Dear Audrine,

I miss you. I'm worried about you. Why haven't you written me back? I don't want to stop writing you, because I want you to know that I am always thinking about you. But please, if you've changed your mind about me, don't let me look like a fool. Tell me you don't want to hear from me, and I'll stop bothering you.

I thought that what I felt, you felt it too. Maybe I'm wrong. My father introduced me to a nice girl here named Anne, but I told him that I would not see her again because my heart still belongs to you. I only want you. She's a nice girl but when she smiles, all I can think about is that your smile is prettier. When I look into her eyes, I'd rather be looking into yours. When I feel her hair, I can only think that your hair is softer.

I miss you so much, Audrine, that my stomach is sick and I can't think about anything else. I left my heart with you in France, I'm hoping that you're taking care of it. I can't bear the thought of not being with you for the rest of my life. If I lose you, I will never heal. Please write back. I love you.

Sincerely,

Charlie

I almost wish I hadn't read that letter, because it's so sad on many different levels.

Grandma Anne is very similar to my mom, and we're not very close. She's always striving for perfection in everybody around her and nothing has ever felt good enough. She's very cold and calculating, and can oftentimes be cruel when she doesn't even mean to be. However, it still hurts me to read about her like that. It hurts me that my grandpa felt that way about her when they first met, and I feel like she deserved better.

She's remarried now, so maybe she found her better half in my step-grandfather. I hope so.

It's also sad because he was so desperate for an answer from Audrine, not having any clue that none of the letters were getting to her. He was so sad thinking that she didn't really love him, and he never really got his answer for years until he found the hidden letters. Audrine must have felt the same way, wondering why he never wrote to her, and she never got her answer until I showed up.

Their love story is so tragic.

Although reading this letter does make me sad, it almost gives me even more confirmation that I'm doing the right thing by staying in France. If I don't, my love story with Silas will end up equally as tragic.

If only I could find the words to explain that to my mother.

"This one is so sad," Silas says after he's finished reading the letter. He places it back down on the kitchen table and says, "I feel bad for all of them."

"Me too," I say sadly. Audrine had just finished reading all of the letters and said I was more than welcome to read through them. She also mentioned that she took out all of the ones with X-rated material, which makes me want to barf but I'm also extremely grateful she kept them out of my view.

Silas and I have spent the bigger chunk of the day going through all of the letters. They all say a lot of the same things; how much he loved Audrine and wanted to see her again. He found a thousand different ways to tell her that he loved her.

"I thought my grandpa was a painter, I didn't realize he was a writer too," I comment as I pick up the next letter.

"Yeah, he was quite the poet," Silas agrees with me. "If you had decided to leave, would you write me handwritten letters?"

"Could I opt for email?" I ask him jokingly.

"No, I would demand handwritten letters, they're so much more romantic," he tells me.

"But as we've seen, a lot more can go wrong with a handwritten note than just sending an email or a text," I remind him. "If Charlie and Audrine had email, none of this would have happened."

"Yeah, you're right," he agrees with me.

"Besides, I'm not as cheesy as my grandpa," I add. "I don't think my letters would have as much of an affect."

"Okay, I'll let it slide. If I were to write you a letter, it would be way too horny to show our grandkids," he says with a wide grin.

I start to blush and to avoid his gaze, I get up from the table to pour myself a small glass of wine. "Nothing about my dazzling personality or citrus-smelling hair?"

"Nope," he shakes his head at me, "just an eight page essay about your boobs, and your legs, and-"

"I get it," I stop him as I start laughing, not wanting him to make me blush any more than he already has. "You are such a perv."

"Hey, you never told me how your mom took it when you told her you weren't going to Brown?" Silas changes the conversation abruptly. "I assume that no news is good news."

I start to stammer and I feel my palms clamming up. I wasn't expecting him to bring it up, although it does make sense that he'd ask. I'm completely unprepared to tell him the truth though. I don't want to lie to him, but the first thing that comes out of my mouth is, "she was mad, but she'll get over it."

"Good," he seems happy with that answer, and I feel like crap for lying to him. I'm going to tell her eventually though, I just haven't yet and I don't want him to second guess that I meant what I said. "I was a little worried you would get cold feet, because your mom seems very stubborn. I'm really glad, and a little relieved, that you went through with it."

Guilt starts to take over my entire body, but I hope he can't notice. I think that if he knew the truth, he'd worry that I'm not actually going to stay here or that I've changed my mind. That's not true, I just haven't gathered the right words to tell her. I've convinced myself if I present the right words to my mom in a pretty little bouquet wrapped in ribbon, she won't get upset. I just haven't arranged the bouquet yet.

"I was wondering what you thought about me maybe renting the room upstairs until I can find a place for myself," I sort of change the subject. "Do you think Audrine would be okay with that? My hotel reservation ends in two weeks and I haven't really had time to look for a place yet."

"She won't mind, but I'll ask just in case," Silas tells me. "You don't need to stay upstairs though, why don't you just stay with me?"

"I don't want to intrude," I admit shyly, even though I was hoping he would say that. I would much rather stay with Silas in his room rather than sleep upstairs in the studio, but I didn't want to assume my place in his bed for a solid few weeks at least. Even though I have found a place, the building next door, it's not official and I still haven't told him I'm trying to buy it.

"It's not an intrusion," he says with a laugh, as if my statement was completely ridiculous. "I would say that you should move in sooner than the two weeks, but we need more time with that pool."

"Yeah, I'm really going to miss the pool," I say with a smile. "But I'm excited to see you every day. Maybe I could help in the restaurant while I stay here?"

