Chapter 9
9
The front door burst open at 7p.m., excited voices shattering the peace of the apartment. I looked up from where I sat on the sofa with my laptop as Ethan walked in followed by a woman and a man.
‘Hi, Tessa,’ Ethan said as they noticed me and abruptly stopped talking. ‘Are you writing?’
‘Uh, no, just watching Emily in Paris ,’ I said, nervous that his friends might not be impressed by that.
‘Love her outfits,’ the woman said brightly, her French accent strong and beautiful. ‘And your t-shirt. I adore that brand.’
Some of my nerves slid away with relief that she had complimented me. I smiled, pleased she liked it. ‘Thank you,’ I said, taking her in. She was beautiful and immaculately styled in a black dress and cropped jacket, her blonde bob sharp and straight and her lips a bright red.
‘This is Juliette, and this is Oscar,’ Ethan said. ‘This is Tessa. Tessa is a romance author here on a research trip.’
‘And I used to be Ethan’s… how do you say it – bossy?’ Juliette sa id as I got up and she walked over to give me a kiss on both cheeks.
‘I couldn’t have put it better myself,’ Ethan said with a laugh.
‘You mean boss,’ Oscar told her, also kissing me. He was tall and lean with dark curls and a well-trimmed bread.
Juliette waved her hand dismissively. ‘Whatever. Tessa, you are gorgeous. I love your hair, and what is that perfume? I must have it.’
Smiling, I thanked her and told her it was La Vie Est Belle. ‘I couldn’t bring anything else to Paris, could I?’
Juliette laughed. She had a loud, husky laugh. ‘The British humour. I’m so happy you’re coming out with us.’
‘Thank you for inviting me,’ I replied. Juliette was instantly putting me at ease. Relief washed over me that this wasn’t as awkward as I had been fearing since earlier.
‘I have to show you my restaurant and then Oscar’s bar. You will love them, and we need to practise our English; Ethan always wants to talk in French,’ she said, throwing him an adoring look. I wondered again if they had dated or not. She was stunning.
‘You have to try my new cocktail,’ Oscar added, throwing an arm around Ethan’s shoulders. ‘Tell her, Ethan.’
‘I don’t think you have any choice,’ Ethan said, laughing at his friends.
His good humour was infectious. ‘It sounds great. I’ll just get my jacket.’ I went into the bedroom and pulled on my leather jacket and trainers and then slung my grey bag across my body. I fluffed up my curls and touched up my lip gloss before returning to them.
When we headed out of the apartment together, the night was cool but dry and the lights of Paris glowed around us.
Juliette slipped an arm through mine and Ethan and Oscar trailed after us. I was taken aback by their warmth and couldn’t help but contrast the feeling to how I’d felt walking into that London bar with Joe to meet his friends for the first time. I’d felt like an outsider that night. Awkward and uncomfortable. But not tonight. Juliette didn’t give me a chance to feel that way. I wondered how Ethan was friends with such different groups of people. They didn’t seem to connect in any way.
‘You need to teach me all the ways you chat up men in London for when I come over in the summer,’ Juliette said as we walked through the Paris streets.
‘I never chat up anyone,’ I told her, loving how the British phrase sounded in her accent. ‘That sounds hideous. And I have to warn you, men in London are generally twats.’
She laughed heartily at that then looked back at Ethan. ‘She’s hilarious, pretending she doesn’t attract all the men to her; I bet they are all over her! How do you say it? Honey pot and bees?’
‘Like honey to bees,’ Ethan told her.
I raised an eyebrow. Was he joking or not? ‘I can assure you that is not the case,’ I said. ‘My ex told me once that if we’d met in a bar, he would never have approached me as I wouldn’t have been wearing heels and a dress, and that’s what men like.’
Juliette made a choking sound. ‘ Putain!’
