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We kept singing in his car on the way back to the house after the concert. “You sing well, Nadia.”
“Merci.”
“I’m serious. I hadn’t heard you sing before tonight. You constantly surprise me.”
I beamed at his high praise. It wasn’t something Tomas gave often. We reached my place, and said our goodbyes. “Please tell Cecil thank you for letting me take her place tonight. I wish her a full recovery.”
He grinned. “I will.”
I left the car and had only made it inside the front door when I found a beautiful box with a ribbon on the hall table. A rush of excitement filled my chest. Paul?
I opened the box and inside was a book on Paris by famous artists that lived here. There was also a box of chocolates from a Parisian boutique I hadn’t visited before.
You enjoyed the famous café visited by artists you admire. Here’s a book about their lives here and what inspired them. You may find it inspiring for you. These chocolates are of a better quality than the ones on your desk.
—Hayden.
My stomach fluttered as I leafed through the book. It was written in French, of course, but that was the challenge. I ate one of the chocolates. They were of a lesser sweetness than my favorites but had the silky taste I liked. Both gifts were thoughtful, though practical. Hmmm. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Hayden’s romantic. However, something was even more pressing that I didn’t know what to do about. Was Hayden romancing me?
“Who’s Ingrid?”
I’d made it for over a month without asking him. One photo of Paul with Ingrid, I could dismiss, but there were several. Not only had she attended Paul’s concert in Germany, but she shared lunch with him at a restaurant, and they were spotted walking together with her Great Dane. What is it about spirited blondes with huge dogs? Every photo cut me to the core. I’d never expected Paul to disappear from my life so utterly. I’d also not expected him to be spending so much one-on-one time with another woman too. Did he enjoy having his freedom back? No longer tied to the little girl who’d captured his attention briefly? Was I really that easy to move on from? To forget?
“Ingrid…is an old friend of the Crane family,” Laurence said, eyeing me over his book. “Paul’s working on the soundtrack for a documentary she’s producing about her family. Why?”
I hunched my shoulders. “It doesn’t matter.”
He tutted. “Oh, it does if you believe rag mags.”
“Well, how else do I learn about anything going on without gossip?” I half-joked with him.
“You can always call Paul.”
And Paul could just as easily call me. Yet, neither one of us had done it. I couldn’t because I didn’t want to hear he wasn’t coming back. Still, I missed him.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Unknown number? I glanced at Laurence and told him.
He frowned. “No one has your new number except Tomas, Wyatt, Josephine, and whomever else you shared it with.”
That was a short list of my parents, Xander, and Professor Elan. I decided to answer it, too curious to let it continue to ring. “Hello?”
“Allo, Nadia. It’s Hayden.”
“Bonjour, Hayden. Ca va?” I gave a puzzled glance to Laurence.
“I’m fine. I want you to shadow me today.”
“Today? Me?” I croaked.
“You,” he echoed.
“But today is your show.” My voice went up several octaves. He knew I would already be there to work with his team.
“Are you saying no?” His incredulity was laced in his voice.
Hayden was a constant surprise, but this one was huge. The hype was real for his Paris show. Only a fool would turn him down. And that’s not me.
“Yes. Oui. Okay. Sure,” I stammered.
