Lucky Charm (25 page)

“Or that maybe he hates American g
irls after breaking up with one,
” Annabel countered.

“I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about that, but we’ll find out soon enough.” Lilly grinned. “We’ve got to leave in twenty minutes
.
Simon and Etienne will meet us at the restaurant. It’s in the
Latin Quarter
.”

“Okay
.” Annabel nodded meekly as she tugged at the heart-shaped pendant of hand-blown glass around her neck. In theory, she was open to the possibility of meeting someone
. S
he just was not sure she was ready for it to happen so soon.

While waiting for Lilly to get ready, Annabel took deep breaths as she circled the floor of her room. Had she really hit the social rock bottom so that now she was reduced to being set up on a
pity
blind date? Part of her desperately longed to stay in, but that would be extremely rude to Lilly and Simon. The last time she had been on a blind date was in college, when Meredith had insisted on setting her up with he
r neighbor’s son: a twenty-five-year-
old accountant who still lived in the basement of his parents’ house and was looking for a
“
nice girl
”
to settle down with. Just what made Meredith think that Annabel would be interested still remained a mystery to her, but Annabel had suffered through the date, nonetheless. And now, she would go through the h
umiliating experience once more -
this time because of her friend.

Well, maybe it won’t be so bad
, Annabel thought as she critically surveyed her reflection in the mirror
. S
he might not care about the date, but she still wanted to make an impression
. S
he wanted to look good and be the one doing the rejecting, not the other way around.

The sight of her reflection in the mirror calmed her down
. S
he did look good. The cockt
ail dress hugged her body in
all the right places; her red pumps made her legs look longer
,
and her hair, which she had blow-dried and teased, framed her face in the most becoming way. She looked hot, even if she
said
so herself.

After making a series of turns through the myriad of narrow, cobblestone streets that made up the
Latin Quarter
, the cab finally came to a stop.

“Le Petit Bistro,” the driver announced as he pointed to a restaurant awning on the right side of the car.

“Merci.” Lilly paid the cab fare, waving away Annabel’s offer of her half
. T
hey always took turns paying for cab fare, and Annabel made a mental note to get the next one.

“Is this the place?” Annabel blurted out as she doubtfully eyed the entrance to Le Petit Bistro
,
the restaurant where they were supposed to have dinner.

“Yes, this is it.” Lilly nodded cheerfully. “According to Simon
,
the food here is top notch.”

Annabel nodded, swallowing her misgivings
. T
he shabby façade of Le Petit Bistro did not look promising to say the least, but then the fact that the place had a crooked stoop leading to its entrance, peeling paint
,
and a doorway that was barely wide enough for a person to walk through, did not mean that it could not have good food.

“I can guarantee that the food part will be excellent
.
Simon knows his restaurants!” Lilly announced as if reading Annabel’s thoughts. “Don’t let the modest appearance throw you off
. I
n
Paris
,
the most famous restaurants often look like a hole in the wall
,
and the locals like it that way
. I
t keeps the tourists out. Prepare for
the
culinary experience of a lifetime!” Lilly exclaimed as she opened the front door.

Annabel ducked as she followed Lilly inside, hoping that at least the kitchen was not as small as the rest of the place.

Once inside, Annabel was blown away by the character of the place
. I
t was unlike anything she had ever seen. The restaurant interior looked like a grotto
. It was an
oval-shaped space with stone
walls, but that was where the simplicity ended, giving way to
a
surprisingly formal atmosphere. The restaurant had no more than seven tables, but each table was lined with a crisp linen cloth and set with distinguished crystal ware. Vases with orchids of different varieties adorned the nooks of the stone walls. Already several parties were seated
,
and Annabel noticed that all
the
men were wearing tuxedos
,
and
the
women were dressed in evening gowns. Annabel nervously smoothed down her dress
. I
t was not an evening gown by any me
ans
, but it was still dressy enough
. S
he had worn it to some really fancy social events for work
,
and she was glad of her choice of attire.

The waiters and the maitre d’ were dressed in tuxedos as well
. T
he maitre d’ was about to ask them for their reservation when Simon got up from his seat at the bar and walked toward them. Just as Simon approached them, Annabel’s attention was drawn to a dark-haired man who had been occupying the bar stool next to Simon’s and
was
now
heading
in their direction with a diffident expression on his face.

That must be my blind date,
Annabel thought, her heart in her mouth, as she absentmindedly reciprocated Simon’s greeting. Lilly had been right
.
Etienne was handsome
. H
e was of av
erage height, no more than five-
nine, but well built, with a muscular torso that Annabel could spot from beneath his tailored jacket. His longish, coal-dark hair made his dark brown eyes look intense, which together with his perfectly straight nose and sensually curved lips made Annabel knees buckle. She did her best to steady herself, which was difficult to say the least, as she raked her mind for a witty remark
for
the stunning stranger. Annabel secretly patted the heart-shaped pendant on her neck, thinking that perhaps Madam Aurora’s charm did have some power after all.

“Annabel, Lilly, I would like to introduce my best friend
,
Etienne Gerard.”

“Hello,” the dark, handsome stranger spoke in a low baritone as he bowed slightly.

