Harmel - The Art of French Kissing

The events and characters in this book are fictitious. Certain real locations and public figures are mentioned, but all other characters and events described in the book are totally imaginary.

Copyright 2008 by Kristin Harmel

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

5 Spot

Hachette Book Group

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New York, NY 10017

Visit our Web site at www.5-spot.com.

5 Spot is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing. The 5 Spot name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

First eBook Edition: February 2008

ISBN: 978-0-446-51160-5

THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING

Overflowing with bubbly fun, filled with delicious romance and madcap adventures, and, toujours, intoxicating with the magic of Paris... Like a bottle of champagne... Youll drink it down in one glamorous gulp.

Julia Holden, author of One Dance in Paris

A sweet, funny tale about losing love and finding yourself. Set against the backdrop of the most romantic city on earth, THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING takes us on an exciting whirlwind of glitz, glamour, and celebrity scandalswith a side order of reinvention.

Johanna Edwards, author of The Next Big Thing

Im a big fan of Kristin Harmel, and THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING is my favorite of her novels.

Melissa Senate, author of See Jane Date and Love You to Death

Trs magnifique! I loved this book and you will, too!... A sweet and adorable page-turner that will make you long for the City of Light.

Brenda Janowitz, author of Scot on the Rocks

A fun, lively story that made me fall in love with Paris all over again.

Lynda Curnyn, author of Bombshell

THE BLONDE THEORY

Entertaining.

London Free Press

Rush out and pick this one up. Youll be glad you did. So entertaining that I wont be surprised if this one ends up on the big screen.

NightsandWeekends.com

With a smart heroine willing to date as a bona fide ditz, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments... the true joy comes when Harper drops the silly blonde act and gives the shallow men she meets a piece of her mind.

Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine

HOW TO SLEEP WITH A MOVIE STAR

Hilarious.

Cosmopolitan

Hilarious... deliciously entertaining.

Sarah Mlynowski, author of Milkrun and Monkey Business

We recommend How to Sleep with a Movie Star.

New York Daily News

Forget the movie star! For a really good time, take this hilarious book to bed instead.

Jennifer OConnell, author of Dress Rehearsal and Insider Dating

Kristin Harmel dishes with disarming honesty and delivers a sparkling, delightful story about the push and pull between being average and being a celebrity.

Laura Caldwell, author of The Year of Living Famously and The Night I Got Lucky

ALSO BY KRISTIN HARMEL

How to Sleep with a Movie Star

The Blonde Theory

To Lauren Elkin, my Paris roommate, my great friend, and one of the best writers I know.

To those who have brought Europe alive for me, especially Jean-Michel Colin, David Ahern, Dusty Millar, Katharine Vincent, Jean-Marc Denis, and Marco Cassan.

And of course to my wonderful mom, who introduced me to Paris for the first time.

A special thank-you to Lauren Elkin, my wonderful friend who first lured me to Paris and has let me sleep on her futon each time Ive been tempted to return. Shes also a great writer, and I was fortunate enough to have her give me early feedback on this book. Thanks as well to Amy Tangerine (extremely talented superstar designer and fantastic friend), who is a great cheerleader and one of the people whose opinion I trust wholeheartedly on early drafts. A thousand thank-yous to Gillian Zucker, my trusted friend whom I admire greatly as both a person and a professional (and who lets me call her second bedroom home when Im in LA!). I owe you a drink (or several dozen) at Katsuya!

Thanks, as always, to Mom, Dave, Karen, Dad, and the rest of my fantastic family. I truly think Im related to some of the warmest, most wonderful people in the world.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my fabulous editors Karen Kosztolnyik and Rebecca Isenberg for helping beat this novel into shape, and to my wonderful agent Jenny Bent (and her assistant, Victoria Horn) for listening to me ramble about all the ideas that pop into my head. Thanks also to my film agent, Andy Cohen, whom Im happy to call my friend; to all the folks at Hachette, especially Elly Weisenberg (congratulations!!!), Emily Griffin, Caryn Karmatz Rudy, Brigid Pearson, Laura Jorstod, Celia Johnson, and Mari Okuda; and to my UK editor, Cat Cobain. And as always, thanks to my first editor, Amy Einhorn.

Im also fortunate enough to have met some of the nicest writers in the entire world. Thanks especially to Sarah Mlynowski for being so generous with her time and advice; to Alison Pace for giving me a New York couch to sleep on and taking me on walks with the fabulous Carlie; and to Sarah, Alison, Lynda Curnyn, and Melissa Senate, for the friendship and support youve all provided. Thanks also to the wonderful writers (and wonderful women) Jane Porter, Laura Caldwell, Brenda Janowitz, Johanna Edwards, Megan Crane, and Liza Palmer.

Thanks to my many wonderful, amazing friends, especially Kristen Milan, Kara Brown, Kendra Williams, Wendy Jo Moyer, Megan Combs, Amber Draus, Lisa Wilkes, Ashley Tedder, Don Clemence, Michelle Tauber, Willow Shambeck, Melixa Carbonell, Josh Yang, Courtney Jaye, Marc Mugnos, Ryan Dean, Wendy Chioji, Brendan Bergen, Ben Bledsoe, Jamie Tabor, Andrea Jackson, Lana Cabrera, Joe Cabrera, Pat Cash, Adam Evans, Courtney Harmel, Janine Harmel, Steve Helling, Emma Helling, and Capn. Thanks also to my Mediabistro.com students.

And thanks to you, the reader, for coming along on this journey with me! I love your e-mails, so keep em coming! Mille fois merci!

O ur wedding was supposed to be in September.

Id already been to my final dress fitting. Id chosen my bridesmaids, picked out my flowers, and booked a caterer. The invitations were printed up and all ready to be mailed. Wed chosen a band. Wed talked about what we would name the kids wed have someday. Id filled pages and pages with scribbles: Mr. and Mrs. Brett Landstrom. Brett and Emma Landstrom. Brett Landstrom and his wife, Emma Sullivan-Landstrom. The Landstroms. I could already envision the future wed have together.

And then one day, it all fell apart.

It was a hot, muggy Tuesday evening in April, and Id left work at three so that I could make a special dinner for Brett to celebrate our one-year anniversary of moving in together. I cleaned off our patio table, bought fresh flowers, and cooked his favorite mealgrilled chicken stuffed with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and caprino cheese, served over angel-hair pasta with homemade marinara sauce. Perfect, I thought as I poured a glass of Chianti for each of us.

Looks good, Brett said, strolling out through the sliding glass doors to the patio at six oclock. As he stepped outside, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button on his shirt, which of course made him look even sexier than usual, in a haphazard way. It was a good sign, I thought, that I found him just as attractive as I had the day Id met him. I hoped he felt the same way.