Foreign Affair

by Shelli Stevens

  The door swung open, and she shifted her gaze forward to meet Claire’s smiling face.

  “Hello, hello. Please, come in.”

  Lena stepped through the doorway, and Tyler followed a second behind.

  “How are you, Claire?” she asked as the other woman ushered them inside.

  “I am wonderful. Come, I will take you to our leisure room where my family is waiting.” Claire walked gracefully, leading them down the beige-carpeted hallway.

  The house didn’t seem large and overbearing, but intimate and decorated with pictures of the family.

  Lena glanced around, curious to see the man that Claire had left her first husband for. In her mind, she envisioned a tall, handsome and distinguished looking man.

  “Mère.” A young girl peeled out around the corner and wrapped herself around Claire’s leg. “Qui sont-elles?”

  “Remember how I told you, Antoinette. You are to practice your English tonight for our guests,” Claire replied after leaning down to hug the girl.

  The girl scowled and then gave Lena and Tyler a hesitant glance.

  “Antoinette.” Claire’s voice took on a firm edge.

  “Oiu, Mère,” Antoinette replied with a sulk.

  “These are Mommy’s friends. Tyler and Lena. They are from America,” Claire explained.

  Lena smiled at the child. “Nice to meet you, Antoinette.”

  The girl stared. “You are not very tall.”

  Lena gave an abrupt laugh, not surprised to hear such a blunt comment from a child. “No, I’m not. I’m just barely taller than a child, aren’t I?”

  Antoinette looked at her mother in an obvious indication that she didn’t understand all of Lena’s words.

  Tyler took over by kneeling beside the girl and speaking to her in fluent French.

  Lena watched them in amazement. He charmed the girl quicker than he could have with a lollipop. Antoinette laughed and responded to him and, after a moment, she turned back to Lena.

  “I am sorry,” the girl said. “I speak in English as Mère wishes. Tyler, he is funny. Come, I show you to my family.”

  Lena hid a small smile, impressed at the girl’s broken English. She spoke well for being so young.

  As they followed her into the other room, Lena turned toward Claire.

  “She’s adorable. How old is she?”

  “Antoinette is seven,” Claire replied proudly. “My oldest daughter, Monica, is eighteen. She is the one gone to University at this time. Eric, my son, is fifteen.”

  They reached the sitting room decorated with several floral paintings, with floral-patterned throw pillows, and even a floral arrangement in a vase to complete the apparent theme. The woman liked floral.

  Claire gestured for them to make themselves comfortable. Tyler and Lena sat down on a plush, green couch, and his hand came to rest on her knee. Her whole leg tingled at the contact, and she placed her palm on top of his hand.

  Claire spoke in a soft voice to Antoinette. Lena glanced up at the other woman and had the sudden urge to confide everything about her situation with Tyler to Claire.

  “Ah, Luc.” Claire’s voice came out on a sigh.

  The entrance of a man into the room had Lena’s jaw dropping a bit. The man she stared at was not at all what she had expected. He wasn’t much taller than Claire, had very little hair left on his head, and had a slightly bulging stomach.

  Claire’s face lit up as she went to him and returned his brief kiss on the lips.

  “These are my friends, Tyler and Lena. And this is my wonderful husband, Luc.”

  “Very nice to meet you both.” Luc smiled and shook her hand. Tyler stood and gave a nod, the two shaking hands.

  Luc returned to his wife’s side and slipped his arm around her again, beaming down at her.

  “You two are awful.” The voice belonged to a lanky, teenage boy who’d just entered the room. He turned to Tyler and Lena and gave them a disarming smile. “I am Eric, the unfortunate child of these two inseparable people.”

  Such a teenager. Lena smiled, amused by the boy.

  “You sound jealous, Eric. Your parents appear to have a beautiful relationship. Perhaps you are hoping to find the same someday?”

  Eric shook his head and gave a lopsided grin. “I am only fifteen, mademoiselle. I cannot even begin to think about being with just one woman. There are so many who should enjoy the embrace of Eric Ames before I select just one.”

  While Lena gaped in shock, Tyler laughed.

