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‘Nope’

‘But it’s the cheapest one’

Aiesha held it up to the light, watching as the facets of the dialittered ‘Doesn’t look cheap to me’

‘It’s not, but—’

‘Don’t worry, Jaive it back when this is over You can give it to your real bride’

He stood looking down at her for a long moment, his brow creased in a frown

‘Have I got lipstick on ?’

‘No’

‘Then why are you looking at me like that?’

He moved his thumb over the back of her hand in a rhytho somewhere for a quiet drink I know a cosy little bar where the music doesn’t thrash your ears You can actually have a conversation without having to shout or mime’

He wanted to talk to her? That could be dangerous She had said enough She had already told him too much He knew too much ‘Won’t I look a little overdressed?’

‘This is Paris,’ he said ‘It’s impossible to be overdressed’

The bar he took her to was in Saint-Ger blues and jazz The ath the drinks were crazily overpriced, Aiesha indulged in a brightly coloured cocktail thatin Ja now He atching her fiddle with her straith an indulgent s up one side of hisrather pleased with himself

She could only assume she was the puzzle

He had been patient; she had to give hi her too hard And yet he had stood his ground with her on occasion, not letting her get aith ht She did play ga people at a safe distance

But she hadn’t been able to keep hi about her and yet he didn’t push her awayor at least not until the end of the o their separate ways