Page 3 of The Paris Chapter

After what felt like an hour but in reality was only ten minutes, the bedroom door opened again and out came Ethan,no longer half naked. I opened my eyes as he edged towards me cautiously. He had pulled on jeans and a black jumper that looked really soft. His blonde hair was still damp and his feet were bare. I caught the scent of something oak-y and warm. His whole presence was calm, the complete opposite of mine.

‘How about a coffee?’ Ethan suggested, walking towards the kitchen. ‘I feel like we both need one. I went to the shop on the way here.’

‘Uh, I don’t drink coffee. Did you get any tea by any chance?’ I asked, taken aback by his very normal suggestion.

‘Of course, I’m British,’ he replied. Again, I caught amusement in his tone. ‘Milk? Sugar?’

‘Just milk. Uh, please.’ I followed him with my eyes as he busied himself in the kitchen as if he made me tea every day. Which Ethan definitely had never done before. I remembered Joe telling me, ‘Don’t be offended by him not wanting to meet you, he hardly likes anyone,’ when I questioned why he wasn’t introducing me to his friends. I’d only seen Joe’s best friend twice on nights out. His words had hurt. And they made me feel even more awkward now. Ethan must be pissed off to see me here.

Finally, he returned with two cups, passed me one, and sat on the sofa opposite.

Unsure how to begin, I took a sip. ‘It’s nice.’

‘Surprised?’

‘Kind of. Joe couldn’t make a hot drink for shit.’ My eyes widened. ‘Sorry, I…’

Ethan waved a hand as he propped his leg on his thigh. ‘It’s true. I think he just can’t be bothered to try. Whereas I would hope I can make a decent coffee or tea in my line of work.’

‘Oh, yeah, sorry, I forgot you’re a chef,’ I said, relieved hedidn’t call me a crazy ex-girlfriend for my Joe comment. ‘So, shall we address the elephant in the room?’

His lips twitched again. ‘Go ahead.’

I took another sip of the tea to fortify me. ‘Well, I’m confused. I booked this apartment for us at Christmas and, obviously, now that I’m no longer with Joe, I decided I’d come by myself. Instead of letting my money go to waste.’ There was no way I was admitting I was currently in the midst of crippling writer’s block. I didn’t want Joe to ever hear about that.

Ethan frowned. ‘You booked it? With your money? I thought Joe paid for this.’

‘Uh, no. It was meant to be my Christmas present but he said he was waiting for a new credit card. Now I realise it was so Rachel wouldn’t know… Anyway, I said I’d pay. But then we broke up so…’ I trailed off, feeling even more stupid than I already did for how I’d let Joe treat me.

‘Seriously?’ He coughed and quickly took a sip from his coffee cup. ‘When I told Joe I was coming to Paris to do a cookery course for two weeks, he said he had this apartment going spare. He told me he’d paid and asked me if I wanted to use it before I stay with friends for the rest of the time. He never mentioned you might be here, Tessa.’

‘And he didn’t think to check with me whether that was okay or not?’ I closed my eyes and took a breath. I was feeling very murderous towards my ex all over again.

‘I’d call him but he’ll be at work; this is a better conversation for this evening,’ Ethan said after a moment. He was still remarkably calm.

‘This is a nightmare! I thought I was coming for a relaxing, inspiring solo break away, to try to put that…’ I trailed off before I called Joe all the bad names under the sun. I sensed that wasn’t a good move in front of his best mate. ‘Look, Ethan, I know this isn’t your fault but this was my holiday, I booked it, and after Joe did what he did… I need this.’

Ethan swallowed visibly and for a moment seemed lost for words. I couldn’t quite bring myself to say it out loud but I was sure he knew what Joe had done and why I’d left him. And no doubt he didn’t care about it as he hadn’t wanted to get to know me. But I hoped he just might possibly understand why I wanted this break.

Finally, Ethan nodded. ‘I’ll see if I can find somewhere else to stay, okay?’ He pulled out his phone.

I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Good idea, thank you. I’ll just, uh, freshen up.’ I drained my tea then put the cup on the side table before fleeing to the bathroom. Once in there, I leaned against the basin and glanced at the mirror above it. I looked rough. The lack of sleep, train journey and shock of seeing Ethan made me look tired and puffy, there were dark circles under my green eyes and my winter skin was paler than ever. To top it all off, my shoulder-length highlighted hair was a frizzy mess from rushing this morning and not having time to curl it. I also had on a loungewear set for travelling, so it certainly wasn’t the best I’d ever looked. I really hoped Ethan wouldn’t tell Joe I had fallen apart without him. I splashed water on my makeup-free face, as I hadn’t had time to do that either, and could only be relieved I’d at least had a shower and put on deodorant before I left the house.

‘Tessa?’ Ethan’s deep voice came through the closed door.

I looked up at the mirror again. ‘Yes?’

‘I forgot – it’s Paris fashion week. Everywhere is completely booked up.’

You have got to be kidding me.

3

‘I’ll keep trying to find somewhere else to stay.’

Ethan’s promise echoed in my ears as I walked alone along the Seine. After he’d dropped the bombshell reminder that the city was full to the brim for one of its biggest events of the year, I had told him I needed some air and left the apartment abruptly. He had been on his phone attempting to find another place to stay, but it was looking like a fruitless search. And I had no idea what to do about it. It had taken a lot to get me on that Eurostar and now I might have to just go back to London again. Or face living in a one-bed apartment for five nights with someone who hadn’t even wanted to meet me a few months ago. Not only that, but who was best friends with the man who had betrayed me.

Does the universe actually hate me?

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