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“I don’t think she’s in the mood for a selfie, babe,” said Chase, and he was probably right, as Amalia’s pretty face spelled storm.

Just before she reached Odelia and Chase, who were safely kept behind the barrier the production team had set up, the television star veered off and proceeded in the direction of a giant trailer, which presumably was Amalia’s home away from home for the duration of the production.

“Will you look at the size of that trailer!” Odelia gasped.

“They say the bigger the ego, the bigger the trailer,” said Chase, a little unkindly, Odelia felt.

“I’d give anything to take a look inside,” she said, following every movement of her favorite star.

Then, as Amalia was about to enter her trailer, suddenly a rangy young man with carrot-colored hair approached her, and exchanged a few words. Obviously his presence was unwelcome, for Amalia flapped her arms, like a chicken about to lay an egg, then entered her trailer, slamming the door in the young man’s face.

“Looks like a cop,” said Chase remarked.

And he did. He was dressed in blue, and could indeed have been a French cop.

“Wonder what that was all about,” Chase murmured, his cop brain immediately interested in why a cop would try to have speech with the star.

“Maybe she parked her trailer where she’s not allowed?” Odelia suggested.

“I’m sure the production will have arranged the necessary permissions.”

The cop walked their way, looking downcast after his run-in with the star.

“Hey, buddy,” said Chase once the guy was within earshot. “The name’s Chase Kingsley and I’m a cop from New York. Mind telling me what that was about?”

The young man perked up at the sight of a colleague.

“NYPD! Tom Selleck! I loveBlue Bloods!”

Chase grinned at the guy’s pretty excitement. “You a cop, too?”

The man nodded. Then he stopped nodding and grimaced.“Actually I am traffic warden, so technically not a cop, though I feel like cop,” he quickly added.

“And you dress like a cop,” said Chase, gesturing to the man’s fine threads.

The kid thrust out his chest.“It is a great uniform I wear with pride,” he confirmed happily.

“So you write traffic tickets?”

“That is what I do. I write a lot of traffic tickets all the day.”

“And Mrs. Pulpweed has an outstanding ticket, is that it?”

“Yes, her ticket is really outstanding. I try to collect, but she blows me up big time.”

“Blows you off, you mean,” said Chase with an indulgent chuckle.

“Yes, she blows me off all the time. She is a big star, yes?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty big in the States,” said Chase.

“Not just the States,” said Odelia, coming to her idol’s defense. “Amalia Pulpweed is a big star everywhere. She’s an international superstar.”

“I have heard of her,” the young man said, nodding. He then introduced himself as Louis de Ferr?, traffic warden with the Paris Police Prefecture. And after exchanging a few more words with them, especially about Tom Selleck, who he seemed to admire a great deal, he mounted his bicycle and rode off, to deliver some more traffic justice and keep those Paris streets safe.

Odelia could have stood there for hours, watching the fascinating scene, as the production got busy rearranging the setup and makeup artists worked on Natalie and Penney, but Chase reminded her they were only in Paris for a couple of days, and didn’t she want to have a bite to eat and see some more of the sights?

So she reluctantly tore herself away from the shoot and they proceeded to cram as much of Paris into a single day as they possibly could, only arriving back at the hotel very late and feeling slightly guilty for leaving Max and Dooley all by themselves for so long, but also glad to have seen so much of the gorgeous city.

She plunked down on the couch and proceeded to massage her painful feet and calves and tell her cats all about the wonderful day they had.

“And then we saw the Louvre, and then we saw the Tuileries Garden…”

The cats listened politely, but she could see their heart wasn’t in it, so she released them from having to listen to her jabbering, and instead picked up her phone and called her mom, who immediately answered, carrying Grace in her arms.

The sight of her baby’s roseate cheeks and infectious smile instantly drove the tiredness from her bones, and then she and Chase spent a pleasant half hour chatting with Mom and Dad and Grace.

All in all it was a most magical first day in a magical city.

And it was only the beginning.

CHAPTER 5

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