There was one thing I needed to do, and it was to take Sébastien up on his job offer. It wasn't a decision I made lightly, nor one I had actually thought about making, if I'm being honest. My job at the restaurant was steady, and it provided me with the income I needed to make a stable living for Lexi and I. But the pros outweigh the cons.

So, with a handful of hope and a dose of unwanted but inescapable vulnerability, I held up my red umbrella over my head and listened to the downpour of rain hitting the fabric, the soundtrack of my go-getter moment.

However, when I got to my destination, the bakery was closed. That wasn't unusual though - the closed sign was facing the outside most of the time, with Sébastien inside, working on the improvements of the bakery. What was surprising was no one coming out to let me in, after I knocked on the door and announced myself. So, I grabbed my phone and quickly called Sébastien, who answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"You're not at the bakery." Was all I said, while impatience was slowly starting to take over me.

"Non." He chuckled. "I need to rest, too."

"Where are you?" The mixture of a lot of different background noises caused me to choke on a breath. "I need to talk to you."

"I'm at the airport." And just like that, my heart sank. "I had to fly to Paris, but I'm on my way back to London. I'm literally just about to get inside the plane."

"Oh." I was hoping my disappointment in my voice wouldn't show, but that seemed impossible.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just really needed to talk to you." I turned around and, holding my phone with one hand, and the umbrella with the other, I walked back to my house. "Have a safe flight."

"I'll stop by your place after I arrive, we can talk then."

In another time, I would fight it. I would tell him no, he didn't need to come to my place after just coming from Paris and spending hours between airports, security lines and a flight, just for a conversation. But today was not any other time, today I really needed to sit down with him and talk about my future at L'Amour and all the details of the job.

"Okay." I replied. "I'll be waiting."

We hung up the phone and I made my way back to my house, and focused on cooking lunch and a dessert, as a way of distracting me from the lingering thought that replayed in my head of David's lawyer coming to look for me.

What he wanted from me was pretty simple - David, my ex-boyfriend wanted to talk to me, so he sent his lawyer to persuade me to pay him a visit in prison. But as simple as that may seem, it wasn't possible for me. That part of my past - the part that David was involved in - was put behind me for a very long time. I had chosen to do that, in order to protect myself and my future. And there was no way I would be throwing it out the window for some random conversation.

About an hour and half later, Sébastien texted me, letting me know he had just landed in London, and that he'd be taking a cab to my house, as a way of escaping the public transportation commute. I replied with a plain Ok, and went back to the oven to check on the meal I was preparing. I grabbed some lettuce leaves, red onion slices, feta cheese, arugula leaves and washed them thoroughly before quickly fixing up a salad. I was just adding the sauce I had prepared in the blender, when I heard the doorbell ring.

"Sébastien." I said, almost in disbelief, part of me deep down never thinking he'd come so quickly.

"Can I come in?"

I nodded in agreement, matching his smile before stepping aside to let him walk inside my house, just like he had so many times before.

"How was your flight?"

He shrugged while he placed his cabin sized suitcase and a duty-free shopping bag behind the closed front door, "Overpriced plane food that tastes like shit, cranky babies crying during take off... the usual."

"I don't even know how plane companies are even allowed to call what they serve people food." I added after taking his coat and hanging it on the rack on the wall.

"It's a blasphemy, is what it is."

"Don't you worry, I've been busying myself in the kitchen, making lunch and dessert." I smiled, looking up at him. "Are you hungry?"

"I am." His lips curled upwards. "But you didn't have to do that."

"Come on, it's the least I can do after you came here straight from the airport and after you had to endure those plane meals."

Sébastien stood still, as if his feet had grown roots on the floor, and he looked down at me, his eyes searching my face for something, anything, to get him out of the tonguetied state he was in. I felt watched, seen, and naked under his gaze, which wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, but I wanted to end it. That was not the reason he was here today.

Still in silence, I made my way towards the kitchen while he followed, and set up the table, placed the tray straight from the oven in the centre of the table, between the two plates, and put down the salad bowl next to it.

"This looks delicious." He said, and I found myself mentally letting out a breath of relief, for having successfully avoided whatever it was that was going on in his mind just a few minutes ago.

"Thank you." I smiled before taking my seat. "They're stuffed eggplants, roasted in the oven."

