by Ciji Ware
He stowed the last of his purchases and soon they were driving along streets with trees whose branches burst with the pink and white blooms of spring that reminded Juliet of the beautiful boxes in the backseat.
“Good lord, it’s all so gorgeous,” she murmured, gazing through the window at an outdoor café whose sandstone walls were dripping with arching bowers of lush, lavender wisteria.
“The view from the barge is completely different now from the one you saw in the dead of winter,” he said, signaling a turn. “As you can see, the cherry blossoms, wisteria and daffodils have exploded all over the city.” Finn found his customary parking place on the street above the quay. “And something else has happened since you left that I’d like your opinion about.”
“Really?” she asked, filled with curiosity. “What?”
“I’ll tell you while I’m making our dinner. That is, if you can stay awake.”
By this time, thanks to her nap in the car, Juliet was feeling a bit more herself and did her duty setting plates and cutlery on the small table-for-two positioned next to windows on the side of the pilothouse that faced the Eiffel Tower. Within forty-five minutes, Finn had produced a mouth-watering duck with orange sauce served on perfectly cooked wild rice laced with mushrooms sautéed in cognac, along with steamed asparagus on the side. Outside their window, the tower cast a golden glow on the Seine, the colored lights of the French flag having been replaced by its customary, clear sparkling bulbs.
“As a gal who has grown up in a five-star hotel with a noted chef on staff,” Juliet managed to say with her mouth full, “this is totally fabulous!”
“You’re not just saying that to be polite after you heard me cursing my sticky pan?” Finn asked, and she realized he wanted an honest answer.
“No. Everything is cooked perfectly and the flavors blend brilliantly. It’s first class, Major. Maybe you have a future career as a chef? Ever consider it?”
Finn settled back in his chair and shook his head. “I know enough about haute cuisine by now to be certain that the restaurant business is a lot harder than it may appear. No, my interest in food will remain amateur status, but the subject of career choices is actually what I want to get your opinion about.”
“Me?” she asked, startled.
“Yep, you. I’ve been offered a job as one of several managers of a joint European operation that would fly small, commercial drones in sensitive areas as part of a coordinated security strategy.”
“Really? Here in France?”
She didn’t want to sound disappointed that Finn might be making plans to remain in Europe long term. Given the mess facing GatherGames in San Francisco and the distance between there and Paris, any idea that she could stay in France longer than a weekend, or that she and Finn had any hope for a genuine future together suddenly looked—given this job offer—slim-to-none. Forced to face the reality of their situation, she mentally lectured herself to abandon the notion that had begun to thrum in the back of her brain about how this highly romantic night might end. She glanced at the couch nearby and resolved to sleep there for the few days she’d be in Paris before heading home.
In the silence that followed Finn’s announcement of the drone security project he gazed at her intently as if to measure her reaction to his news.
“Well, tell me this,” she said in what she hoped was a neutral tone of voice. “How does the job offer strike you? Would flying drones—even civilian ones—here in France bring up any... ah... bad memories?”
“I wondered the same thing and talked it over with Doctor A. She recommended I pay a visit to a drone training school at the Saint Jacques Airport in Rennes and see what it felt like.”
“How far outside Paris is that?” she asked, trying to keep her demeanor friendly and interested.
“It’s in the middle of Brittany. About two hundred miles from here. I was given a chance to test fly one of the prototypes the operation plans to use.”
“And? How did it go?”
Finn cracked a grin. “At first, I’ll admit, I was a bit spooked, but believe it or not, it turned out to be fun. These little spider-like machines have great, high-resolution video cameras attached to them and they’re able to survey everything from cracks in a dam to railroad tracks with switches pointing in the wrong direction.”
“So, you think you’ll do it?” Juliet lowered her eyes to avoid his piercing stare while she carefully cut another slice off the orange-glazed duck breast.
“Turns out there are a few speed bumps connected with the offer.”
She looked up. “Such as what?”
“I’d have to rejoin the Air Force.”
Juliet set down her knife with a clatter. “Why? I thought it was a European joint governmental project to keep civilians safe, not a U.S. military operation.”
“That’s just the issue,” he said, pushing a forkful of rice across his plate. “Its purpose is to protect civilians, but...”
Finn didn’t complete his sentence, so Juliet did it for him. “But it’s being made to look as if it were completely a civilian operation, right?”
Finn merely offered a shrug.
Juliet placed her fork on the side of her plate with a grimace. “You mean it’s our C.I.A. and other European intelligence agencies in charge,” she declared. “A military deal, right?”
“You did not hear me say that.”
“But once you’re in the Air Force again, they could send you anywhere and ask you to do anything, right?”
“Man, do I love your brain,” he said admiringly. “I was pretty sure I was going to tell them ‘no’ this week, but I wanted to get your take, first.”
Flattered to hear this, Juliet finished chewing the delectable morsel in her mouth and then said, “Well, at least you found out you could still operate a drone without—”
“Running screaming from the controls?” he joked with a flash of black humor. “Yes, that was worth the entire process of looking into the possibility of accepting the job. I also learned that, believe it or not, France is far ahead of the USA in putting forth sensible regulations for civilian use of commercial drones.”
