2000 Kisses Read Online Free

will never happen.
    Outside in the harbor a boat horn thundered.
    The crowd silenced for the space of a breath, maybe two, as if they were waiting for something to happen. Disaster? Writing in the sky?
    But the spell was broken as colored lights cut back and forth over the harbor.
    People cheered.
    Confetti flew.
    Party horns blasted.
    Complete strangers threw their arms around each other, caught in wordless emotion. Thousands of white rose petals dropped from behind hidden alcoves in the ceiling, creating a sense of romance and enchantment as the crowd cheered as one.
    Someone planted a drunken kiss on Tess's cheek. She dodged another kiss by leaning to the side, though she was smiling, caught in the sudden atmosphere of jubilation, as if the new millennium had somehow given them all a second chance.
    Even Tess began to laugh as the banker shook her hand exuberantly and the computer expert leaned forward awkwardly for a kiss and missed. She lifted her head and felt her heart pound as great flowers of light spiraled into the sky and burst into glorious streams of color.
    The end of a century, a millennium.
    The grand beginning of a grand new era.
    In the middle of the noise, one of her wealthy pursuers ambled back, giving her a drunken leer. “How about we forget Paris and go up to my cabin instead?” He swayed closer, winking. “My wife and I have an understanding about these things.”
    Tess controlled an urge to dump the last of her champagne over his balding head. “Well, I don't, mid I happen to have other plans.”
    Damien Passard moved in front of her, looking angry and protective. “I think you'd better go before I do something physical.”
    The businessman frowned. “I didn't know you were coming tonight, Passard. No need to be nasty. I didn't know she was taken.” The man staggered off toward the crowd gathered along the windows.
    Tess felt oddly childlike, caught in wonder at the sight of fireworks trailing through the night sky. She felt her driving professional edge begin to soften at the sight of such beauty.
    She was ready for the new millennium, ready for something wild and crazy to sweep into her life. Clutching her champagne, she was rocked by a yearning that left her dizzy.
    “Do you think he's really out there, Damien?” she whispered. “That we'll run into each other on a crowded street or waiting in line for coffee? Do you think he'll know me and somehow I'll recognize him?”
    The Frenchman gave a very Gallic smile. “Miracles can begin in the most insignificant way. For you, it will begin with color. Great soaring colors that touch your heart.” The Frenchman stared out at the hundreds of boats rocking in the harbor. “For you, there is no question. He waits. He walks where the ladder rises to a city in the sky. He is remembering, too, in his way.”
    Ladders and cities in the sky? “Can't you just give me a name and a concrete time?”
    The Frenchman chuckled. “It doesn't work that way.” He bnished a strand of hair from her cheek. “A good adventure comes when you least expect it. At any time you may look up to find your man of mystery.” His eyes held a secret knowledge as he raised his glass to hers. “Now make your millennium wishes, my dear. Close your eyes and dig very deep.”
    Wishes.
    Where could she even begin?
    Tess took a deep breath, searching through all the hopes she'd never dared to admit and all the dreams she'd never had time to pursue because of her hectic career. “I wish for something I've never done before.”
    The Frenchman rolled his eyes. “You wound me. What kind of resolution is this? To succeed, you must make your dreams very grand,” he urged. “Try again.”
    She gave a wistful smile. “Then I wish to be spontaneous. Completely, absolutely spontaneous.”
    “You can do better than this. More,” he commanded.
    “If you knew me, you'd understand what a big change that will be,” Tess said. She caught a handful of confetti and threw it up in the