Despite coming back from France on Friday, I was still on cloud nine. I honestly never imagined mine and Isaac's short break away going the way it did, but I'm glad that we had time alone together, and I don't just say that because of the sex. 

It's been over five months since we slept together but in all those weeks between now and then, I can't remember a time when it was just us, together, alone and away from everyone we know. It's hard to open up when there are so many distractions in London, not least because everyone is trying to give you their opinion on what should be going on between Isaac and me. A 'babymoon' was just what the priest ordered.

Tucked away in Aix-en-Provence, where no one really knew us, I learnt a lot about Isaac that I hadn't known before. I don't mean that in the superficial his-favourite-movie-is-Toy-Story kind of way; I mean it in the way that I've picked up on his mannerisms, the type of person he is. Before last week, I would never have pegged him as the type that would get up ridiculously early just so he could catch up on world news, eat breakfast and drink his first cup of coffee before the rest of the house stirred. And by rest of the house, I obviously mean me.

 I must say, Isaac really does know his way around a kitchen. He wouldn't let me cook once while we were in Lambesc. It was frustrating because I loved to experiment whenever I was in France, trying to perfect my grandmother Jacqueline's famous ratatouille, but I knew better than to argue with Isaac, especially when he gave that stern glare that made my insides melt. Honestly, I don't know if that stare of his was supposed to be intimidating or supposed to make we weak at the knees. 

That was another thing I learnt about Isaac- he spent far too much time staring at me. He'd look at me in awe when I spoke French to the locals, he'd look at me with surprise whenever I would say something silly, and he'd look at me like I was the most curious thing in the world seconds before he'd kiss me and refuse to let me out of his grasp. 

Do we even need to talk about the kissing and whatever happened after those kisses? Let's just say he is the perfect gentleman and I have no complaints in that department. Well, if I had one complaint it would be this- he likes to spoon. Me, not so much. 

I think I can learn to like it, though, because having his arms wrapped around me tightly, hugging me to his chest and feeling his breath tickling against the side of my neck may have just become my favourite thing to do in the bedroom. 

"They had sex," I heard someone say in a conspiratorial voice.

"Definitely," another voice agreed.

Someone laughed. "To be fair, would you be able to resist Isaac Fletcher if you had him all to yourself for a week?"

"Yes. That man is a disgusting pig," a new voice chimed in. 

Snapping out of my daydream, I glare at Sophie for that last comment. She knew that I hated it when she spoke about Isaac like that and while part of me understood that she was doing it as a joke, it still bugged the hell out of me. I really should have a word with her about it because that 'disgusting pig', as she liked to call him, well he is the father of my child and he's not going anywhere. She needs to grasp that and move on. 

Thankfully, Emma, Sam, and Jenna- the wife of one of Isaac's friends, Elias Marshall- all had the decency not to talk crap about Isaac. The first voice that had spoken, commenting that Isaac and I had had sex, belonged to Sam. Honestly, having been best friends with him for months, I could pick his voice out of a crowd, just like I could with Emma, my younger sister. I wanted to be annoyed with Jenna for insinuating that Isaac was irresistible, but who could argue with that, really? The man is irresistible. 

"Ah, look, she's joined us back on planet Earth," Sam muttered sarcastically. He smirked when he saw that I was about to reach across the table and hit him, moving slightly further back in his chair to increase the distance between us. "How was France, Char? Did you have fun?"

Remember how I said that everyone liked to give their penny's worth on my relationship with Isaac? Well, because they're all so invested, Isaac and I agreed that we shouldn't discuss it any more with any of them. If we dished out information about the logistics of our relationship, the more people would feel the need to comment, which would then put undue pressure on us as a couple, so... wait, what was the point I was trying to make?

"That's none of your business," I sternly tell Sam. I think he knew- as did the others- that I was not going to divulge anything to them. "Whatever happens with Isaac and me, it's for us to know and you lot not to know. How was your second date with Ioana? Did you have fun?"

