It's been two days since The Night That Changed Everything. Two days since Ollie's boss came by the warehouse to check his work—which he was pleased with. I stayed in my room during the time he was here. But somehow I still ended up running into him when I went down to the kitchen an hour after he supposedly left.

I reached into the fridge to pull out some juice when a very heavily accented voice from behind me scared the shit out of me.

"You must me Ms. Lovette."

Spinning around, I dropped the juice. Thankfully it was a plastic container and didn't break. I bent down to retrieve it. "Um, yes, sir. That's me."

He definitely looked the part of a wealthy art investor/collector. If the gray Armani suit wasn't a dead giveaway then the Lamborghini I saw him pull up in from my bedroom window definitely was.

But he didn't give off any asshole vibes like most rich guys. At least, compared to the ones in Manhattan. When I used to work at a hotel in Times Square, I had to deal with a lot of men who were obscenely wealthy. Most of them were the type that acted like they walked on water and their shit didn't stink.

He extended his hand. "I'm Jean-Luc." Shaking his hand, I offered him a smile. "Ollie tells me that you have been enjoying the loft and your time here."

Boy was that an understatement. "Yes, very much so."

I was really curious about what Ollie said about me besides the fact that I liked living here. Did he tell him that Ollie and I knew each other from New York? Or did he tell him that every single night we—

His boss interrupted my train of thought. "Did Ollie mention that he has an art show coming up in about two weeks?"

"Yes, he did. I know he's really looking forward to it."

"Oui. As am I, mademoiselle." He glanced over his shoulder and the direction of Ollie's bedroom before looking back at me. "I hope to see you there."

Well this was a little awkward. I had been hoping Ollie wanted to invite me as his date to the showing, but he hadn't asked me yet.

Unable to think of anything else to say, I nodded. "Yes, I would love to go."

Crap. Crap. Crap. What if Ollie wasn't comfortable with me going? Even if Ollie did want me to go, I didn't have a dress that was suitable for—

"Splendid! And don't worry about a dress. A few days before the art show I will have one of my staff come and take you shopping for something to wear and to get your hair done. It will be on me, of course."

My mouth opened and closed repeatedly. "Uh, no that's not—"

His brows rose. "I insist."

Well, I wasn't going to argue with the man. "Um, thank you. I really appreciate that."

Now I just needed to figure out if Ollie even wanted me to be there...

Bringing my thoughts back to the present, I finished drinking the rest of my coffee as I glanced around for the blonde artist who's been occupying my thoughts a lot as of late. It was his idea to come here to La Rose De Baguette for breakfast this morning. Since he spent the last two days doing nothing but painting, he wanted today to be a surprise adventure day.

I didn't mind that he had to spend time working. Of course, I missed him in the daytime. But it wasn't like the one night where he asked me to sleep in my own bed. This time he insisted that I spend the evenings in his bed from sundown to sunup.

Each time we had sex I found myself softening up to him little by little. Thankfully after the other night, he hasn't pressed me about labels or anything like that. To be honest, I've been trying to think of anything but that myself. Thinking about it led my thoughts down a dangerous path I didn't think I was quite ready for.

"Hey, beautiful. Ready to go?" Ollie rejoined me at the table.

"Are you still not going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope. It's a surprise."

Huff from me as I got out of my chair and started heading back towards his car. "Well at least tell me how far it is."

He opened the car door for me and shrugged one shoulder. "Three hours or so."

"Three hours? Where the hell are you taking me?"

"Get in the car, Lovette, and you'll see for yourself." When I hesitated he arched a brow at me. "Unless you have something else to do today."

I didn't and he knew it. Even worse, he knew I kinda liked surprises. Nibbling my bottom lip with my teeth, I finally got in the car.

As we started our unusually long journey, I regretted not sneaking a peek in the trunk of the car when I had a chance earlier to see what he packed. At least it would have given me a decent idea of where we were going.

One thing about Ollie I appreciated was that he let me be in control of the music. So the car was filled with slow jazz for the first hour of our trip. But the farther we got from Paris, the more I started thinking about this upcoming art show—and the fact that Ollie still hasn't asked me himself yet even though his boss already has.

"What's on your mind, Jamie?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the music."

Reaching over with his right hand, he laced his fingers with mine. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Beautiful, you're thinking so hard I can almost hear your thoughts."

I found myself stroking his hand with my thumb. "Honestly, it's nothing." Trying to lighten the mood I said teasingly, "So this place we're going...is it someplace where we can be, you know, private?"

His grip on the steering wheel tightened as his mouth twisted into a charming smile. "Maybe. But you aren't breaking me that easily and your deflection technique isn't going to work on me."

I really didn't want to bring up the whole art show thing. Not yet. It was just too embarrassing and awkward! So I decided to tell him something else truthful that I've been thinking about lately.

"Well...I've been thinking that you have yet to take me on a real date, Atticus Lake."

