Foreign Love (An International Sports Romance) (Love in Shades) by Cassie-Ann L. Miller Page A

It’s just one goddamned concert.”
     
    “In Phoenix ,” she stresses the word. I can see that she’s losing her shit.
     
    I sigh. “Yes, in Phoenix. Why is that a big deal?” Judging by the way she’s behaving, you’d think that Phoenix was in a galaxy far, far away. C’mon, Mackenzie – it’s barely 350 miles from Los Angeles .
     
    “I should call him and cancel,” she grumbles.
     
    I can’t help but laugh as I slide off the bed and pull open the drawer where Lucien has neatly stored my perfectly folded clothing. She must be falling hard for this guy if she’s panicking so much. “Why the heck are you so freaked out about this?”
     
    She licks her lips, looking hesitant. “I like him…alot.”
     
    And suddenly, a lightbulb goes off in my head. “You’re in love!”
     
    “No, no. Not love,” she says a little too quickly. “I don’t know him well enough to be in love with him…That would be crazy, right?...Right?”
     
    She’s asking the wrong person. I’m the girl who just fell head over heels for some guy I fucked on a plane barely minutes after meeting him. Lucien’s words come to mind. “L’amour ne s’explique pas, mon amie.”
     
    She spins to look at me. “Has Paris turned you into a beret-wearing, baguette-eating hopeless romantic?” At least she’s laughing.
     
    “Something like that, I guess.” I exhale heavily. “Stop trying to be a good girl, Mac. It doesn’t suit you. It’s inauthentic and it’s no good for your blood pressure. Come on, let that bad girl free. I miss her. It’s like I moved to Paris and you turned into a stiff.”
     
    Her tone goes dry. “ You seem to be forgetting that I majorly fucked up my life. I lost focus. Started partying my ass off and totally missed the boat on my application to Joffrey.”
     
    “That was a fluke,” I promise her. “You’re the best dancer I know.” Mackenzie has convinced herself that her dance career is over if she can’t get into Joffrey. At least she’s not the one being told that she’ll need a screw in her knee if she wants to prevent it from being dislocated every time she makes a sudden movement. She wouldn’t be able to handle standing in my shoes.
     
    “This is all crazy,” she whimpers. “Crazy. He’s a rock star, Julia. Beautiful women throw themselves at him everyday. Do you honestly think that he and I could have something real?”
     
    I roll my eyes and sigh. “Don’t be pissed just because he gets mad groupie love. Even Prince Charming had to work his way through a throng of groupies before he could find his Cinderella. Don’t turn down your invitation to the ball, Mac-Mac.”
     
    She stops fidgeting for just long enough to stare into the camera. “Sweet analogy, Jules, but c’mon…”
     
    “Mackenzie, go with him. He’s the hottest musician on the planet. He could have any girl he wants. And he wants you . Stop overthinking this. It’s just one concert stop. Go with him. Go make some memories.”
     
    I toss my itty-bitty yellow and white bikini into my open suitcase. Carpe diem. Go make some memories …Now, that’s some advice I plan to take.

Chapter 26
     
    Julia
     
     
    The grin on my face is a mile wide as I turn off the faucet and reach for the towel hanging on the hook behind the bathroom door. I sing loud and off-key as I wrap myself up and step out of the stall. I lean over the sink and rub my palm across the cloudy mirror, chasing the fog away.
     
    I pull my hair into a messy bun high on my head and pack my toiletries into my pouch all while humming the White Hot Coals tune low under my breath.
     
    “Lucien? Are you back?” I call out. I could swear I heard a small bang in the other room. I must have been mistaken, though.
     
    Lucien’s friend, Grégiore, is lending us his car for the trip to Théoule-sur-mer. Lucien left shortly before I jumped in the shower to go pick up the car and get a few things that we’ll need for the trip.
     
    I’m fucking