  “And now you have met my wonderful…” Claire paused, “…if not somewhat eccentric, family.”

  “What is eez sentrik?” Antoinette demanded from the floor where she played with some dolls.

  “Something you will understand later in life, my darling,” Luc inserted smoothly. “My wife has prepared an extraordinary amount of food for us, so perhaps we should make use of it?”

  “Sounds great to me,” Lena agreed. “I’m starving.”

  Two hours later, Antoinette had gone to sleep, Eric had left to go out with friends, and the adults lounged around in the living room, chatting.

  Luc stood and stretched. “I think I will indulge in my end-of-the-evening drink and cigar. Claire does not allow me to smoke inside, so I go out onto the veranda. Would you care to join me, Tyler?”

  Tyler gave a nod. “That’d be great.”

  Lena smothered a laugh. Tyler was going to smoke a cigar? “Then I will show you the game room. Do you play pool, my friend?”

  Tyler nodded. “I do all right.”

  “Well, we must play later. What can I get you to drink?”

  “Gin and tonic would be great.”

  Lena laughed, amused at how fast he’d switched into ultra guy mode. Before leaving, Luc opened another bottle of wine and set it down next to the women.

  “Enjoy yourself, ladies.” Luc winked at them and then headed out of the room.

  When the men had disappeared through the double doors, Claire turned to Lena and gave a small smile. “I am so pleased we met again in Paris.”

  Lena returned the woman’s smile. “Thank you, Claire. You’ve been so kind to invite us.” She hesitated. “Do you often do this? Meet new people and bring them home?”

  Claire laughed. “No. Not at all. I liked you. I liked you the first time we met, and I told you all about my scandalous past.”

  “It’s not all that scandalous.” Lena’s thoughts briefly skipped to her own life. “And now that I see you two together, it’s so obvious that you’re both so very much in love.”

  Taking a sip of wine, Claire murmured, “I love Luc. More today than I did when I first met him.”

  “Amazing.” Envy pricked through her. She couldn’t say that about Keith, even before he’d cheated on her. Their love had been depleting slowly, like a balloon with a miniscule pinprick in it.

  “If you do not mind me asking…” Claire paused. “You and Tyler seem very intimate. You say that Tyler is not your fiancé?”

  Lena flushed, and her fingers clawed into her skirt. “No, he’s not. I—”

  “Where are my manners?” Claire shook her head, her face reddening. “I am so sorry. I should not have asked. It is none of my business. It is just… You two look so happy together.”

  “No, it’s fine. Really,” Lena said quickly. “I needed someone to talk to. I was hoping you could maybe give me some advice…”

  “Advice?”

  “Yes, I’m just so confused with everything.” Lena’s voice cracked. “There’s so many complex things going on, and I’m going insane not being able to talk about it with another woman.”

  Claire gave a slow nod. “I think you are a very sweet woman, and I would love to be a confidante to you. Please, feel free to talk to me about anything you wish.”

  Relief weakened her muscles, and she took a deep breath before plunging in to tell Claire about everything that had happened to her in the last month. The good, the bad and the ugly.

  When she finished talki
ng, so much weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She downed the rest of her wine and sighed, leaning back into the couch.

  Claire stared at her with a small, knowing smile and finally nodded her head. She looked at their now empty wineglasses and lifted the bottle to fill them again.

  “First, I think we will need more wine.” Claire handed her the glass back.

  The wine had certainly helped to loosen her tongue. She raised the glass to her lips and took another sip.

  “Truly amazing.” Claire gave her a thoughtful glance. “It is like a movie, no? Lena, fate has certainly been at work in your life.”

  “You think that’s what it is?” Lena frowned, drinking another sip. “Do you think it’s fate?”

  Claire continued to drink her own wine. “Of course it is fate. A coincidence as such?”

  “Yeah, but it’s not like a really good coincidence. It’s possible he’s still engaged to one of my clients.” Lena tried to focus her thoughts and realized it was getting harder to do. “And she’s a real bitch. Why would he ever be engaged to her in the first place?”