It was the truth. I had been curious lately what a date with him would be like. And I didn't mean one in the warehouse like the romantic dinner the other night.

"A date? Like a date date?" His tone was astonished and that wasn't surprising to me.

"Yes," I replied, smiling at his obvious bewilderment. He was always so put together. It was nice seeing him like this.

He glanced from the road to me for a few seconds. I could tell he wanted to ask me a million questions about my statement. Like the fact that going on a date seemed like a couple-y thing to do. I didn't blame him. But I told him I wanted to take it slow with him and I meant it. Keeping Ollie at arms length didn't seem that possible anymore anyway.

"Is that was you really want? To go on a date with me?" His voice was rough with an emotion I was too scared to identify.

"Yes, I do. In public. With people." God, what was I saying? But I couldn't stop the words from coming out. It was what I wanted.

His hand tightened on mine. "Looks like we have a date night coming up soon then."

Unable to hide my smile, I lifted his hand to my lips and kissed it. "I can't wait."

The rest of the ride to this unknown place went pretty smoothly. I snacked my way through a whole bag of chips that we shared. We listened to different types of music and talked about ideas for his art and other innocuous things.

Anxious and excitement coursed though me as we pulled up to my 'surprise destination'. "Is this...Are we at a beach?"

"Yes, ma'am. It's called Plage de Mers-les-Bains You're going to love it."

Ollie finally opened the trunk and I got to see what he was hiding in there. He pulled out a large picnic basket and a blue blanket.

"But I didn't bring my suit," I teased when we started walking to the beach. "I hope you don't expect me to go skinny dipping in front of all these people."

He ran a heated gaze over my body. "Believe me, beautiful, when you and I go skinny dipping, there won't be prying eyes for miles." He stopped walking and pulled me into a deep kiss. "No one gets to see that delicious body of yours but me."

Not if. When. My body shivered involuntarily at his words, already craving what he described.

"Besides," he said, pulling away from me to continue walking down the sand towards the water. "This beach isn't very populated. It's pretty private. But swimming isn't part of the plan today."

After finding a good spot, I finally found out what he actually had planned for us today. Ollie spread out the blue blacket for us to sit on before opening the picnic basket. Inside was my favorite bottle of wine, fruit, and different cheeses—more of my favorite things. Sometimes it still baffled me with how well he knew me.

I couldn't help but look around at the vast ocean and the large beautiful cliff that was to the right of us. The water was almost crystal blue with waves crashing against the shore and I welcomed the sound. It was so relaxing out here.

"So how's the painting been going?" I asked him as I popped another grape in my mouth.

"It's good. I shouldn't have any problem getting them all completed by the show."

"No more writer's block then?"

He shot me a wink before offering me a piece of cheese. "None. Told you that you were my muse."

I took the cheese from him and offered him a shy smile. "I guess you were right."

We sat like that for hours. Just snacking, talking, and laughing. Enjoying the day and beautiful weather. Then Ollie stretched out on the blanket and I found myself laying against him with my head on his chest. Per usual, one of his hands was buried in my hair, lightly running his fingers through it. Even before running into him in Paris I knew really loved my hair.

I still remembered what he said that night in the hotel..."It's so soft," he said as he ran his fingers through it. "And the color...it's red and fiery. Like you're personality. It's just...you."

"Can I ask you something, beautiful?"

"Hm?"

Deep sigh from him. "My art show...Would you come with me? Like, you know, as my date?"

He finally asked me. Smiling against his chest I said, "Someone kinda already asked me, Ollie. You shouldn't have waited so long."

When he sat up I turned and laid on my back to look up at his confused expression. "Someone already asked you? To my art show? Who?"

I shrugged my shoulder innocently. "Well this charming guy came by the warehouse and after he introduced himself to me he asked if I wanted to go to the art show."

It took him a few seconds, and I could see the wheels turning. And I knew the instant he figured it out. He chuckled and cursed under his breath.

"Jean-Luc? Seriously?"

I nodded and laughed. "Yeah. I didn't know how to tell you that he invited me when you hadn't mentioned it yet. I wasn't sure if you wanted me to be there. You know, like that. You know, jealousy kinda looks hot on you."

He leaned down over me and cupped my face with his hand. "I was never jealous before you," he murmured. "Of course I want you there like that. As my date. I'll admit I was a little nervous to ask, but I always wanted you there."

When I traced his lips with my fingers, he grasped them with his hand before playfully nibbling the tips. The way he looked at me had WARNING written all over. But deep down I knew it was to late to listen to it.

"I'd be honored to be your date, Atticus."

He kissed me then, slow and deep. Like we had all the time in the world. And for a brief moment I found myself wishing and hoping he and I could stay in this moment forever.

***

Hope you guys like this chapter! So excited to be progressing with their story 🖤

I wanted to include a picture of the beach the visited in France 🖤 Isn't it gorgeous!