Chapter 12 #2
‘This party has just become much more interesting,’ his mother said, her eyes seeming to sparkle as she looked from Mia to her son and back. ‘I can assure you that you’re far from being a bore. There’s nothing better than a good mystery, especially one that points to Paris.’
Mia took a deep breath and glanced at Joe, who just nodded as if to encourage her. She hoped she wasn’t taking their pretend romance too far by drawing his family into her story.
‘Well, my great-aunt Hope ran a house for unmarried mothers and their babies in London, but we know very little about her past, and how she came from France to England just before the outbreak of the war,’ Mia said.
‘A few years ago, her house was being pulled down by contractors. She’d left her estate to a charity, and they were kind enough to invite my family to go through the house, in case there were any keepsakes we wanted to take. ’
Another couple had come to stand close by, listening to Mia, and she paused as Joe offered them more champagne. His mother leaned farther forward, as if not wanting to miss a word of her story.
‘What did you find?’ his mother asked. ‘What were the clues?’
‘Well, the biggest surprise of all was finding seven little wooden boxes, that were left by women who’d given birth there for the babies they’d left behind. They each had treasures inside, clues to the past that could lead them to their mothers, if they so wished, in the future.’
‘What happened to the boxes?’ his sister asked, as another young blonde woman joined their table. She was so similar in appearance to Joe’s sister that Mia imagined she was another sibling.
‘Well, I actually found the descendants of each box and returned it to them, but there was also another box, an eighth one,’ Mia said. ‘And it had my aunt’s name inside.’
‘But tell us! What was inside?’ his mother asked.
‘Nothing was inside, that’s the frustrating part, whereas every other box was filled with clues,’ Mia shared.
‘But what I did find in her home was this old notebook, containing drawings of fairies, along with this bottle that was hidden with her box. Which would appear to indicate that my aunt was responsible at the very least for creating the label on the bottle.’
A conversation broke out in French around her, and Mia looked to Joe to translate.
‘What is everyone saying?’ she asked. ‘And why do they look so animated?’
Joe leaned in, closer than she’d expected him to.
‘They’re interested because my great-grandfather was arrested for the illegal production of absinthe during the war.
That’s why I knew my mother would connect with your story,’ he said.
‘He fought against Prohibition in the United States, then came here and was soon faced with the same challenge, only with absinthe.’
‘Why didn’t you say something yesterday?’ Mia asked.
‘And ruin all this fun?’ He leaned back in his chair. ‘You’re the most interesting person I’ve met in a long time, and your story was too good not to share with my family.’
His smile was full of mischief, and she found herself shaking her head.
‘Long before my family established a legitimate gin business, my great-grandfather and his brother were infamous for their absinthe production. My great-grandfather was arrested, but his brother wasn’t, and thankfully when he’d served his sentence he had a business to return to.
And once it was legal again, they began to produce it once more,’ Joe told her.
‘It’s what fuelled my passion to make the great cocktails of the past for a new generation to enjoy, knowing that the drink has such a rich history.
And I like that there is a nod to my family’s heritage in what I do. ’
‘So there truly is more than a chance you’ll be able to help me?’ she asked. ‘You and your family might actually be able to help me track down where this bottle originated from?’
But it wasn’t Joe who answered her as his thigh brushed against hers; it was his mother.
‘If anyone could help you find answers to your questions, Mia, it would have been my grandfather.’
Would have? Her heart sank. ‘He’s passed?’
‘He has, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still help you. We have contacts in the business all over France, and it would be my great pleasure, especially since you’ve travelled here looking for answers.’ She smiled. ‘And maybe because my son clearly likes you so much.’
Mia swallowed, not daring to glance at Joe.
‘I’ll reach out to some old friends who might be able to help in the morning,’ she said, as she carefully lifted the small bottle and looked between the label to the open page of sketches.
‘But until we can find out more, why don’t you tell me how you met my son?
You said that it was something to do with this mystery of yours.
