Closing her eyes, she soaked in the fact that she was in Paris. He was in Paris. They were so close. Seth.

“How did you fall in love with me when I fought so hard to stay distant? Do you…” Tara swallowed. Maybe it wasn’t true anymore. He might not love her. He might hate her. “Seth? Do you still love me?”

“Tara?” A voice—a voice she loved and would know anywhere—said from the stairway.

She spun to face him and lost her balance, but Seth was instantly by her side to catch her from falling. They stared at each other, breathing hard. Did he know she’d been talking to the door all this time, confessing her love to it? What could he be thinking? Once she gained her balance, she stumbled back from Seth and smoothed her hair away from her face.

“Hello, Seth.” She sounded so formal. Talking to the door had been much easier than talking to the real-life man. He was so tall, so handsome, and so … confused. She tried to rectify the matter. “Um, hi.”

“What are you doing here?” he said, his eyes traveling over her as though checking to see if she were real.

“I came to see you. To talk to you.” She took a step toward him. “Is it okay that I came?”

“I … yes … no…,” he stuttered, the furrow between his eyebrows deepening. She didn’t know what to make of it. She’d never seen Seth truly flustered. She was just thankful that there was a yes in the middle of his muddled response. And yet she couldn’t ignore the no either.

“Should I … do you want me to come back tomorrow?” Please don’t send me away. Please don’t send me away.

“What? No,” he said adamantly. Abruptly picking up her bag, he unlocked and opened the door. “Please. Go on in.”

She had the ridiculous image of Seth slamming the door once she walked in, and locking her in from the outside. She took a deep breath and forced her feet to move her forward and into the apartment. Her eyes widened at the modern interior, so different from the outside, and how bare the place was. Other than some boxes strewn about, the living room was empty.

She turned around to make sure that Seth had followed her inside, and jumped a little when she discovered him rather close behind her.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, taking a step back. He scratched the back of his head and looked around his apartment rather despondently. Then, as though he had just discovered the fact, he said, “There is nowhere to sit.”

“That’s okay. We could stand.”

“Do you want a drink? I have coffee and wine.”

“I’ll have a glass of wine. Thank you.” She could use a bit of liquid courage before she poured out her soul to the man she loved.

Seth lumbered to the small, bare kitchen and opened and shut every cupboard. But other than a couple of used glasses in the sink, there were no clean wineglasses to be found. He grunted in disgust and poured the wine into two clean-looking mugs on the counter. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting a guest.”