“Sorry if I’m going on too much.” He stumbled to a stop.
She placed her hand on his arm. “No, I enjoy your enthusiasm. It’s just the people-watcher in me that is soaking it all in. Can you show me some of your work?”
Jean-Paul pulled out his phone, swiping and clicking on a few things before showing her the screen. “Today I was working on redesigning a company’s logo to make it more festive for the upcoming holidays.”
She recognized the vintage store’s brand and admired the way he took the classic design and added touches of holly berries and pine branches to add a seasonal look without overwhelming the original logo. “It’s fantastique.”
“Merci,” he said before stowing away the phone and turning his full attention to her. “What about you? I was fascinated by whatever you were working on the other day.”
“I’m a writer, actually. A story idea had just popped into my head, and I was getting it all down in my notebook.”
They moved toward the next vendor, but Hugo saw one of his favorite stops up head. Le Bon Chien. He yipped and tugged at the leash.
“Let’s hold that thought for a moment,” Delphine suggested as they changed course and let Hugo take the lead.
The pudgy bald man bent down to greet his guest. Hugo sat obediently, although they could see his excitement as his little body shook. “Ah, bonjour, mon ami Hugo. How are you today?”
“Monsieur Ledoux ran the obedience school we attended,” Delphine explained. Jean-Paul nodded, and they both watched as Hugo obeyed his teacher’s various commands, each time receiving a small treat as a reward.
“C’est bon,” Monsieur Ledoux said, satisfied with Hugo’s performance. He selected a small bag of treats and gave them to Delphine for safekeeping. Another family arrived with a mischievous puppy, cutting their visit short.
“Quite proud of himself, isn’t he?” Jean-Paul motioned to Hugo’s new swagger.
Delphine looped the leash over her wrist. “Ah, yes, Monsieur Ledoux has that effect on him. I sometimes imagine that Hugo believes he is the prince and our lives circle around him.”
Jean-Paul tilted his head as he regarded Hugo. “From his perspective, it could be entirely true. He gets to nap when he wants, doesn’t make any of his own food, and even gets lots of love from his owner too. The life of a pet can be rather indulgent. Although, I don’t think Hugo should be the only one who gets spoiled. How about a treat for us?”
They chose a vendor selling hand-dipped ice cream. After they both had double scoops—chocolate for her, strawberry for him—they found a bench to sit on. Hugo circled around, then curled up between their two sets of feet.
“So what do you write? I’m going to feel really stupid if you tell me you write for a magazine.”
Laughter bubbled up. She hadn’t even thought of that when she disclosed she was a writer. “That would have been just too perfect for torture. Non, I write novels for teenagers. Generally something with a science fiction or speculative twist.”
His eyebrows scrunched together as he licked at his ice cream. Then he asked, “I know what science fiction is, but what makes a book speculative? Is that like a mystery?”
“I get that question a lot.” She enjoyed some of the chocolate yumminess before it dripped down the cone, then continued. “There are so many terms we use in the publishing industry that don’t always cross over to readership and book stores. Speculative fiction is one of the more complicated genres, in my opinion. It covers a wide range of elements. It can be futuristic like Ender’s Game. Sometimes it has a contemporary setting with a supernatural element like The Hourglass Door series. It can even be a broken world or have a dystopian feel like the Hunger Games series. Did any of that help?”
Jean-Paul still looked slightly confused. “So where does Harry Potter fit in?”
“Ooh,” she said. “Now that’s controversial. Some say it’s fantasy, others classify it as speculative. Let me give you a tip,” she said, leaning forward and dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “If you’re ever in a group of die-hard fans, don’t bring up that topic or you may end up crushed at the bottom of a stampede.”
He made a little check-mark action in the air. “Duly noted. HP is off limits.”
She smiled at his sense of humor. At the beginning, she had been nervous, but it only took a few moments before the fizzy anxious feeling had settled. The rest of their time together had been filled with ease, good conversation, and a growing curiosity about the spark of attraction she felt between them.
Jean-Paul twisted his ice cream cone around, catching a drip on the other side. The cone was dwarfed by his two very well made, strong hands. Hands that made her tingle and her heartbeat quicken.
Delphine blinked to clear her thoughts. Earlier it was his eyes, now his hands. She seriously had to stop thinking things like that. It was all starting to sound like a cheesy romance novel. She hated cheesy romance novels. Real life just wasn’t like that . . . Was it?
“I have to be honest,” Jean-Paul said, shifting his position on the bench to face her better. “Even though I noticed you at the fountain, it was when you dashed back to the table and were totally absorbed in your story that I knew I needed to meet you. Your passion and focus intrigued me. It makes sense now that I know you’re a writer. Creative people tend to be more caught up in their work.”
She nodded, struck again by his understanding of her work process. “Oui, it can definitely be consuming. It can also be frustrating when things aren’t coming together the way you want.”
“I get that,” he said, eyes flicking with understanding. “Sometimes I can see a design in my head, but it won’t come out right on my computer and the harder I try, the bigger disaster it becomes. At times like that, I just have to step away, then come back at it with a different perspective.”
