Page 23 of Midnight in Paris

She held his gaze. Then, ‘OK.’

‘OK?’

She nodded. He leant forward and pressed his mouth to hers, his lips soft and warm. She put her hands up around his neck and allowed him to lift her to her feet.

‘Seal the deal?’ he said, a little breathless already.

She nodded. ‘Handshake?’ she joked.

‘Oh, I think we can do a little better than that.’

10

TWO WEEKS AGO

Half a day had already passed and now Tom was next to her on the hard bed of her hotel room, leaning up on an elbow as they talked.

‘Can’t believe you booked the Cler!’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I thought we agreed it was a complete shithole.’

‘For old times’ sake, of course!’

‘Yes, but… why not one of the others we stayed in? That posh place off the Champs-Élysées, or the one with the glass lift. This is… well…’ he shook his head, ‘…beneath you.’ He grinned, looking at her, his tone light.

She laughed. ‘Beneath me! Well, maybe I’m not used to living in the lap of luxury like you, but it suits me fine. Anyway, it’s the first place we went. It seems…’

‘A good place to say goodbye?’

She nodded, touching the place where he lay just lightly. ‘I guess so,’ she said, suddenly sombre.

‘You don’t want to recreate any of the memories of that hotel stay… you know, for old times’ sake?’ He raised a suggestive eyebrow.

‘Tom!’

‘Worth asking.’

‘You haven’t changed a bit, have you?’ she said, catching his smile. ‘You’re exactly how I remember you.’

‘Well, obviously. Evolving is so overrated.’

They’d always had this ease when they’d spoken, always this back and forth, a blend of jokes and hard truths, made palatable by their shared humour. It was different with Will. But that wasn’t a bad thing, she told herself. There were so many different ways to be close to another person.

Thinking of Will made her suddenly sober. She lifted her phone off the bed and looked at the screen. She hadn’t heard it buzz, but there was a message there.

Will

All OK?

Sophie

Yes.

Will

Not too lonely?

Sophie

No, it’s fine.

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