“I thought we were going to your place,” I remark casually. We’re now sitting in the same private dining room at Le Papillon. I eat another small bite of my chicken fricassee. “But the food here is delicious, so it doesn’t really matter.” “I figured you were hungry, and cooking takes time.” He eats some of his food and sips his red wine. “Besides, I’m sure you enjoy the truffles here. I found it rather amusing to see you indulge in that sweet. I’d like to see it again.” He looks at the remaining chocolate on the table. I nearly choked. “What?” He chuckles. “Never mind, precious. We’re still going to my place after this. I can’t let you go home just yet, or would you prefer I drive you home?” “No!” I utter. “Please, I’ll go with you. We never got a chance to talk abou

“Stella and I were together for eight years,” Julian says, which is a surprising way to start. “I met her in college, but she was already signed to a small label. She had been singing in bars and at parties for some time, but she had never quite found the success she sought. I helped her write a few songs until she eventually released her first successful album. She was twenty-three, just like you.”“Eight years is a very long time,” I state pointedly. “You’ve shared much of your lives and grown and dreamed of so much together.”Now, how can I compete with that? No wonder there was still some tension between them in the restaurant.His brows knitted together. “We did, but she turned on me. She seemed to value her career more than the relationship.”

I help Julian get snacks ready. We make bread pizzas, cheese sticks, mixed fruit slices, and smoothies. Then we sit down to watch a sci-fi fantasy film. Besides romcoms, I enjoy watching this genre.“So you don’t watch romantic comedies?” I ask while the movie’s opening credits are still playing. I then shove a cheese stick into my mouth.He takes a bite of the pizza before responding. “I’ve seen some romance films for music references.”I take a moment to admire his good looks. He’s dressed in loose cream-colored sweaters that expose his bare chest and white sleep bottoms. I still can’t get over how he made love to me over the piano, and now I’m turned on all over again. It’s exhilarating.“I like r

I get out of the car, bracing myself for whatever Kristoff will say. What brings him here so early in the morning? He never did this when we were dating. But seeing his face fuming and confused as he waits for me, my question may not matter.“I knew it was you,” he grumbles at me. “What are you doing with him? Why are you getting out of his car now?”My blood pressure begins to rise. “Excuse me?”I sense Peter getting out of the car and walking toward us. “What’s up, Kristoff?”“I’m not talking to you, Peter,” Kristoff yells, his gaze fixed on my face. “Is it him? Your new boyfriend? How did you two meet? Because of Julian?”I sigh in disbelie

Kristoff drives me to Lora’s apartment, but she isn’t home. The silence is deafening as I take the takeaway hamburger into the kitchen and set it on the counter.I check my phone, and sure enough, my best friend has texted me. She has a date tonight with Ned, the guy she met last week. Still, nothing came from Julian. Is he still working? What is he doing now? Is he mad at me? I wanted to talk to him.After giving it some thought, I decided to see him at his house.I grab my purse and leave the apartment once again. I hail a cab and instruct the driver to take me to Julian’s address. His place is on 59th Street, just a couple of miles away.When I got to the condo, the lobby knew who I was, so they let me into the elevators that go to the penthouse.