Sam glowered at me. "That's none of your business."

The table fell quiet, Sophie, Emma and Jenna watching mine and Sam's stare off. I could sense that Sophie was about to jump in and ease the tension but before she could, Sam's face cracked and he smiled warmly at me. I rolled my eyes and picked up my glass of water, sipping on it, ignoring Emma's bewildered question of, "What just happened?"

Today, Sophie rang me to ask if I fancied meeting up with our little gang so that we could have a catch up over lunch. It's been ages since my sister's and I were all together in one place and I jumped at the chance to see them. Naturally, wherever Sophie goes nowadays, Jenna Marshall isn't far behind. Since Sophie's wedding, she's become very close to Daniel's best friend's wife and they're forever conspiring to set their husbands up on 'dates' just so the wives had the perfect excuse to go out and drink wine. When Sam heard that I was meeting up with the girls, he invited himself along, feeling left out if we went without him.

Emma, poor thing, must have felt like an outsider amongst us but to his credit, Sam was taking more of an interest in her than he was in everyone else. When lunch arrived at the table, he was engrossed in a conversation about some painting that he had at Courtenay Galleries that Emma had taken a liking to when she saw it at some previous gallery. After that conversation ended, they talked about Emma's husband, Adam Da Silva, and how he was adjusting to like in London. Previously, Emma and Adam had lived in New York City, Adam's hometown, but since shortly before Christmas, they moved here for Emma's new job. 

While my sister was loving being back on familiar territory, Adam was finding it hard to settle. Yes, he'd secured a job working at a law firm in the City, but he hardly knew anyone and despite being initiated into the guys' Poker Night, he didn't feel as if he were one of them. That's why, Emma sighed, Adam had taken to working a lot and they hardly ever saw each other. 

Seeing the sadness in her eyes, my attention travelled over to Sophie, who was already staring at me. Her eyes were narrowed and I could already see the cogs turning but a simple shake of my head was enough to get her to stop thinking the worst. Instead, she turned back to Emma and asked, "Do you want to help me curate something for this year's Courtenay Foundation Ball?"

Sam laughed. "That's not until November, Sophie," he said, reminding her that it was months away.

"Exactly, we're running out of time!" Sophie practically yelled. "By the time that comes around, Charlotte here will already be a mum. Time is tunning out, Sammy."

At hearing Sophie's words, my heart starts beating uncontrollably. Oh, God, I'm running out of time. I hadn't thought of my baby's due date in a while, but thinking of it now, I was more than half way through my pregnancy and I was less than twenty weeks away from seeing my baby for the first time. 

I haven't even got a nursery. Wait, I don't even have a home big enough to have a nursery. What if Isaac wants to move in? That'll be fine but that would mean Martha moving in too, or at least us having a guest room for her to use should she want to come and stay. I could turn my hallway closet into a nursery, I suppose. A baby is only tiny so how much stuff could it possible need?

It'll probably need a lot. The amount of nappies that we'll go through alone in a week would take up half that closet space, not to mention all the other stuff we need to have. Like a buggy. Car seat. Rocking chair. The crib!

I don't have any of those things.

We don't even have a name!

"Char, you ok?" Sam's voice, full of concern, sounds so far away. Suddenly, something snaps in front of my face and I look up to see Sam retracting his hand. "You look freaked out."

"Freaked out?!" I gasped. Taking in a deep breath, I try to control my breathing and heart rate, only speaking once I felt calmer. "I need a new house, I need a nursery, I need a buggy, I need a name, I need... I need more time."

Sophie frowned in my direction. "What are you going on about?"

"My flat is too small so I need to move," I explain. "I don't have a nursery and even if I did, I wouldn't know what I need to fill it. I don't have anything ready in time for this baby. And," suddenly my bottom lip began quivering, the sure sign that I was about to cry. As if on cue, the first tear fell down my cheek. "Isaac doesn't like any of the names I picked if the baby is a girl!"

