Break In Two (36 page)

London

It was a week after Thanksgiving. Claire woke at 7 am to the sound of her alarm clock for the third day in a row. She dragged herself out of bed, still exhausted from another restless night. Dressing in her winter running clothes, she left for Richmond Park. She loved it there, with the long, paved paths winding through the expansive, green park. It was cold and cloudy when she left the townhouse, but she was grateful that it wasn't raining. She put in her ear buds and walked briskly for a few blocks before she reached the park. Once she hit the path, she started to run, feeling alive again.

After twenty minutes, she was startled by someone tapping her on the shoulder. She turned, then stopped, surprised to see Luc beside her in his running gear. He was covered with little beads of sweat and had a wide grin.

Claire took out her ear buds and smiled, "Luc! What are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to catch up with you for a few minutes. You're fast."

"That's a little creepy, Luc. I have to say" she said with a grin.

Luc chuckled, "You are mistaking friendliness for creepy - I think your English is not so good. I wanted to see how you are doing. Can I run with you?"

Claire shrugged, "If you can keep up, sure."

"I'll do my best, but I did a thousand push-ups before this, so I'm a little fatigued."

Claire laughed, "I'll slow down for you then, knowing it has nothing to do with your age" she replied starting a light jog.

"Just how old do you think I am?"

"
Ummm, over forty?"

"Yes, but barely. I'm still in my prime, believe me," he said indignantly, jogging alongside her.

After a couple of minutes, he asked," So, how are you?"

"Not so great. I've been allowing myself to wallow in self pity for the past couple of weeks. The last few days, I've been forcing myself to get up with the rest of the humans and go for a run."

"Have you slept or do you need me to come over and sit beside you for a few hours?"

Claire laughed again, feeling her face grow hot with embarrassment at the memory of waking up with her arms wrapped around Luc on the plane, "Actually, sleeping is about all I've done lately."

"So are you ready to move to phase two?"

"You mean the carnal pleasure phase? No. I'm going to try to get a job instead. I think that will serve me better."

"You can do both, you know."

"I suppose that's true. Okay, I'll go buy myself a cake later and eat the entire thing in one sitting."

They jogged along until they reached the park gates. They both stopped and Claire started to stretch.

"This is me here. My sister's place is a few blocks away."

Luc nodded, a little out of breath, "I have to go back through the park to get to my hotel."

"By that do you mean wait until I'm out of sight and then call a cab?"

Luc laughed, running his hand through his hair, "No, no. I'm going to sprint the whole way now that I won't have you to slow me down."

Claire grinned, "It was nice to see you again, Luc. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime."

Luc gave her a very direct gaze, "Come out with me tonight. I will take you to a place with an amazing view of London where we can drink some very good wine together."

Claire was taken aback. When she woke up that morning, she hadn't expected to be asked out on a date. It was the farthest thing from her mind right now, but maybe it was exactly what she needed. "You wouldn't be talking about your hotel room, would you?"

"Of course not. I'm talking about a restaurant that I know. You aren't quite ready to come to my hotel room. But you will join me for drinks, yes? It will be good for you."

Claire gave him a sceptical look, not sure how she felt about his cockiness, "You seem to think you know what I need better than I do, which is odd since we are basically strangers."

"It's only because I do know what you need. Even though I'm only a tiny bit older than you, I have a lot more experience," Luc replied.

"A
tiny
bit older? I think you might be the one to misunderstand English. A decade is big," Claire said, wrinkling up her nose at him.

Luc couldn't help but laugh, "Ouch. You are going to give me a complex. You keep implying that I'm an old man."

"If the orthopaedic shoe fits..." Claire grinned.

"Okay, young lady, now I'm not sure I even want to take you out. You are as mean as you are beautiful."

"You still want to take me out," Claire grinned, "I can tell."

"Yes, I do. Unfortunately, we men are weak when it comes to beautiful women."

"It's sad really," Claire answered, nodding. "I still have your business card. I'll text you later
if
I decide to come."

"You'll come. You can't resist the chance to make fun of me," Luc replied, leaning over and giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"It
is
amusing," she said, giving him a playful look. With that, she turned and jogged up the street and out of his view.

Luc stood for a moment watching her jog up the hill. He was intrigued by her; she challenged him and he loved a challenge. Even though she had been a mess when they met, he could tell she was a strong, smart woman. He couldn't imagine that her former lover had let her go without a fight. He turned back to the park and started to jog towards his hotel.

As Claire propelled herself up the hill, she could feel Luc's eyes on her. She wasn't sure how she felt about his proposition. He was definitely sexy and she enjoyed verbally sparring with him but she really didn't think that a man was necessarily a good idea right now.