  Claire laughed and shook her head. “I could not answer.”

  Lena stared at her glass of wine and frowned. How many glasses had they drunk so far? She shrugged and took another sip.

  “Hey. What if he is still engaged, though? What if he’s just sleeping with me?” She gasped, her eyes going wide. “Oh, my God, that’s what I’m doing to him. I’m the bitch.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You are not a bitch. You are a confused woman.” Claire smiled and gave a tiny hiccup. “Tyler appears to care for you very much. And if I am not mistaken, you feel the same for him. Am I wrong?”

  “Nope, you are not wrong.” Lena shook her head, the movement making her a little dizzy. “No, Claire. I think you are very right. Very right indeed.”

  Claire laughed and leaned back on the couch. She stopped laughing after a moment and glanced at Lena. “I do not know why that was funny.”

  “Why what was funny?” Lena glanced at the wine. “Is there any more wine left?”

  Claire leaned forward and reached for the bottle. It tilted, but she righted it before it could spill.

  “Good job. Close call there.” Lena gave a serious nod.

  Claire laughed and poured them each a half glass of wine more to finish off the bottle.

  Lena sighed and ran her finger around the rim of her glass. What was Tyler doing right now? Was he thinking of her? The wine moved through her body, warming her. She closed her eyes and thought about how good it felt to have his lips on her body.

  “What are you thinking about?” Claire asked.

  Lena opened her eyes. “How good the sex is.”

  Claire eyes widened in shock, and then her body shook with silent laughter. “I suppose that helps.”

  “I mean, the sex is really good,” Lena repeated, more firm this time. “And I like having good sex.”

  “You were having bad sex with the fiancé?”

  “Terrible sex. Anti-sex.”

  “Such a shame.” Claire clucked her tongue and stood up, glancing around the corner as if to see if anyone might be listening. She hurried back to the couch. “Luc and I have amazing sex. Even after twenty years.”

  “That’s great.” Go Claire. “I’ll probably end up with cobwebs and a do not enter sign in twenty years.”

  Claire burst into laughter and wagged her finger at her. “Ah, but not with Tyler around.”

  “Tyler.” Lena’s heart skipped. “Tyler could make a nun leave the convent.”

  Clair laughed louder, and Lena joined in. When they finally calmed down again, Claire curled her legs under her bottom and turned to face Lena.

  “How do you feel about Keith now?” Claire pulled the clasp out of her hair, and her restrained twist fell in waves down her shoulder.

  How did she feel? Lena frowned. Now if that wasn’t the question of the month.

  “Well, he’s an okay guy. Most of the time. When he’s not banging some chick in Maui or refusing to have sex, or being a neurotic health nut, or telling me that my job isn’t good enough, or—”

  “Do you listen to what you say? He is a, how do you say it, a jackass.” Claire gave a soft snort. “Sorry, I am the last person who should judge someone else. But perhaps it is a sign?”

  “A sign? What, that I’m too boring for him? I just don’t know. I thought I loved him, but then I met Tyler. And nothing’s the same. Nothing.”

  “Perhaps—” Claire leaned forward and gave a sage nod, “—you are being given a glance at what life could be like. If you choose to stay with Tyler.”

  “I don’t know. We made such a big deal of how this is just a vacation fling. And now it’s all changing. Everything is changing.”

  “You will only know if you ask him. But you must tell him about Keith and ask him about this Marilyn lady.”

  “Carolyn.” Lena’s nose wrinkled.

  “Of course. I apologize.” Claire paused. “Unless you intend to return home and forget about Tyler. You will simply marry Keith as planned?”

  “Ugh.” Lena gagged, a shudder ripping through her.

  “Ugh?” Claire stood up and turned on the radio. “Is that no? It sounded like no.”

  “Keith just seems like…cheese in a can. While Tyler is the real deal.”

  “They have such a thing? Cheese in a can?”

  “Hell, everything comes in a can nowadays.” Lena closed her eyes. Had the room started to spin?

  When she opened them again, she stared at Claire, who appeared to be doing some kind of interpretive dance. She blinked, to see if the image would clear, but Claire kept dancing.

