Page 11 of All the Devils are Here

Instead, I would wait for a thing which could be counted on.

For her.

CHAPTER SIX

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MEGHAN

The day was cold, bright, and seemed a lot more hopeful than it had last night. By some small miracle, it didn’t look like I’d been sobbing into my pillow. My eyes weren’t puffy, and I somehow felt… clearer. Everything still hurt and Laurent’s rejection still stung, but I felt lighter in the way only tears could allow.

Because it was cold, I didn’t dress like I had for the club. But being a New Yorker, I was prepared for it. Fleece-lined leggings and a comfy sweater under my coat did the trick. I didn’t even care that it wasn’tpartyattire. I looked cute enough, and that was all there was to it.

My phone chimed. Janelle was almost here to pick me up. That meant facing the awkwardness that was waiting for me downstairs if Laurent was there. Which, given that it was already past noon, was pretty likely.

I didn’t hear anything, but when I turned the corner into the kitchen, he was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, his back to me.

Laurent didn’t turn, but there was no way he didn’t hear me. He could hear the sound of my beating heart, and even if he couldn’t, his stairs weren’t quiet.

“You’re going to your party?” He asked.

“I am.”

He stood and came to me in the small hallway. “You have your key?”

The small act of caring made me smile in spite of the pain I felt standing next to him like this. “I do. I don’t know when I’ll be back, though.”

“I’m not—” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “About last night. I’m sorry, Meg.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said quickly. “It’s fine. I was out of line.”

A knock on the door interrupted whatever he was going to say. “That’s Janelle,” I said. “She’s here for me.”

He stared for a long moment, face unreadable. “Have a good time.”

“I will.” The smile on my face wasn’t entirely real, but he didn’t need to know that.

I opened the door to Janelle’s smiling face. “Bonjour!” She pulled me into a hug, and now my smile was far more real. “It has been too long.”

“Yes, it has.”

Janelle was in the chorus ofJoan d’Arc, and we’d bonded more after the opera house burned than before it. But she’d been amazing, and I tried to see her whenever I was here.

“Are you sure a boat is a good idea in this cold?” I pulled Laurent’s door closed behind me, and he was still standing there, looking at me. I ignored the hollow feeling in my stomach that matched the gaping chasm between the two of us.

The sky was overcast with pale gray clouds where it had been clear earlier. Janelle waved a hand and opened the door to the waiting car. “It will be fine. Monsieur Chagny’s boat parties happen every year at this time. There is more than enough alcohol to keep everyone warm.”

I stared at her. “You didn’t tell me it was Chagny.”

The man was the angel investor ofJoan d’Arc, and had personally made sure Christine was taken care of while we’d rehearsed for the show.

She laughed. “He still feels badly about the whole thing, and everyone from the cast pretty much has an open invitation to his events. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you. And,” she lowered her voice, “if you’re looking for some fun, he’s really not bad in bed.”

“Janelle.”

Her laugh rang out loud in the car. “What? Don’t tell me that shocks you. This isFrance, my friend.”

She wasn’t wrong, and I couldn’t blame her for thinking I might be interested. In Paris last year she and I had gone out one night and we didn’t come home for three days. Of those three days, I remembered maybe half. I’d been running from my feelings for Laurent then too, but I wasn’t planning on jumping into bed with anyone this time.

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