Someone who sent you to his bar?’ His mother laughed, giving her son a look that made Mia wonder whether they had fooled her at all.
‘I think I would like to thank whomever it was.’
Mia glanced at Joe, who touched his thumb to her shoulder and ran a distracting circle against the silk fabric of her dress there that felt very much not like a charade.
‘Maman, I just remembered that I have to introduce Mia to everyone else,’ Joe said, gesturing for her to come with him. ‘I promise I’ll bring her back later, and then we can tell you all about how we met.’
‘Well, Mia, I hope we can help you find the answers you seek,’ his mother said, before giving her son a smile that suggested she wasn’t done with him yet.
‘Why don’t you bring Mia to lunch on Saturday, and then we can put our heads together, no?
See what we can figure out, and I’ll make that call tomorrow. ’
Mia glanced at Joe, but he only smiled and turned to her, and she had no idea what her response was supposed to be.
Did he even want to see her again? Would he truly want her at a family lunch?
It felt like this was taking their charade a little too far; but still, if his mother was prepared to help her…
‘Mia?’ he asked, seeming to leave the decision in her court.
She wasn’t sure what was happening, whether he was playing a game, or his mother was, or whether it was simply a warm invitation, but if it helped her to discover more about Hope…
Mia bit down on her lip for a moment before nodding, hoping that Joe didn’t regret his decision to invite her to the party in the first place. ‘I’d love to. Thank you.’
Joe ushered her back through the crowd, and it took her a moment to realise that he was pointing her towards the bar.
‘So when you asked me last night, did you really need a date?’ she asked.
The corner of his mouth tilted into a half-smile. ‘If I’m honest, I liked the idea of seeing you again. But I wasn’t lying about how aggressive my sisters and mother are when it comes to my dating life. Or lack of,’ he said. ‘It seemed like a beneficial arrangement for both of us.’
She sighed. ‘But you don’t feel just a little bit guilty that your mother thinks we’re together?’
Joe shrugged. ‘I like her to think I’m happy,’ he said. ‘I also knew she’d love to hear about your family mystery, which is one of the reasons I asked you to come.’
‘Are you not happy?’ she asked, wishing the words hadn’t come out of her mouth the moment she said them. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.’
He didn’t answer her question, and she wished she’d never asked. ‘Do you want to get out of here? I happen to know this place that sells crepes…’
Mia laughed. ‘You can’t leave your own party.’
‘Trust me, they won’t even know I’m gone,’ he said. ‘Come with me.’
He took her hand and she followed, still not sure why she was going with him or why she’d even agreed to come tonight, or accepted his mother’s invitation.
But she let herself be led, resisting the urge to pull her hand away.
Something about it felt so right, but at the same time she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression, even though she’d probably been giving him mixed signals since they’d met.
‘I have a better idea than crepes,’ he said, still holding her hand as they emerged into the kitchen. ‘Have you eaten?’
Mia eyed the endless plates of food on trays that lined the kitchen counter. ‘Ah, no, but—’
‘Sit up there,’ he said, pointing to the counter on the other side as he busied himself making two plates of food.
‘Are you sure we can—’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I had all this food made, and for once I’m going to taste everything on the menu instead of watching everyone else enjoy it. Besides, I owe you for coming tonight.’
Mia felt like a teenager who’d sneaked away from a dance and was doing something illicit, not an almost thirty-year-old woman sitting in a kitchen with a handsome restaurateur.
When he passed the plate to her, her mouth watered and she knew there was no way she was leaving one bite of food on the plate.
She had no idea what had even happened to her, because this was nothing like her usual life, yet somehow she was going along with it as if it was.
‘How long are you in Paris, Mia?’ Joe asked as he hopped up on the counter beside her, their legs dangling dangerously close. ‘I realised I never did ask you last night.’
‘Officially only until Tuesday, but it all depends on how much I find out. I could extend my stay if I needed to.’
