“Phillipe.” I breathe softly, my heart fluttering inside my chest.

He flattens his large palm against my cheek as his eyes run over me as though he is seeing me for the first time. I can hear music floating around us. It’s a tune that I haven’t heard before, and I want to know what is playing, so I can find it later when I mourn the loss of him. I know that is what he is doing. He is telling me good-bye.

When he appeared in the door, I felt my breath catch in the back of my throat at the sight of him. After the intense and emotional morning we both shared, I didn’t know what to expect tonight.

Now, as the beautiful melody begins to fill the air while his eyes move over me, I know he has come here to let me go.

He is no less beautiful today than he was the first time I saw him. In fact, he is almost more so because now I can see and understand the pain that is etched into every line and crease on his face. His stunning green eyes framed by those long brown lashes hold mine as he moves closer. All I can see is the way they looked at me this morning. He was filled with so much pain and sorrow that I wanted to reach out to soothe him, to calm him, and to love him.

“You’re devastating,” he confesses.

Searching his face, I finally let my eyes connect with his, and I can see the longing there, revealing the emotion he wants to give to me, but I can also see that it is forever trapped behind those haunted eyes.

“Thank you. The dress is beautiful.”

I take a swift breath in and hold it as he reaches out to place his free hand on my chest over my heart.

“It’s not the dress, Gemma.” He tilts his head once again, letting his eyes trace down my body.

I can feel my nipples tightening in response to his silent, hungry perusal. As his eyes make their way back up my figure, they finally stop, focusing where his hand is resting against my chest. I place my palm over his fingers where his touch weighs heavy against my beating heart.

“The story is over,” he mutters, focused on our joined hands.

He lowers his fingers from my cheek. Gripping his wrist, I pull his hand from my heart and bring it to my lips. His eyes now move to mine, and as I kiss his knuckles, I don’t waver. I let every emotion I am feeling surface until he can see just how much I love him. I can feel the tears gathering in my eyes as he pulls his hand away from me.

His voice, soft and firm, he commands, “Turn around, Gemma.”

Licking my lips, I wonder about what he’s going to do. Undress me? Take me on the floor in this very room, like he did that day weeks ago? I can feel the heat from his body as he steps up close behind me. He wraps a large arm around my waist, smoothing his warm palm against my abdomen in a slow stroke.

Pulling me back against him until my shoulders connect with his chest, I sigh as his mouth moves to my ear.

In that deep smooth voice of his, he explains, “Méditation from Thaïs.”

I try to decipher what he’s saying as his warmth radiates through me. I lean my head back, now resting on his shoulder, as I turn to see him looking at me intently.

“This song use to haunt me every time I heard it. It reminded me of her.”

His eyes move to the paintings in front of us, and I follow his gaze to the images on display.

“The song seems very sad,” I acknowledge softly.

“It used to be…” He confirms and pauses. “Until you. Everything is changing, yet it’s still the same…because of you.”

His arm loosens from around my waist, and his warmth leaves me. I look over my shoulder to see him standing a step away from me. Turning, I move to him, but he takes another step back.

Stopping, I tilt my head. “Phillipe?”

His jaw clenches as his eyes glance behind me to the wall. He is staring at her. This time, I’m not upset by it. This time, I know what he’s doing. He’s seeking permission. He’s trying to decide if being with me will somehow betray her, and he’s doing that because he cares. My heart swells right along with the melody as I reach out. This time, he takes my hand in his.

“Phillipe?” I plead, trying to get through to him. I try to make him understand.

His eyes come back to me as I pull him forward. Slowly, he moves, eyes locked with mine.

I place my palm to his cheek. “It’s okay,” I tell him. Moving forward, I kiss his lips. “I love her, too.”

With that whispered confession, his binds seem to break. His large hands grip my waist as he tugs me that final inch closer. I mold my body to his as his hands run up my back. The eyes that now look down at me are full of anguish and agony as I run my hand across his cheek to his hair. Threading my fingers through the silky strands, I feel a shiver rack his body as his eyes slide close.

“Phillipe,” I call to him again, keeping him in the moment. “Stay with me. Look at me.”

