Page 64 of Loving London

She’s not quite to the stage of jumping up and down with her best friend because she’s so happy, but I make her jump with me anyway.

Paige starts laughing. “What the hell, London? I’m so freaking confused!”

“Long story short, I ran into Loïc in LA. Turns out, he came for me last year, but he saw me with Brad. So, he left. He loves me, and I love him, so we’re back together. He was in Cali with me this past week, and I came back here for a long weekend. I’ll be here until Tuesday. Oh, and today is Sarah’s baby’s one-year birthday party. Yay!”

“Whoa, chica. You need to lay off the coffee.” Paige chuckles and pulls me into another hug. “It’s so good to see you.” She squeezes me tight. “So, there’s no box of stuff?”

“Nope. Just me.” I grin. “I just thought it would be fun to surprise you.”

“I’m definitely surprised.” Paige looks around the foyer before whispering, “How are things with Sarah?”

“Pretty good. I don’t think she’s my biggest fan, but oh well. She and Loïc never hooked up, so I’m happy about that.”

“No doubt. I have a feeling that you have so many more things to tell me.”

“Oh, I do,” I agree. “We’ll have a girls’ day tomorrow. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“You have to see Loïc’s nephew. He is the cutest thing ever. Come on.” I pull Paige’s hand and lead her toward the sliding glass door that opens to the backyard. “Oh, one more thing that I should warn you about, especially since Loïc is wearing shorts and the metal leg is pretty noticeable; Loïc lost his leg in Afghanistan. Feel free to ask him about it though. He’s very open now. He’s different…but the same, too.”

Paige shakes her head. “Wow. This is crazy. And you are hopped up on some strong drug or something. You’re way too happy.”

“It’s called the drug of love, Paige. The. Drug. Of.Looove.” I grab her hand and pull her outside.

Paige laughs. “Tomorrow can’t come fast enough. I need to find out what you’ve done to my best friend.”

“I might have had one too many espressos,” I admit with a giggle. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, and this time difference is killing me.”

“So, you’re high on love and caffeine.”

“Basically, yes,” I nod exuberantly.

We reach Loïc where he’s holding Evan. He’s standing in a circle of people, including Sarah, Maggie, and Maggie’s family. Cooper’s sisters are here somewhere as well.

“Hey, Paige. Good to see you,” Loïc says.

“Yeah, you, too,” Paige answers.

“How was the surprise?” He chuckles, obviously noting Paige’s still mildly confused expression.

“It was something. I was definitely surprised.”

“I bet. Well, this is the birthday boy, Sarah’s little guy. His name is Evan.”

“Oh, he’s so cute!” Paige exclaims as she reaches out to the baby to rub his chubby little hand.

“Told ya,” I say.

I stand beside Maggie and give her a side hug as Paige continues to talk to Loïc and play with Evan.

“How’s work, Mags?” I ask, happy to be around her again.

“It’s good. Busy but good.” She nods with a slight smile.

I think about how odd it still is for me to see Maggie without Cooper, and I have to ask, “How areyou?” I know that she understands what I mean.

She forces out a small, sad chuckle. “I’m okay, London. Every day is still hard, but at the same time, each day gets a little easier. Does that make sense?”

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