Page 16 of Je T'aime, Actually

Someone cared enough to wait up and make sure she got home safe.

Monroe:You’re very sweet. I appreciate it.

Chloé:It is nothing,non? To wait and check that a beautiful woman finds herself safely home after such a wonderful evening together?

She could hear the accent as she read the words and smiled to herself, feeling her stomach tumble over itself.

A wonderful evening togethersounded like so much…more. And part of her wanted it to have meant more. To feel those hands touch her in ways only a lover understood—was that so terrible? That voice, those words, whispering in her ear. They had sent a sensation through her that her body recognised immediately.

And yet…she knew. She wasn’t ready. Butwantingit? That was different. That had to mean something.

Monroe:I guess, if I’m honest, I’ve never really experienced that before.

There was no response for a moment, and Monroe wondered if maybe Chloé had fallen asleep. Then the phone rang.

Chloé was calling.

“Hello?” Monroe answered a little hesitantly. She was never good at phone calls.

“I found it impossible to put into words the outrage I feel that this is the answer you give. How has nobody ever taken time to make sure you are safe?”Chloé’s voice sounded exactly as mad asshe’d said she was, and for a second, Monroe wondered if she’d read this woman all wrong.

“I am astounded. You deserve to be treated so much better. Who can’t take time out of their night to spend just a little more with you—even if it’s just a text?”

“Well, I guess…” Monroe didn’t really have an answer. “I don’t know.”

“If you’re happy to, and I assume you might be, as you answered, I would like to stay on the phone with you until you are home and I can sleep soundly, knowing that you are okay.”

The train slowed and pulled into the stop before Sandham.

“I’d like that, actually,” Monroe admitted. Not because she was scared to walk alone—she wasn’t. She’d done self-defence classes; she could look after herself if needed. But shedidwant to keep talking to Chloé.

And she smiled again as Chloé launched into a funny story about a night out in Paris when she was younger.

In that moment, Monroe was sure this might just be a turning point in her life.

twelve

Monroe woke with the sun peeking in through the blinds. Autumn was arriving slowly, but the summer sun was still holding on, keeping winter’s rain at bay. Usually on a Sunday, she’d have no reason to hurry, happy to lounge in bed with tea and a book, and maybe even indulge in a mid-morning bath.

But today was different.

She smiled to herself as Chloé’s words swam back into her mind. “How has nobody ever taken time to make sure you are safe?”

It was ridiculous, really, how such a simple sentence could land so deeply. It wasn’t grand or showy, it was just kind. Thoughtful. And that, more than anything, was what stuck with her.

After a quick shower and a flick through her wardrobe to choose something casual but not too scruffy, she headed out.

Poppy had texted her before 9am: Coffee’s on. I want the full download x—with a photo of Kitty grinning from behind a towerof waffles and Benji giving a thumbs up, syrup smeared across his chin.

When Monroe knocked on the door, the sound of chaos was already buzzing behind it: cartoons on too loud, someone running, someone whining.

The door swung open. “Roe Roe!” Kitty shouted, flinging herself around Monroe’s waist in a hug that nearly knocked Monroe over.

“Hello, beautiful.” Monroe laughed, bending down to squeeze her back.

Benji appeared behind her, more casual but still beaming. “You smell like porridge,” he said, as if it were a compliment of the highest order.

“I had cereal, actually.” But the new oatmeal shampoo would be staying.