French Kissing Read Online Free PDF Page A

make some useful new contacts.’
    â€˜Oliver isn’t the only one who’s good at networking,’ Natalie said. ‘Not that your Frenchman needed much help from me to raise his profile.’
    â€˜I guess his Unique Selling Point is instantly recognisable.’
    â€˜I’m a happily married woman, but when he kissed my hand, I swear my legs turned to jelly.’ Natalie fanned her face with her fingers. ‘He is so hot, Anna. Why didn’t you tell me?’
    â€˜I didn’t know,’ I said. ‘The last time I saw him, he was thirteen and a bit of a geek.’
    â€˜But surely you’ve seen him in photos since then?’
    I shook my head. ‘Alex photographs other people. He’s not into selfies.’
    â€˜Haven’t you ever Googled him? What about Facebook?’
    â€˜There aren’t any pictures of him on the internet. He has a website, but that’s for his work. I’d no idea that he’d grown up into such an attractive guy until yesterday, when I met him off the Eurostar from Paris.’
    â€˜Natalie! Happy birthday!’ Izzy Drake, Nova Graphic’s most recent recruit, rushed up to Natalie. A petite brunette, Izzy had joined the creative team as a graphic designer six months ago, soon after she’d graduated from college.
    â€˜I’m so sorry I’m late,’ Izzy said. ‘I decided to drive, but my car wouldn’t start. And then there was a delay on the tube …’ Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Alex. ‘Who is that simply gorgeous man?’
    â€˜That,’ Natalie said, ‘is Anna’s French penfriend.’
    â€˜ Pen friend? You mean you write to him?’
    â€˜We’ve been writing to each other since we were eleven years old,’ I said. ‘My French teacher had once worked in Paris, and knew his English teacher – actually, now I look back, I’m pretty sure they were having a torrid affair. They arranged for their students to exchange letters. Everyone else gave up after a while, but Alex and I carried on writing.’
    â€˜You write letters to him?’ Izzy sounded incredulous. ‘Actually write? On paper?’
    â€˜Yep. By hand. On notepaper.’
    â€˜But nobody actually writes letters any more,’ Izzy said. ‘If you wanted to keep in touch, why not just phone him? Or text?’
    â€˜I guess we both like getting letters,’ I said. ‘We do email each other occasionally, but even that’s not the same as receiving an envelope with a foreign postmark.’
    At that moment, Alex glanced across the room, and saw the three of us staring at him. With a smile, he extricated himself from the group of women he’d been talking to (their sighs were audible), and joined Natalie, Izzy and myself.
    â€˜I brought you a drink,’ I said, handing him the wine I’d been holding all that time.
    â€˜ Merci.’ Alex’s dark eyes met mine, and even though he was a friend, and I was in a steady relationship, my whole body shivered deliciously. Firmly, I told myself to get a grip.
    â€˜Alex,’ I said, ‘you’ve not met my colleague, Izzy Drake. She’s a very gifted graphic designer. Izzy, this is Alexandre. He’s a photographer, and also very gifted.’
    Alex raised Izzy’s hand to his lips, ‘ Enchanté, mademoiselle .’
    Izzy looked as though she was about to swoon. ‘Alexandre … Sorry, how exactly do you say your name?’
    Alex repeated his name, exaggerating the French pronunciation, drawing out the last syllable by rolling the ‘r’.
    â€˜Alexandrrr,’ Izzy cooed, looking up at him from under her long lashes. ‘Alexandrrr.’
    â€˜ C’est parfait ,’ Alex said.
    â€˜I do wish I spoke French,’ Izzy laughed. ‘I find it so irritating having to read the subtitles whenever I watch a French film.’
    â€˜You like French films?’ Alex