She bit her lip. “I can’t believe this trip is nearly over. I haven’t bought a single souvenir.”
I laughed. “How about we go do that now?”
“Do you mind?”
“Of course not.” At this point, I think I’d follow her anywhere doing anything. “Come on.”
The nice thing about Paris, and any tourist location, was that there were always venders selling trinkets and doodads as souvenirs. She picked up a few little things, such as an Eiffel Tower figurine and a postcard of Paris.
We walked by some shops, and she immediately stopped in an art store. “God, Natalie would die to be here.” She looked over a variety of items but kept passing them by when she saw the price tag.
“Pick something and I’ll get it,” I said to her.
“I can’t let you—”
“You can and you will.” I winced as I realized that I sounded like her boss. “Please. Let me do this. Let me help you be a hero in your sister’s eyes.”
She laughed. “Well, if you insist.” She found an art set that was several hundred Euros, which I knew would be a lot for her, but for me, was nothing. It made me think of her comment on the train about why I work so hard if I wasn’t going to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Right now, I would enjoy them.
We walked on down the street and she stopped outside a jewelry shop. “Look how cute that is. And you can get charms to fit your personality or interests.”
I looked to where she pointed at a charm bracelet. I wasn’t really a jewelry kind of guy, but I escorted her in.
“What are you going?” she asked.
“To get the bracelet. It’s a much better souvenir, don’t you think?”
“Natalie doesn’t wear jewelry, although Andi might like it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not for them. For you.”
Her smile was so sweet, I couldn’t help but lean forward and give her a quick kiss. We picked the chain and then she went about selecting charms.
“Look, here is a bottle of wine. That could be for Italy,” she said.
The woman selling the jewelry frowned, but didn’t say anything.
“And this…look it’s a dragon, I can get that for Interlaken.”
I watched her, feeling amused and something else that I couldn’t name.
“Here’s a little boat. That can represent Amsterdam.” She continued to look over the charms. “And of course, the Eiffel Tower.”
“Of course,” I agreed. “How about this one?” I pointed to a sun.
“Like Louis the fourteenth, the sun king?”
“No. You often make me think of the sun. You’re bright and warm.”
Her smile made my heart flip in my chest.
“Yes. I’d like the sun. And…” she hesitated. “This one too.”
I looked at the heart charm and a mixture of terror and shock filled me.
“I’ve loved this trip,” she said quickly.
Oh. She wasn’t saying she loved me. In fact, as far as I could tell, there wasn’t a charm to represent me. She’d only chosen charms to represent this trip. Whew, I told myself even as my heart seemed to sink in my chest.