Page 26 of The Paris Chapter

My phone buzzed on the bedside table. It was a message from Juliette.

Brunch? I only take yes as the answer.

Smiling at the way she’d written it, I replied to agree to the plan, my stomach rumbling in anticipation. Brunch and girl talk after last night and this morning sounded perfect to me.

I met Juliette at a small bistro close to the Louvre. The rain had cleared and there was a hint of sunshine between the clouds as I walked there from the apartment. I scrolled through the photos on Instagram from last night and saw that I looked the happiest I had in a very long time.

As I approached the bistro, I noticed that Carly had liked the one Juliette had taken of me and Ethan holding our drinks up at the camera, cheesy smiles on our faces.

I opened up WhatsApp and messaged her.

Okay, you were right.

I always am but what about specifically this time?

Paris being a good idea!

You looked like you were having fun last night.

Then she added five winking emojis.

It was a really good night. How are you? Feeling better I hope?

It’s weird, it feels like I’m about to get the flu but nothing is appearing, very odd. Just taking it easy working from home on the sofa. I miss you!

I miss you too. Not long until I’m back in London, don’t worry.

As I put my phone away, I felt a bit sad at the thought of returning home. The change of scenery and company had been more healing than I thought it would be. I still hadn’t put pen to paper so to speak, or more literally, fingertips to laptop keys, but the prospect of writing a story about a woman going through something similar to me wasn’t quite as daunting as it had been when I arrived in Paris. Whether I could actually write the story was another matter, but one step at a time.

As I opened the door to the bistro, soft French music floated out to greet me. It was cosy with a polished wooden floor, velvet chairs and funky lights hanging from the ceiling. Juliette waved to me from a corner table, and I went over. She got up and kissed me, then we sat down and I slipped off my coat.

‘It’s unfair how good you look after last night,’ I told her as I looked across and was struck again by her flawless skin and hair. I was sure I was the colour of stone.

Juliette shook her head. ‘You’re too sweet. I didn’t even bother with makeup today. I need all the coffee this morning. You?’

‘I can’t drink coffee,’ I admitted.

She looked outraged.

‘I’m sorry, I just need tea.’

Juliette called the waiter over and ordered the basket of croissants and pastries, a coffee for her and tea for me. ‘So,’ she saidwhen we were alone, propping her elbows on the table opposite me. ‘We need to gossip about men. Have you fucked Ethan yet?’

I coughed. ‘What?!’ I mean, Carly was always honest with me, but that was direct and a half.

She smiled and shrugged. ‘Sorry, I sensed that there might be something between you two. And you’re in a one-bedroom apartment.’

‘Um, well, no, we didn’t really know each other until Paris, and it’s complicated with me recently breaking up with his best friend after all.’

‘Joe is not a nice man, is he? I met him once and I didn’t like him.’

‘Where were you six months ago?’ I sighed. ‘The more I get to know Ethan, the more I can’t believe they are best friends, to be honest.’

‘Ah. I know why,’ she said. The waiter came back with our order, so we paused to take a sip of our drinks and a bite of freshly warmed croissants. ‘You are ready for the story?’

I nodded eagerly. ‘Yes, please. Because they are so different.’

‘Hmm. Well, they met at boarding school. Ethan got in on a scholarship; he’s really clever. Joe was there because he’s from a rich family.’ I smiled, liking how matter-of-fact she was. ‘Ethan lost his mother young. He never knew his father. Joe and his family almost unofficially adopted him, I think that’s what you say? They had him at their big country house every holiday, bought him things he could never afford on his own and when it was clear he wanted to be a chef, Joe’s father paid for him to study.’

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