TRAVEL ROMANCE SERIES: #1 GENEVA | BÉBÉ

5. Place De Neuve

Victoria Burnham Hall
Conservatoire de Musique de Genève

The concert hall had a French beaux arts interior, its architecture dating back to the late 17th century. The ambiance inside was warm and inviting, with touches of the Renaissance period.

"You were wrong about the yodeling troupe," Veronica whispered to Drew.

Eric ushered them to an empty row of seats close to the stage. Some musicians were onstage while the tech people moving around. It was almost eight in the evening and people had started to pile in.

"I'm glad you came, Veronica," he flashed a smile as he sat by the aisle and next to her.

Drew's instincts were right. He had suspected early on that Eric invited the crew because he liked her, but she didn' think so. Eric had a good chat with Malcolm on the flight, so he was just being friendly to everyone.

Eric stood up to greet more of his comrades who arrived. As she observed the way he kissed everyone three times on the cheeks, the memory of the locals greeting each other like this came back.

"You alright?" Malcolm asked, giving the thumbs up sign, but looking a bit guilty for having been the reason she was forced to sit next to a total stranger.

She nodded reassuringly, appreciating the fact that even after a few hours of being with her team, she felt so protected already.

Veronica knew she was attractive, but didn't think of it very often. Yet with her tanned skin and beautiful blended features, she was indeed a head turner. Her raven-black hair that she'd usually bunch into a french twist was now flowing down her back like waves in a sea of black paint.

As she started her life in the Gulf, her network had grown, her perspectives widened on a global scale. She'd realized how she was living in a box all her life.

Just a few weeks ago, she'd completed her six-week training at the aviation college, surprising herself and people who knew her well. For most of her friends and family back home, her current career was a far cry from what people imagined her to be. She was a gifted art student and picked up languages very easily. It was no surprise that she finished a double degree major in Painting and French studies.

She'd always lived a charmed life, having grown up in the East Coast to an upper-middle-class family. She went to a Catholic private school and graduated with honors from her university. As a young girl, she'd already traveled the world several times, her father being a pilot who had retired just recently. Her mother still practiced as a gastroenterologist while her brother was completing his internship as a surgeon.

Veronica's father didn't even expect his only daughter to follow in his footsteps in the airline industry. He was even more perplexed that she had chosen to work for an airline based thousands of miles away from home. He had warned her of the difficulties despite how glamorous the job was perceived to be. When she told her parents, they gave her the nod with a heavy heart, letting their only girl spread her wings, praying she made the best choice.

Nobody really knew why she left America, except for her best friends. And the boy who broke her heart. She wanted to start with a clean slate and get away from her past, which meant leaving everything that defined her.

Veronica exhaled, her train of thoughts broke when a particularly tall man appeared next to Eric in the aisle of the huge auditorium.

"Bonsoir," his deep voice was so distinct, it roused her senses.

Eric stood up, both men greeted each other with three kisses and talked like old friends. This guy was a few inches taller than Eric.

When the man's face turned towards her, she noticed his eyes were a sparkling set of blue. He had a beautiful head of thick, brown hair framed perfectly on his face, a hint of facial hair unshaven for days. Even with a simple dark grey shirt and a pair of dark jeans, his presence was so strong. It almost seemed like he knew he had the power to command attention amidst a busy crowd.