"I'm dead, boss." Marco flopped down on a chair and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his white shirt.

"Having so much work is a blessing and a curse," I said, taking off my apron. "Thank you for making sure everything ran smoothly today while I wasn't here. You can take tomorrow off."

Marco wiggled his eyebrows. "No, I can't. Didn't you have an afternoon date?"

"Shit. It's true. Monday, then."

"Well, I'm not going to say no this time. Anything else?"

I shook my head. "Go home. I'll close."

Claude walked into the bistro at the same time Marco opened the door to leave.

"Hello and goodbye," said my assistant, receiving a slap on the back from one of my and Jean's best friends.

"Always cheerful, that one." Claude nodded in Marco's direction before turning to me.

"I saw you today. What made you return the visit so fast?" I smiled at the man.

"The fact that you are so smitten with Louise that you forgot something at my restaurant."

I raised my eyebrows, but just then, Claude took my wallet out of his pocket.

"Damn it, thank you," I said, taking it from his hand. "You're right; I've been more than distracted lately."

My friend sat on one of the chairs and released a deep sigh. "Distracted is good; it keeps demons at bay."

"Sure does," I muttered. "So, what did you think of Lou?"

"She's the right girl for you, Thierry. Strong, independent, not afraid to voice her opinion. Her daughter also seemed nice. I'm more curious about the guy, though."

"Aiden?"

Claude nodded. "Hell if I didn't experience a dejà-vu when you introduced him to me."

"We might be a bit similar."

Claude snorted. "A bit? The guy has trauma written across his forehead, just like you did when you started working with Jean."

"He says he doesn't get on well with his father, but it's not the same, Claude."

My remark earned me an eye-roll from Claude. "He's Daniel's son, and that guy has been my customer for a while now. He never brought the kid with him, though. I would watch him closely, if I were you."

I frowned. "What are you hinting at?"

"Alcohol makes customers talk, Thierry. Daniel Kennedy is bad news, and his kid seems as innocent as they come. We might not save the world, but it won't hurt to help one guy if the need arises."

"Well, I guess we'll see more of each other now. I'd hate for you to be right, but I think I'll pay more attention just in case," I replied.

Claude grinned. "Good boy. Now, back to the number five."

"Not this again." I rolled my eyes. "It's not a big deal."

"It is a huge deal. You need to celebrate your big achievement. Not every business makes it to its fifth anniversary. Besides, it's a networking opportunity. You never know who might spread the word. A bit of promotion wouldn't hurt anyway."

"We have more work than we can manage, Claude. Organizing that kind of celebration takes lots of time, which we simply don't have."

The chair scraped against the floor as Claude rose to his feet. "Think about it, and say hi to Louise when you see her."

"I will," I said, accompanying him out of the bistro.

***

The following afternoon, I was standing on Louise's porch with a bouquet of roses and a bottle of wine. Taking a deep breath, I pressed the button of the doorbell.

"One moment!" I heard her yell. In a while, she opened the door.

"Hey, you brought wine, come on in," huffed Louise.

I laughed. "The flowers are for you as well."

"God, I'm so sorry. Thank you," Louise said, blushing as she took the bouquet. "I apologize; it's been a crazy afternoon."

I couldn't take my eyes off her slim figure in a tight black dress as she turned around and walked to the kitchen. I followed her there.

"Have you eaten?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Lou. "You have to stop feeding us. I'm serious. We have tons of food."

I shrugged and made a few steps toward her fridge. "I'll tell Marco to send something later. You won't have enough for dinner tomorrow," I said, examining the contents of the refrigerator.

"Thank you," Lou muttered, staring at her feet.

I closed the fridge and faced her. "What's up?"

Louise shrugged. "Ellie went on her first date, and I got an earful about my bad parenting."

"Come again?"

She faced away from me, and to my astonishment, I saw her bite her lip to stop herself from crying.

"Tell me," I said, hugging her.

Feeling Lou relax in my arms as she embraced me tighter and tucked her head in the crook of my neck made me feel so many things at once that I feared for my sanity. Maybe it was her closeness, or the delicate smell of her perfume, or the fact that we hadn't kissed once since we'd started going out — I didn't know what exactly made me lose my mind like a teenager.

"Look at me," I whispered.

