Geronimo (A Songbird Novel) (4 page)

“Because my mother was a homework Nazi. She was determined that we aced whatever we did. My sister, Renee, and I were both taking French, and she used to have these enforced ‘French’ days where we were only allowed to speak to each other in French.” I rolled my eyes. “Bloody painful.”

Jane leaned across the table and grinned. “Yeah, but I bet you’re bloody grateful now, right?”

I smiled at her. “Okay, so my little French illiterate, what do you want to eat?”

“I’m not sure what I feel like.” She picked up the menu again.

“Well, what’s your favorite type of food?”

“Chocolate mousse.” She bit at her smile, her cheeks flooding with color.

Oh man, that skin could go red in a heartbeat.

Adorable.

I cleared my throat, trying to ward off that familiar wave of affection. I’d only ever felt it for Tammy, and I wasn’t about to fall into that trap again.

“Well,
mousse au chocolat
is on here, along with, oh…” I licked my lips. “Clafoutis,
crème brûlée, chouquettes, lemon tart,” I groaned. “This is the best dessert menu in the world.”

Jane licked her bottom lip, making it glisten. “They all sound so good. How do we decide?”

“We don’t.” I shrugged. “We simply order them all.”

Her pale eyebrows popped high. “Are you serious right now?”

“Why not?” I laughed. “This trip is about being crazy and spontaneous. Who needs meat and vegetables when you can pig out on sugar and deliciousness.”

“We’ll feel so sick afterwards.”

I rested my elbows on the table until my face hovered above the candle. “But it’ll be so worth it.”

Her face lit with the kind of smile a guy could fall for. I probably should have leaned away from it, but I couldn’t. I just soaked it in until the waiter appeared and I ordered the most insane dinner of my life.

The waiter frowned and then looked to Jane, who just bobbed her head with a cheeky grin.

“
D’accord
.” He nodded, taking our menus and shaking his head. “
Est-ce que vous désirez boire du vin avec votre repas
?
”

I looked to Jane. “Wine?”

Her nose wrinkled. “We might have to stick with water or risk falling into sugar-induced comas.”

“Good plan.” I nodded and told the waiter, but he’d already heard her and was quietly laughing.

As he walked away to fulfill our order, I shifted back in my seat and stared across the table at my travel partner, more and more sure that
this would be one of the best holidays I’d ever had.

I’d spent too many years letting life pass me by, taking for granted the things I’d had before me. My relaxed attitude had lost me everything, and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Life was about living in the moment, and Jane’s quest would force me to become the man I should have been two years ago when Tammy told me how much she loved me.

Chapter Five

Jane

“Mum,” I sang to the computer screen, following it up with a pointed look. “I’m fine. Would you stop worrying.”

“You look tired. Slightly green, love. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I just had a little too much good food last night.” I rubbed my belly, hoping my cheeks weren’t flaming. I didn’t want to admit that I gorged myself on a divine array of desserts. The moans coming from our table were orgasmic as Harry and I relished each spoonful of decadence.

Best meal ever.

The only throwback was the tummy ache chaser. We hobbled back to the hotel, already feeling ill before we parted ways. I wriggled and squirmed through the night and was pretty sure I wouldn’t be eating anything for at least twenty-four hours.

“So where exactly are you now?” Mum’s face disappeared as she tipped up her iPad and gave me a nice view of the Monet print on the wall.

“Tilt your screen, Mum. I can only see your forehead.”

“Oh!” She brought herself back into view and I smiled at her.

“I’m in Paris, staying at this gorgeous boutique hotel. It’s so pretty. I want to check out the Latin Quarter today, and then I’m not sure what the rest of my week holds. I’m going to spend some time looking over guidebooks and figuring out the rest of my trip.”

“Right.” Mum forced a smile. “So, you embarked on this adventure with no plans? Jane, that’s so unlike you.”

“Well, I do have a plan.” I shrugged, holding my breath as I lifted up my list. “You know back when we moved to LA and I tried to run away because I was miserable and you made me write that list?”

