One Summer in Paris

She fell asleep within minutes and was woken by bells. At first she thought it was her alarm, but then she realized it was her phone.

Next to her, Philippe muttered something in French and pulled her into his arms. “Leave it. You can call them back.”

She almost did. Whoever it was could leave a message.

But what if it was Mimi? Or Sophie?

She slid out of his arms, feeling guilty even though they hadn’t actually done anything. At some point in the night they’d both fallen asleep. “I have to check. It could be important.”

He slid his hand over her hip. “More important than this?”

“Possibly.” This wasn’t the time to point out that not everyone lived in the moment all the time. That some people had ties and responsibilities.

She rummaged for her phone and by the time she found it, it had stopped ringing.

She saw a missed call from Sophie.

Just a chat or something more?

Her question was answered when her phone rang again.

She sent Philippe a look of apology. “I really need to take this.”

“It can’t wait?”

She almost explained that it was her daughter, and then she realized there was no point. He didn’t have family. He wouldn’t understand the urge that made her put family above everything else.

And she was at least partly responsible for that. She’d broken his heart.

“It can’t wait. But it will probably only take a minute. And after that I’ll make up for the fact that I fell asleep on you last night.”

Philippe gave her a slow smile and she smiled back, making a decision.

When she’d finished talking to Sophie she was going to tell him that yes, she’d join him in Budapest and Prague. Just for a couple of nights. Audrey could manage for a couple of days now, surely? She had enough words and phrases and she could always call Grace if there was a problem.

Already making a mental packing list in her head, she answered the phone.

“Hi, honey.”

“Mom?” Sophie’s voice came down the phone, high-pitched and tearful.

The clouds of sleep vanished. “What’s wrong?”

“Mom.” Sophie was crying so hard she couldn’t get the words out, and Grace fought to stay calm.

“Honey, you need to slow down. I can’t hear what you’re saying.” She pressed the phone to her ear and turned away from Philippe. “Tell me slowly.”

“It’s Chrissie.” Sophie gulped and sobbed, and Grace made out the words hospital, sick and taken drugs.

Chrissie had taken drugs? Chrissie, who had been raised on a diet of organic vegetables and had never swallowed so much as an antibiotic? No, that wasn’t possible.

Her heart was thudding. “Did someone spike your drink or something?”

“No.” Sophie was almost incoherent. “Chrissie’s gone crazy wild since we’ve been traveling. Parties, boys and stuff. She said she wanted to try drugs, just once, because her mom would never let her do anything like that.”

Grace felt a rush of nausea. “Were you there with her?”

“Yes. She wanted me to do it, too, and I said no, but then she said I was the most boring person ever, so I took it. I’m sorry.” Sophie choked. “I’m so sorry. It was stupid, but she kept telling me I was spoiling her fun. She’s my friend and I didn’t know how to say no. I didn’t want to ruin her trip.”