Page 70 of Keep It

Scanning the itinerary in the back of the car with Anya, I laugh under my breath. Pip definitely goes all out.

“What?” Anya asks from beside me. She still insists on sitting far away from me and never touching. Oblivious to the looks Jaques sends me after every excuse she gives to follow me upstairs.

I wink at Anya and lean forward, “Jaques, can we go straight to Anya’s?”

She splutters beside me and her hand grabs my shirt pulling me back to my seat.

“No problem,” Jaques says, seamlessly turning up a side street to head to the sixteenth.

“What are you doing?” Anya hisses.

“It’s a surprise.”

She gapes at me and it doesn’t take long until we’re pulling up outside her apartment. She jumps out the car, closing the door firmly behind her. I hang back to speak quietly to Jaques before keying in her code and following her up the stairs. She’s left the apartment door ajar for me and I can already hear her banging about inside.

“I can’t believe you,” she yells from the kitchen, rummaging through her cupboards. “What is Jaques going to think?”

I can’t help the chuckle that escapes as I lean against the door frame, “He’s going to think ‘it’s a good thing I know the way because I’ve been dropping Danny off there for weeks.’”

Anya spins, the cupboard door slamming shut.

I step closer to her and close her gaping mouth with my finger, “How did you think I was getting here every night?”

She blows out a breath. “Bike?”

I laugh, “I wouldn’t be caught dead on one of those things.”

She groans and rests her head against my chest. “That’s three people that know about us now. We were supposed to keep it between us.”

I press a kiss to the top of her head, her shampoo invading my nostrils. After spending time with my sister and Cassie, seeing how well Anya could fit in with my life outside of these four walls, I don’t know if I want to keep it between us any more.

I just need to wait for Anya to catch up. I’ve waited my whole life for her, what’s a few more weeks?

“Jaques hasn’t spilled the secret yet.” I tilt her head back, cradling her head in my hands and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Good, get ready to go.”

“Go where? Back to your hotel?”

“I thought you said you trusted me?”

“I do trust you but first we’re telling people—”

“Three people, freckles.”

“—and now you want me to go outside—”

“Anya,” I cut her off, “We’re not going to walk naked down the Champs-Élysées. It’ll be fine.”

An hour later, Jaques pulls up outside a glamorous storefront. I step out first, and offer a hand to Anya who squints at me suspiciously. She looks up and down the empty street furtively before taking my hand and climbing out of the car. The sun has almost disappeared behind the tall buildings and the street is quiet.

“Bonsoir,jesuisGérard.” The gray haired clerk holds the door open for us. As soon as we step inside the elegant store, he clicks the lock behind us. Anya’s head spins at the sound and turns to me with wide eyes.

“Danny,” she hisses, inching closer. “What the hell is going on?”

I pull her closer by the hand, and whisper in her ear. “There’s no one in here apart from Gérard. It’s all Pip’s idea.”

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