Guillaume, Her French Husband

He smiled.

“She already got a house?” he asked and she nodded. “I can’t wait to see what she had in mind for us.”

Ashley shrugged.

“I am not sure she really considers you in this future right now,” she said and Guillaume put a hundred dollar bill on the counter.

“She will,” he said before he started walking out of the bar.

“Wait, this is too much!” Ashley called out. “Your change.”

“Consider it your tip,” Guillaume called over his shoulder before he made his way to his town car.

*****

Lara

“Why does watching reruns always seem like such a good idea?” she wondered as she looked at the DVD cover of the third season of Two and A Half Men. She took a long sip of her homemade milkshake just as the doorbell rang. She sighed loudly as she got up and walked to the front door. But as she got closer to the door, she was not sure she wanted to open it. Mostly because she was feeling like she was seeing things. Because how else could she explain seeing Guillaume standing on Ashley’s porch? She opened the door and bit her lower lip.

“Lara,” he said in a soft voice. “You look even more beautiful than you did the last time.”

She rolled her eyes.

“I am in an oversized t-shirt. Nothing beautiful about that,” she said.

“You are wrong…so wrong,” he said in a soft voice. “You make everything look beautiful.”

She crossed her arms over her chest.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “And where the hell have you been?”

“I lost my phone and I didn’t know how to get to you,” he started as he looked at her. “And I wanted to leave and come find you for the longest time but I…” he shook his head. “There is nothing going on between me and Lucienne. We were just having one last meal before she went back to Switzerland and the photos happened to be taken at the exact moment when she was letting me try her food.”

Lara was ready to take a step forward and let him hug her but she was still not ready to give in. She looked at him and took a long deep breath.

“What about Zoe?” she asked and he shook his head.

“What about her?”

He was slowly walking into the house. Walking towards her and she was taking small steps back, keeping a safe distance between them.

“She talked to me….she told me that…” her voice trailed off as he took a step forward and held her face in his hands.

“I am not going to deny it. Zoe and I did have a casual thing but it ended almost as soon as it began.”

“But why would she approach me with so much gusto?” she asked.

“Because she saw you with something that she would never have,” he said in a soft voice. “My heart.”

She shook her head.

“Guillaume…this is the first time I am feeling this way about anyone and I don’t know if I….” her words trailed off again. But this time it wasn’t because he was holding her. It was because his lips had claimed hers and he was suddenly pinning her body against the wall. By the time he finally pulled away from her, she was panting and so was he. He leaned his forehead against hers and stroked the side of her face.

“I want to be with you,” he said in a soft voice. “I asked you to marry me. Not Zoe and definitely not Lucienne. Those pictures are just pictures…that’s just it.” He looked into her eyes and sighed. “I told you that the gossip sites are always looking for something to sell their papers and websites. And unfortunately for us, we are the latest bait in the pond.”

“So there is nothing between you and Zoe?” she asked and he shook his head. “And Lucienne?”

“There is absolutely nothing between me and any other woman except the one who is standing in front of me right now,” he whispered. “The woman I want to marry.”

He kissed her softly and pulled away from her. She had her eyes closed as she felt his warm breath on her cheek.

“You should not pay any attention to those gossip sites. We are always going to be on the gossip columns…whether they speak the truth or not.” He gently stroked her hair. “The next time something like that happens, just come to me first. Okay?” he asked as he looked down at her.