“Lilly Clayton
. I
t’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lilly smiled coyly as she eyed Annabel out of the corner of her eye.

“Likewise
.
Simon has told me so much about you.” Etienne shook Lilly’s hand, his glance wandering toward Annabel.

“Annabel, Annabel Green,” Annabel stammered, barely able to get a grip on herself as she stared into Etienne’s dark eyes.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Annabel.” Etienne bowed slightly as he took Annabel’s hand into his.

“Likewise,” Annabel gasped, thinking that his voice was like smooth silk. Etienne’s grip was firm, yet gentle and Annabel felt electric tingles running through her body as he held her hand in his for just a moment longer than necessary.

“Shall we get seated?” Simon interrupted the awkward pause.

“By all means.” Etienne finally tore his dark, velvety gaze away from Annabel.

“I’m looking forward to this!” Lilly exclaimed
,
and from the sly glint in her friend’s eyes
,
Annabel could tell that food was not what Lilly was referring to.

The
maitre d’
ushered them to their table – the most secluded table in the restaurant that stood in the alcove, against the far wall. Lilly and Annabel took their seats next to one another
,
and Simon and Etienne sat across from them.

A perfectly postured waiter brought out the menus and wine list.

Upon opening the menu, Annabel was mortified to see that it was entirely in French and
now
she wished that, like Lilly, she had paid more attention to those French classes so many years ago
. T
he knowledge would surely come in handy now. As she circumspectly
eyed
Etienne
,
who was engrossed in discussing an entry on the wine list with Simon, Annabel attempted to dig up long-forgotten words that floated in her mind like vague ghosts
. T
he only word that she managed to recognize on the menu was
fromage
, which she was fairly certain meant cheese, and she could not remember a word more to save her life. Annabel was about to ask for help when Simon came to the rescue.

“But there is no English menu!” he exclaimed with indignation, shaking his head. Simon motioned to the waiter
,
and within moments an English version of the menu was placed before Lilly and Annabel.

“Now I know I should have paid more attention to French in school.” Annabel smiled guiltily as she began to examine the menu.

“You studied French?” Etienne’s eyebrows arched as he looked at her from across the table.

“Yes.” Annabel nodded, bidding herself not to blush. “But only the required curriculum in school, and it seems that I’ve forgotten most of it,” she confessed.

“Ah.” Etienne bowed his head slightly as he returned to the examination of the wine list.

If it were possible to fall through the floor this very minute, Annabel would have done so gladly. It was painfully clear that Etienne’s impression of her was that of a complete, blundering idiot, and for the life of her, she could not think of anything to say to change his mind.

As if sensing her friend’s agitation, Lilly came to the rescue. “So, Etienne, Simon tells me that you travel a lot to the States for work?”

Etienne nodded. “Yes
,
now and then. I can’t say that that is my favorite part of the job, but it has to be done,” he added reluctantly.

Well, that settles it
, Annabel thought
,
as she took a hasty gulp of water
. H
e definitely hates American girls.

“So, Etienne, are you fine with this wine then?” Simon attempted to steer the conversation into a different direction. “Etienne’s uncle owns a vineyard, so Etienne is our wine expert.”

Etienne nodded distractedly. “Yes, no - I’m sorry, I can’t do this.” Etienne rose abruptly from his chair, almost flinging it backwards. “I’m sorry, but I’ve completely forgotten that I have a previous engagement
. Annabel, it was a pleasure
meet
ing you
.”

“Etienne! What’s wrong?” Simon rose from his chair, his face filled with embarrassment.

Without another word, Etienne stumbled toward the exit.

With a great effort
,
Annabel forced herself to keep her mouth from gaping open
. I
t turned out all those stories about French being jerks were not stereotypes after all.

Simon stood in half seated position, clearly irresolute whethe
r to go after Etienne or sit
down. After a moment’s hesitation, he made up his mind and sat back down.

“I apologize for my friend, Annabel. Lately he’s been very forgetful. I’m sure it had to be something really important for him to storm out like that. I hope you won’t hold it against him or me,” Simon added guiltily.

“That’s fine, really. Don’t worry about it.” Annabel forced a bright smile on her face. Clearly, the guy was a first class jerk with major issues
,
and she’d be damned if she let her hurt show.

“Well, that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the rest of our evening,” Lilly’s voice burst with cheery optimism, but Annabel could sense that her friend felt guilty and was grasping at straws – and she was more than willing to offer her one. After all, it was not Lilly’s fault that Simon’s best friend was a complete jerk.

“I for one can’t wait to try the food.” Annabel smiled bravely as she forced herself to focus on the menu
. I
f she could not have a hot date, she would at least have a tasty meal, which she was growing to believe was a far safer alternative.

It was ten in the morning
,
and Lilly and Annabel were seated in the ample kitchen, being treated to a surprisingly delicious breakfast by Madam Roux. They had planned to go out to a patisserie but ran into Madam Roux on the way out, and she insisted that they stay for her crepes and hot chocolate.

“Wow
,
this is delicious.” Annabel savored the rich, dark chocolate that was almost too hot to drink. “It’s nothi
ng like the sugary stu
ff we have in the supermarkets.”