When the Heart Falls(128)

I snap my mouth closed, but can't take my eyes off his ripped muscles and tan flesh. My hand, as if powered by its own source, fights to be free of my will so it can rub all over him. Down, hand. "Cade. Autumn. Autumn. Cade."

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am." Cade holds out his hand.

"Nice to meet you too." My sister shakes his hand, then turns to me and shakes her hand like it's too hot. "He called me Ma'am. That's awesome." She turns back to Cade. "Hey, you want to go to the exhibit with us?"

"What exhibit?" Cade asks.

How are we having this conversation, like the whole world is a normal place, when the sexiest man I've ever seen is standing here half naked? In my hall.

"I have a private tour set up at the Louvre," Autumn says, as if there's not a sexy cowboy standing in front of us flaunting a serious 6-pack. "And I'm not talking about just touring the public stuff. I'm talking about touring the behind the scenes top secret stuff."

Cade crosses his arms over his chest, his biceps turning hard. "We're leaving for Mont Saint-Michel with our group soon."

"I get that. Sounds awesome. But trust me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Come on. Mont Saint-Michel will be there next week, this exhibit won't."

I want to go so bad, but I also want to spend the weekend at Mont Saint-Michel with Cade, and I know how much he's been looking forward to this trip, so I keep my mouth shut and let him decide.

He grins. "Let's do it. But, um, give me a minute to get dressed?"

Well, if you must.

"Awesome." Autumn winks at me. "But first, can you show me the bathroom? I've been squeezing my legs together so hard I'm afraid they'll fall off."



While Cade gets dressed, my sister and I wait outside and catch up. I stick a piece of gum in my mouth to freshen my breath. "How's Egyptology going?"

"It's great," Autumn says. "This tour is amazing. And they want me back in Cairo for more excavating. You know, when you do what you love, it feels like everyone wants a piece of that energy. Everyone wants to work with you."

Does that mean I'm doing my life wrong somehow? Because most people just want to tear my work apart.

"How about you?" Autumn nudges me out of my dark thoughts. "How's your book coming along?"

"Great." I hope my lie is convincing. I haven't written anything in days, and I'm completely stuck. Again.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Look at what Larry got me." She holds out her wrist to show off a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet.

I run my fingers over the sparkling jewels. "Are those real?"

She laughs. "I'm pretty sure it's rude to ask that, but yes, they are."

I'm stunned speechless.

Autumn ruffles my head like I'm two-years-old. "Don't worry. You'll have someone buying you jewelry soon enough. Hell. When your book becomes a bestseller, you'll be buying all the jewelry you want."

I don't care about the jewelry. I just want someone to love me as much as she's loved.

Cade arrives, looking sexy as hell, and we take the metro to the museum. We haven't been to the Louvre yet, which sounds awful but when you're in school every day, it's harder to make time for a museum this size. It's a weekend project, some have said.

Three glass pyramids mark the entrance to the Louvre: a large one in the center and two smaller ones to the sides. I can't wait to walk through the middle one as we enter, but Autumn thwarts my plans by bypassing the pyramid and main entrance to take us through a private entrance. "Ah, I wanted to see the inside of the pyramid," I say. Cade laughs, and I elbow him in the ribs. "Don't mock. I know you did too, Mr. Architect."

Autumn eyes us both and smiles. "You can check it out later. We don't have a lot of time for your private tour."

The staff entrance is less than overwhelming, with offices and storerooms and very ordinary looking work areas. One guy waves a McDonald's french fry in the air as he greets Autumn. "How you doing?"

"Leafy as usual," she says.

They share a private chuckle as she keeps walking.

Leafy as usual? She has private inside jokes. Jokes with people she works with. I don't have private jokes with anyone. A twinge of jealously spikes in me for my sister's life. She's beautiful, warm and friendly, has a man who loves her and a career where she's respected and happy.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"Just a guy I work with."

"And he's eating McDonald's? At the Louvre?" I can't quite wrap my brain around these two things simultaneously.

"He's on lunch break, come on."

Autumn's enthusiasm rubs off on me, especially when we enter the first exhibit room, partitioned off with a fancy rope. Cade catches up to me and holds my hand. "Having fun yet?" he asks.

I nod. "I was the kid who wished she could walk into the movies and explore the sets, who once tried to climb off a ride at Adventureland so I could see how they made the creatures move. This is a dream come true for me!"

Autumn gestures to the artifacts around us. "These will be on display soon, but you're the first non-staff to see them." She points to a sphinx that takes up the whole wall. "This is the first time that piece has ever left Cairo."