Page 93 of You + Me – Against the World

“Vadim will keep a low profile. You won’t have to look after him.”

“I’m warning you, he’s sleeping in the guest room.”

“Really? So, it’s a yes?”

She nods, and I let out a cry of joy as I throw my arms around her neck.

“I’ll ask Georgia to handle the plane tickets. Pack warm clothes, Alma.”

“You’re the best, Mom! Thank you!”

“And tell your Vadim to buy himself a proper coat!”

I laugh, hugging her even tighter. She falls backward onto the pristine carpet, swearing that I’ll pay for it if I dare mess up her hair. Seeing her smile again swells my heart, but not as much as the news I’m about to tell the guy I love.

He won’t believe it.

Me, Alma Lancaster—the reasonable one, the predictable one—suddenly whisking him across the Atlantic. Who would have thought?

Alma_from_paris: Arcadius! Are you there?

Arcadius: Hey, Koala. Yeah, I’m trying to work on this damn film. I’ve got zero inspiration. It’s driving me crazy…

Alma_from_paris: I have a solution for you. What are you doing tomorrow night?

Arcadius: Nothing planned.

Alma_from_paris: And for the next six days?

Arcadius: Nothing planned for those either.

Arcadius: Well actually, there’s this girl I was supposed to see…

Jerk.

Alma_from_paris: Who, Cheyenne? She called me, by the way. Told me to tell you not to come within one hundred feet of her.

Arcadius: No, not her. The girl I have to meet doesn’t have hair as nice as Cheyenne’s…

Alma_from_paris: Watch yourself, Arcadi.

Arcadius: Alba, Alda, something like that. A rich kid who’s a bit annoying, always whining about something.

Alma_from_paris: I see. Annoying and whiney? So why do you put up with her?

Arcadius: I’m kind of forced to. She fell in love with me, and I can’t get rid of her.

His little taunts make me smile.

Alma_from_paris: Shit… So, if she invites you to Paris with her, you won’t go, I imagine?

Arcadius: Umm, where?

Alma_from_paris: Paris, France. You know where I mean? “Bonjour,” “Merci,” “Je t’aime,” “Petit con”… I won’t tell you what that last one means. Warm croissants, good bread, steaming coffee, Notre-Dame, the Champs-Élysées, Montmartre…

Arcadius: Alma, are you serious?

Alma_from_paris: We leave tomorrow night.