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

scratching their long finger nails down the chalkboard.
    “No, if he were here, none of this would’ve ever happened,” I clipped.
    “And if you really loved him, none of this would’ve ever happened either.”
    “What do you know about love? Have you ever actually been in love?”
    Julien’s lips tightened into a thin line, giving me no response.
    “So that’s all I’m going to get? You listen to my entire private conversation with my fiancé, you make judgmental remarks about my relationship, but you’re not willing to share any details about your life with me?”
    Julien’s deep brown eyes focused in on mine. “I can just tell, by the way you talk with him, you are not truly in love.”
    “So if you’re such an expert on love, where is she? The woman you’re in love with?”
    “I am not in love with anyone. I know what I know because many women have been in love with me before. I can spot them a mile away, chérie . But you are right. Your life is none of my business. I just think that a man and woman who are about to be married should make decisions together, no?”
    I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned my face away from Julien.
    I didn’t want to move to Pennsylvania. I’d been more than clear about that the first time Paul had mentioned it. But I knew my fiancé, and when he got an idea in his head, it was close to impossible to shake him of it.
    I would shake him of this one though. I had to.
    At least he hadn’t accepted the position yet. And as soon as I got home, we would talk it out and Paul would see my point of view.
    But then I remembered that when I did arrive home, we’d have even bigger issues to discuss—such as my stolen engagement ring, a fraudulent bank account, and the night I’d spent with a stranger . . . just to name a few. Ugh.
    “I messed up my one chance at love,” Julien’s deep voice cut through my thoughts. “And I don’t like to see others mess up their lives too, that is all.” With that, he stood abruptly and headed down the aisle of the train, leaving me alone and speechless.
    As the train rumbled down the tracks, I took a deep breath in an attempt to forget about my conversation with Paul, and even more so, about Julien’s projections onto my life. He didn’t know what he was talking about. He was clearly pinning his own fears and insecurities from his screwed-up love life onto me.
    And in less than a day, I would never have to see Julien again.
    While this thought should’ve comforted me, I noticed that the giant knot that had formed in my stomach over the course of the day wasn’t loosening up in the slightest. And as I stared out at the looming, gray clouds now hovering over the white stone cottages off in the distance, I realized that this was the first time since those early years after my mother had died that I’d felt so helpless and so utterly out of control. I yearned to hide in one of those cottages and wish away everything that had taken place in the past twenty-four hours.
    But I couldn’t. I was on a train with a man I barely knew who was telling me I didn’t love my fiancé.
    That was ridiculous. Of course I loved Paul. Of course I did.

 
    Seven
     
    A light summer breeze kissed my cheeks as Julien and I stepped off the train in Annecy.
    The sun had just set, but street lamps lit the way while I struggled to keep up with him, my heels digging into the backs of my feet, giving me no mercy whatsoever.
    After jetting across a busy intersection, we wound through a sea of dimly-lit cobblestone streets, combing past the crowds of jolly, wine-drinking tourists who were lounging and smoking cigarettes at the endless array of outdoor cafés.
    I spotted a couple feeding each other large, steaming bites of chocolaty dessert crêpes, the woman’s expression one of pure ecstasy as she licked a drop of gooey Nutella off the man’s spoon. For a split second, I found myself wishing I could trade places with her. What I wouldn’t give to be on