"You never cease to amaze me, you know?"

Not knowing how to react or what to say in response to that, I folded my lips into a tightline and served myself, taking an eggplant to my plate and a spoonful of salad.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I thought a lot about your job offer and I am choosing to accept it." I said while I used my fork to play with the salad leaves on my plate. "I want to work at L'Amour."

"Correct me if I'm wrong here, but this seems like it was a very rash decision for you."

He wasn't wrong, he was absolutely right. I was not considering leaving my steady job at the restaurant to chase a dream at a new bakery, especially not when I have a child to raise and bills to pay. But David was onto me. He called my home and he had his lawyer tracking me down and finding my place of work. And when I had politely denied his lawyer's request to visit him at prison and talk to him, I got the feeling he wasn't too happy, and I was honestly scared at what he might try next. So, changing my workplace to a new establishment in town seemed like a great first start.

"When in doubt, just do it." I said before letting out a laugh that sounded every bit of fake as that quote, but that would hopefully lighten the mood.

"I for one am very honoured that you would say yes." He took a sip of the wine I had served. "You're an extremely talented cook, and I would love to work with you."

"Thank you, I-"

"But I'm not buying it." I almost choked on the food. "I believe that there is something more to this decision of yours, something you're not telling me. In fact, I believe there are many things that you're not telling me and I was fine with it, everyone has their secrets and I respect that. But after that phone call from prison and your reaction, I have every reason to believe that something is... wrong." He said that last word as if it was a question, one I wouldn't even know how to respond to. "If you're in danger, you need to tell me. Or someone else."

His words shook me to the very core. It was always like this with Sébastien, he read me like an open book, page after page, knowing me better than I believed to know myself. He stripped me naked with his eyes and learned every inch of me.

But as much as I would love to give in and tell him this secret of mine and have this weight lifted off my shoulders, I've been carrying this burden with me for a very long time and I would not be jeopardising mine and my child's future over my own sense of comfort.

"I told you, everything is fine." Another fake smile. "I just thought about your offer like I said I would, and I consider it to be a very good opportunity for me, to grow as a cook and do what I love, instead of waitressing."

He did not seem convinced, but then again, I'm no liar and I do not wish to become one nor to start lying for a living, so I rerouted this conversation into the direction I wanted.

"Let's talk business," I started, with a confidence in my voice that I knew would lead him to think he was wrong. "How soon can I start and how much is the salary?"

"Well, as you know I'm planning to reopen soon. I do not have an exact date set but with some help, the right help, that date might be sooner than expected... I will still need to elaborate the menus." He took another bite of his food before continuing. "Tell me, what are your expectations?"

I looked at him, confusion written all over my face, and I waited for him to elaborate. "Money wise?"

"Oh," I said in realisation. "Hm..." The truth was, I hadn't thought of it, but I wasn't going to let that show. "How does 12 pounds an hour sound?"

"I was thinking more about 16 pounds an hour."

"Seb, that's... a lot of money."

"It's only fair." Sébastien leaned back on the chair, lazily running his hand through his hair, causing blonde strands to slowly fall down the side of his face. "A bakery can't function without the baker and I'm hoping to quickly expand it to more than just baking goods, and you're the right person for the job." He pointed at the nearly finished meal on his plate. "This is what I want for L'Amour, this level of culinary excellence."

"I'll take it." I said, blurting out the words before my mind could find a way to self sabotage.

Sébastien seemed pleased with my response, his mouth splitting into a grin while holding up his wine glass and waiting for me to do the same. I mirrored his actions and held up mine, while letting the corners of my mouth twitch upwards.

"To L'Amour." He said in a soft tone, in a whisper between him and I, after our wine glasses met in the middle and clinked, sounding like magic.

And I echoed, "To L'Amour." 

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Ahhh! Mel said yes! 🎉

Please do not forget to vote and comment, I really really appreciate it ❤ And if you're interested in my upcoming projects, Loose Ends of You and Me will be out this fall and you can find all you need to know about it, including adding it your reading list!

Small announcement: Plot Twist will no longer be updated on Tuesdays. It will still be updated weekly (I'll try my best to!), just not on a specific day of the week. I do this on my free time only and sometimes it can be tricky to stick to an updating schedule that strict, I hope you understand :)

Xoxo, Mars