Delphine nodded in agreement. “It sounds like we have some similar work experiences. Um, did you say you also design websites?”
“I do,” he said, finishing off his ice cream cone.
“Would you be interested in taking a look at mine?” She was almost too embarrassed to ask, as her website was pathetically out of date. “My publisher’s marketing team started a basic site, then turned it over to me. I have absolutely no idea what to do with it and it hasn’t been updated in a long time.”
“I sure can. Here.” He pulled out a business card and handed it to her, along with a pen. “Why don’t you write down your email address and website URL? I’ll check it out, then email you to follow up.”
“That would be wonderful.” She scribbled the domain name and her business email address on the back of the card, then checked her watch before handing it back. A pang of disappointment hit her when she saw how much time had passed. “I have to get back to work.”
“No problem. I should probably do the same,” he replied, standing and turning to offer her assistance.
She took his proffered hand, allowing him to pull her up. He held her hand for a moment longer as Hugo jumped around, tail wagging, excited to continue their walk.
“I enjoyed getting to know you better, Delphine,” he said, squeezing her hand gently before releasing it.
Her heart sped up, hoping there would be a follow up invitation. “Merci for the coin experiment and ice cream,” she said, trying not to get distracted by his eyes again.
“It was my pleasure. I’ll email you soon. I hope your writing project goes well.” He took a step back and broke the intimacy between them.
She bid him goodbye, gathered her hand bag and doggie treats, and left the flea market with Hugo leading the way toward home. Just before turning a corner, she glanced back for one last glimpse of Jean-Paul, but he was gone.
Gah, Delphine, get Jean-Paul out of your thoughts and jump back into your story. That’s where your focus needs to be right now.
Focus, focus, focus.
But a set of brilliant blue eyes were never far from her thoughts.
CHAPTER FOUR
>
LATER THAT EVENING, Jean-Paul settled into the leather recliner in his living room. He responded to a text message from Angelique, who was traveling to visit the Simply Bella boutique in Paris.
Have a safe trip. Watch out for foreigners on the round-abouts! Let’s catch up when you’re back in La Rochelle.
Setting the cell phone aside, he turned the television to the current La France Got Talent episode for some background noise. If he had to spend the evening working, it was nice to at least have some entertainment to go with it. Once the application for his work email was open, he clicked through some messages from his father’s office, answering questions about clients he had passed off to various representatives, all while listening to the judges’ comments about the contestants.
With the emails completed, he pulled up Delphine’s website. She wasn’t kidding about it being basic. It was hosted on a free platform, which was fine, but the website used an old template that wasn’t responsive, which meant anyone viewing it on a tablet or cell phone would encounter a static page they would need to resize for readable fonts, as well as scroll from side to side to view all the elements. The only content was spotlights on her first two books, a bio page and a contact form. He pulled up Delphine’s books on Amazon to compare to her website’s book list. It looked like there were two more recent books missing from the site.
Opening a blank Word document, he began to work on a list, noting the books that needed to be updated. A general internet search for Delphine Baudry brought up social media pages and her blog, all of which he added to his notes document. He found several interviews and reviews that were highly ranked and added those links as well.
After reviewing the web pages and notes, he compiled a proposal for how his company could update her website, social media and online presence, and included sample links to work he’d done for other companies. He attached it to an email, then sent the message to Delphine with his cell phone number and a note that she could send him some dates and times to go over design elements if she wanted to move forward.
He also added a note that he’d enjoyed their experiment earlier that day and hoped to see her again soon.
With that task completed, he began reviewing notes for his upcoming meeting with Monsieur St. Germain. The savvy businessman had a long history with his father; the two once attended university together. Jean-Paul remembered business meetings and family gatherings from the time he was just a young boy. In fact, it was Monsieur St. Germain who encouraged his father to consider Jean-Paul’s idea to open a new branch focused on website and social media marketing.
For that reason alone, Jean-Paul wanted to be sure this proposal was not just on par, but exceeded Monsieur St. Germain’s expectations for Simply Bella’s holiday season. It was worth the extra time to be prepared with ideas that showcased their winter sales or spotlighted select merchandise in a fresh way. He logged into their server to review back end code, making notes on what they could add or tweak to create the new website elements. After logging out, he continued to put together a marketing plan for their social media presence with interactive giveaway ideas and discount incentives.
By the time he was done, he felt confident in the direction the proposal was going, La France Got Talent was long over, and his eyes needed a break from sorting through thousands of lines of code. As he closed programs, he found a return email from Delphine.
Jean-Paul,
Ooh là là, there’s a lot of work to be done! I like your proposal very much and would love to set up a meeting to review ideas. I need to make a trip to Bordeaux to meet with my editor, but am free next week on Monday or Wednesday afternoons. You can choose the time. If those days don’t work, let me know.
Thank you!
Delphine
PS - It’s nice to find a fellow member of the geek department. =)
Jean-Paul pulled up his calendar and saw he had a block of time free after his meeting with Simply Bella on Monday afternoon. He hit the email reply button.