“Really? Ahead of us? I see drones being used now in news reports and stuff,” she insisted. “You know, overhead shots of wildfires burning out of control in the mountains in California. And there was a big story just before I flew over here that showed medicines being delivered by small drones in remote parts of Appalachia. And, doesn’t Amazon plan to start delivering packages with the gizmos eventually?”
“Exactly, although I think the Amazon project is some ways off, but there are a million ways to combine small-scale drone flights with all sorts of commercial enterprises. The problem in the States is the Congress and the FAA have been slow to set forth the regs to license commercial operators.”
“Well, they better start soon before one of those things runs into a jetliner.”
“Amen, but I learned a Congressional committee is fast-tracking it now. So get this,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been thinking of going back to school to learn as much as I can about the various applications there might be for commercial drone pilots. Then I’ll figure out if there’s a part of this industry in the U.S. that would be a good fit for me.”
“There’s a school you can go to for this?” she marveled.
“Yep... kinda like L’École des Beaux Arts for commercial drone operations here in France. There’s even a course for people who are already pilots of winged and blade aircraft. They grant a certificate and everything. Then, if I come back to the States, I’ll have a leg up and get certified locally wherever I end up. It might be nice to ply my skills for purposes I can actually stomach and make some money to support myself at the same time. My vacation budget is beginning to wear thin after a year in Paris, even living cheaply in the stern of a barge.”
Juliet smiled across the table, slightly giddy for both of them that Finn had begun to find a path that made use of his highly skilled training, but also
could prepare him for a profession in the States that resonated with him, and of which he could be proud.
“I think that’s a terrific plan! I’m really excited for you.”
“Well, thanks,” he said, his blue eyes dazzling. “That makes me excited that you’re excited.” He looked across the table at her steadily. “Maybe you could quit that job that’s driving you crazy and go to art school in Paris this year? It’d be great to be students together before we both hit the perils of middle age.” He made a sweeping gesture that included his end of the barge. “And you’ll always have cheap digs in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.”
Juliet was brought up short. Was Finn inviting her to move to France, partly on his account? The entire idea sounded totally impractical... and wonderful. But all she said was, “Me? Move to France, now, to study at L’École? That’s always been my dream, but it’s just not in the cards at the moment.”
As if he hadn’t heard her last words he said, “You could enroll, even part time, at L’École... or take the landscape painting course at Giverny... or sign up for a semester or two in that school in the South of France you told me about.”
“You mean in Annecy?”
Juliet was amazed and touched to realize he’d actually given considerable thought to ways she could navigate a path from commercial graphics to fine arts.
“Right! That’s the place... at the base of the French Alps. Where Cezanne painted, didn’t you tell me one time? I could hone my drone skills and meet you on weekends here on the barge in Paris, or wherever. We could have a blast for a year or so until we were both ready for prime time in our new professions.”
“Oh, Finn, that would be so great,” she replied, hearing the wistful note in her response while her heart was hammering in her chest. Unless she was completely fanaticizing, Finn was actually asking her to be part of his life. But now she had to tell him about what her lawyer had texted her just before they’d sat down to dinner...
CHAPTER 23
Before Finn could beat the drum for her to pick up and leave San Francisco, Juliet somberly related the latest and intensifying rumors of a takeover at her family’s company and her efforts to liberate enough privately-owned stock to retire the equity loan against the Bay View and give herself a cushion to live on while she went back to art school.
“My lawyer just texted me that it may take a few months, or even a year, but if Jamie and I can pull that off, it would actually make it possible for me to move to France to study landscape painting in a serious way, just like Avery’s doing with portraiture.”
Finn took a slow sip of his Perrier and topped off her glass of Veuve Clicquot. With its pinpoint bubbles and clean, dry taste, it had become her favorite bubbly, and she hadn’t said ‘no’ to his refilling her glass all evening.
He raised his flute that glowed against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower looming out their window, tracer lights now twinkling to mark the hour of ten o’clock. “Earlier you said I should take time to let everything that’s happened to me this last year ‘settle in,’ wasn’t that how you put it?”
“That’s right.” She wondered where this conversation was headed. “You have to do what you have to do, and as you can see, I need time to work with my lawyer to exit GatherGames with what’s fairly owed to me, to Jamie, and to my parents.”
Finn smiled briefly. “Well, here’s to us. With any luck, it looks as if the timing within the next year might eventually line up for both of us. We’re each on a path, with plenty to do and explore, but these trails seem pretty parallel—even if we’re commuting between San Francisco and here. Nothing rushed, mind you,” he assured her, sensing her vague alarm at the weighty implication of his words for both of them. “It sort of reminds me of that old Sinatra tune.”
Juliet felt her eyes crinkle and a broad smile spread across her face. Her father had collected every song Sinatra had ever recorded. She could even sing it on key.
“Let’s take it nice and easy... it’s gonna be so easy...”
She halted, embarrassed to croon the next lyric, but Finn did it for her.
“For us to fall in love...”
“It’s a great Alan Bergman melody,” she murmured.
“Always loved that tune. Maybe it could be our theme song?”
