Everything was going to be okay. I was sure of it.
‘I am so proud of you,mon amour,’ Gabriel smiled then wrapped his arms around me. I’d noticed that he’d started calling memon amourwhich I knew meantmy loveand it made me swoon every time. ‘I know that was not easy, but you did it.’
‘Actually, it was a lot easier than I thought.’ I stood in front of him. ‘Because, like I said out there, I love you. And I’ve realised that when you love someone, everything suddenly makes sense. Like Jasmine said to me the other day, when you’re in love, you don’t see problems and challenges, just opportunities. So if telling Juliette the truth and risking our friendship was the price to pay to be with a wonderful man like you, then that’s what I had to do.’
Saying it like that made it sound so simple. But I supposed once my mindset and perspective shifted it was.
That didn’t mean that the road ahead would be plain sailing, because it wouldn’t. But the point was, whatever we had to face, we’d do it together and I knew that without a shadow of doubt it’d be worth it.
‘So youloveme?’ Gabriel grinned.
‘You know I do.’ I rolled my eyes playfully.
‘Pardon. Je comprends pas l’anglais. Tu peux le dire en français?’
I frowned as I tried to work out what he’d just said.
‘Wait. I’m pretty sure you just said that you don’t speak English and asked me to say it in French?’ I frowned. ‘Ohhh… I see what you’re doing. You want me to say it again, but in French. Talk about milking it!’
His lips turned up at the corners as he tried to stifle a smile.
When I thought of how to say I love you in French, it wasn’t a struggle. The words popped into my head straight away, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
‘Je t’aime,’ I said, wrapping my arms around Gabriel’s waist and looking him straight in the eyes. A smile the size of three oceans spread across his face.
‘Moi aussi, je t’aime, mon amour,’ Gabriel said.
And as he kissed me right there in the middle of the busy station concourse, every concern, every doubt I’d ever had melted away.
EPILOGUE
LAILA
Nine months later
‘Another macaron?’ I held out the tray of desserts to Cassie and Nico as I squeezed up to Gabriel around our dining table whilst admiring the Parisian skyline.
It had been almost three months since we’d returned from travelling and I still couldn’t quite believe that I got to look at these views every single day and call it home.
Living in Paris was even better than my wildest dreams.
A lot had happened since Juliette saw us at Gare du Nord station.
I was tempted to throw caution to the wind and just jump straight back in the taxi and go to Gabriel’s apartment, but after discussing it again, we both agreed that I should return to London, get everything organised and then discuss next steps.
The plan was to do the whole long-distance thing for a few months, but we lasted a grand total of three days.
Yep.
When I got back to my house, I knew I didn’t want to be there any more. And after dragging myself back to work on the Monday morning, my fate was already sealed. I couldn’t do my old life any more.
I realised that what Gabriel said was true: I had options.
So after speaking to him during my lunch break, I walked into my boss’s office and handed in my notice. I said that if they really needed me to work the full four weeks, I’d do my best, but I couldn’t promise that I’d be very motivated, because I was too loved up to focus.
I expected my boss to laugh in my face, but lucky for me, apparently they had a waiting list of people itching to work there, so he said I could work until the end of the week, then leave. He didn’t need to ask me twice.
Although I wouldn’t get a full month’s wage, it’d be enough to bring me up to date with the bills and so I realised I’d be fine, especially if I sold my car and some furniture. And once I’d figured out what I wanted to do with my life and got another job, I’d reasoned that I could then start thinking about paying Juliette back.
