Turn Back Time (The Full Circle Series Book 1) Annette Anders (shoe dog free ebook TXT) 📖

no idea,” he admitted before sending a mental message to his treacherous body part to behave.

He kissed her cheek, “Thank you for coming.”

The waiter approached them with the champagne and two long-stemmed crystal flutes. “Where would you like me to serve, monsieur?”

David looked at Stella, “I remember what you had at lunch today, and ordered a bottle. I hope you don’t mind. We can get something else if you prefer.”

“No, it’s very nice. Thank you.”

“Shall we go to the courtyard?”

“Yes, please.”

“The courtyard it is,” he informed the waiter, who nodded, turned, and led them outside, where they were seated behind a cast-iron trellis covered with pink climbing roses, giving them a bit of privacy.

“What is it with Paris and courtyards?” she asked while the waiter opened the bottle and filled their glasses. “I’m planning to get a bistro set and bright throw pillows, maybe plant a large pot with colorful flowers.”

“I’m sure it’ll look pretty. You could also get a small backyard fountain,” he pointed to the statue of a curvaceous woman sitting in the middle of a small basin, feeding a fat fish.

“What a great idea! But maybe not a naked woman,” Stella said.

A waitress brought a platter with an assortment of cheeses, crackers, some fruit, and olives and said, “With compliments of the house, Monsieur Danvers.”

“Is there anything else I can bring?” asked their waiter.

David thanked them both and handed one glass to Stella before holding up his own. “What do you want to drink to?”

“To Paris.”

Both took a few sips of the refreshing beverage, then she reached for the cheese knife the same moment he did. Touching a live wire couldn’t have caused a stronger reaction than the skin-to-skin contact of their hands.

He pushed the platter closer to her and reached for the olives. “We never got to talk about your trip this afternoon, or what brought you to France in the first place.”

“It was the weirdest coincidence. Last week, Naomi asked me if I wanted to join her on this trip because her mom couldn’t go. I already had this week off and wanted to visit Luca for a few days.”

She held out both hands with her palms up. “Hmm… New York or France? The decision wasn’t too hard. Naomi and I left Philly on Friday, spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday sightseeing, and our tour started on Monday.”

“What was the group like?”

“There were fourteen people, plus the driver and our tour guide. Most members of the group were nice, except for one guy, but let’s not talk about him.”

She took another sip of champagne. “Mmm, this is really good!” She smacked her lips.

David thought it was incredibly sexy, and his body signaled its agreement. Not again… At this rate, it promised to be an extremely uncomfortable evening.

“But listen to this… Naomi didn’t tell me the details. Only on the bus did I find out it’s a tour to romantic places in France. I asked her if we were on Candid Camera, since she knows I’ve been feeling down because it’s the anniversary of…well…”

She chewed on her lower lip and looked at her feet, and he hesitated, knowing she was trying to find the right words.

“Because it’s been a year since I sent the letter?” David finished the sentence for her, feeling like dirt.

She nodded. “I had finished my annual reading of The Phantom, and…” He watched helplessly as she swallowed a few times and tears threatened to spill out of her sad eyes. If someone had dumped a pot of hot oil over him it couldn’t have hurt more than hearing—and seeing—Stella’s heartbreak.

After what he did to her, she still read it.

He reached out to touch her hand, but she held it up and said, “Let me finish this, and then we have to talk about something a little more uplifting… Anyway, I put the book and your letter in one of my storage bins and planned to have a ceremonial send-off fire later, but I could never burn any of it.”

David couldn’t stop what happened next.

In one fluid move, he turned his body toward hers, took her face in his hands and followed the wet trail of her tears with feathery kisses, until he reached her lips and slowly put his mouth on hers.

It was a soft, gentle kiss, meant to say, I’m sorry.

He pulled back a scant inch and looked into her eyes. He saw confusion and pain.

His next kiss was harder and searching, begging her, Forgive me.

When he stopped this time, he guided her head to his chest and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her hair, letting his lips linger there. He hoped she’d understand his silent, Let me hold you, baby. He wanted to sit like this forever.

Carefree laughter at another table broke the mood.

He used his thumb to wipe away a last tear and couldn’t resist again tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear. When she leaned into his hand, his heart was beating so fast, he could feel it in his throat.

Did this small gesture mean there was hope?

She leaned away from him, “I hope I didn’t cause a scene.”

He again reached for one of her hands, needing to maintain their fragile connection. “You didn’t. You have no reason to apologize for anything, my angel.” His old pet name slipped out before he realized it.

She cleared her throat and said, “Okay, so…do you want to hear more about the trip?”

“You bet.” He still couldn’t bring himself to let go of her hand.

She told him about the places they visited, about the meals they enjoyed, and even related Caroline’s romantic stories, the happy and sad ones. He listened, laughed, and asked questions, and wished he could’ve been there with Stella.

“Did you have a favorite place?” he asked when she was finished.

She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and thought about it, then reached for her champagne glass. Before her lips touched the rim of the glass, she looked up and said, “Mont