Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“I’m super excited for you. Shall I cook tonight?” I ask.
“I’ll leave that to you. Are you at mine now?” We came back from Norfolk last night and I stayed at Zach’s place. In fact, since I first went to his flat after Scotland, we haven’t spent a night apart. It hasn’t felt like too much or that we’re moving too fast—it’s just felt right.
“No, I’m back at my place.”
“You should use the key under the plant pot on the step to let yourself in. Use a slightly bigger kitchen.”
I laugh at his use of the word slightly. His kitchen is about ten times as large as mine. But it’s not as well equipped.
“When do you hear about the auction?” I ask.
“Apparently it can take a week or so.”
“So before Christmas,” I say. By then we’ll both know what we’re doing. “I’m so happy for you, Zach.”
Someone shouts his name. “Look, I’m going to have to go. Shall I pick you up?”
I hear the email notification on my phone. It could be details of the Selfridges sale. And it could be the decision on how the rest of my life is going to turn out. “I’ll meet you at your place at eight thirty,” I say.
“Use the key if you’re there before me.” He hangs up and I sit where I’m standing, landing on the sofa right in front of my open laptop.
It’s not Selfridges that have emailed. It’s Le Cordon Bleu.
This is it.
I double-click on the email and the less than a second that it takes for my laptop to realize it’s required to wake up from its snooze feels like five months. In that short space of time, I relive the last five months in my head. Shane announcing we were over, me moving out, me crying a lot, looking for a job, finding a job, not understanding why in the hell I had nothing to do in my job. And then the Isle of Rum and Zach.
In the last five months, I’ve gone from hopeless and heartbroken to emboldened and excited. I’d like to stay here awhile—enjoy the view and breathe in the fresh air from this peak, but when I open the email, there’ll be no standing still. Whatever the answer is will bring joy and sadness.
I draw in a breath and click.
I can’t read the whole sentence. My gaze fixates on certain words:
Delighted.
Welcome.
Paris.
My hands are shaking and it’s difficult to focus, but I start to read the email from the beginning, because I have to be sure.
I haven’t imagined it. They’re offering me a place to begin the Grand Diplôme in Paris. On a full scholarship. Term commences 6th January.
They want me?
January.
I read the email again, from the beginning, with laser focus. There’s no mistake. They’re delighted to award me a full scholarship. Term begins in four weeks.
Zach and I can’t survive this, but for me to survive, I need to take this incredible opportunity.
Don’t I?
Twenty-Nine
Zach
I kick off my shoes at the door and a thrill shoots up my spine at the idea of seeing Ellie right now. Not just that—I also get to share the good news about my book with her. It’s like my body has been holding back and I can only appreciate the great things that are happening to me if I’m with her. It’s like she’s become a part of me and I can’t imagine what life used to be like before her.
I step into the kitchen and she’s setting a bottle of champagne on the counter.
“You think it’s too early to celebrate?” I ask her.
“Never.” There’s something in her smile that seems a little forced. A sense of uneasiness wedges into my buoyant mood.
The smell from the oven is incredible—garlic and something delicious. When I get to her, I slide my hands around her and press a kiss to her neck. She softens against me and lifts her gaze, and I drop a kiss on her lips.
“I have news,” she says and inexplicably my stomach dives. Maybe it’s the tone of her voice or the way she’s avoiding my eye.
Nothing can be that bad if she’s by my side. “Good news, I hope.” I pull her closer.
“I found out about some scholarships for Le Cordon Bleu. You know the ones I told you about?”
I hold her at arm’s length, my hands on her shoulders so I can see her expression. Is she happy? Sad? Did she get it? “Ellie, stop stalling—did you get a scholarship?”
A shy grin unfurls on her face and she nods. “I just found out today. I still can’t believe it.”
I lift my hands and cup her face, placing a rushed kiss on her lips. “This is amazing.” I must have misread her. This is incredible news.
“But it’s not in London,” she says, her smile dissolving in an instant and that wedge of discomfort in my mood thickens.