S.E.C.R.E.T. Revealed (Secret 3)

“Ceçi est pour vous, madame,” he said, surprising me with his perfect French accent.

“You mean mademoiselle,” I said.

“Mais oui.”

While he rested on an elbow, I opened the box and lifted out my Curiosity charm. It took on a burnished glow in that dim, cozy garret. This charm would remind me of my wonderment, and what happens when you let your curiosity take you back in time. I had sung again in a red dress for a crowd of strangers in a strange city. I’d rushed giddily into the streets of Paris, kissing a younger version of an old love on the Metro, turning back the clock for just one night.

The next time I opened my eyes, the sun was peeking up over Montparnasse, turning the white buildings pink with new promise. Alain snoozed while I quietly dressed. Holding my shoes, I took one last look at his face. Uncanny, even in repose. Then I descended the ancient stairs to the street below and flagged the first cab I found. In the back seat, I cracked open the window, taking in the smell of a city only just beginning to awaken.

CASSIE

After that Committee meeting, I had the sense that something had been unleashed into our little universe. Not necessarily something bad, but an unsettling energy abounded, one whose wake would probably leave my world, and Will’s, reordered. And yet, I felt powerless to stop it.

The day after Will was recruited, Dell and I were in the kitchen blanching peppers for stuffing. One by one, she dipped them into boiling water. After a few minutes, she scooped them out with a slotted spoon, dropping them in ice water. My job was to wait a few seconds, then fish them out and peel them. It was strangely hypnotic work, and for a moment I forgot what I knew; I wasn’t thinking about what had happened and what was coming.

Claire was popping in and out of the kitchen dropping dirty dishes on the conveyor, so for a moment I thought it was her, not Will, who punched through the doors loudly. I was about to ask her to be a little less mean to the door, but when I saw him standing there with a clutch of baguettes, his hair a sexy mess, his stubble longer than normal, my heart did its requisite tumble in my chest. I had long made peace with my body’s reaction to Will; it would always jolt a little, no matter how often my brain scolded it. I could do nothing to prevent my face from burning. And instantly I knew Will knew that I knew that he had been recruited by S.E.C.R.E.T. And that we both knew things had changed, and that they were going to change some more.

“Hey,” Will said, his wary eyes on me.

“Hey.”

He placed the baguettes on the counter and pulled a large blowtorch out of the bottom of the bag, his eyes still on me.

“This the one you wanted, Dell?”

Dell turned to examine it. “You could repair a tanker with that thing. I just need to brown crème brûlée.”

“I can’t get anything right,” he muttered.

I changed the subject, to give time for my nerves to settle. “So, Dell tells me the Poulet Marengo special was a big hit last night.”

“Yes! And we tried it with the black-and-white quinoa. Great idea.”

“That was Claire’s,” Dell announced, just as Claire entered the kitchen.

“Nice idea, kiddo, the quinoa,” Will said as she beamed, dropping off more dirty dishes.

Dell nodded at her and she skipped back into the Café with a new lightness. She seemed to be coming out of the darkest part of the tunnel.

“Well, it was an incredible dish, Dell.”

She had the same reaction to praise as she did to criticism, which was none.

Will continued. “So, um, Cassie … do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about … something important that has to do with … something important.”

Dell looked up from her blanching, but only to stare straight ahead at the tiled wall as though to say, Jesus Christ, please take this outside, whatever it is.

“Be right back, Dell.”

I wiped my hands on my apron and followed Will out of the kitchen, my heart pounding. Be cool, be cool, be cool. Once in the office, he shut the door behind us.

“I’m sure you know what this is about.”

“I do,” I said, as evenly as possible.

“Matilda called me this morning. I was … I am glad. I’m flattered. I’m not sure what to say. But I really, really need to know—are you sure you’re okay with this?”

I nodded before speaking, trying to give myself time to knock the words loose.