Page 72 of The Paris Chapter

‘Sparks,’ Carly corrected. ‘I can see that.’

‘You told me I was rushing into things!’ I reminded her.

‘Yeah, I was worried about that. But things have changed,’ she replied. ‘You finally told Joe to fuck off. You’ve realised that you deserve to be loved for exactly who you are. And if Ethan does that, then I am not as worried. And what happened here tonight… it could have gone very differently. Life is short. Finding love in whatever form is precious, right?’

‘Who said anything about love?’ I said, panic setting in that I could end up with another broken heart.

‘Okay, not love yet, but there is something between you two, right?’ Carly pressed me.

‘I don’t know. Joe was able to break us apart pretty easily…’

‘That man,’ Juliette spat out. ‘I hate him, I think. He loved to make Ethan feel bad about himself, and it sounds like he did the same to you, Tessa. I think if you let him win then you are both fools.’

‘Exactly,’ Carly agreed.

I looked at them both. They were so clear that we shouldn’t give up on us. ‘I’m scared of getting hurt. And so is he…’ I said quietly.

‘Of course you are,’ Carly said to me gently. ‘It won’t be easyto trust each other but will it be easy to walk away and forget one another?’

‘Non,’ Juliette answered for me. ‘Ethan has been miserable without you. And I saw how happy you were to see him tonight.’

‘He was?’ I asked, hope rising in my heart. I thought about letting Ethan go forever. It felt alien. Ever since I walked in and found him in my Paris apartment, we had become linked in a way I never expected. Being apart since I came back to London showed me that I did want him in my life. I just wasn’t sure that he wanted me in his still.

The doctor came in then to check Carly over and explain what would happen now, and soon after, Ethan and Luke returned with food and drinks for us all. We left Carly and Luke with the doctor and waited outside until they were ready to go home.

We all piled back into Ethan’s car but this time, Carly wanted to be with Luke so I ended up in the passenger seat beside Ethan. The evening had turned chilly and drizzly. Ethan’s headlights reflected off the puddles in the road as we drove to Carly and Luke’s flat. Carly was half-asleep on her husband’s shoulder. We were all quiet in the car again. I looked out of the window, conscious of how close Ethan was to me, but not knowing what to say to him with the others in the back.

‘Here we go,’ Ethan said when he reached their flat.

‘I can’t thank you enough, Ethan,’ Carly said when Luke roused her. ‘You’re my hero for tonight.’

I could see Ethan duck his head, embarrassed. ‘You’re very welcome.’

‘Look after her,’ Juliette said sternly to Luke.

‘I will,’ he promised.

‘Goodnight, guys,’ I called as they climbed out of the car.

‘Drop me at my hotel next,’ Juliette said as Ethan set offagain. I saw him glance at her in the rear-view mirror. ‘Tessa lives near you, doesn’t she?’ she asked.

Ethan looked over at me. ‘Yeah, that’s right.’

I had forgotten for a minute that we were neighbours in London. I carried on looking out at the rainy city as Ethan drove to Juliette’s hotel to drop her off. I was nervous to be alone with him again. It had been such a long day, I felt shattered too. But equally, I didn’t want to leave things this awkward between us. We had to clear the air one way or another.

Juliette leaned forward to kiss us goodbye once we reached her hotel. She said she’d be in touch with Ethan in the morning as they had a potential restaurant venue to look at and suggested we all have dinner. Neither of us agreed to that but she got out, waving cheerfully, like we had. Ethan quietly asked for my address and I gave it, so we set off in silence again.

‘Is it near your flat?’ I asked after a moment, desperate to say something.

‘Round the corner,’ Ethan replied. ‘In fact, I can probably see your building from mine.’

I absorbed that news. I kind of liked it. ‘The furniture we bought together arrived and it looks great. I love my new desk; I’ve been doing lots of writing at it already. My publisher gave me an extension too,’ I added.

Ethan looked across at me. ‘That’s really great, Tessa.’

I finally turned to him. ‘So, how do you feel about being able to work on your own restaurant now?’ My question skirted close to the subject of Joe, but I wanted to make sure Ethan was happy.

He smiled in the dim light. ‘It’s really exciting. We thought it was years away. Finding out about my mother’s money… it was such a shock. It’s sad that she won’t be able to see what I do with it though.’

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