Upon the impression that the other night was in fact a date, disguised as a simple dinner, I didn't know how to face Sébastien. Or how to act around him, for that matter. It was unexpected, to say the least, and it put every single previous meet up into perspective, which caused my stomach to turn every time I thought about it.

That meant that, for the time being, I was constantly on edge every time I was at work. I could easily avoid him everywhere else, except for my work place.

After a whole shift of turning my head in the direction of the door, keeping my eyes on the entrance, just to see if it was him that was coming in for an expensive, overrated meal, my misery seemed to be over, just as the clock struck five.

I got into my car, today with Olivia in the passenger seat, next to me. I offered to give her a ride home since her car broke down a couple of days ago, and was still in the shop. She gladly accepted it, the weight of having to take a London train in the middle of the night being lifted off her shoulders.

"So my birthday's next week," I took my eyes off the road just for a second to look in my best friend's direction, and flash her a smile. "And I was thinking that we could go out!"

"Oh, really?" I asked. "What do you have in mind?"

"We'd get dressed up, we go to the city centre, have dinner and then have some drinks."

Olivia looked so excited as she talked about her plans, and I couldn't help but let myself miss that feeling. That one feeling that caused Olivia's cheeks to look like they could burst from smiling so much. Planning night outs or birthday parties was something I hadn't done since before Lexi was born.

I could never regret having Lexi, no matter how young I was at the time, but the truth was, I had missed my twenties. The time of your life when you're supposed to live to the fullest, enjoy life, kiss strangers, get too drunk and dance all night, make mistakes, it passed by me. Except for the latter - I made plenty of those. However, Lexi was definitely not one of them.

"Well, that does sound like fun." I said, nodding my head in agreement. "Will it be just us?"

"Yeah, just us two. I figured it'd be more chill, you know?"

I nodded again as I took a right, after crossing the bridge, while quickly making a mental note that if I wanted to offer her the film camera accessories that Olivia had been talking about lately, I needed to go to the store as soon as possible, since her birthday fell on Friday.

"Should we go Friday night?" I asked. "Or Saturday?"

"Oh, Friday for sure! Saturday night's just gonna be... too much."

She was right. Saturday night in London was always too much. Too many people in the tube, too many people in bars, too many people in restaurants, too many people on the streets. Friday nights weren't innocent, but they were better.

"So, can I count you in?"

"Of course!" When the red light turned on, I stopped the car and took the time to remove my hair from its ties.

We didn't take too long to reach our neighbourhood since traffic wasn't that bad. And because my best friend missed my daughter too, she went with me to pick Lexi up from school.

I parked my car outside the school's entrance and honked twice. Lexi, who was standing by the main door, next to her teacher, immediately spotted me waiting for her. Her blonde hair was divided in two pigtails that whipped back and forth as she ran to the car.

I got out of the vehicle to hug her tightly and kiss the top of her head. When Lexi got into the car and noticed Olivia was there too, she hugged her as well.

After confirming that she had her seatbelt on, I took off and made my way out of the school's premises.

"Did you have a good day at school today?" I asked.

"Yes." I could see her through the rearview mirror, bobbing her head up and down. She took a small pause to look out the window, and then back at me. "What are you making for dinner tonight, mum?"

"I'm making lasagna."

"Yes!" Lexi said, sounding triumphant. She had been asking me to make that dish for a while, but lately I haven't been getting home from work early enough that I'd have the time. Today, however, I was getting home at six o'clock, and that allowed me plenty of time to cook my daughter one of her favourite meals.

"Olivia, can you stay and have dinner with us?"

My daughter, always the sweetheart. My lips curled upwards as I heard her question and I took a look at Liv, sitting next to me, who was smiling as well.

"What a great idea, Lex!" Olivia turned around in her seat to stretch her hand out to the little one in the back seat. "I would love to! Thank you, sweetie."

The drive from Lexi's school to my house wasn't more than fifteen minutes, and after I parked the car on the driveway, the three of us made our way to the front door.

"Look, mummy!"

I was not looking ahead, until Lexi's voice caught my attention. I was distracted, talking to Olivia about finding someone to cover my shift on Friday night for our girls night out on her birthday.

I followed my daughter's gaze, and her pointing finger, and looked at the entrance of my house.

It was a flower bouquet, laying carefully on the front door step.

I heard Olivia gasp behind me, while I quietly picked it up and looked at it, in silence. There were roses, lilies, tulips and a few more different flowers that I did not know the name of, but if I had to guess, I'd say those were wildflowers. They were all beautiful nonetheless.

There was a card attached that had my name written on it. Melanie. In a handwriting I could have recognized anywhere.

Trying not to pay too much attention to the bouquet in my hands, I fumbled with the keys, but finally managed to open the front door and the three of us walked inside.

"Let me see!" Lexi said right after dropping her backpack on the floor.

She read my name and looked up at me. "They're for you, mum."

"They are." I said while nodding. And also while not knowing what else to say to her at this point.

Thankfully, Olivia was with me and, what are best friends for if not to save you from looking flushed and speechless in front your eight year-old daughter, after receiving flowers from a guy who had taken you out on a non-date date.

"Hey Lex, don't you have homework to do today?" Olivia asked. "Why don't you go set everything up on your desk in your room, and I'll help you out? I'll be there in a second."

With Lexi out of earshot, Olivia turned back to me. I gave her a look.

"This is Sébastien's."

"How do you know?" She asked.

"The handwriting. And this." I turned the card around and showed her the short, yet sweet message he'd written.

Dear Melanie,

I saw these at the flower market and thought of you. They're beautiful, but not as much as you. I hope you like them. Whenever you can, stop by L'Amour. I need to talk to you about something.

Xoxo, Sébastien

"Oh. My. God." Olivia said as she took her hand to cover her mouth. "This man... Wow, he definitely is... something else."

That, she was very much correct about. 

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I wonder what that's about... 🤔

Thank you so much for everyone that's been reading Plot Twist, whether it's since the beginning or if you're just starting now, a massive THANK YOU 💕

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Xoxo, Mars