They all laughed. All but Jenna, that is. She gave me a sympathetic smile and reached into her pocked to hand me a tissue. Dabbing at my eyes, I couldn't help but feel really stupid for crying in front of everyone, especially over something as stupid as baby names.

"When I had Nola, Elias and I weren't together," Jenna tells me, referencing her nine year old daughter. "He wasn't interested in helping to choose a name."

"I named Hetty without consulting Daniel," Sophie nods. 

"I don't think naming a puppy without your husband's permission is the same as naming your child without the father's permission," I tell my sister. 

Sophie shrugs her shoulder. "Maybe not, but that dog is still stuck with the name for the rest of its life, just like your baby will," she says. "Whatever name you choose, Isaac will like it."

"How do you know that?"

"Because he'll like whatever name you like," Sophie smiles at me. For once, when she speaks about Isaac, she's not being mean. "Kangaroo Boy loves you, Charlotte. You can't do anything wrong in his eyes. Out of interest, what name did you choose that he didn't like?"

"Edith."

For the second time throughout lunch, the table went quiet again. I could tell that they all hated the name but were trying not to show it because they were supposed to be reassuring me that my name choice was great. My stomach dropped. Suddenly, the tabl was alive with comments.

"That's a lovely name!"

"Edie would be a great nickname, wouldn't it?"

"At least you didn't go for something like Pomegranate."

"Edith Delaney sounds perfect!"

"Even Edith Fletcher sounds perfect!"

"Oh, my gosh, Sophie! It does, doesn't it?"

The only one not jumping on the bandwagon of how 'perfect' Edith was is Sam. He's just frowning in distaste. "Bit old fashioned, isn't it, Char?" He says, not caring to notice the glares sent his way via Emma, Jenna and Sophie. "No, I have a great solution. Honestly, you'll love it. Wait for it..." He pauses for effect. "Samuella."

Silence.

"No, that's awful."

"Really, Sam? Wouldn't Samantha be a better option?"

"Oh, what about Ophelia?"

"No, Serafina."

"Violet?"

"Josie?"

"Oh, that's cute. Lili?"

"On it's own or as a nickname?"

"It could be a nickname for Lilian, I guess."

"Lilith?"

"There aren't many Lilith's."

"She'd stand out. Hero? Great alternative to Hermione."

"Sounds pretentious."

"I still think they should go with Samuella."

"That would be like naming a baby Thomasina."

"Unique!"

"You want to name the baby Unique?"

"What? No! I just mean Samuella and Thomasina would be unique."

"Wait a second!" Sophie's voice broke up the impending arguement between Sam and Jenna. She turns to look at me. "Are you even sure that it's a girl?"

I shake my head.

"In that case, may I suggest Samuel? Great name."

"Harry!"

"Benjamin."

"Archie or Alfie."

"William."

"That's boring. Levi?"

"Those are jeans, not the name of my nephew. If you weren't thrilled about Harry, what about Harrison?"

I sighed in exasperation. Looking around, I caught the attention of a passing waitress. "Could ew have the bill, please?" While she walked off towards the counter, I turned back everyone else and clapped my hands to get their attention. They all looked my way. "No to all the following names- Samuella, Samantha, Violet, Lili, Hero and Thomasina. A consideration for Josie and Lilian. Ophelia is cute but Lilith is weird. As for boy's names, please direct all your suggestions to Isaac. Now, if we're done here, who wants to come shop for some gender-neutral baby clothes?"

So, what do you make of these names?

Anyone think that Samuella is a GREAT name?!

Charlotte is totally falling for Isaac.

Is Isaac falling for her or has he already fallen?

How did your week go? Anything exciting happen? Mine was boring!

Hope this week is amazing!

Oh, before I forget to ask- any requests for chapter POVs and/or chapter content? I have a week off coming up soon (a week tomorrow) so I can work on some EXTRA chapters that week, as well as working on something else. Comment here if there's something specific you want to see/read.

Sarah xx