The Suspicious Proposal (14 page)

Andrea reached out and embraced him, her arms tight around his body. He may not be able to tell her all of his secrets, but he could treat her less like one. Their marriage may have been fake, but there was nothing phony about what they were sharing in that moment and David was beginning to free himself in his emotions, welcoming what fate may bring.

Chapter 7

Andrea stood on the balcony of her Paris hotel room and looked out over the busy city. It was beautiful as the clouds grew darker with the evening’s arrival. The Eiffel Tower was lit up and the view was straight from a dream. She took a deep breath and inhaled the air as though her reality may be playing a trick on her, but this was not dream. This was a real life fantasy coming true and David had made it possible. She smiled thinking of his face.

“What are you doing out here, beautiful?” He came up from behind her as silent as a stealthy cat. “You’re supposed to be getting ready for the fashion show.”

“I know, but I just can’t stop staring at this amazing place.” She turned around to face him. “Thank you so much for bringing me here.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” He kissed her lips softly.

They had arrived in Paris three days before and yet she was still amazed each morning when she woke up in the city of lights. She only had two more days there before they had to be back in time for David to attend a conference at home. David had taken her to the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral and Versailles Palace. As they held hands and visited the city of her dreams, something magical was happening between them, she could feel it.

“You have twenty minutes before the limo will be here.” David kissed her shoulder before disappearing into another room of the hotel suite.

Andrea picked up her red dress and removed it from the hanger. She had always been so confident in her fashion that she created but tonight she looked over the dress and wondered if she should have bought one from somewhere else. The designers at this fashion show were real professionals and she feared looking like a phony as she walked into the audience in her amateur sewn material. Knowing it was too late to get a new dress now, she slipped it on over her legs and zipped the side up. Her image in the mirror brought back her confidence as she admired her work and choice of design.

“I got you one more surprise.” David came back into the room with a black box.

“You’re always full of surprises.” Andrea took the box from his hand and untied the bow.

“Trust me, I’ve been surprising my own self,” David said.

Andrea opened the box and gasped. “This is for me?” She took the diamond necklace in her fingers. “David this is so beautiful. Thank you!” A tear fell from her eye as she looked down at the sparkling diamond necklace. It was obviously expensive and she figured it probably cost ten thousand dollars, if not more.

“I didn’t get it for you to make you cry,” he teased as he walked behind her and locked the necklace in place around her neck. “I just thought that you needed to wear diamonds as beautiful and elegant as you.”

“David.” Andrea looked into the mirror at his image behind her and put her hand over his on her shoulder. She had a million things to say yet nothing rolled off of her tongue.

“Come on, let’s go to the show.” David took her hand and led her out of the room.

Money had never meant much to Andrea. She had never had much or known anyone who did, so seeing how David lived was remarkable to her. As much as she loved how he had planned this trip and spoiled her, she still wanted him to know he didn’t have to buy expensive things for her. She cared about him because of his personality and character, not how much he spent on dinner or the cost of the bed he had bought for her to sleep in. At first, David seemed like someone she wouldn’t get along with. Of course he was gorgeous, but they didn’t have anything in common and he appeared to be arrogant and too reserved. As time went on, she learned more about him and there was more underneath each layer she managed to pull back. He was kind, funny, and sexier than any man she had ever met.

The fashion show wasn’t far from the hotel and as they stepped out of the limo and onto the sidewalk, she felt as if a dozen butterflies were in her stomach fighting a windstorm. She was so excited and anxious. The entrance to the show was chaotic and filled with people. Looking around at others waiting to see the show, she noticed all the diversity of styles and outfit choices; it was fascinating to see all the choices.

“Our seat is over here.” David took her by the hand and led her to where they were sitting.

“This is crazy,” Andrea told him. “I still can’t believe that I’m here.”

He smiled as though she were a young enthusiastic child waiting for the circus to start. She supposed that’s exactly how she felt, except here she wasn’t waiting for the lions. Instead, she wanted to see the extraordinary models and the clothing that they would be walking down the runway in. As the lights dimmed and the runway lit up, Andrea leaned forward anxiously like a child waiting to see the trapeze swinger for the first time. 

*

David had never seen a woman so beautiful, not only on the outside but also deep within. Andrea was the most amazing woman he had ever met. She was witty, daring and more intriguing than he had ever imagined was possible. The fashion show had started but he wasn’t looking at the stage. Instead, his eyes were on Andrea as she watched the runway. He loved the way her dimples caved in as she smiled when a model came onto the runway. Her eyes would light up and grow wide as she studied the clothing they wore. His heart began to beat fast as he fed off her excitement.

This woman was everything he wished he had in a wife. He had always sworn he would never marry. All of his friends had married for love and they all ended in bitter divorces and financial wars. No, that was not something he wanted, yet as he looked at Andrea’s hazel eyes and red lips, he couldn’t deny wishing their marriage were real.

Snapping out of his trance, he shook the thoughts from his head and looked away from Andrea. This was nothing more than business, even if he wished he could change that now. The contract had been signed and sealed. She would never be more than a well thought out business plan. Once all his troubles were through, and the three years would were up, she would be on her way back to the life she had before.

They would hopefully have a baby then and he would interact with her as the mother of his child, but he would not have this right here. He would not have her deep dimples or full lips. He would not have her face to wake to or her body to hold at night. Sadness washed over him and he spent the rest of the fashion show imagining a life without his beautiful diamond.

When the lights came on and the audience began to file out of the building, Andrea sat still and smiled.

“Did you enjoy the show?” David asked her.

