neck of her shirt. “Merde. I must have left my glasses on the balcony in the flat.”
Before she can even ask, Jules says brightly, “I’ll get them.”