I didn’t know what it meant exactly but I recognised it was a swear word. I couldn’t help but glance at Ethan. He was quiet, looking at the ground. I felt bad for slagging off his mate again. But I wasn’t saying anything that wasn’t true.
I shrugged. ‘So you need to teach me .’
‘French men will love you,’ Juliette declared. ‘Right, Oscar?’
‘If I wasn’t in love with Louis…’ Oscar said, throwing me a wink.
‘I’m off all men,’ I joked to him. ‘But I’d make an exception for you. ’
Oscar chuckled. ‘She’s a delight. Where have you been hiding her, Ethan?’
‘I’m wondering the same thing myself,’ Ethan replied.
I looked over at him curiously but he didn’t meet my gaze. We arrived at the restaurant owned by Juliette’s family then. ‘Cinq?’ I said, looking up at the red sign.
‘It means five in French because they offer a five-course meal,’ Ethan explained as he opened the door, letting me pass through ahead of him.
Inside was as red as the sign. There were red booths and cushions on the smaller tables, red drapes across the window, and hanging on the walls, all the prints and paintings were different shades of red. It was very eye-catching. The lights were low and the background music funky. There was a bar that took up one wall. The whole place was packed and lively. It looked like one of the city’s hotspots.
‘You like?’ Juliette said, smiling at the awed look on my face. ‘Wait until you try the food! Maman, I made a new friend!’
Juliette’s parents came over and greeted me warmly, then we were shown to a booth in the corner. I scooted across and Ethan sat next to me, the other two opposite us.
‘There is no menu; they change the five courses weekly and everyone gets the same,’ Ethan explained as a waiter appeared and poured red wine for us all. Oscar and Juliette were talking across the room to people they knew at the next table.
‘So this was where you used to work?’ I asked, looking around and trying to imagine him here.
‘Talk about a learning curve. It was fast-paced and challenging and I loved every minute of it,’ Ethan said, smiling at the memory. ‘They gave me such great experience. I only had a twelve-month contract as someone was working abroad and they returned; I would have stayed otherwise. ’
‘It must have been hard to leave Juliette.’ I tasted the wine. It was glorious.
‘Hard?’ Ethan looked across at me.
‘I thought that maybe you two…’ I trailed off awkwardly.
‘Oh, no, we were never together. Juliette is a free spirit.’
Juliette heard this comment and smiled at us. ‘What Ethan means is, I’m not a, how do you say, a relationship person.’
‘Juliette has broken a lot of hearts in Paris,’ Oscar said, giving her a fond look.
She shrugged. ‘I don’t want to be shackled by anyone,’ she said. ‘But Ethan likes relationships. What do you think of relationships, Tessa?’
I looked at Ethan, who was blushing furiously. I tried but failed not to find it sweet. ‘I don’t know. I used to be like Ethan, but now I wonder if we shouldn’t all be like you, Juliette.’
‘Ah, a man hurt you,’ she said, nodding wisely. ‘He was a fool? Is that right?’
‘That’s right,’ Ethan said. I wasn’t sure if he was confirming her English or the sentiment. Or both.
‘Yeah, he did, and now I’m wondering if I even believe in love any more,’ I said, wondering if the wine was loosening my tongue too much. ‘Which isn’t great for a romance writer. Ethan has been trying to help – he took me to the love wall. And to a bookshop today.’
‘That was very nice of him.’ Oscar raised an eyebrow at Ethan.
‘He’s just trying to make up for the fact he gate-crashed my holiday,’ I joked.
Ethan shook his head. ‘No, I want to help you, Tessa.’
‘That’s very sweet,’ Juliette said as she and Oscar looked at one another.
‘Oh, good, the first course,’ Ethan said loudly then .
I took a long gulp of wine because Ethan’s words had made me feel much better than I knew they should have.
We had a lively meal. Juliette loved telling stories and she asked me to correct her English, but honestly, it was pretty fluent. And when Oscar and Ethan chatted in French, I heard again how Ethan’s French was brilliant. It made me wish I could join in. It was such a beautiful language. Everything sounded sexier in French somehow. It might have been the red wine though. More kept appearing as if by magic.