Mum nodded.

“I’ve started a new one.” I didn’t hold it too close to the screen. I didn’t want her freaking out over the skydiving or skinny-dipping bullet points. “I think it’s going to help me find my way.”

Mum’s eyes glimmered with pride. “I so respect your courage and bravery, but you have to promise that you’ll still be safe.”

“I’m being safe,” I assured her, again praying that my skin would control itself and not start flashing a red warning. I was totally going to call next time. Screw Skype; it gave away too much.

“Oh, I’m sure you are, but I hate the idea of you traveling abroad all by yourself. Are you sure I shouldn’t come and join you? I could help you cross some things off.”

“No!” I snapped, probably too sharply.

The hopeful smile dropped off her face, replaced with a wounded puppy look.

Giving her a bashful grin, I downplayed my outburst with a soft explanation. “I need to do this on my own, Mum. I’m trying to figure out how to live again, and I can’t keep leaning on you and Dad, and Sarah and Justin. I have to step outside my comfort zone.”

She blinked rapidly, shooing away her tears with a sniff. “I’m proud of you, my sweet Georjana. Just make sure you come home in one piece. You hear me?”

“I will, Mum.”

Her face crested with a look of agony. “I would have borne your pain in a heartbeat if I could have.”

“I know.” I swallowed, my throat clogged with sadness. “But I’m glad you still have Dad, and I’ll always have Blake.” I tapped my chest. “In here.”

She beamed at me, kissing her fingers and touching the screen. “Well, you two enjoy Paris, then.”

“We will,” I choked out, clicking off my iPad as soon as she hung up. Dropping it on my lap, I gazed out the window and rubbed the spot above my heart. “So, what do you think, Blake? You liking Paris so far?”

He didn’t answer.

I was sane enough to know I’d only ever sense his presence, never hear it, feel it brush against my skin, or hold me close at night.

Blake may have been in Paris with me, but not in the same capacity as Harry, and it made me slide the iPad off my lap and scurry down to breakfast.

*****

The glass-roofed sunroom was at the back of the hotel, looking out over a well-kept lawn no bigger than my classroom. Harry was sitting by the open doors, reading a paper and sipping from a delicate teacup. A croissant was on the plate in front of him, but he’d yet to touch it.

By the pale tone of his skin and the state of his mussed-up curls, I was guessing he felt as much like dining as I did.

Gliding around the tables, I tucked my summer dress beneath my legs and sat in the cane chair opposite him.

“
Bonjour
.” I tried out what little French I could remember. “
Comment allez-vous
?”

His upper lip curled and he grunted. “
Je me suis senti mieux
.”

My nose wrinkled as I tried to interpret. “I am…? Oh, I don’t know.”

He smiled, giving me a glimpse of his slightly crooked front teeth. “I’ve been better.”

“Hmm.” I tipped my head with a mock smile. “What on earth could be ailing you?”

“Ha-ha,” he muttered drily, taking another sip of his tea while I laughed then held my stomach and groaned.

He snickered and lifted his finger at the waitress.

As soon as the woman appeared, he pointed at me and she turned with a smile. “
Qu'est-ce que vous désirez, madame
?”

“
Ah, parlez-vous anglais
?” I winced and gave her a chagrined smile.

She grinned. “Of course, madam. What would you like?”

Her accent was beautiful. “Thank you. Um, could I please just have some tea? Plain, black, weak tea and a slice of toast.”

“Whole wheat?” She took the spare menu off the small round table and tucked it under her arm.

“Yes, please.”

With an elegant nod, she walked away from the table, and I leaned back with a contended sigh.

“Not bad, Buford. They always like it when you at least try to speak their language.”

“She was very nice about it.”

Folding his paper shut, he placed it on the table and looked at me. “So, dear Jane, what are we doing today?”

“Well, I thought we could check out the Latin Quarter and then I don’t know. Should we do the Eiffel Tower and all the touristy spots?”

He grimaced and shook his head. “Give us a geezer at that list of yours.”

