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Washe ashamed of havingJessin his bed?Shehugged the duvet to her body self-consciously, even as she watched the myriad of tiny adjustments he had to make to accommodate his missing limb. ‘Do…do you want me to stay in here?’
Gabrielraised his eyebrows, stuck out his lower lip, and shrugged in a veryGallicway.Sheinterpreted it as sayingIdon’t care, which made her feel sad, like she didn’t matter to him.‘It’sup to you.’Hetied the matching shoe onto his other foot.
Hestood with his back to her, delicately testing his balance on his prosthesis, and then shrugged into a black t-shirt.Makinghis way to the door with his usual confident stride, he said, ‘I’llgo out and meet her.Takeyour time.’
Gabrielleft.Jessflopped back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. ‘Takeyour time’…it sounded like something a waiter might say after you’d paid your bill, when he wanted you to leave, but also didn’t want to rush you in case you left a bad tip.
Andthus endeth myFrenchFling, she thought.Whilehe put on his prosthetic and dressed himself, she detected the oldGabrielreturning piece by piece—the furrowed brow, the hard stare, the clenched jaw.Gonewas the more sensitive man she’d been with last night, replaced by his irritable twin.
Moretears gathered behind her eyes, now for a different reason.Despitethe short time she’d know him, a connection had formed between them, at least on her side.Theyhad shared something special, not just in bed, but also in the helicopter.Lastnight had mattered to her, even if she was just another conquest for him.
Perhapsshe wasn’t cut out to be a spontaneous sex kind of girl, after all.
Wipingthe tears away from her eyes and taking a deep breath, she flung off the covers and gathered her clothes.Inthe other room, she heardGabrielandElodietalking together.Hiseveryday life was going on in that kitchen, andJessfelt like an intruder.
Shethrust her legs into her jeans, put on her t-shirt, and went into his en-suite bathroom to brush her teeth.Inthe middle of the night, he had given her the code to his front door, so she could sneak back to her flat and get her toothbrush and toothpaste.Asmuch as she had enjoyed being spontaneous, she drew the line at not brushing her teeth.Herdad was a dentist, after all.
Droppingher supplies into her bag, she slung it over her shoulder before carefully making the bed.Shecommitted to memory his dark green walls, the patterned rug, the triangular motif on his neutral duvet, tucking away mental snapshots for a rainy day.Beforeshe left, she picked up the picture of him with the woman and took a closer look.Shecould see now that they both had camera straps looped around their necks.Bothhad white patches around their eyes to mark where their sunglasses usually sat.Shesquinted at his eyebrow.Noscar.Behindthem, dry, rocky terrain filled the background.Itlooked likeAfghanistan,Libya,Iraq, theGrandCanyonor about a hundred other places.
Thegrinding noise of a coffee machine encroached on her thoughts, andJessput the picture back where she’d found it.Aftersmoothing her hands down the front of her jeans with a long exhale, she pasted a smile on her face and left the refuge of his room.
Inthe kitchen,Elodiewas sitting at the dining table, drinking a foaming cup of coffee.Assortedpastries were piled high on a plate in front of her.Jessadmired her outfit: a bright green, sleeveless sundress with a whitePeterPancollar and a matching hairband.Simpleand chic.
Elodiestopped in the middle of saying something, switching to the same perfectAmericanaccent asGabriel: ‘Well, hello there.’Belyingher youthful,Sunday-school ready appearance, the corners of her lips turned up like aCheshireCatlooking forward to a bowl of cream, and a devilish gleam glinted in her wide,Disneyprincess eyes.
‘Hi…again,’ saidJess, knowing that her cheeks had gone bright red.
‘Imust say, this is a delightful surprise.’Elodiethrew her brother a pointed look.
Hegrunted in response.
Jesstilted her head.Whenshe’d first metElodie, she had clearly spokenEnglishwith aFrenchaccent.Readingher confusion,Elodiesaid, ‘Theaccent, right?Ialways speak with aFrenchone whenI’mmeeting the guests.Ifeel that ifIturned up sounding like a cast member fromFriends, it would sort of ruin the romantic tourist experience.Butnow, you know.Don’treveal my secret in your review, please.’
‘Oh.Ofcourse not.’Nodding,Jesscast about for something else to say, but came up empty-handed.Thiswas so awkward.
Elodiehad no such problems.Shemade a bridge with her hands and propped her chin coquettishly on top. ‘Speakingof secrets, how did you two meet?’
Jesslooked atGabrielfor help, and their eyes met.Aflashback of his face bathed with passion flickered through her mind, and heat flared inside her again.
‘Er…’ saidJess.WhathadElodieasked?
‘Noneof your business.’Heglared at his sister. ‘Coffee?’ he askedJess.
‘Um, yes, please.’
Elodiepatted the chair next to her, andJessreluctantly sat down.
‘So,’ the delighted sister leaned in, ‘are you enjoying your time inParis?’
‘Yes, it’s been great so far.’Becauseyour brother is a sex demon, she thought, colouring further.
Wipingthe remaining foam off the inside of her mug with her index finger,Elodieasked, ‘Sowhat’s your story?Tellme all about yourself.’Sheplopped her finger in her mouth and opened her eyes wide with interest.Inthe background, the coffee machine groaned as it spit out more liquid.
Whereto begin? ‘Well,Iteach primary school inLondon?—’
‘Noway!’ElodieseizedJess’sarm with the speed of a ninja. ‘Metoo!Whatgrade?’
Translating‘grade’ intoBritishEnglish,Jesssaid, ‘Yearone…so that’s five-year-olds.’Shehad to raise her voice to compete with the loud whoosh of pressurised air from the milk frother.
