What If It's Love?: A Contemporary Romance Set in Paris (Bistro La Bohème Book 1) by Alix Nichols Read Free Book Online

boy, than yours.
    I’ve watched stars light up and
dwindle,
    Why now, so much affection?—
    I’ve seen eyes light up and
falter
    Before my
still hopeful eyes.
    Marina Tsvetaeva

FOUR
    The following morning Lena woke up with a sore throat. It was a bad sign.
Next, she’d begin to sneeze, by midafternoon she’d get a runny nose, and by the
evening she’d develop a fever. Which would lead to at least three days in bed,
as was her usual pattern. The problem this time was that she had no one like
Marta and Ivan to bring her chicken soup and make sure she didn’t run out of
tissues. This meant that, unlike in Geneva, her options now were either to
handle her cold alone, like the self-sufficient adult she was (hmm), or let her
dad fly over and take care of her.
    But in the middle of her growing panic she remembered about Martha’s
favorite herbal remedy. It was a flower extract which, if taken early enough,
could thwart a cold. She needed to locate some in this city, pronto.
    At the bistro, she greeted Jeanne, who often worked the morning shifts,
and ordered her usual breakfast. But she didn’t intend to linger. She had an
important mission to accomplish. The problem was she had no idea where to look.
Would a regular pharmacy carry echinacea extracts? Or would she need to find
one specialized in herbal remedies? Or maybe a health food store?
    When Jeanne reappeared with her tea and buttered tartine, Lena
jumped on the occasion to ask a local. “Jeanne, would you happen to know where
I could find echinacea around here?”
    “Ecki—what?”
    “An herbal remedy for colds. Do pharmacies carry herbal remedies?” It
occurred to Lena that Jeanne didn’t look like someone who’d know about herbal
remedies.
    But to her relief, Jeanne did. “There’s a huge parapharmacy not far the Opéra ,
about a fifteen minute walk from here. They’ve got aisles and aisles filled
with every alternative medicine you could imagine.”
    “That sounds great. Thank you so much, Jeanne. I’ll check it out as soon
as I’m finished here.”
    “I’ll come along. My mom asked me to get her some kind of blood pressure
regulating bracelet. I’m not sure it will work, but if anyone sells that kind
of stuff in this city, it’ll be that pharmacy.” Jeanne looked at her watch. “My
morning shift ends at noon. Do you think your cold can wait until then?”
    “Sure. My colds are famous for their patience.”
    The pharmacy lived up to its reputation. A fresh-out-of-school technician
in a crisp white lab coat fetched the echinacea extract for Lena and the
bracelet for Jeanne.
    “Can I get you anything else, ladies?” he asked, his shoulders back and
chin up.
    “Actually, yes. I need some tampons, please,” Jeanne said.
    The technician swallowed hard, blinked, opened his mouth, and closed it
again.
    “Do you have any tampons?” Jeanne asked.
    “Yes, we do.” The technician looked as if someone were pulling out his
fingernails. “I just need to know . . . Could you tell
me . . .” He stared at Jeanne, unable to utter another word as
his face and ears turned crimson.
    Jeanne took pity on him. “Regular absorbency. I need the ones with two
water drops drawn on the box. Do you think you can get those for me, please? Or
maybe point to where they are and guide me by saying ‘colder’ and ‘warmer’?”
    “I’ll get them.” The technician dashed off as if his life depended on it.
Lena and Jeanne looked at each other and burst out in laughter.
    They were still chuckling as they walked out of the pharmacy.
    “I need to find a place where I can have a glass of water for my first
dose of echinacea,” Lena said.
    “It’s lunchtime and I’m hungry. Shall we grab something to eat and get
your water, too?” Jeanne asked.
    “Back to La Bohème ?”
    Jeanne stopped in her tracks and took Lena’s hand. “I’m so sorry to
violate your innocence, but it’s time someone told you: There are other places
in this city that serve food and