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

When she emerged from the bathroom, her lips were still red, but she’d fixed her ponytail and washed her face. He hated knowing he made her cry.

“Ready to eat, my angel?” With a punctilious, formal bow, and a wink, he pulled out a chair for her. The heavy cloak he’d worn for a year had been lifted off his shoulders, and he felt so much freer, lighter, happier.

“Look at this setup.” She took it all in with a big smile. “Fine china, silver domes covering the food, wine already poured. And—aww, how sweet, a single yellow rose.”

She brought the rose close to her nose, then held it out to him. “Here, smell it. It’s a lovely fragrance, not too heavy.”

He sat down opposite her and said, “It’s beautiful, but nothing compared to you.”

He watched her closely for a reaction, but she only smiled.

“The food smells delicious, too,” Stella said. “And I have to say I’m glad we decided not to eat in the restaurant.”

“Me, too, believe me,” he agreed. He touched his glass to hers and said, “To new memories.”

When they uncovered their plates, she chuckled. “You’ve got mine! Some things never change.”

He cut off a small piece of the cutlet with his fork. The breaded crust was crunchy, and the cutlet cooked to perfection. He held the fork in front of her mouth. Simply watching her eat this tiny piece of meat aroused him all over again.

She fed him a piece of the fish. “Open,” she said, and he was pretty sure she was squirming in her chair, too, when his lips closed around her fork. This could turn out to be an interesting meal.

After they swapped their plates, she said, “Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room.”

“That’s what you want to call him now?”

“No! Well, maybe,” she chuckled again before she turned more serious. “If we’re going to rebuild our relationship, we need to be able to see each other more often. But fact is, you’re living in London, and then you’re going to Paris, and I’m in Philadelphia.”

David nodded and put his silverware down. He reached for one of her hands, needed to touch her to reassure himself she was really sitting here with him.

“My contract in London runs till October. And I don’t have to be in Paris till mid-January. I also have a few other contractual obligations I can’t ignore. But you’re more important than anything else, Stella. I don’t have a master plan I can pull out of my hat right now, but I promise I will find a way to make this work.”

He took a bite of his herbed potatoes. “Mmm, we have to buy Herbes de Provence. Try it.” He fed it to her.

“I think I have most of the herbs in my backyard. I’ll have to look up the best way to dry and store them.” She licked her lips, and he couldn’t stop looking at her.

Danvers, you are one lucky man. Don’t screw this up again.

“About my contracts, et cetera… I had planned to go to Chicago in November and put my apartment on the market since I’m never there anymore. But why don’t I come to Philadelphia first for a few weeks, then go to Chicago for Thanksgiving, and spend Christmas and New Year’s with you?”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea. The coming to Philadelphia part, I mean. What you do with your Chicago apartment is your decision, because it’s your home. I wouldn’t dream of telling you what to do with it.”

“Oh, no. No more unilateral decisions. At least not on my side,” he said. “I’m going to include you in each and every decision from now on.”

“You said you’re finished in London in October. When, exactly?”

“End of October. Good thing I haven’t bought my ticket yet, because I’m flying to Philadelphia first to spend time with my leading lady,” he winked at her.

“Great! I’ll make sure the kitchen is stocked with your new favorite herbs,” she said, then hesitated before asking, “How long are you going to be in Paris? Another four or five months?”

“We’re performing from the middle of February to the end of March.”

“And afterward?” David could hear her hesitation, and a chill slid down his back.

“I have no plans yet. But I think it’s time to leave Europe and go back home.”

Damn right, Danvers. Keep your butt stateside, closer to your girlfriend.

“Can you see yourself going on a Broadway tour again?”

“I don’t think so. Something more permanent would be nice. I’ll get Aaron on it as soon as I’m back in London.”

He didn’t want to think about London, because it meant he had to say goodbye to Stella. But one way or another, parting was inevitable. At least they knew it was only temporary.

She set her silverware on her empty plate and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I’m full. There’s no room for dessert right now. Good thing we didn’t order it right away.”

“I agree. Do you want to go for a walk?”

“Sure, why not? Walk off some of the calories,” she laughed. “And then I should think about going back.”

“Let’s walk first, then come back here for a few more minutes, maybe a cup of coffee, before I call a taxi for you,” he suggested.

“Okay. I’ll leave my purse here then. Now, where are my sandals?” her eyes roamed the room.

She used his arm to steady herself when she slipped her sandals on. “Thank you for a delicious dinner.”

With one arm, he pulled her close and kissed her. “Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me. And for listening.”

Holding hands, they walked the short distance to the Louvre pyramid. He heard her sigh.

“What’s on your mind, love?” He couldn’t refrain from calling her all the pet names he’d stored up.

“Whenever I saw couples being happy and in love, I envied them their closeness. Now we’re one of them. Today was wonderful, David. And it’s been a relief to think of something other than the hostage situation, especially since