Something in my words break through because those eyes I love open. They focus, and I can’t help myself from saying exactly what I’m feeling.

“I love you.”

Shaking his head, he clenches his jaw. Those full lips pull into a tight scowl, and for the first time since I met him, he looks unsure and defeated. Bringing up the hand resting on his shoulder, I touch my index finger to the lips he’s pulled tight.

“Does that scare you?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he stares down at me, his hands tight on my waist. I tighten my hand in his hair and pull. Those wicked eyes of his finally appear and narrow as his lips part on a ragged breath of air. Suddenly, I know. I’ve hit it. I’ve been tiptoeing around the issue, and now, I know that as soon as my foot falls on the landmine, he is going to explode.

“Are you afraid because I love you?”

His eyes run over my hair, my eyes, and finally my mouth.

Licking my lips, I take the final leap. “Or because you love me, too?”

That’s when his fingers dig into my waist, and his mouth crashes down onto mine. Strong lips collide with mine. He kisses me in a way designed to punish, but I know it isn’t me he’s punishing. Grasping his hair, I pull his head forward and rise up on my toes to get as close to him as I can. I hear an anguished groan rumble up through his chest, and I take the painful cry into my mouth.

Closing my eyes, I feel him shaking against me as I grip his shoulder tight. I rub my body up against him, begging him to take what he needs from me.

Hands firm and strong move up the curve of my back to the zipper resting between my shoulder blades. I tremble as he slowly lowers it down my spine. Lifting his mouth from my swollen lips, he keeps his gaze locked with mine. His warm palm slips inside the dress and parts the fabric away from my skin. Without a word, he nudges it gently, so the straps fall from my shoulders. Releasing my hold from him, I take a step back, lowering my arms. Turning around, I present him with my back, waiting for him to pull the dress off of me.

Closing my eyes, I feel the moisture pooling between my thighs. My body shakes in anticipation of his hands on me, but as I stand there staring up at Chantel, I hear footsteps and then the loud crash of a door slamming shut.

That’s when the full weight of truth falls over me. As I wrap my arms around my waist in an effort not to shatter into a million pieces, I am left standing in the showroom with the only other woman in the world who lost her heart to Phillipe Tibideau.

Final  Impressions

It has been a little more than seven months since I left the chateau. It’s been a little more than seven months since I have seen or heard from the man I left behind.

When I returned to the States, I was given a deadline of two months. I had two months to somehow make sense of everything I had learned while staying in Bordeaux, France.

At first, I found it extremely difficult to sit down and write a tale of two people so obviously in love, knowing where the story would eventually lead. However, in the end, I discovered that in writing it down and telling the world, I once again found myself that much closer and connected to them both.

It’s Friday night and has just turned 6 p.m., I stand in my room, slipping into a golden cocktail gown I purchased for the evening. As I turn my back to the full-length mirror, I look over my shoulder and let my eyes trail down my spine to my most recent addition. There, on the lower curve of my back, are two perfect F-holes, stark in their inky boldness against my pale skin.

Every Friday evening, I now go out to the local theater to watch the city’s orchestra. I have developed quite an intense obsession with classical music. As soon as I returned home from France, I purchased season tickets to the local symphony.

Hiding my secret away from the rest of the world, I zip up the gown. I slip my heels on and make my way to the front door. I reach out and open it to find a short, stocky man standing there with a large rectangular box, resting against the wall.

He glances down at a clipboard he has in his hand and then looks back at me. “Are you Gemma Harris?”

Nodding, I frown and tilt my head. “How can I help you?”

“I was told to deliver this to you,” he informs me, holding out the clipboard.

Once again, I find myself looking over to the box marked Fragile.

“I didn’t order anything,” I explain, looking at the work order. Nothing on the page gives me any clue as to what is inside the package.

“Oh, I know, ma’am. This was shipped in late last night from a gallery over in France. We were told to go ahead and deliver it to you as soon as it arrived, no matter the charge.” He chuckles. “Looks like someone bought you a very nice gift. Do you want me to bring it inside for you?”