  “Claire?”

  “Mmm?” The other woman didn’t even break in her movements.

  “How much wine did we drink?”

  Claire hesitated, looking a little surprised. “I am not sure. But I think it is safe to say we may have overindulged a bit.”

  “Just a bit.” Lena tried to make an inch sign with her fingers, but they slipped past one another.

  “Come and dance with me, Lena. This is an old song. I feel like a teenager again.” Claire cried.

  Lena sighed and stood up. “Oh, why the hell not?”

  “A combo, with the five ball in the corner pocket.” Tyler lined up his shot and then took it, proving right his prediction.

  “You are quite the player.” Luc gave him an approving nod. “Do you play much?”

  “I go out after work sometimes to shoot some stick. You’re not bad yourself.” Tyler leaned in to take out the eight ball after calling the shot.

  “I love to play,” Luc admitted, picking up his stick when the eight ball skimmed off the side, rolling past the hole.

  Luc gestured with his stick to call the shot, and then banked the eight ball.

  “Nice game.” Tyler shook Luc’s hand and then picked up his drink.

  “You as well.” Luc sipped from his own glass. “How long have you and Lena been dating?”

  Tyler hesitated. What could he say to the other guy? We’re not dating, just fucking. Though I’m trying to convince her to be more.

  “Not very long. We just started, actually.”

  “That is the truth?” The other man looked surprised as he shook his head. “That is all? You have the ease of a long-married couple.”

  Tyler gave a brief smile. “We’re not quite to that stage yet.”

  “You have plenty of time. You are both young. Would you like another drink or cigar?”

  “I’ll take another drink.”

  Tyler followed the other man back into the sitting room and froze when they reached the doorway.

  Music blared, and Lena and Claire were tossing their bodies around as if they were at a rave.

  “Well,” Luc murmured with amusement. “I probably should not have left the full bottle of wine.”

  Tyler raised an eyebrow, staring at Lena, who seemed oblivious to his presence.

  Clair
e turned her head and spotted her husband. “Oh, my wonderful Luc.”

  She launched herself at Luc, almost knocking him over as she rained his face with kisses and babbled away in French.

  Tyler gave a soft laugh and then looked at Lena. She kept dancing, though her gaze locked on him.

  He walked across the floor, not breaking eye contact. He reached her side and slipped a hand around her waist. “Are you enjoying yourself, sweetheart?”

  “Totally.” She hiccupped. “We had a little wine.”

  “So I see.”

  Lena lowered her lashes, her expression turning seductive. “Tell me, Tyler. Do you think I’m sexy?”

  Tyler’s head swiveled to see if the other couple had heard her. Seeing they were busily wrapped up in each other, he turned back to Lena and traced a finger across her collarbone.

  “You know that I think you are damn sexy, Lena.”

  “Good.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and swayed to the music. Her nose crinkled. “You smell like cigars.”

  “I should. I smoked one.” Hell yeah, she looked sexy. Even wasted off her ass, she was still adorable.

  “That’s nice. I think I’d like to smoke a cigar.” She grinned. “And maybe have some more wine.”

  “You know, I don’t really think you need any more.”

  “Look, aren’t they cute?” Lena flung her head in a gesture toward Claire and Luc who were slow dancing to an upbeat song.

  “They’re adorable.” The cute couple would likely want to be alone soon. “Time to go, sweetheart.”

  “Aw, so soon?”

  “Yeah, it’s getting late. Maybe we can even stop at a shop and grab some chocolate to bring home.” He hoped chocolate would tempt her into leaving.

  “Oh…chocolate.” Lena grinned. “I like that idea.” They went to say good-bye to the other couple.

  “You two are leaving?” Claire sighed.

  “Yes, we’re going to go have some chocolate,” Lena replied, all too solemn.

  “Oh, is that what it is called now?” Claire winked at her and gave a sly smile.

  While the two women hugged and whispered something to each other, Tyler shook Luc’s hand again and thanked him for inviting them over.

  After another few minutes of good-byes, Tyler managed to steer her out the door.