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ChapterFive
“Hi, I don’t think we’ve formally met, but it’s a pleasure.” Jo held her hand out to the gentleman whose light pink lips turned upward into a welcoming smile as he reached for her hand.
“The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Hamilton.” His voice was deep yet gentle with a tinge of an accent. He raised her hand to his lip and lightly kissed her flesh, surprising Jo.
“Please call me Jo, short for Josephine. I prefer that,” she implored him as the shock of the moment receded.
The man gave her a slight nod of acceptance.
“I take it you’re not from around here?” she asked with a raised brow.
Daniel chuckled, an action that seemed to incorporate his whole body as the sound reverberated from his chest, making his shoulders move up and down.
“What gave it away?” he asked in a playful tone.
“Well, for one, the fact that you have an accent, and two, your way of greeting isn’t very American,” she stated matter-of-factly.
At this, the man laughed, giving Jo the perfect view of his Adam's apple bobbing with the movement as his head leaned backward, exposing his neck. She quickly averted her eyes and waited for him to finish.
“I suppose your observation is spot on, although a bit unconventional and lacking in facts,” he gave in when he had settled down.
“Really? How so?” Jo asked, raising a brow in challenge.
“Well, for one…” he started, his steel-gray eyes glimmering with laughter under the fair’s flickering lights and a smirk gracing his lips, “I was born in America at Whidbey Health Center, to be exact. However, my father, who is French decided to move his family back to France when I was only one year old. French became my official language for some time. Number two, my parents taught me the true meaning of commentaire être un gentleman.”
“What did you say at the end?” she asked, intrigued.
“I said, they taught me how to be a gentleman,” he revealed.
“I suppose on that premise, all of my assumptions were incorrect then.” Jo sighed in mock defeat, drawing another laugh from Daniel.
“You are interesting,” he commented, which brought a smile of uncertainty to Jo’s lips.
“So, how do you know Gary?” she asked, changing the subject.
“He hit me with his car and sent me to the hospital for nearly a month,” Daniel replied nonchalantly.
“He what?” Jo half shrieked. She looked over at Gary talking animatedly with her sisters and cousin and the other men that had joined the group.
“It wasn’t his fault.”
Jo looked up at the giant of a man that made her five-four height look like a dwarf and waited for him to expound.
“It happened in France, in Cannes to be exact. I was on my way to get fresh produce for the upcoming special at L'éponyme...” He paused as if noticing Jo’s look of confusion. “L'éponyme is the name of the restaurant that I worked for as chef de cuisine.”
This term Jo was familiar with.
“I was not looking where I was going, or rather, I was too focused on getting to the market on the other side of the street that I did not see the car traveling in the wrong direction hurtling toward me. By the time I did, it had already hit me and run over my leg. In Gary’s defense, he hadn’t known it was a one-way street, and I had already stepped before the car.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Jo replied, barely audible as she wrapped her hand around her waist, shivering from the memory of the two accidents that claimed her loved ones.
Daniel, as if sensing the shift in her mood, quickly spoke up. “Don’t worry about it. It was more than twenty years ago, and after spending just a month in the hospital, we became almost inseparable. He was like the annoying little brother I never had.”
At this, a grin graced Jo’s lips at his description of Gary. “That seems like a harsh thing to call a grown man,” she mused.
Daniel went to answer her when she heard her name being called, “Jo!”
She swiveled her head to look back at her sisters. Cora held her cell to her ear while she beckoned her to come over. Giving Daniel an apologetic smile, she made her way over to the group as he followed close behind.
