Rachel:
Paris!Fantastique.Hope you are having a wonderful time. And a career break sounds like a brilliant idea. Have a great rest of trip. Can’t wait to see you and chat about the book with you when you get back. Xx
Tilly pauses for a moment.Me too, she writes in reply, realizing as she types it that it’s true.
Her phone lights up with another notification, this timetelling her that she has been added by Lola Ricardo to a WhatsApp group called Paris Grief Gang.
Lola:
Welcome to the club that absolutely no one would choose to be part of!! Thanks for a lovely evening.
Fairooz:
We should get T-shirts made.
Pierre:
Or badges. With skulls on them.
John:
Count me in! Just home safely. I think I may be a little tipsy! An enchanting evening, nonetheless.
Cécile:
Agreed! Thank you all for coming.
Tilly smiles as she reads the messages then types a reply.
Tilly:
It was lovely to meet you all. I’m actually going to be in Paris for a few weeks and it’s my first time in the city. If anyone is around and wants to meet up again I’d love that.
John:
Sacré bleu! A Parisian virgin! You are very welcome to come for tea at my little apartment in the 7th arrondissement. It would be a pleasure to show you the library my husband and I spent our lives curating.
Cécile:
Say yes! John is being modest, his place isenormousand his library is directly opposite the Tour Eiffel.Magnifique!And I’d love to show you some of my favourite bookshops in Paris. You must see Librairie Jousseaume in the Galerie Vivienne – it’s the most charming place.
Pierre:
I’d recommend a walk along the Canal Saint-Martin. It’strès joliat this time of year.
Fairooz:
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is my favourite park in Paris. I live nearby so could show you around.
John:
Oh, and you must see the museums too. The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay … I’d be delighted to accompany you.
As more suggestions come pinging in and Tilly glances out at the shimmering view of the City of Lights spread out beneath her window, she feels a tingling sense of excitement take hold. Suddenly three weeks doesn’t seem so long, after all.
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