Page 24 of Je T'aime, Actually

Instead, she leant into something lighter.

Chloé:You and Kitty look like trouble.

She added a little devil emoji for fun.

The message sent, she sat back, letting herself imagine the sound of Monroe’s laugh. It helped—more than she expected.

Chloé’s phone buzzed almost immediately.

Monroe:Kitty says we definitely are. What time will you be back? I was wondering when you might be free next?

Chloé paused, fingers hovering over the screen. She wanted to say “as soon as possible”, but that felt too eager. Instead, she typed something that left an opening.

Chloé:I should be back around six. Maybe after that? I’d like that.

Monroe:Do you want to stop off in Sandham or shall I meet you in Brighton?

Chloé:I’ll come to you.

She hit send and tucked the phone away, feeling a small flutter. The meeting still waited, but now it felt a little less daunting.

nineteen

“Roe Roe, who is Chloé?” Kitty asked as she coloured in a green dinosaur in her new colouring book, purchased less than an hour ago by her favourite person. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“I’m not quite sure that’s how I’d describe her,” Monroe was saying before Kitty jumped in.

“Have you kissed her?” She put her pen down and looked up at Monroe. “Because if you have, then she’s definitely your girlfriend.”

Monroe smiled softly, her eyes drifting to the picture Kitty was so carefully colouring in. “Well, Chloé is someone very special. Someone I’m getting to know, that’s all.”

Kitty tilted her head, her serious little face betraying the honesty in her words. “But you kissed her, didn’t you?”

Monroe hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, I did.”

Kitty beamed. “Then she’s your girlfriend. It’s simple.”

Monroe chuckled, shaking her head gently. “You make it sound so easy.”

Kitty grinned. “Sometimes it is.”

Monroe felt a warmth in her chest—the kind that comes from new beginnings—as she watched Kitty return her attention to the dinosaur, her little world so uncomplicated and pure.

“Are we going to meet her?” Kitty continued her gentle interrogation. “Might want to lock Benji in his room—nobody needs to meet him.”

“That’s mean. Your brother isn’t that bad.”

Kitty fixed her with a glare that said otherwise. “Last weekend he pulled my hair, then…when I hit him, I got in trouble.”

“Oh, well, it’s probably not nice to be hitting or pulling hair. I bet he got in trouble too.” Monroe smiled knowingly.

She knew Poppy and Frank too well. There was no way they’d believe one over the other in a fight.

Looking nonplussed, Kitty said, “So, are we gonna meet her?”

“I don’t know. I only just met her.”

“Yeah, but you must like her.”