Read Online Kissed in Paris by Juliette Sobanet - Free Book Online

it will not be traced,” Julien said, the discomfort in his face evident. “But make it fast. And be careful what you tell your fiancé. He is a lawyer, no?” 
    “How did you—”
    “Chloe, it’s my job to know these things.”
    Shaking my head, I flipped the phone open and dialed Paul’s number before I could change my mind. I shifted toward the window so I could have at least a little bit of privacy.
    “Paul Smythe,” he answered after the second ring.
    I pictured my fiancé standing there in a light yellow polo shirt paired with khaki pants, his dark hair combed to the side, his lips tightened into a thin line, and his eyebrows knitting together, the way they did anytime he answered a call from an unknown number.
    “Honey, it’s me, Chloe.”
    “Chloe? Where are you calling from? Shouldn’t you be on the plane already?”
     “There’s been a problem, actually, and I wasn’t able to take my original flight.”
    “What kind of problem?”
    “There’s been a crisis with the conference, and they need me to stay a bit longer to run damage control. I spoke to Angela, and apparently my job is on the line if I don’t stay and get things worked out.” My insides squirmed with each lie I told. This was horrible.
    “That’s outrageous. The wedding is this weekend. Sophie flies in tomorrow and both of our families will be in later this week. I need you here. How could Angela expect you to do this?”
    “I have to stay until the kinks are fixed. I don’t have a choice.”
    “How long is that going to be?”
    “A day or two at the most . . . hopefully. I’ll be in touch though to let you know. And I promise, when I get home, I’ll handle my dad and my sisters. I know things can be a bit stressful when they’re all in town.”
    “A bit stressful?”
    “Okay, really stressful.” Paul was an only child and whenever my sisters descended upon our house, he usually found a reason to stay late at the firm so he didn’t have to come home and deal with them. He’d always said it was too much estrogen in one room.
    “I need you to deal with Sophie for a day or two, and I should be home before the rest of them fly in. So, no need to worry, okay?”
    Paul sighed loudly into the phone. “I was hoping we could do dinner tonight.” He stopped to clear his throat. “I have some exciting news.”
    “Really?” My tense shoulders disengaged as Paul took the spotlight off my lies.
    “If you’re going to be home in a day or two anyway, we can just talk about it then.”
    I wondered if I really would be home in a day or two. “Can you just tell me now?”
    “I wanted to tell you over a nice dinner, but I’ve been offered a position at that small firm I was telling you about, Robins and Miller.” I could hear him smiling over the phone.
    I racked my brain to remember which firm that was. Paul had been unhappy with the slow growth at his big DC law firm, and he’d been hoping to find a smaller firm, where he could be a bigger fish, so to speak. “That’s great, honey. Remind me again though, which one was that?”
    “It’s the one in Pennsylvania.”
    My stomach dropped. “Pennsylvania? The one in that really small town?”
    “I know what you’re going to say, Chloe. But this could be a great opportunity for us. I mean, just think, with the money I’d be making, I could buy you a beautiful house with space and a yard. No more living in a crowded townhouse in the city.”
    “But I love our townhouse in DC. And we talked about this. There aren’t any jobs for event planners in small towns like that.”
     “I know, but sweetie, wait until you see the offer they made me. I’d be making so much money, plus the cost of living there is so low, you’d never have to work again.”
    “But I love my job. I want to work. You know that.”
    “I know you do. And I don’t want to take that away from you. But you’ll be thirty soon, and I’ve been looking at real estate there, and I found some amazing homes