"Where are we going?" Anna asked Colin, looking out the window of the car to see if she could determine it by watching. Colin smiled at down at her, taking her by surprise when he reached down to take her hand.

"You'll see." He told her calmly. "I'm surprised that your mother didn't accompany us. Usually, a young lady is supposed to have a chaperone."

"It's a bit more lenient here in France." Anna told him. "England has so many rules when it comes to courting, my head would spin just thinking about them! Not to mention, I suspect Mother wants to marry me off so badly, that she let me stay in your hotel room, if you asked."

"I doubt that." He chuckled. "What would be considered scandalous?" Colin asked, a teasing note in his deep voice. Anna felt her face flush.

"Kissing in public would be somewhat scandalous." She answered truthfully. "Holding hands is generally accepted."

"Good Lord, in England, you aren't even supposed to talk about body parts in front of the opposite sex." Colin exclaimed, grinning rakishly.

"Really? So if I were to tell someone that my stomach hurt—"

"They would probably act like you just shot their dog." Colin replied. Anna laughed at this, though she was curious about it. She had been to London twice, and both times, she was too young to notice anything different about it. "We've arrived." Opening the door, he quickly paid the driver and held his hand out for her to take. She could feel the warmth of his palm through her glove, but for a moment, she wished that she could take her glove off to feel his skin against hers.

Looking up as she exited the car, Anna realized that he'd brought her to the Eiffel Tower, the great hulking metal creation that everyone had made such a fuss over when it had been built. Even though it had been seven years since it had been erected, Anna had never been to visit it and was surprised by the amount of tourists that were crowded around, taking photographs and buying souvenirs.

"Astounding, isn't it?" Colin asked, offering her his arm which she took. Anna nodded, walking with him toward it.

"People were angry when they built it. They said it ruined the Paris skyline…that it cast a shadow over the city." Anna said, looking up at it. "Of course, once it became so popular, they warmed up to it."

"I see it as the mark of a changing world. It's constructed of steel and iron, the very foundations of the Industrial Revolution." Colin gestured around. "Take a good look at this, Anna. A hundred years from now, it's going to look completely different. You wouldn't recognize it."

"You sound like Simon." She told him, laughing before she muttered, "I'm being courted by my brother." Colin smiled, but he did not laugh. Anna studied his profile as they strolled, noticing that his eyes seemed extremely light silver in the afternoon sun. "You're so put together." She heard herself say. He turned to look down at her.

"What?" Confusion laced his voice.

"You never look rumpled or unkempt. Your hair is always brushed, and your tie is always perfect." It just tumbled out of her, but it made him smile slightly.

"Is that bad?" Colin asked cautiously. Anna stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, tilting her head.

"No…not bad." She allowed, swallowing.

"What then?" He asked, chuckling. In the sunlight, his eyes seemed to gleam silver down at her. Anna felt her breath quicken with longing, though she wasn't even sure what she wanted from him. Thus far, Colin had surprised her at every turn. She'd thought he would throw her first letter away without a thought, but he'd written back. Not only had he written back, he had come all the way to Paris and had extended his visit until the end of September. He'd asked to court her, when he could have had any woman in Paris or London or New York or…anywhere really.

Anna wanted him. She wanted him so badly that her heart hurt. Being here with him, holding his arm and walking with him in public was too good to be true. She was absolutely terrified that he would take her home later and never speak to her again. Anna knew she would be devastated already if it ended badly…she was too afraid to hope.

"Anna, have I offended you?" Colin asked her worriedly, seeing her frown. Shaking her head, she looked down at the ground.

"No, of course not." She replied quietly, wringing her hands, a nervous habit.

"Look at me." He urged softly, but she shook her head. "Anna, look at me sweetheart." His voice was so soft, that her breath caught when he curved his finger under her chin, tipping her face upward so that she was looking up into his eyes. Colin was even taller than her brother, making her feel absolutely tiny.

"Tell me what's wrong." He said with blazing silver eyes. "You were talking and then, you stopped and looked so upset—"

"No." She sighed. "I'm not. Just distracted I'm afraid." Colin led her to an unoccupied bench and sat down beside her.

"Tell me something about yourself." He told her, sounding as if he were daring her. Anna slowly met his eyes, feeling an odd euphoria pleasantly wash over her, numbing her senses to anything else. She could vaguely smell the soap he'd used on his skin that morning. Anna jumped when his hand began to softly knead the back of her neck, soothing her jumbled nerves.

"What do you want to know?" She asked, closing her eyes in reluctant relief.

"Tell me about your childhood." His voice was even, steady, comforting. "Tell me about being the youngest of three." He paused. "Or was it four?"

Anna opened her eyes, staring at him contemplatively. Was he baiting her? He'd said that almost as if…he knew.

"It's three." She insisted, hating the breathiness in her voice.

"Three then." Colin nodded amiably. "What was it like growing up? What did the three of you do for fun?"

"Simon was so much older, he wasn't around much because he was at school and then at university. Grace and I also liked to pretend to be princesses. We would take turns being the Prince. I usually had to play the Prince." Anna remembered ruefully. "When Simon was home, he would play sometimes. He always played the hero and rescued one of us from the other." A laugh escaped her, despite her extreme nervousness. Anna could feel his fingers brushing lightly over her hair.

