I will love again

Part 33 - Side effects

After the examination was done and after a serious talk to Nathalie about not working too much and taking better care of herself, the couple made a new appointment and then went for the car to get on their way home.

"Gabriel what's wrong, why are you stopping all of a sudden?", the young woman questioned.

Instead of heading directly to the parking lot, he had grabbed her hand and pulled her into a small gap between two houses.

The designer shrugged.

"I wanted to talk to you for a moment, without being run over by someone if we stayed out there on the pavement", he explained, "but first, are you sure, you're okay with anybody seeing us?"

"Why? What do you have in mind?", she asked reluctantly.

"This!", he said before he caught her lips with his own.

She didn't care that they were standing in the middle of Paris, in a little passage, barely wide enough for them both. Despite the hundreds of people who were walking past them, she just melted into that kiss until they could hear someone shout:

"Hey look. That's Gabriel Agreste and his 'assistant'. I knew that all those things weren't just rumours!"

Nathalie tried to pull back and quickly get away from there, but Gabriel held her taut and continued to kiss her, he even deepened the kiss until he could feel the young woman relax into his arms. Still keeping her in his embrace he slowly parted their lips. As he now looked into her eyes, he smiled softly.

"Don't be afraid, my love. I am right here. And if the public wants to know why I am kissing you, then I am going to tell them, it's none of their business that I love you so much and", he moved one hand under her coat, down to her small bump now and cupped it gently from the side, "that you are carrying the evidence for this love inside your belly!"

And then he kissed her again.

Nathalie quickly hid her face in the crook of his neck after that, but she didn't back away and she didn't run. Yet Gabriel could feel her trembling all over and just turned her around, so they were looking into the same direction. He grabbed her by the waist and carefully directed her back into the street.

Instantly they were surrounded by people, asking for autographs, asking if the rumours were true, if they were a couple, why they were in this part of the city....and so on.

Nathalie was still shaking but tried to at least smile a little bit and even laid her own arm around her fiance's waist to snuggle up against him as if she would become invisible under his protective arm.

"Would you all be so kind and give us some space, so we can breathe and move? I then might answer a few questions!", Gabriel Agreste yelled at the crowd.

The people were shocked by his outburst and immediately pulled back from the couple.

"Better?", he whispered towards the woman in his arm.

"A little" she nodded, "but let's go home please, yeah?"

He smooched her cheek before he replied: "I'll have to keep my promise and answer a few of the questions, but I'll make it quick, okay?"

"Okay", she answered almost soundless and held on tighter to him.

"Are you in love?", a girl, barely older than eight asked.

Nathalie gazed at Gabriel and waited for his reaction. The man, to the public known as cold and unattainable, smiled heartily down at the child and said friendly:

"We're not only in love, we're also gonna have a baby soon, and we will get married. How does that sound?"

Nathalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself for the things that would be happening now. And just as she had thought, the people around them gasped to then start questioning further. But the famous designer raised a hand and said very quietly, so everybody silenced immediately to understand him: