Chapter 1

I was looking at my watch again. Why couldn’t the clock go a little faster?

“You know the clock isn’t going to go any faster no matter how many times you look at it,” my friend Caroline said, taking a sip of her drink.

I just sighed in response. I didn’t like waiting when we were about to do something that much fun. It was the best part of our whole vacation in Paris: Disney karaoke night at a cute little bar near our hotel.

It had been totally dead when we got there an hour early, so we had gone to another bar nearby instead. It was a bit too busy for my taste. Slim girls in tiny dresses were giggling like crazy. The guys playing pool looked good, yes, but I would never act like that. The guys played while the girls giggled and shouted, even when the guys missed.

I sighed again and looked at my watch.

Two minutes.

Really?

I sighed yet again and took a big sip of my drink. I didn’t drink often, but if there was ever a time to drink and get a little drunk, why not now?

“You know there are guys looking at us. Maybe you should flirt a little and have some fun,” Caroline said, looking at me.

“I think they’re looking at you, Carro.”

My friend was tall and thin. Her blue eyes and short blonde hair made her look exactly like anyone would imagine a Swedish woman should look. I had blue eyes too, but my long, dark, curly hair made me look less typically Swedish. I never wore makeup, but Carro had forced me to tonight and had put my hair up in a ponytail.

“No, my friend. You have the curves. You have an ass and boobs.” Carro’s smile was wide, and her blue eyes shone. “Besides, I have a boyfriend at home, you know.”

“Merde,” a dark voice said behind Carro. “You have a boyfriend? That totally sucks.”

The man speaking had a French accent. He was very tall and well-built, with slicked-back brown hair. His brown eyes were focused on Carro.

Carro just smiled back.

“But my friend here is single.”

She grabbed her chair and moved it behind me instead.

The man looked me over. When his gaze dropped to my chest, he started to smile.

“Hello. My name is Pierre.”

He took my hand and kissed it.

I felt my face turn red. Hot guys didn’t usually talk to me, and here was one kissing my hand. I felt Carro give my back a little push.

“Veronica. I’m Veronica.”

I could hardly recognize my own voice.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

He hadn’t let go of my hand yet, and I let him keep holding it.

“Pierre, it’s your turn to play. Leave the poor girls alone,” another dark voice said behind him.

I looked up, and my breath caught.

If Pierre looked good, this man looked even better.

He had plenty of muscles too, but he was leaner and taller. His brown hair looked like he had just gotten out of bed, but what caught my attention were his hypnotic green eyes.

They looked right at me.

“Later, ladies,” Pierre said with a wink as he left.

The man with the green eyes looked at me for another moment before walking over to the pool table.

“Damn,” Carro murmured.

“Yes. Damn is a good word for that.” I took a big gulp of my drink. “I almost wanted to giggle like those girls, and I don’t normally giggle. But those green eyes…”

I couldn’t help myself. I looked his way.

The thing was, he was already looking at me.

Our eyes locked, and I just couldn’t look away.

“He looks at you like he wants to devour you,” Carro whispered in my ear.

“I would let him,” I murmured back, my eyes still fixed on his.

He smiled slightly, and I was glad I was already sitting down because that smile made my knees weak.

“You should ask for his number.”

Carro’s words broke his spell, and I turned my eyes to her.

“You’re totally crazy.”

“Come on, Ver. When was the last time you had some D?”

I blushed and cleared my throat.

“A while.”

“It must be more than a year. Or you’ve just been quiet.”

I sighed.

“I think it’s closer to eighteen months.”

“Exactly. You need some good pounding.”

“Dear God, Carro.”

I looked at my watch again.

“We need to go, and no, I’m not asking for his number when we walk by.”

We paid for our drinks and headed for the door.

“Wait.”

A male voice behind us made us stop.

Pierre walked up to us.

“Are you already leaving? The night is still young. Please stay.”

“We’re going to the karaoke place just a few doors down,” Carro said with a smile. “You’re welcome to join us.”

“Vad fan säger du?” I asked her in Swedish.

She just winked at me.

Pierre smiled and turned around.

“Hey, Val! Let’s go and do karaoke instead.”

The man with the green eyes looked up. He saw me behind Pierre and walked over to us. He looked at me, then at Pierre.

“Did you just say karaoke?”

Pierre nodded, still smiling.

“You’re crazy. I don’t sing.”

He turned and started walking back toward the pool table.

“Tu chantais bien sous la douche,” Pierre called after him.

Val turned around.

“Il y a une différence.”

But then he looked at me again.

He sighed.

“Are these ladies going?” he asked.

“Yes,” Carro said. “And we would love it if you came with us. Right, Ver?”

She pinched my waist.

I jumped.

“Yes. Come too.”

I tried to smile, but I knew it looked forced.

Val sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fine.”

He opened his eyes, grabbed a coat from a nearby chair, then turned toward the pool table.

“Au revoir!”

The men around it shouted back in different languages.

The slim girls looked at us like they wanted to kill us.

“Show the way, ladies,” Pierre said.

We all walked out into the cool evening.

Just a few blocks down, we heard the Disney music and walked into the bar. The place was packed, but we managed to find a table near the stage.

A young woman was already singing “Let It Go” from Frozen. She sounded good until she got to the high part.

“I could get us some drinks,” Val offered, starting to stand.

“Great. Ver will help you,” Carro said.

She practically shoved me out of my chair, then winked and smiled at him.

I was seriously going to kill her after this.

But I got up and followed Val.

“Two beers and whatever the lady wants,” he told the bartender.

“One Whiskey Sour and an apple cider, please,” I said.

The bartender started preparing our drinks.

“You don’t look like a whiskey girl, so I guess the cider is yours,” Val said, looking at me with those gorgeous green eyes.

“Correct.”

That was all I could manage to say while he looked at me like that.

Our drinks landed in front of us, and I jumped slightly. We picked them up and returned to the table.

Carro had moved to sit beside Pierre, leaving me and Val sitting next to each other.

Yes. Killing her was definitely on the table for later.

“So, Val, let’s take the next song,” Pierre said.

He got a simple and short answer.

“No.”

“But, Val, come on. It’s karaoke,” Pierre said. “You’re supposed to sound bad. That’s half the point.”

Val didn’t answer him. He just took a drink from his beer.

The stage was free now, so Carro grabbed my hand and almost dragged me up there. She started looking for a good duet.

“Let’s take ‘Love Is an Open Door.’ That’s an easy one. You can be the bad guy.”

I just rolled my eyes at her, but knowing that I had a lower voice than her, I said nothing.

She handed me a microphone and started the song.

Carro started, “Okay, can I say something crazy?”

I answered, “I love crazy.”

Then we sang each line.

I tried to keep my voice extra low to sound more like a man, and with Carro’s light voice, it worked surprisingly well. I was a bit nervous, but by the end of the song, I was belting it out.

I was relieved when we were done and could return to the table.

“You two killed that one,” Pierre said.

He high-fived both of us before turning to Val.

“If they have the guts, then so do we. Show them we’ve got some balls.”

“Jesus,” Val murmured. “Why am I even friends with you?”

“We live together and work together, so you don’t have a choice.”

“Great,” Val said with another sigh.

“Maybe try a short song. I saw one there,” I suggested.

“What song?”

Val locked eyes with me again, and I had to clear my throat before I could get the words out.

“‘Love Will Find a Way.’”

Val just looked at me, confused.

“You know, the song from The Lion King II when Kovu and Kiara sing together.”

He still looked confused.

“It’s a really good love song, and it’s not that long.”

“Ehm, Ver, even I don’t know that one,” Carro said.

“That song is so good. How could none of you remember it?”

“I don’t even remember that movie. When did it come out?” Val asked.

I took out my phone and googled it.

“1998.”

“We were three and two by that time,” Pierre said. “Maybe we were too young, and the movie wasn’t that good.”

“Anyhow,” I said, “there’s a short song in it.”

“And a love song,” Pierre said, seeming to think for a second. “We can do it. I could sound feminine.”

“No, you cannot,” Val said, looking at him in panic. “You sound like a dying goose when you try to imitate a woman. So please don’t.”

Carro and I started laughing while Pierre stared at Val in shock.

“A dying goose,” Pierre murmured.

Then he suddenly smiled.

“I can work with that. Come on, Val. Let’s show this place how to rock it.”

He got up, grabbed Val’s hand, and dragged him toward the stage.

We cheered them on.

I shouted, “It’s a ballad, so sing slowly and with feeling! First sad, then love!”

Pierre smiled even wider, and I more saw than heard Val’s reaction.

“Fuck.”

Pierre started singing.

And yes, a dying goose was pretty accurate when it came to his attempt at a feminine voice.

But he sang loudly and confidently until his own chorus ended.

Then Val’s part started.

“I was so afraid, now I realize.”

You could barely hear that he was singing at all.

Then he locked eyes with me for a second, and his voice became stronger.

It sounded very good.

Then Pierre started singing with him, and the dying goose was back.

They soon finished the song and came back to our table, Pierre grinning and Val red as a tomato.

“Well, I will never forget that, and not all in a good way,” Carro said. “Maybe you should stick to your male singing voice,” she told Pierre.

I tuned Carro and Pierre out and turned to Val.

“You sing really well.”

He rolled his eyes.

“I really mean it. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it. That’s why I don’t say that to Pierre.”

Val laughed a little and looked me right in the eyes.

“So maybe it would be better if I did sing a love song with an actual woman.”

One of his fingers slipped under my chin and tilted my face up toward him.

“You, perhaps.”

His finger against my skin and his words made me blush like crazy, and my throat went dry.

Finally, I managed to nod.

Val smiled again.

“A bit later, then.”

He let go of my chin, and we both looked toward the stage again as the next singer started.