"We played pirates." Colin admitted, grinning. "Thus, me ending up impaled with a sword. My mother was so angry with my father for not locking the trophy room, that she made him lock those swords away in a trunk." All of her fear began to slowly ebb when he laughed at this. "As punishment for being disobedient and destructive, we were forced to attend our little sisters 'tea party' and wear our mother's hats. She told us that if we didn't give a completely believable performance, we would have to keep attending until we did. Rafe was livid."

"I'll bet you never did anything like that again!" Anna exclaimed with a giggle.

"No." Colin agreed earnestly. "There's nothing like spending an afternoon in a hat adorned with fruit and bows to make a man see the error of his ways."

"I shall have to keep that in mind." Anna managed to say before descending into a fit of merriment.

"Now, don't go getting ideas, Miss Reynolds." Colin joked, playfully tickling her side. She swatted at him, wrestling her body away from him. "So you are ticklish."

"So are you, if you recall." Anna reminded him, referring to when she'd touched his scar.

"Yes, ticklish." Colin nodded vaguely, sobering. "Come." He said, holding his hand out for her to take and standing. Anna did not hesitate this time, she took it without question and let him lead her back down the paved path. Nearby, a vendor was selling souvenirs, postcards and paintings and small miniature replicas of the Eiffel Tower. Colin immediately stopped and bought one, handing it over to her.

"What is this for?" She asked, admiring it.

"So you remember today, of course." Colin said, giving her another one of his brilliant smiles. Anna privately thought that she could live happily with the thought of those smiles. He leaned down closer to her ear and lowered his voice. "And so you don't forget who you came with." Anna went hot all over, feeling a blush in her cheeks. There was a strange, possessive tone in his voice, which reminded her of the tone her brother adopted when talking to his wife. She'd always found it revolting before, but when it was directed toward her by Colin, she was alarmed by the strange tingling in her stomach. Colin led her over to a grouping of trees behind a hedge though she still felt overheated, despite the generous shade.

"I'm going to call on you again, Anna." He told her, cupping her face and running the pad of his thumb over her cheek. She felt a momentary pang of sympathy for Flash, but reminded herself that she was Flash and therefore, it was no betrayal. Then again, Colin certainly didn't know she was Flash…

Did he?

"I would like that." She said, but all that came out was a whisper.

"Would you?" He asked, lifting her hand in his and playing with the gloved fingers. Anna nodded and watched with widened eyes as he gingerly removed it from her small fingers. She drew an audible breath when he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the tip of each finger, sending jolts of fire down her legs and back up again. She felt dizzy as if she had drunk too much wine.

Colin's hazy eyes met hers and she saw him swallow, watching in fascination as his Adam's apple bobbed becomingly. Patting her hand, he pressed a chaste kiss to the back of it and began to replace her glove. Anna nearly sagged in disappointment. She'd thought – no, hoped – that he was going to kiss her. He must have sensed her distress, looking back up into her eyes imploringly.

"What's wrong?"

Anna bit her lip, shaking her head. "It's nothing." She told him.

"It's something." He insisted, making her sigh.

"I just…" Anna looked away, gathering her courage. "I thought you were going to kiss me." She tried not to show her disappointment, but she must not have been successful because she heard a tender rumble of laughter.

"Did you want me to?" He asked curiously, watching her with unbridled enthrallment. She forced herself to look up at him again, her hand still clasped in his.

"I've never been." If it was possible, the gray of his eyes softened even further with affection.

"You are so darling." Colin spoke with reverence, as if she were the dearest person in the world. "You infatuate me endlessly, you know."

"I do?" Anna returned, trying to concentrate as her heart thumped wildly in her chest.

"Oh yes…your eyes are full of mischief, but sometimes, when you are caught off guard, there is such innocence that I am astounded by it. I could get lost in those eyes…" The backs of his fingers brushed over her cheek again.

"You barely know me." Anna protested weakly, making move close to her so that they were nearly front to front.

"I know you." He told her quietly, letting his hand rest against the side of her slender neck. "I know that you're terrified of spiders…I know that your middle name is Christine. I know that when you're nervous, your cheeks turn the sweetest shade of pink, making your eyes seem even bluer." His face moved closer to hers so that their foreheads were pressed together. Anna closed her eyes, feeling his warm breath on her lips. Still, he did not press forward. "Do you want to know what I want to know the most though?" She made some noise of agreement. His voice became nothing but a husky whisper. "You never did tell me your favorite color." Anna gasped audibly, keeping her eyes closed, unable to look up at him. "Tell me your favorite color, Anna."

"No." She murmured.

"Tell me." Colin said again and Anna felt his other hand cradle the back of her inclined head. Anna no longer cared that she might be defeated, she simply needed to feel his lips on hers.

"Green." Her voice was unsteady, ragged. She heard his sharp intake of breath, closing her eyes tighter as she felt the gentle guidance of his hand on the back of her head. And then, the most wonderful thing happened.

Colin kissed her.

I'm trying to keep these two apart longer, but they're not cooperating. Ah well, it's far from over.

S