Turn Back Time (The Full Circle Series Book 1) by Annette Anders (best books to read for knowledge .TXT) 📕

“What is so special about her?”

“She’s my Christine,” David admitted, keeping it simple but to the point. “And I renounced her last year.”

“Sounds like the stuff opera is made of. Were you able to talk to her?” Jerome asked.

“She was gone before I could get there,” David said and—to his embarrassment—had to swallow back tears.

“Then you better make sure you catch her next time,” was Jerome’s advice before he handed him a sheet of music, “Now, let’s hear you sing.”

And while David sang “The Anthem” from Chess, his thoughts strayed to Stella. Ask me why I love her…

Somehow, he nailed his auditions. One day he’d be able to laugh about the list of songs Jerome chose for his impromptus. If David didn’t know better, he’d suspect Aaron had a hand in the selection.

He strolled back to his hotel, but couldn’t stand the thought of being cooped up in his room. Instead, he crossed the street and sat in the park again, his hand on his cell phone in case Stella called. The rumbling of heavy equipment at a nearby construction area, and people shouting out to each other, made it almost impossible to hear his phone, but he’d feel it vibrate.

He checked the time again. Only an hour had passed since he talked to her. In a few hours, he would get to see Stella again. Because he knew, after hearing her voice, it wouldn’t be enough to simply talk to her on the phone.

He needed to see her in person.

And he wanted to hold her again.

Would she let him?

CHAPTER 24

Stella—July 2018

A

fter hasty goodbyes to their group, Stella, Naomi, and Julia sat in the dining car of the luxurious modern train and perused the menu.

“This is impressive for a train restaurant,” Naomi said. “In fact, the entire atmosphere is more country club than mass transportation. Buying the tickets and jumping on the next available train is no different than hopping on the subway in any American city. I have to mention it in the package I put together for European vacations. A lot of our customers will love this.”

“Yes, traveling by train is very popular in Europe,” Julia said. “I use them all the time when I’m here. And if you don’t mind spending a few extra euros for first class, you get excellent service.”

When a waitress stopped at their table, all three women ordered a salade niçoise. “And a bottle of Blanc de Noirs, please,” Julia added.

“A black white wine?” Stella wondered.

“No, but close. It’s a sparkling wine, like champagne, made from black-skinned grapes and goes nicely with the salad.”

“Are you sure we should drink alcohol, considering what’s waiting for us in Paris?” Stella asked. “We have to stay alert.”

“Three women sharing one bottle of wine is no more than two glasses for each, and we’ll have a hearty meal with it. All the protein in the salad and the carbs from the baguette will soak up the alcohol,” Julia raised her water glass. “Santé.”

“I’ll call the hotel now to see what I can arrange for rooms,” Naomi said.

“And I’ll text my contact at the Embassy,” said Julia.

Stella asked, “What can I do?”

“Call your brother. See if we can get written permission from Revan’s parents to talk to people at the Embassy. I know he’s a grown man of legal age, but it can’t hurt to have something to wave in front of the bureaucrats.”

“Should they fax it directly to the Embassy?”

“No, have them email it to you and copy me. We don’t want it to get lost in the shuffle at the offices. And we don’t know who we’ll end up talking to.”

“Got it!” Stella said and texted Luca,

On the train now. Julia says it would be helpful to have a written consent from Rev’s parents saying we can speak to an officer at the Embassy on their behalf. Email it to me and copy Julia. I’ll send you her contact details.

Luca’s reply came within seconds,

Of course, I should’ve thought of it myself. Will tell Robert ASAP. Alicia’s on her way to pick up Dinah. They’re holding up okay.

Thanks. I’ll let you know when we’re at the hotel. Naomi’s on the phone to arrange rooms. Love you.

“Luca’s on it,” she said after closing the message window.

“What does he do for a living?” Julia asked.

“He’s a news director for Bloomberg in their New York City office.”

“Ah, good to know. Maybe we’ll need to tap into his pool of media contacts.”

“Ladies, we’re all set at the hotel.” Naomi put her phone down and took a swig of her freshly poured bubbly. “Yum! I needed some fortification.” She took a photo of the bottle’s label. “This one’s going on my list of favorites.”

“Did you get a room for Julia?” Stella asked.

“Yes and no. We’ll have to share a room for one night.”

“Fine with me, I’ll sleep on the couch,” Julia said.

“Not necessary,” Naomi grinned. “For tonight, all they have available is a family room with three twin beds. We can discuss everything else when we get there.”

“Great, thank you. My news is, we won’t be able to speak with an officer in the American Citizen Services office today, but my friend in the IRS office said he can meet us after work. Alexander is trying to get an overview of what our options are, but he says there’s likely not much they can do to help us since the hostage situation is still ongoing.”

“I’d like to meet with him. Anything’s better than twiddling our thumbs in the hotel room,” Naomi said. “When and where?”

“He suggested we meet in front of the Embassy at five.”

“Tell him we’ll be there,” Naomi said, then nodded to the approaching waitress. “Now let’s eat. I see three salads coming our way...”

“Why don’t you tell me a little bit about Revan? It might help if I have an idea of who he is,” Julia asked.

Naomi looked at Stella. “How can we best describe Revan