Turning Point(25)
They shared a passion for medicine, and he understood everything about her work. It was impossible not to be drawn to him, and he seemed so much more mature than Andy, who was always complaining about something, pouting, ignoring her, trying to make her feel guilty, angry at her, or acting hurt. It was so tedious to listen to. She always had to be justifying herself, and it made all their exchanges so unsexy. It was just one long battle. Being with Gabriel was so much easier, and the attraction between them was undeniable. She was trying to resist it, but it was hard. She had an enormous crush on him, was physically attracted to him, and he looked as though he was totally swept off his feet by her. She had never felt like this about any man since she had married Andy.
She hadn’t come to Paris to have an affair. What’s more, however he described it, Gabriel was a married man. But by the end of dinner, as they sat across the table from each other, they were holding hands. They’d both been drinking wine, but not enough to account for how she was feeling, or how attracted they were to each other. He told her he had never felt this way about any other woman. He readily admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife, and didn’t view it that way given the lack of emotion between them. But he said the other women had never meant anything to him, and he thought Stephanie the most enchanting woman he had ever met. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her, or his hands, and when they left the restaurant, he kissed her, and for an instant she melted into his arms. Her own willingness to do so shocked her, and they had just met.
There were tears in her eyes when she pulled away from him. “Gabriel…we can’t…I’m married. A lot more so than you are. I have a husband and two children waiting for me at home.”
“And you’re unhappy with him. You’ve said it in a thousand ways. He doesn’t understand you. He’s jealous of your work. He makes you feel guilty. You constantly feel torn between him and your career. You can’t live like that forever. He’s holding you back.” What Gabriel was saying was true, but they were married and had two little boys, and in some ways, she knew Andy was right, she didn’t spend enough time with their sons. And she had left them to come to Paris for a month, and she felt guilty about that too. It was the age-old battle between family and career. She wanted both, and the career path was an easier one for her. Now she was kissing a man she barely knew and felt fatally attracted to.
“I’m not unhappy enough to leave him,” she said honestly. Or she never had been until now. But what if Gabriel was right, and Andy was the wrong man, or they had outgrown each other? Their life together seemed so dreary to her now. His writing career had stalled, and she sensed that Andy blamed her, or was jealous of the fact that her career was going well. But she worked harder than he did, and was more determined to succeed than he was. Stephanie was more ambitious, and Andy was more of an artist. She used to find it charming, but she no longer did. Gabriel was a powerful man in a powerful position, it made him infinitely more attractive to her than Andy with no real job, and nothing but dreams about his writing. She felt guilty for everything she was thinking. Gabriel was temptation personified, and she was having trouble resisting. That had never happened to her before, but she had never met a man like him.
“Let’s not waste what’s been given to us, Stephanie,” he said gently. “Something like this doesn’t happen more than once in a lifetime, for soul mates to meet. What if we were meant to be together? We will regret it forever if we don’t follow our hearts.” There was more than her heart involved, and he knew it too. It was a powerful physical attraction that had hit her like a tidal wave. She had come to Paris to work, and was being swept away by a handsome Frenchman. She felt like this was a movie, and she was afraid of how it would end. She couldn’t ignore the fact that he was married too. They had the potential to create a huge mess if they gave in to what they were feeling. She had been sensible and responsible all her life. And suddenly she didn’t want to be. She was doing everything she could to resist him.
“We don’t have to make any decisions,” he said in a voice that was smooth as silk. “This is only the beginning. You’ll be here for a month, let’s see where this goes. We have time. And I’m coming to San Francisco for a month. By then we’ll know what we should do.” What he said almost sounded sensible if she was willing to get out of her marriage, but that was a huge decision. She couldn’t do that for a man she had known for five minutes. But he was right, in the next two months, they would know if it was real or an illusion. The prospect was exciting and terrifying, and while she thought about it, he kissed her again.
He drove her home after that and walked her to her door. He stood smiling at her for a minute, and gently touched her lips with his own, but didn’t ask to come in.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said, looking confused. She had never been as tempted in her life to do something so utterly crazy.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said gently, and watched her go inside.
When she got into her apartment, she sat down on her bed with a dazed look, and tears slid slowly down her cheeks. She didn’t know if she was happy or sad. She missed Andy, and the boys, and their safe, familiar world. But she wanted to be in Gabriel’s arms and to let him kiss her again. She had no idea what to do and just sat there and cried.