I pulled it from my pocket and handed it over.

He gently unfolded it and scanned the contents, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. “You haven’t added
eat the most indulgent meal known to mankind
.”

I laughed. “Well, we’ve already done that.”

“Exactly.” He handed the paper back and tapped the empty space at the bottom of the page. “You must add it then cross it off.”

My heart melted for a moment. He had no idea, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever be brave enough to admit it, but I did that kind of thing all the time. When I was working at school, if I did a task that wasn’t on my list, I’d always scribble it down and then run a line through it.

Pulling the pen from my handbag, I wrote his words exactly, then crossed it off with a flourish.

“Now doesn’t that feel good?”

All I could do was give him a dopey grin.

He took the sheet back, looked it over, and then glanced at his watch. “With only thirteen days to go, I say we leave Paris tomorrow and head south.”

“South. What’s south?”

He gave me a pitiful look. “You honestly don’t know? Aren’t you a schoolteacher? Surely you know the geography of this continent.”

“Um…” I winced, my cheeks growing warm.

“Good Lord!” His eyes bulged. “Well, I’m not going to tell you, and you have to promise me you won’t look it up on a map.”

“Why not?”

“Because it will be the perfect chance to surprise you.”

I made a face. “I don’t like surprises.”

“Hey, you said you wanted to see where the road takes you, and so you shall. Now promise me, Jane.” He held out his pinky finger.

My face bunched with a skeptical frown. “A pinky promise? How old are we again?”

“They are the most sacred of promises. Now, I really must insist.”

I giggled, loving the expression on his face. For a boy from Rye, he really knew how to put on royal-class airs. I loved his jesting tone and the way he held his nose just so. He was completely charming, and I couldn’t resist wrapping my pinky finger around his.

“I promise I will not look at a map.”

“Or plan too far ahead. We shall decide each day’s events at breakfast with the proviso that they could be changed at a moment’s notice.”

I grimaced, trying to pull out of the finger hold. I didn’t think I was capable of such spontaneity. Jumping in a car with Harry was the most wild, impulsive thing I’d ever done, and there he was, making me promise to make the whole trip like that.

Harry tightened his grip. “Come on, Jane, be a sport. You’re trying to reinvent yourself, remember?”

I gave in with a sigh, my shoulders drooping as I shook on the promise and agreed to make the next two weeks a trip of surprises. I didn’t know how I’d manage, but it felt good nonetheless. Excitement warred with nerves, making it hard to eat my toast when it arrived.

Buttering the bread to the very edges like I always did, I picked at the crumbs on the plate, my leg bobbing beneath the table as Harry read me some of the French articles from the paper.

By the time my tea was finished, he had me laughing over some celebrity and her poodle. I didn’t know if he was distracting me on purpose or not, but it didn’t matter. I was confident Harry’s charm could probably get me to do anything.

And that part should have scared me the most.

Chapter Six

Harry

I checked Jane’s profile out of the corner of my eye as we drove into Spain. At first she didn’t notice, but then she spotted a sign and her eyes narrowed.

“Spain,” she murmured, then whipped to face me. “Spain! Of course. I knew that.”

“You did not know that,” I teased her.

She blushed and gave away her lie. I couldn’t help stealing a second glance at her rosy complexion, glimpsing it fade back to white to reveal her pale freckles again.

As we headed down the coastline the overcast sky opened up, drenching Yambi and making her little wipers work overtime. They squeaked back and forth and I slowed to a crawl, negotiating the road with care.

After twenty minutes of gripping the wheel, my fingers were getting sore. “I say we find the first hotel we can and just pull in for the night. I know it’s only midday, but this storm feels like it’s going to hang around for a while. I don’t like driving in this kind of weather.”

Jane’s head bobbed. “Sounds good to me.”

Pointing at my phone, I asked her to do a quick search for accommodations in San Sebastián, and we soon found a quaint little inn with a view of the bay. There was only one hitch…if you chose to consider it that way.

“Only one room available, sir,” the woman informed me in her thick Spanish accent. “Very busy over summer.”

