My Spy 5: A Southern Girl in Paris

Love Story

Of course, dinner was fabulous and I was not at all surprised at how ritzy the small Italian restaurant was made to feel. The low lighting set the mood as soon as we walked in and I noticed the small space couldn't hold more than fifty or so patrons. Bash ordered an earthy red wine to start and we managed to get through the entire bottle before we were served a pillowy tiramisu for dessert. After refusing to put another bite into my mouth, Bash looks at me and says, "Would you like your gift now or when we get back to the room?"

Curious, I reply, "Gift? I thought my gift was coming here." He gives a slight shake of his head and says, "Oh no, it's only part of it. So here or there?" I look at him through narrowed eyes and my curiosity gets the better of me.

"Okay here then," I tell him excitedly. I watch as he reaches into his coat pocket and he produces a thin cream envelope. He hands it to me and on the envelope, it says, "Duck." I laugh as I read it and then flip it over to lift the lid. I find a couple of papers stuffed inside and as I slide them out, I see it's a flight itinerary. I read through it quickly and am in shock as I up at him. He looks nervous as I ask, "You want me to come to London with you?"

He nods, "I do. I know it means cutting your Paris trip short by two days but I would love it if you came to my parent's anniversary party." I know my mouth is slightly open as I stare at him. Not only does he want me to meet his parents but he wants me to meet the entire family at one big party.

I shake away my nervousness and say, "Wow. I would be honored. You're ready for that then? To parade me about as your girlfriend?"

I see the worry vanish from his face and he grins before saying, "I'm already doing it in the papers, I might as well do it in person."

"Okay. Wow, yeah I'm going to London then!" I tell him while trying not to explode with both anxiety and excitement.

"You're okay leaving Paris a bit early? You'd basically leave a day after your brother's wedding," he tells me with a small grimace.

"I'm still going to be there over a week, it's perfectly fine," I assure him. He releases a pent-up breath and points to the paper as he says, "Good. I thought I could pick you up from the airport and we'll stay in London for a couple days before driving over to Waterford. If you didn't want to cut your trip short, I'd just cut London out of the schedule."

I quickly shake my head after I finish off my wine, "No, London is a must!" I tell him and he reaches for my hand across the table. He rubs the back of it with his thumb as he says, "I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you're coming. I already mentioned it to everyone back home so there will be no surprises. They all can't wait to meet you." Even though he's smiling, my anxiety comes creeping back into my stomach and fills my chest. I'm going to meet his parents, Willa, his extended family, and friends who are all going to be wondering if I am "The One." No pressure.

I pick up the wine bottle and frown when there is nothing left to drown my worries with. I stuff it back inside the ice bucket and he says, "There is more champagne back at the room. Shall we take this party elsewhere?"

I nod and as I strip the cloth napkin from my lap, I look to Bash and say, "Thank you for a wonderful birthday. Seriously, this was all," my eyes glide around the ritzy space, "so much more than I could have ever dreamed of." I give him a genuine, heartwarming smile and he gives me one in return.

"I told you, I love you, Sawyer and I mean it. I hope you know that I do and I'm glad you had a happy birthday," he says and I nod while biting my lip. He pulls me up from the table and I drape my arm through his as we exit the restaurant looking like the most in love, smitten couple in Vail.

********

"What if he proposes in London?" Annabeth asks me while slapping my shoulder in pure excitement while we stand together near the coffee pot. I'm finally back to work after our whirlwind trip and after filling my momma in about our Vail adventure, I am now repeating it almost verbatim to Annabeth.

"He's not going to propose this soon, that would be in like a month. We are not there yet," I tell her but it doesn't deflate her. She drops back into her chair and I notice how large her baby belly has gotten. Only two more months until she pops but she looks like it could be any day now.

"Well meetin' his family is huge. And there are a lot of things I envy about you Sawyer, but meetin' rich English snobs that could be your in-laws ain't one of them," she says plainly while picking at her bright pink manicure.

I frown at her and reply flatly, "That helps me a ton." I am about to spin around to face my computer when she says, "So after dinner, I can assume what y'all did but what did you do yesterday?" I remember our quick trip into town and say, "We had a nice breakfast ordered in and then we strolled through the town for a bit. Oh, that reminds me I got you something." Her eyes light up before I reach into my purse and pull out a small shopping bag. I toss it over to her and her hand digs out the black and white onesie with a white "Vail" written at the center.

"It's very hard to shop for gender-neutral," I tell her and she looks up to me and says, "You're tellin' me. But thank you, it's adorable." She places the tiny piece of clothing flat over her belly and I say, "You better not go into labor while I am in Europe. That baby needs to wait until their due date."

"I want to cook this thing as long as possible. I am not quite ready for it to be here yet," she says ominously as she glances to her belly.

"Gus seems eager. That's good," I tell her and she nods while rubbing her hand over the onesie.

"He'll be great until they're in middle school I bet. He'll be on their mental level until then so he'll understand them better," she says plainly. She finally spins around to face her computer and I follow her lead and spin around to face mine. She quickly fills me in on what I missed yesterday but it doesn't sound like anything important. I run through my inbox and check my voicemail and by lunch, I am caught up.

Annabeth realizes the time minutes after I do and says, "Since I didn't get to see ya on your birthday, I thought I'd treat ya to lunch today." She pulls her purse off the filing cabinet and I go and help pull her from her chair.

"Sounds good. Shall we go to Tansy's since it's close?" I ask her and she nods, "Oh a burger is just what I was thinking." I open the office door and am startled by the UPS man standing on the other side. He is just as startled as I am and then he asks, "Sweeney?" I nod and sign for the package. He waves me off and I turn around to face Annabeth. I drop the slim package on the desk and quickly cut the box open with scissors.

I spot the blush pink fabric peeking out from under the lid and I know it's my bridesmaid's dress. Annabeth is next to me as I pull the gown from the box and our eyes light up as I pull it free from the plastic.

"Margot has impeccable taste," Annabeth says and I'm pretty sure that's the first time she's ever used that word. Our eyes run over the light chiffon fabric and the deep-V bodice is decorated with tiny silk roses.

"It's so French fabulous," she says as her hands run down the fabric and I nod to her. The dress is gorgeous. She rubs the thin fabric in between her fingers and adds, "This is thin. You better think twice about your undergarments so you're not sportin' panty lines." I drop the dress back into the plastic as I say, "Oh Margot is having all of her bridesmaids meet at this French lingerie shop the day after we get there. Our bridesmaid's gifts are her buying our unmentionables."

I watch her eyebrows furrow as she looks at me and says, "I can't tell if that's a unique or inappropriate bridesmaid's gift."

I shrug, "Hey, I'll take free French lingerie, it's just odd to go pick it out with a bunch of women you hate." I close the box back up and drop it onto my desk as Annabeth asks, "You still wanna tell them all off?"

I nod as we head out the door, "Oh, I am doing it right after the first dance. And now that I am leaving so soon after the wedding, I'm really not going to hold back. These girls are awful."

"And none of them will get an invite to your royal wedding. Shame," Annabeth says and I know she's not mocking. She's dead serious.