When she got back to Janet's, her sister was just about to leave for work.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Janet called to her when she saw her, "You're up and at 'em early again today."

"Yeah, I decided to join the rest of the humans. Enough wallowing," Claire said, peeling off her runners and walking into the living room to stretch.

"I'm glad for you. There is much fun to be had," Janet replied, "Wanna go to yoga with me this evening?"

"I would love that but I sort of have a date tonight... if I decide to go," Claire responded.

"Really?" Janet asked, raising her eyebrows, "I'm intrigued."

"Actually, I ran into that French guy from the plane just now. He asked me out for drinks, but I'm not sure if I should go."

"Why not?" Janet asked, slipping into her winter dress coat.

"Well, I don't know if dating is such a smart move for me right now. I went straight from Antonio to Cole without any break in between. Maybe I should take some time to be alone, you know? Be man-free for a few months or a year even."

"That's not a bad plan. But, would there really be any harm in having a little fun and then sending him on his merry way?"

Claire laughed in surprise, "That is NOT what I was expecting to hear from you! Is that what you would do if you and Ted broke up?"

"Oh honey, I'd shag everything that moved." With that, Janet picked up her briefcase and walked out the front door.

"Have fun deciding!" she called out as she shut the door behind her.

Claire shook her head as she walked down the hall to the bathroom. After she showered and ate breakfast, she sat staring at her cell phone and Luc's business card that was sitting next to it.

She was attracted to him, but it was nothing like the craving that she had for Cole. Her regard for him would never bring her to her knees like her love for Cole had. There was something liberating about the idea of fucking a man just for the sake of fucking, without any threat of falling in love or getting hurt. Maybe she
should
call him. Have some fun based on mutual respect and desire, then they could shake hands and part ways. Claire wasn't sure if she could actually go through with it, but she decided to throw caution to the wind and at least go have a drink with Luc. It's not like she needed to make a decision at that very moment about where things would go with him.

She picked up her phone and sent him a text before she could change her mind, '
You're right. I can't pass up the chance to amuse myself at your expense. Where and when?'

A minute later she heard her phone vibrate. '
In
front of The Savoy at 8 pm. Dress up
.'

*              *              *

At five minutes after 8 pm, Claire stepped out of a cab to see Luc standing in front of the lobby entrance to one of the most exclusive luxury hotels in England. He was dressed in a black suit with a classic white button up shirt, open at the collar. He had a striped scarf wrapped casually around his neck, making him look extra French. He let his eyes fall over her with a hint of a predatory smirk on his face.

He strolled over to her, kissing her on each cheek, "You look stunning."

"You look surprised."

Luc broke into a wide grin. "This is going to be fun," he replied as he held his arm out to lead her into the hotel lobby.

"I booked us a table at the seafood grill," he informed her.

As they entered the lobby, Luc helped Claire to remove her wool coat. She was wearing a snug-fitting royal blue mini-dress with three quarter length sleeves. She had put her hair up in an off center bun, and had borrowed a diamond necklace from Janet as well as a pair of black heels.

"That is some dress," Luc commented. He walked behind her toward the restaurant, admiring the view of her curves moving gracefully. "You look fantastic."

"Thank you. This is the first time you've seen me not a complete mess or totally sweaty."

"Yes, but you are beautiful all three ways, actually."

Claire gave him a sceptical look.

"All three are looks that men can't resist. The first time I saw you, you were vulnerable, which makes a man want to protect you. The second time, you were working out, which makes a man think of how you would look after a long, vigorous sex session. Tonight goes without saying."

"A girl could learn a lot from you, Luc. You're like a wealth of knowledge."

"Then stick with me. I have many things I can teach you that I know you would like."

The restaurant was luxurious, yet casual with its 1920's art deco decor and round-backed blue leather chairs. When they reached their table, Claire stopped short. The view was more amazing than she could have imagined, she could see the river Thames and the London Eye.

"You weren't kidding about the view. It's wonderful!" Claire said, as the host pulled her chair out for her.

An unsettled feeling fell over Claire as she took her seat. Immediately she knew that this had been a mistake. She didn't want to fuck Luc, even if he was sexy, even if it was just for fun, even if Cole was already fucking Gabriela. Her heart and body still belonged to Cole and she knew she would not be able to enjoy being with another man until she had gotten Cole out of her system. She scanned the menu quietly and for much longer than she normally would, trying to figure out how she could get out of the date gracefully.

"Claire? Claire?" Luc asked, "Are you really that engrossed in the wine list, or is there something on your mind?"