Page 67 of Loving London

It’s silent for a moment before Paige says, “I still can’t believe all of this. You and Loïc are back together. You’re back in Michigan. We had a barbeque yesterday at Cooper, Maggie, and Loïc’s house. Sarah and Loïc are living together, and you’re cool about that. It’s all so surreal.” There’s a hint of awe in her voice.

“I know. It’s a lot to take in. I can hardly believe it myself. It’s been a whirlwind of a week.” I sport a giant smile, thinking about it.

“And you feel good about it? No more heartbreaks on the horizon?” Paige inquires hesitantly.

My body freezes, and I hold back a giggle as the pedicurist rubs a rough stone against the bottom of my foot. “Yeah, I feel great. It’s the real deal this time,” I answer Paige through clenched teeth.

She chuckles at my discomfort.

I let out a deep breath of relief when the woman stops assaulting my foot and moves on to the polish portion.

“Loïc tells me that he doesn’t believe in fate and all that, but I do,” I say to Paige. “It’s confusing though because I don’t know why Cooper was destined to die, you know? He shouldn’t have died. And Loïc’s parents and the way he was treated as a child—none of that was meant to be. No way. I can’t believe that.” I shake my head in disgust from just thinking about Loïc as a sweet child, abused and alone. “So, for some things, I can’t justify that it was meant to be. Instead, it’s like one of life’s unexplainable things.

“Yet, when it comes to Loïc and me, I truly think that the past year was meant to happen. Loïc and I were always great together, but we weren’t great on our own. He had issues. I had completely different issues. We’re not perfect now, by any means, but we’ve each grown so much over the past year. We’ve worked on ourselves and become whole and happy apart, which will make our relationship together even stronger.”

“I can see that,” Paige says.

“In my heart, I’ve always known that Loïc is the one for me, and it took so long to wrap my mind around the fact that we weren’t together. But, if the last week is any indication, we’re going to be reaping the rewards from our time apart for the rest of our lives.”

There’s nothing better than two whole and happy people being together, creating an epic love story. It’s one of life’s greatest gifts. I’m so grateful that I learned the lessons I was meant to along the way so that I now have the capacity to embrace it all.

“I’m so happy for you, London,” my best friend says in earnest, a warm smile on her face.

I reach my hand over to her chair and gently squeeze her hand, letting her know how much I love her.

“Well, I’ve got nothing left to teach you,” she jokes. “As they say,The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”

“You know what else they say?” I ask with a grin. “The grass is greener where you water it, my friend.”

“This is just getting too deep now.” In a dramatic fashion, Paige throws her head back against the cushioned chair, causing me to laugh.

“Maybe it’s time I start giving you advice. You can hand me your torch of wisdom, and I can help you. How’s your love life going?”

“On a scale of one to ten, an eleven,” Paige answers with a huff.

My eyes go wide. “Really? Why didn’t you tell me? Who’s the guy?”

Paige squints her eyes toward me. “There’s no guy, London. Hence, the eleven.”

I shake my head. “No, if there isn’t a guy, then it would be zero.”

“No, one is the best, andtenis the worst. So, eleven is likewhoabad,” Paige says.

I laugh. “You have it completely backward. Tenis a better score thanone. Ten is perfect.”

“You’re obviously confused,” Paige scoffs with a wave of her hand.

“For someone so smart, sometimes, I wonder how you make it through the day.” I chuckle.

“Hey, I resent that.” Paige pouts.

“It was a compliment of sorts.”

Paige shrugs. “Eh, all right. So, where do you want to go to dinner?”

“Have I told you today how much I love you?” I grin.

“No, but I know you do. Why wouldn’t you? I’m the best thing to happen to you since sliced bread.” She gives me a wink.

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