“More drinks?” Carro asked, getting up.

Both Val and Pierre asked for water.

Carro left before I could say what I wanted.

She soon came back with the drinks and placed a glass filled with a light amber liquid in front of me.

“Carro, what is this?” I asked her. “You never gave me time to say what I wanted.”

“You would have said water, but I think you need to loosen up and have more courage, so this is a Vodka Red Bull.”

I just stared at her.

“Are you trying to get me drunk? You know how I get after too many drinks.”

She just smiled sweetly at me.

“Well, that’s the point, isn’t it?”

“Now I really need to know how she gets.”

Pierre bent his head closer to us.

“She gets horny,” Carro said as casually as if she were talking about the weather.

Val choked on his water beside me.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

Pierre’s eyes darkened.

“Really?”

Val coughed, then said, “Pierre. Drop it.”

Pierre opened his mouth to argue.

“Drop it.”

Val’s voice was now more of a command.

Pierre’s eyes turned toward the stage again.

“Thanks,” I murmured to Val.

He just smiled, his eyes on the stage.

I picked up my glass and drank anyway.

It didn’t taste that bad.

Carro just smiled beside me.

We sat and listened in silence for a while. Some singers were good, but most were terrible.

With a bit of courage from my drink, I walked up to the stage on my own.

I chose “Reflection” from Mulan.

I took a deep breath.

The music started, and I began singing.

I knew the song by heart, so after the first few lines, I stopped looking at the screen. I finally found the courage to look up and sing higher, putting more feeling into it.

I lost myself in the song completely.

So when I walked down from the stage, I walked straight into Val, who had somehow been standing beside me without me noticing.

“How about our duet now?”

I just stared at him, but finally nodded.

We walked up onto the stage.

Without hesitating, he started “I See the Light” from Tangled.

It was one of my favorites, so I happily joined in.

I looked at the crowd while I sang, then turned toward him when it was his turn.

He was just looking at me when he started singing.

His smooth, rich voice and those eyes fixed on me almost made my knees weak.

Then the chorus came, and we sang together.

Both our voices blended together so well that I got lost in his eyes and the song.

I felt like we were the only two people in the room.

The song ended far too soon.

But Val took my hand and led me back to our table.

Even after we sat down, he didn’t let go of my hand for another minute.

“That was amazing,” Pierre said, smiling so hard he looked like he might burst at any second.

Carro was just smiling secretly at me.

She had seen my face on the stage and his hand in mine.

She knew I was starting to fall for Val.

Our duet was one of the last songs of the night.

Soon, the bar was closing, and the four of us stepped out into the night.

The street was still busy with people and cars.

This city never seemed to sleep.

Pierre and Val followed us to our hotel, which was only a few buildings away.

I didn’t want the night to end.

And I definitely didn’t want to leave Val.

But inviting him into my room didn’t feel right.

We stopped at the hotel entrance.

Pierre kissed both our hands with a little bow.

“Good night, ladies.”

Val did the same to Carro, then turned to me.

“May I borrow your phone?”

I was confused but handed it to him.

A moment later, he gave it back.

“I put in my number. If you want to contact me, you can. But don’t feel like you have to. It’s your choice. I would really like to see you again.”

It must have been the courage from the alcohol, but I reached up, grabbed his shirt collar with both hands, and pulled him down for a kiss.

He totally froze.

I started to pull away, thinking I had completely misread everything.

Our lips had only just parted when both his hands were suddenly at my waist, pulling me back into the kiss.

He kissed me back with a soft sound.

And it was a very good kiss.

I heard someone clear their throat, and Val and I pulled apart.

“Well, you do have a room here,” I heard Carro say.

I blushed but said nothing.

Val saw how uncomfortable I was, so he simply bent down, kissed my forehead, and said,

“Good night.”

Val and Pierre started walking away.

I heard Pierre start humming “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”

“Shut up,” Val said quietly.

Carro and I walked into the hotel and took the elevator up.

We had our own room, but she followed me into mine.

She sat down on my bed.

“Why didn’t you invite him in or follow them home? You clearly wanted each other.”

I sat down beside her.

“Well, I sort of wanted to, but we met just a few hours ago. I just feel like if we had sex, I would enjoy it, yes, but I wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy it and just be me. I hope I meet him again, and then maybe.”

“You will never be a one-night-stand kind of girl.”

I just shook my head and lay down on the bed.

“But damn, those boys were hot. I almost regret that I already have a boyfriend. Not that good looks mean they’re good in bed,” Carro continued.

“No, it doesn’t.”

My voice was low and sleepy.

Carro heard the tiredness in my voice and left for her room.

I slowly got up, brushed my teeth, and took off my clothes before climbing back into bed.

I closed my eyes.

I was very tired, but sleep just wouldn’t come.

My whole body was on fire after that kiss, and with alcohol in my system, it didn’t matter how tired I was.

I was horny, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw those green eyes.

Val’s eyes.