Delphine,
Monday afternoon at three o’clock works for me. I hope your trip to Bordeaux is productive.
See you next week, Miss Geek.
Jean-Paul
He closed the email interaction with Delphine, feeling a jumble of emotions. He couldn’t seem to push back the growing sense of anticipation about meeting with her again.
If he was going to help with Delphine’s website, he really should learn more about her writing. He went online and pulled up her Amazon Author page. Her first three books were sci-fi and speculative fiction twists on classic fairy tales. Her fourth book, The Space Corps General, looked like sci-fi with more of a romance element to it. He added the ebooks to his cart and checked out.
He started Delphine’s first novel, a twist on the Alice in Wonderland story, after he had finished getting ready for bed. He plumped the pillows up and settled back against the bed frame as he clicked his way to the ebook’s opening paragraph. He really wasn’t a sci-fi guy. He never could get into all the made-up space stuff, but the descriptions in Delphine’s novel were so vivid, it was like watching a movie in his head. The very determined Alice, the white rabbit in a space suit hopping through a black hole, and the robotic Cheshire cat just jumped off the page. It felt like if he opened the living room window, he would find them all lurking on the street outside his building.
As he continued reading, he imagined Delphine sitting at a table, her curls twisted up in knot as she brought Alice’s story to life. He admired her talent to enchant others with her words. At that moment, his greatest desire was to discover what other traits made up this woman who came into his life in such a magical way.
CHAPTER FIVE
Friday, September 22nd
“DELPHINE, MA BELLE.” Michel greeted her with a kiss to her cheek. “You are looking gorgeous, as usual.”
Delphine’s heart warmed. She had met many editors who simply complimented to schmooze their way into a client’s good will and was grateful that her editor was sincere in not only his manuscript critiques, but also his compliments. Michel was all about fitness, which his physique clearly showed, even with his all-black attire. Combined with his dark eyes, hair and skin, she sometimes imagined him as a dark angel with a heart of gold, coming to rescue a legion of artists.
“I’m intrigued by this new book proposal,” he said, leading her into his office. She took a seat on one end of the leather couch while he took the other end. On the coffee table, she could see a clipboard loaded up with print outs of her proposal, synopsis, and the first three chapters, covered with red markups and notes jotted in the margins. “How did you come up with the idea?”
“That’s kind of a funny story, actually,” she said, grabbing the bottle of water on the coffee table and twisting open the cap. “I wished for it.” She took a generous sip of water.
Michel crossed his long legs, a bemused expression on his face. “Did you wish on a shooting star like Pinocchio?”
“Not quite. I made a wish on a coin and tossed it into a fountain. My coin ended up hitting another one and, I don’t know, maybe it was the collision or something, but when I looked up at the guy who threw the other coin, the beginning scenes of the book popped into my head.”
“And what happened with the guy?” Michel inquired.
“The guy?” Delphine squeaked out. “Why would you ask about him?”
Michel quirked an eyebrow. “Well, he was obviously important enough to mention when you told the story, so there must be some follow up. You know how dropping hints works in a novel. He sounds like a key element to your book.”
“Um, no, I mean, he did toss the other coin, so that was important, right?” She leaned over and picked up her clipboard. “Shouldn’t we talk about the book?”
Michel’s lips twitched, as if trying not to laugh. Instead he picked up his clipboard set and pulled out his reading glasses. “Let’s jump right in, shall we?”
Delphine pulled out her favorite purple editing p
en, ready to mark away. Although she wasn’t sure if she had dodged one bullet in exchange for another.
“I love the first three chapters. Obviously they’re the first draft and changes will happen as we talk about more plot points, but they’re solid. Great characterization, love the sensory elements you added to really make the New York City setting alive.”
They continued through a review of those chapters, with their discussion centering more on the characters, their motivations, and other key points. Then they turned to the dreaded synopsis. Book titles weren’t the only thing she stank at. Putting together a synopsis that didn’t sound like, ‘This happens, then that happens, oh and then this happens after that’ was a horrific task.
“You’re getting better with your synopsis proposals,” Michel said, peering at her over the rim of his reading glasses. “‘Better’ meaning you’ve made progress but still have a long way to go. Thankfully, we’re able to get all the kinks out before I meet with the buying committee.”
Delphine pulled up her mental armor around her tender writer’s heart and prepared for critique mode, all while reminding herself that Michel’s feedback was what helped strengthen her story. She took a deep breath, ready to dive in.
“First, let’s talk about the overarching conflicts. We need to be sure that they don’t snag any previous ‘our world is dying’ books out there.”
And so it began. Over the next hour, they thoroughly went through conflicts, resolutions, setting, and details behind the science of it all. For as much as Michel nit-picked and pulled apart the synopsis, Delphine pushed back with details that were in her notes or stuck in her head. The back and forth led to a plot with more depth and strength.
Once Upon a Wish (Destined for Love: Europe) Page 3