“Yes, I understand. Uh…”

I exchanged a tentative glance with Jane and raised my eyebrows in question. Her lips pursed to the side as she turned and looked through the front window at where Yambi was parked. The rain was torrential, pelting onto the tiled entranceway.

She glanced back and gave us both a brave smile. “We’ll make it work. Thank you.”

Tucking her wet, frizzing hair behind her ear, she remained quiet while I checked us in and then led the way to the room.

It was a small space with bright green walls. A tartan yellow and purple duvet covered the small double bed. There was a couch at the end, which I offered to sleep on.

“I can take it. I’m shorter.”

“Jane.” I shook my head. “I have been working overtime to make sure you don’t feel like I’m trying to flirt with you. I haven’t opened doors or carried your bag, I haven’t offered to pay for any meals, but I cross the line at making you take the couch. Please, let me play my gentleman card on this one. I won’t be able to sleep a wink otherwise.”

Her green eyes warmed with a smile when she nodded and mouthed, “Thank you.”

My insides curled with affection as I gazed at her. She was growing more beautiful every day, and it made me nervous. We’d met less than a week ago. Technically she was still in the stranger zone, yet she wasn’t, because being with her was so incredibly easy.

Brushing past her, I walked to the windows and stared out at the darkened sky. A flash of lightning lit the air followed by a loud rumble of thunder. “Blimey. Zeus must be pretty aggro about something.”

Jane laughed, bending down to unzip her bag and pull out a change of clothes. “I’m gonna have a shower. Then maybe we could…” She looked around the room, and then her eyes landed on my computer bag. “You have any movies on your computer?”

“Uh, yeah.” I was slow to answer, knowing that all I had was my collection of sci-fi and fantasy movies. I barely knew any girls who were into that kind of thing.

“When I was a kid and it rained like this on the weekend, my dad and I would always sit down for a movie marathon. You got anything marathon-worthy?”

I winced and crossed my arms. “Um, just a few sci-fi type…”

“Any
Star Wars
?”

My eyebrows lifted at the eager expression on her face. “Yeah, all seven.”

Her lips lifted into a smile as she checked her watch. “I’d say we could fit in the original three. Maybe even have time for
The Force Awakens
, don’t you?”

I couldn’t speak for a moment then blinked and whispered, “You like
Star Wars
?”

“Oh, yeah. Huge fan. I love all those types of movies.
Star Trek
,
Aliens
,
Terminator
… the Marvel Universe.” She tipped her head back. “I
love
the Marvel movies.”

And I love you,
I thought.

Thank God I didn’t whisper the words aloud. I was too surprised to do anything more than bob my head and give her a stupid grin.

“I’ll shower quickly.” Her eyes sparkled and she winked at me before spinning on her heel and heading into the bathroom.

I clutched a hand to my chest and dipped my knees.

“Hey, do you think this place will have room service?” Jane called from behind the closed door.

“I can call and find out.”

“Order us a bunch of comfort food, will ya? Let’s be slobs today.”

“Really, truly love you,” I mumbled as I grabbed the phone and dialed the front desk.

Forty minutes later I was stretched out on the bed, sharing an array of delicious Spanish food with Jane. The
Star Wars
music started up and I felt my insides buzz like they always did. I’d seen the movie a hundred times, but I still loved the thrill of reading that yellow writing and getting pulled into a galaxy far, far away.

By the time Luke Skywalker and Han Solo were rescuing Princess Leia, the bowls and plates had been licked clean. Moving them to the floor, I stretched back on the mound of pillows and rested my hand beneath my head. Jane shifted around, lying on her side and letting her bare feet dangle off the edge of the bed. Her damp hair rested on the pillow beside me. I could smell the citrus scent and wondered what it was doing to my body.

I hadn’t felt anything like it in such a long time. Unearthing those desires should have sent me reeling. I should have been pulling away, jumping off the bed, finding something better to do.

But I couldn’t, even if I tried.

In that moment, I was so content I never wanted to move again.