Love In Unexpected Places ✓

Chapter Eight

I realized that I offered to show this man around New York but I have yet to ask him his name. I felt heat crept up to my cheeks.

"My name is Blakely. Blakely Evans. And you are?"

"Jean-Paul. Jean-Paul Belleau," He answered. A smile crept onto his face which made me smile in return. That man has smiles that sure are contagious.

After getting to know Jean-Paul a little better, I learned that his parents aren't as happily married as mine are, he loves to travel, he is an estate agent in Paris, and he is terrified of snakes and spiders. I realized that I had quite a few things in common with this man. I'm not an estate agent, of course, and my parents are actually happily married, but the other two things we definitely have in common.

It made me sad when he talked about his parents. His parents divorced when he was just a little boy, about six or seven years old. You could tell from his voice that he wishes that his parents were still happily in love, just as my parents are. That's one thing he said he wanted. To be happily in love with someone years after being together, one more thing that we have in common. We both agreed that we would want the same kind of love that my parents have.

After finishing up my sandwich and frappe, I tossed my trash and offered to go ahead and show Jean-Paul around New York a little bit.

The first place I decided to take him to was the Statue of Liberty. He came here specifically to see our historical monument in person, so seeing it he will do.

The drive to the Statue of Liberty was about twenty minutes from the coffee shop. While driving in the car, I could hear Jean-Paul gasping in awe at different things that we passed. I suppose what seems normal to me looks interesting to him.

Finally, we pulled up in a parking spot and took the next ferry to Liberty Island.

When we arrived at the Statue and got out of the car, making our way up to the statue. He gazed in amazement at the enormous monument that was standing right before us.

"Did you know that this monument was given to the US as a gift of friendship?" He asked as he walked the entire perimeter around the statue.

"I did," I answered while walking around it with him.

After leaving the Statue of Liberty, I took him to Times Square, Central Park, and the Brooklyn Bridge. We were wandering the big Apple for hours, until it was starting to get dark. Seeing the city through Jean-Paul's eyes made me have a newfound respect for the city and made me remember why I fell in love with it.

After our sightseeing adventure concluded, I offered to take him back to his hotel and he agreed.

"Thank you for taking me around New York City today. It was really a lot of fun," he said in his very cute French accent.

"You are very welcome. Maybe we can do this again sometime if I run into you again while you're visiting," I responded.

He smiles. "Yes, I would like that very much."

I felt my heart flutter. "Okay, goodnight Jean-Paul. It was very nice to meet you," I said, heat rising to my cheeks. I got into my car and pulled into traffic, glancing in the rearview mirror to see Jean-Paul waving goodbye.

I hate to admit it but Jean-Paul gives me butterflies when I think of him. But then it makes me feel guilty because it has only been less than a day since Max and I had gone our separate ways. It didn't seem fair to Max's memory and our years of love and friendship to think about another man like that.

Before going back to my apartment, I stopped at a nearby restaurant to get Chinese takeout since I didn't feel like cooking. I decided to order chicken lo mein with rice.