“Yes. It was just as magical as I’d always thought it would be.” She leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes. “I’m still waiting to wake up. This is so unreal.”

David felt the same way, except he wasn’t thinking about the show but about her; he wondered when he would wake up and realize she’d been nothing but a passing dream.

“I have an after party for us to attend,” David told her. “There should be some people in the industry there. Maybe you can talk to a few and make a couple contacts.”

“You’re unbelievable.” Her smile was so genuine and pure.

“Let’s go, beautiful.” He stood up and held his hand out for her.

As he walked her to the limo, he couldn’t help but feel breathless. Feeling her skin against his often did that to him. She was so breathtaking that he was lost in her.

The limo ride was short and they didn’t get a long enough time to kiss as much as he wished.

“How did you get invited to this?” Andrea asked him as they stepped out of the car.

“I have my ways.” David winked at her. “I know lots of people in all kinds of worlds.”

“Well, I’m not complaining. Your connections are wonderful.” She walked ahead of him giving him a perfect view of her backside. He sighed at the image; it was better than anything they had seen at the Paris’s museums. It was a masterpiece.

As they gave their names and watched the bouncer check the guest list, David put his arm around Andrea and kissed her cheek.

“I’m glad you are having fun,” he told her. “You seem happy; I like that.”

“Very happy. Thank you.” Her lips were mesmerizing and he couldn’t wait to take her home and taste them once more.

The bouncer opened the rope and let them through. As they walked in, it looked more like a gallery than a party, but he was used to white walled events.

“David!” A woman came up and kissed his cheek. “You made it.”

“Aimee, you look as radiant as ever.”

Aimee was in her late sixties and had white hair down to her waist. Her face was serious yet her conversations seldom were.

“And who is this pretty thing?” Aimee’s French accent added to her character.

“This is my wife, Andrea,” David said prouder than he should have been.

“Wife? You got married? When did this happen?” Aimee looked not only surprised but also offended.

“We got married almost two months ago.” David eyed Aimee and hoped that she would not make this an argument in front of Andrea.

“Well dear, I thought I would never see the day,” Aimee joked but he knew she was not amused. “Andrea, I am Aimee Bonnel. It is a pleasure to meet the beauty who tamed this beast.”

“Hello.” Andrea shook Aimee’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Now David, I must bring you over here to see Michael. He’ll be so pleased to see you again.” Aimee pointed to the other side of the room. “Shall we?”

“Okay, Andrea?” He reached for her hand.

“I’ll be over in a minute. I need a drink,” she told him.

“I can get you a drink.”

“No, go on. I can get my own drink, David,” Andrea insisted.

“Alright, but I’ll be right over there if you need me.” David nodded at her before following Aimee.

“You are very smitten with her, are you not?” Aimee grinned at him.

“She is special to me.” He looked back to make sure Andrea was doing alright as she walked up to the table for a drink.

“What have you done David?” Aimee asked bluntly as they got further away from the ears of others.

“What do you mean?” He avoided making eye contact with her.

“I’m your aunt and I just find out of this marriage?” Aimee raised her sharp eyebrow. “You have never kept anything from me before.”

“It was private and not a big deal. I was going to tell you as soon as I saw you in person.”

“C’est des conneries! That is bullshit.” She got closer to him. “You are hiding something.”

“Aunt Aimee, just let it be.” David took a step back from her.

“And your mother, she did not have a problem with you not having a large wedding with family and friends? That does not seem like something she would pass up,” Aimee said.

“My mother didn’t find out until two weeks after we married. I don’t need my mother’s approval. I don’t need anyone’s approval.”

“That may be so but you could’ve cared enough about me to pick up the phone and tell me. I’m your aunt yet I find out when you walk into a party with a stranger and a wedding band.” She shook her head. “I am hurt.”

David looked at his aunt. She looked a lot like his mother, yet she had cared more about him than his mother. Aimee would come stay summers with them in America and spent each day with him; swimming, telling stories, taking him on walks. It was more than his parents ever did. They were his best memories. Seeing her upset was not something he wanted.

“Aimee, I’m sorry. Really, I am.” He hugged his aunt. “Please, know that I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

“I forgive you.” She pulled away from him and smiled before her face got serious again. “Now come, Michael will be thrilled to see his cousin.”

David followed his aunt, guilt-ridden with the secret he held inside. If she knew his marriage was by contract, she would be disappointed in him. The sudden realization of his circumstances with Andrea began to weigh heavily on him. As he considered everything, his feelings for Andrea and the consequences that were already arising from his lies, he realized what he really regretted was that he may have ruined his chance at a real marriage with the only woman that he could imagine spending his life with. He looked back at Andrea, his diamond in the rough, and knew that she would soon be the one that got away.

*

“What can I get you to drink ma’am?” the bartender asked.

Andrea pondered the question. “I guess I will just have a water with lemon,” she said when she realized she only wanted to quench her thirst.

“Water?” a man from behind her asked. “That’s no fun.”

She turned to see a handsome black man with a stylish black and white suit.

“No fun?” she asked as she took the water from the bar counter and stepped away.

“You’re in Paris, the best city in the world. Live a little, try the wine.” The man’s British accent was intriguing.

“I’m not much of a wine girl,” she told him as she squeezed her lemon into her water and took a sip.

“Are you a model?” he asked.

Andrea laughed and shook her head. “Hardly. No, I am a designer, well, not compared to the designers from this show. But I make dresses, not model them.” She smiled.

“Dear, I’m one of the designers from the show and trust me, we’re not so superior,” he told her. “Did you make this?” he asked as he pointed to the tight red dress she was wearing.