Eyes the color of the spring sky on a sunny day in Paris looked into mine. My heart thumped against my ribcage, and my lips sought hers.

Lou's hands wandered over my back; mine traveled to her curves. Her mouth opened to let me kiss her deeper, and every second of it, every swipe of her tongue and caress of her lips was too much and not enough, all at once.

Breathless, we pulled apart in what seemed like an hour. I wanted much more than that, but I decided to let her be the one to make a move. I was in her house, after all. It probably wasn't the best place if Ellie was to come back soon.

"You sure know how to kiss." Lou chuckled, tucking a couple of blond strands behind her ears.

"I'm glad I remembered," I said.

Grinning, Louise pecked my cheek. "I can't believe it," she whispered, shaking her head.

"You can't believe how good it was? Because I agree. It was incredible."

"No, not that, although that, too. I found it cute you said something like that."

"I'm not sure cute is the word a guy wants to hear in this situation, but okay," I teased, grabbing the bottle of wine I'd brought from the counter.

Louise hugged me from behind, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. "I meant that the way you are is cute. You're not arrogant or self-centered, or cocky. It's refreshing."

I let out a chuckle. "Maybe I'm an arrogant beast in bed. Don't be quick to judge."

Groaning and blushing while she did so, Louise opened a drawer and started to rummage in it. "A corkscrew," she said, giving the small object to me.

"There's something else you need to know," I said, taking the corkscrew from her manicured hand.

"What?"

"It won't ever be screwing with you. It'll be making love, and I'll make sure to be the best you've ever had. Was that cocky enough?" I asked just as the cork left the bottle with a pop.

Louise laughed. "It'll do."

I poured the wine into two glasses Lou gave me, and we settled on the couch in the living room.

"So," I said, hugging her to me. "What upset you earlier?"

Lou took a sip of her wine. "My uncle called me to say I was irresponsible because I let Ellie date. He talked to her yesterday, and she must've mentioned Aiden. I'm happy he doesn't know that Aiden spent the night here on Friday."

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "They are teenagers, Lou. Dating starts at this age. It's natural and absolutely normal."

What I didn't say was that I would've gladly had that beautiful first love experience instead of the crap I went through before getting close with a girl.

"I know. I dated someone when I was Ellie's age, and he was no Aiden. Do you think I'm too permissive? It's not like Ellie's hiding stuff from me. She tells me everything, and I met the guy. My asshole alarm didn't go off."

I shrugged. "He's a good kid. He brought her flowers." I nodded to the rose on the coffee table. "Claude liked him. Your uncle shouldn't meddle when he doesn't even know the boy."

"He shouldn't." Sighed Louise. "But my gut tells me it's only the beginning."

***

We talked and kissed for hours. Now, it was pitch dark. A glance at my watch told me it was nearly midnight.

"I'll turn on the light," said Louise as she rose to her feet. Suddenly, her movements halted and she looked out of the window.

I approached her. "What's going on?"

"That's Aiden's car parked over there."

Taking Lou's hand in mine, I led her away.

"But Thierry—" she tried to protest.

I laughed and brought her hand to my lips. "It's their first date. Don't spoil the girl's goodbye kiss."

"Oh, God." Louise groaned, covering her face with her palms. "She was six years old just yesterday."

I shrugged. "It happens."

Louise got ready to smack my chest, but at that very moment, the car horn broke the quiet.

Lou and I burst into laughter as we made our way to the hall. I turned on the light, and, unsurprisingly, footsteps sounded on the other side of the front door in a minute.

We opened it wide to reveal a flustered Ellie and a slightly uncomfortable Aiden.

I slapped the guy on the back, still laughing. "Man, that's the way to celebrate the date went well."

Aiden blushed a deep shade of red as he shifted his feet under the bright porch light.

"Aiden, thanks for bringing this very pretty Cinderella home with special sound effects," said Louise. "Now, she needs to sleep if she doesn't want to do it in classes tomorrow."

I grabbed my jacket from the hanger, winked at Ellie, and kissed Lou's cheek. "I'll be going, too."

"Good night," Aiden said to Louise and her daughter before walking to his car parked close to mine.

"That girl," I heard him say when he was next to me, "I'm so fucked."

I grinned. "That makes two of us."