When the men went to talk to a mutual friend, Juliette came to sit beside me. We’d just had the final course, a glorious chocolate tart, and I was full and pretty drunk.
‘While we are alone,’ she said, signalling something to our waiter, ‘tell me what happened with your ex.’
I hesitated for a second, embarrassed to tell my sorry tale, but Juliette was looking at me with full attention like she really wanted to know. I took a breath. ‘Well, he cheated on me,’ I said in a rush. ‘It was with someone he worked with. He’d been with her the whole time we were a couple. I found out when I went to one of their work parties and saw them together,’ I confessed.
‘I can’t believe he did that to you,’ Juliette said, shaking her head. ‘You were heartbroken?’
‘I was. I suppose I’ve always been a romantic and I thought that I had found “The One”,’ I said, doing air-quotes around the word. ‘Now I don’t know how I’ll ever trust anyone again.’
Juliette sighed. ‘I wish he hadn’t made you feel that way. Is that why you’re in Paris? To try to get over him?’
‘Well, we were supposed to be here together. I thought this was going to be such a romantic trip. Then I found out about his other woman. My friends persuaded me to come here anyway. I’m here alone. ’
Juliette shook her head. ‘Not alone. You have us. And you have Ethan.’
‘He’s Joe best friend though. My ex.’
Ethan and Oscar returned then and sat down opposite us.
Juliette turned to face Ethan. ‘You!’
‘What did I do?’ he asked in surprise at the venom in her voice.
‘Joe was the one who hurt Tessa?’
‘Ah.’ Ethan sighed. ‘Yeah, he did.’
‘That bastard! I’ve told you before – how can you still be friends with him?’ Juliette pointed at me. ‘And now you tell me your friend hurt my friend.’
I couldn’t help but smile at her calling me that.
‘I hate what he did to Tessa,’ Ethan said quietly.
I felt bad for Ethan being torn between the two of us.
‘Let’s not talk about it,’ I insisted. ‘I don’t want Joe ruining tonight. This has been so much fun.’
‘We drink to that,’ Oscar declared. ‘At my bar!’
We left the restaurant and walked the short distance to Oscar’s bar. It was down a long staircase and had a low ceiling, was dimly lit, with a polished wood bar. It was achingly cool. Somewhere I would never have gone by myself. Everyone greeted us like old friends and we soon had one of Oscar’s signature cocktails in our hands.
As we sat down at a round table, a band started playing on the small stage. A jazz band with a female singer who had a beautiful voice. The music was slow and sexy and I leaned back to listen and sipped my cocktail, thinking that I would never have expected to be spending the night like this. I was enjoying myself so much though.
As we applauded the first song, I leaned over to Ethan. ‘Thank you for tonight; this has cheered me up so much. ’
Ethan smiled. ‘Good. No one can be miserable around Juliette.’
‘All of you are fun,’ I said.
Ethan had surprised me too tonight. He was quieter than his friends, like me, but he was easy to talk to and he was funny too. He’d had us in stitches doing an impression of the head chef at his work. He always seemed so relaxed and it had helped to relax me. That and the booze.
‘I really am grateful you included me. You didn’t have to.’
‘I wanted to,’ he insisted. His blue eyes pierced mine as we looked across at one another. He moved his leg and it brushed against mine. I wondered if he felt it too.
It suddenly felt a lot warmer in the bar. I opened my mouth to answer but the band started up again and the music swallowed my words. I tore my gaze from Ethan and looked back at the singer, but I could feel that he was still watching me. And I wasn’t sure why his gaze made me feel uncomfortable. It felt like he was really seeing me, and I had a sudden feeling that no other man had paid me that much attention before. Which didn’t make any sense, but the warm feeling in my body remained the whole time I sat next to him.