In the highly charged silence that followed, Finn gently brushed the cool surface of his water-filled champagne flute against her flushed cheek.
“Oooh, that feels so nice,” she whispered.
“And how nice it could be just to relax and enjoy ourselves and see where it all leads.”
“But what if it takes me a year to untangle everything? What if it takes more?”
Finn smiled. “We’ll save our frequent flyer miles and go back and forth as often as we can until we can live together in the same place.”
“Nice and easy,” she repeated with a little giggle.
“But we’ll have to have faith in each other, though, Juliet,” Finn warned. His rakish smile had given way to a serious expression. “For a while, at least, we’ll be living on two continents taking care of business in our respective bailiwicks, so we’ll have to trust that we both have similar goals and each other’s best interest at heart. No screwing around, either of us.”
“I know,” she agreed with a sigh. “It’s a pretty tricky setup, especially since you’ve been there and done that.” He looked puzzled. “You and Kim living in two different places during your military service.” She nodded toward the sofa where they both remembered Kim had sat earlier this day. “That didn’t work out so well, did it?”
“You mean being separated a lot? No, it didn’t, but it’s you and me, this time,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. “And in case you’re wondering, I am quite enamored with you, Ms. Thayer. It’d be easy to fall in love with you. Fact is... if I’m really being honest, I’d have to say I already have.”
Their gazes locked and she felt an electric charge skitter down her spine.
“I’ve been fighting that same feeling ever since my plane touched down at De Gaulle. Maybe before,” she admitted, thinking of her tearful conversation with Avery and the way her heart lurched on Christmas Day at the sight of Finn’s portrait.
“Fighting falling in love with me, are you?” he teased. “Why, I’m highly offended to hear that.” Juliet could see he was faintly mocking but also serious. “Wanting to fall in love would sound a lot nicer.”
“Come on, Finn! Let’s face it. We’ve got a complicated situation here, and it’s all been kinda crazy, you know? You and I literally bumped into each other in front of the American Hospital on that terrible day and now, after everything that’s happened in the meantime, here we are...”
Finn rose to his full height and offered her a hand. “Yes, here we are. And aren’t I a lucky guy?”
Juliet pushed back her chair and in one, continuous movement that signaled a decision in itself, she rose from the seat straight into his arms.
“We’re both lucky...” she murmured, their noses nearly touching, “I always think things are hopeless, but then, here you plot a flight plan I would never even have thought of. No wonder they promoted you to Major.”
Finn ducked his head, his lips grazing her neck, inhaling her scent. ‘Come fly with me tonight,” he urged in her ear. “It’s all I’ve been able to think about since I knew you were coming over for Easter.”
She tilted her head back to stare into eyes so blue they were nearly black. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”
Finn framed her face in steady hands that had flown aircraft to the far corners of the globe. “Oh, yes, baby. I’m absolutely sure this is a very good idea.”
* * *
The sunny skies of a perfect Easter morning streamed through the porthole above the bed. Juliet swam to consciousness, deliciously aware of Finn’s tall frame spooning hers, his lips nibbling her left shoulder while another part of his anatomy signaled he’d awakened before she had. No more tights and a T-shirt for me, she c
onsidered sleepily, and no more running shorts for Finn.
“Hey, baby... you awake?”
“Mmmmm...” was all she could manage.
“Does that mean you’re sleepy or hungry?”
The last two mornings, Finn and she had risen together to walk to the bakery to lay claim to hot croissants, fresh out of the oven.
“Both.” She turned over to face him. “But thank you for not leaving me alone in bed, even to get croissants.” She brushed her fingers against the stubble on his cheek.
“Wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He held her hand against his face, his glance steady. “You are one fabulous co-pilot, you know that?”
Juliet actually felt a blush creep up her throat. She had been amazed how they hadn’t slept a wink their first night together, but for some reason, each morning since, she’d felt exhilarated and bursting with energy despite the scant rest they’d gotten the subsequent nights. She suddenly flashed on all the mornings she’d awakened to find Jed had departed without even a goodbye to play an early game of tennis or head to the office before she did. What he did do was leave clothes on the floor, sometimes with a note that said, “Throw these in the wash for me, will you?” with no please or thank you.
She burrowed her head under Finn’s chin, scattering kisses along his collar bone and then commenced playfully nipping his chest, deliberately moving lower in a path calculated to command his entire attention.
“Uh-oh... are you taking over the controls?”
“Watch me,” she mumbled against the soft, vulnerable place where his thigh joined his pelvis.
Three days earlier, when they had removed each other’s clothing, but before they fell onto the bed, he had pointed to the long, searing scar that incised the entire length of his left thigh where bullets had pierced his leg when the helicopter crashed, killing four soldiers on board. She had shocked even herself when she sank to her knees beside the bed built into the barge’s bulkhead. She’d smothered the puckered flesh with kisses, wordlessly showing him she accepted everything he had endured, everything he might have thought ugly about himself. And when, just before dawn, he had cried out in his sleep and was covered with sweat, she held him against her nakedness, murmuring that she was here, she was real, and that the nightmare he’d been having was over.