"That's okay, we're pretty good on staff," he assures me. "You don't have to do that. She might ask you to pay some rent money while you stay, but you don't need to work."

"I'll have to find work somehow," I remind him. It'll be difficult for me to find any kind of work around here considering my French is mediocre at best, but I do have a large chunk of inheritance to live off of. I don't want to drain that money though, so I would like to get a job as soon as possible.

"I'll help you find a job," he offers. "And I should teach you how to drive too. Would you want to go to school? There are a lot of art schools in France, you know."

"I'm not sure," I say with a shrug. "This is the first time that I've ever had to decide for myself what I want to do with my life. It's terrifying."

Silas laughs and kisses my cheek. "You'll figure it out."

Trying to plan out a career path right now piled onto all of the other stresses I have going on in my head is just too much, so I decide not to think about it. I'll revisit this idea once I've told my mom the truth, and now I need to tell Silas the truth too. I also need to wait until after the property next door is sold, because buying real estate is so stressful. Especially keeping it a secret, and the fact that I have no idea how to buy real estate.

My dad's lawyer has worked for our family for two decades though, so I trust him to help me make the right moves.

"I hope so," I say with a drawn out sigh.

"Read this one," Silas hands me one of the letters on the table that he'd been glancing at.

"Dear Audrine," I begin to read aloud. "I wonder how your day is going. How are your parents doing? I was doing the most mundane thing today, sitting in a meeting with my father. When everybody in the room was starting to talk about meeting the financial quota for the quarter and I was suddenly thinking of you again. You are my escape in this stupid, mundane world. Even when you're on the other side of the globe. My dad asked me a question about our income for the month of November, and it was like I wasn't even there. I was back in France with you, holding you in my arms again. I wish I was there, Audrine. Sincerely, Charlie."

"So romantic," he says with a small smile.

"Every time I read one of these letters, it just makes me sad that they never got to be together," I tell him with a long sigh.

Silas leans over and covers my hand with his and says, "Our grandparents walked, so we could run."

It makes me laugh as I'm rolling my eyes at him. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I know it's sad that they didn't get their profound love story," he tells me in a more serious tone, "but what's happened has already happened, and there's nothing to be done about it now. We should just be grateful that because things went they way they did, we get our chance at a profound love story. But now, we can learn from their mistakes so history doesn't repeat itself with us."

"You're right," I agree with him, because there's no use in thinking about what could have happened. I should just focus on the positives; I now get my chance at love with Silas, I have learned to live my life for myself here, and we can learn from their failed romance to strengthen our own. It is sad to think that my grandpa never got the love story he deserved, but he did get the family he always wanted, and I truly believe that he lived a good, happy life. I like reading the letters because it makes me feel closer to him, but it still makes me a little sad knowing that she'd never get all of these wonderful letters until almost sixty years later.

"I know that I'm right," he teases me with a short smile.

When he squeezes my hand and kisses my cheek, I feel another pang of guilt shock through my body. I feel so dirty lying to him, it feels like there's something physically twisting up my insides and knotting my intestines. I've never been a good liar, and I know I won't last long. I want to tell him the truth, that I keep chickening out when I talk to my mom. Maybe he could even give me a pep talk and be there for me when I do have the conversation.

I just really don't want him to think that I'm backing out of our plan, though, so I keep my mouth shut. I'll tell my mom eventually, I still have two weeks left to gather the courage. Talking to my mother shouldn't be something I need a pep talk for; I should just be able to pick up the phone and tell her the truth. She's my mother, for crying out loud.

I've tried writing it down on paper so that all I have to do is read it like a script. I've tried hinting at it a few times so that maybe she'd realize it on her own without me having to say it. I've tried as many things as I could think of, but the words still get stuck in my mouth like a bad taste.

Telling my mom the truth is the only thing standing between me and my new life here in France with Silas. I just need to cut the cord and enjoy my fresh beginning here. I can't enjoy it until she knows.

"Aren't you going to get that?" Silas pokes my shoulder.

I blink a few times to snap out of my panicked thought process. I realize that my phone is ringing in my pocket, so I quickly pick it up and see it's the lawyer who has been helping me purchase the property next door.

"I have to take this," I say quickly, standing up from the table. I hide myself away in Silas's bedroom in hopes of having some privacy to keep this purchase a secret.

"Hello, Brennan," I greet the lawyer. "How are things going?"

"They accepted the offer," he says quickly, as if he couldn't wait another minute to tell me the good news. "You just have to sign some papers, and it's all yours. The owners have completely moved out now, so once everything is signed, you should be all set."

"That's amazing," I can't help but grin like an idiot. Even though he had been confident that they'd accept the offer, I didn't want to get my hopes up until it was official. "What papers do I have to sign?"

"They're from the bank. Don't worry about it yet, I'm going to fly out there next week and I'll walk you through them. I made sure they'd have both a French and English copy, and we'll have a translator there to confirm everything is in order."

"That's amazing," I can barely contain my excitement, but I know that I need to keep my voice down so Silas doesn't overhear. I want to wait until the papers are signed before I tell him and Audrine, just in case something falls through. "Thank you so much."

"I'll see you soon, Miss Murphy," he says. Just as quickly as he called me, it was over. I stay in Silas's room for a moment longer to do a little happy dance before I join Silas again in the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Silas looks at me suspiciously. "We've only been officially together for less than a week and you already have a side piece?"

"Yes," I tease him, putting a hand on his tough shoulder. "I've got to keep things exciting."

"Really, who was that?" Silas laughs at my dumb sarcasm, but still curiously presses me about the phone call.

"It's a surprise," I say vaguely. "And it's a really, really good one."