‘Drink this.’ He handed me a glass of water. ‘I will call room service and ask them to bring some peppermint tea and food. I know lunch probably feels like the last thing you want right now, but you need to eat.’
‘What about the briefing?’ I asked weakly.
‘The briefing finished over an hour ago. I was worried when you did not arrive.’
‘Shit. I didn’t realise it was so late. We have to go to the location. Otherwise, we’ll lose points!’
‘It does not matter,’ Gabriel insisted. ‘The most important thing is that you are well.’
‘What was the clue anyway?’ I asked.
‘I will tell you later.’
‘No, please. Tell me now.’
He sighed, then reluctantly pulled out his phone.
‘The clue was: Built in 1889, this is one of the most visited monuments in the world, welcoming around seven million visitors every year.’
‘It’s the Eiffel Tower! I’ve been waiting all week to go there and now we’ve missed out because I have a hangover. I haven’t had one since I was a teenager bingeing on alcopops and cheap wine.’
‘You have not had a hangover since your teens?’ His eyes widened.
‘Nope. That’s the thing about having a kid so young, you have to be sensible. Dealing with a hangover at any age is hard, but having one when you’re the only person responsible for keeping your child alive would be asking for trouble, so I always made sure I didn’t drink too much. And then here I go stupidly attempting to make up for it by drinking decades’ worth of alcohol all in one night!’ I shook my head, disappointed at how irresponsible I’d been.
‘It is not a big deal. You were upset. It happens. Like Sammie said, I am sure that everyone has felt the way that you do right now.’
‘Haveyou?’ I asked. ‘When was your last hangover?’
‘I do not really have them. In France we learn how to drink alcohol from a young age. I should rephrase that.’ He laughed and the low rumble made my heart swell. ‘I made it sound like we are drinking wine when we are babies! What I meant was, from a young age we are used to seeing our parents drink a little wine with a meal. Here we drink for enjoyment and pleasure, not to get drunk.’
‘Unlike the English?’ I cocked an eyebrow.
‘These are your words, not mine.’ He laughed.
‘Yeah. I guess there is the stereotype of us Brits falling out of pubs or bars drunk. Some do, of course, but some don’t.’
‘And I am sure that people from every country do the same. Speaking of food, I will order lunch for you now, then you must get some rest.’
‘I’ll eat something quickly, then we can go to the Eiffel Tower.’
As much as I wanted to protect my friendship, I really, really didn’t want to go home.
Plus, if I was being honest, every day that I stayed here and spent time with Gabriel my resolve weakened.
Resisting him before was hard enough, but now, after the way he’d just helped take care of me, it was feeling impossible.
‘Non. Forget about the tasks. If you are feeling better, we can catch up tonight or even tomorrow. Your health is more important.’
Butterflies flooded my chest at how kind Gabriel was.
I nodded, then stared at him like a lovesick idiot as he called down and ordered food and tea for me in his ridiculously sexy French accent.
When lunch arrived, I devoured it in record time. Then I must’ve fallen asleep because when I woke up and checked my phone it was after seven in the evening.
I bolted up in the bed and when I looked up I saw Gabriel sitting on the sofa reading a book.
‘You stayed?’ I frowned.