She ate a little of the pastry that seemed to melt in her mouth, followed by a chocolate éclair that made it almost impossible not to moan, and found Joe watching her.
‘Do I have something on my face?’ she asked, dabbing at the corners of her mouth.
He shook his head. ‘No,’ he said, softly, and she saw the way his eyes dipped to her lips before slowly lifting to her eyes again.
For a split second, she thought he was going to kiss her, but the moment passed as quickly as it had arrived. Then she felt a fool, because this wasn’t a real date, and she needed to remember that.
‘I, ah…’ His voice trailed away and he frowned, and the éclair immediately felt as if it had blocked Mia’s throat as she tried to breathe, as Joe shifted beside her. Her heart was beating so fiercely she was certain he’d be able to hear it.
But there was a voice in her head that was telling her not to let him touch her, not to let him kiss her, even if it was what she wanted.
For so long she hadn’t wanted to imagine what it would be like to feel her lips or her body against another man’s, not when she’d still been yearning for Ethan.
And now she wanted it but couldn’t; didn’t know how to welcome something that somehow felt so wrong.
‘Something tells me that I’m never going to forget the day you walked into my bar looking for me,’ he said, picking up an éclair of his own as his eyes linked with hers. ‘Charade or not, you’re the most unexpected thing that has happened to me for… well, for years.’
Her mouth was dry as she glanced at his lips, as she wondered whether she could go through with it if he did try to kiss her, but the door to the kitchen swung open then, interrupting whatever might have almost happened between them.
The moment was over, and she didn’t know if she was relieved or sad.
But there was also a part of her that knew she needed to have a first kiss sometime, and an exchange with a man she was never going to see again made far more sense than anything else.
‘Joe! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!’ It was his sister, and Joe gave her an apologetic look.
‘And yet here I was this entire time, sampling the food to make sure it was good enough.’
His sister rolled her eyes, and Joe jumped down off the counter and gave Mia his hand. She clasped it and landed softly beside him, her half-full plate discarded on the counter.
‘I’m going to head back to my hotel now, but thanks for a lovely night,’ Mia said.
Joe held her hand a little too long, before finally letting go. ‘I’ll see you for lunch on Saturday?’ he asked. ‘We can meet here, and I’ll take you.’
‘You’re sure you don’t want to stay?’ his sister asked.
Mia declined politely and thanked Joe, watching him go before slipping back into the crowd and quietly making for the door as she suddenly felt overcome with emotion.
She didn’t stop walking until she’d reached her hotel, taking the two flights of stairs two at a time as tears clung to her lashes, holding them back as well as she could until she was inside her room with the door locked behind her.
And then she cried and cried, her throat hoarse and her eyes raw.
Because tonight, sitting beside Joe and wishing he’d kiss her, wondering what it might be like, she’d almost forgotten the edges of Ethan’s face; had almost forgotten what it felt like when his lips pressed to her forehead as he held her, or the way his arms felt when they encircled her waist. Felt like a traitor for wanting anyone and anything that wasn’t him.
Mia wanted to remember every little thing about the man she’d loved with all her heart, but she also knew that if she didn’t start to let go, she’d be stuck forever, and that was almost as terrifying as forgetting Ethan altogether.
She couldn’t stay in the past, reliving what was never going to come back, no matter how much she wished it would.
Which was why she was going to that lunch with Joe’s family whether she wanted to or not.
This trip was about more than just searching for answers; it was about finding herself again and letting herself be the woman she’d once dreamed of being, and the fact that it wasn’t real meant that she didn’t need to second-guess her every action.
The only thing that had saved her and given her a reason to get out of bed each day these past few years was reuniting those little boxes with the families they’d been left for.
It was the reason she was so determined to uncover Hope’s story—her way of thanking her for saving her when she’d needed it most.
You can do this, Mia.
She’d fought so hard for other people in her life, and as far as she could tell, the only way forward now was to start fighting for herself.