‘Is everything going okay with your no-sex plan with Etienne?’ Rosie asked.
Isabella grinned. ‘More than okay as a matter of fact,’ she said. ‘I can officially confirm that Etienne Martin is incredible at not having sex.’ She’d expected them to smile or laugh but instead they swapped another worried look.
‘It’s just. . . you know it’s not more than that, don’t you?’ Rosie said nervously.
Isabella flinched as they both stared at her, but tried to laugh it off.
‘Of course I do,’ she said. Of course she did, right?
‘Because Etienne doesn’t do relationships,’ Wren said.
‘We love him and all, but he’s not the boyfriend type,’ Rosie added.
‘In all the time we’ve known him, he’s never committed.’
‘I truly don’t think he has it in him.’
The words were coming thick and fast, tumbling over each other. Isabella held up her hands to stop them speaking, then said, ‘That’s not an issue, because I don’t want him as a boyfriend.’
Her two friends peered into her face, trying to decide if she meant it. ‘I don’t!’ she repeated and laughed. ‘All I want from Etienne Martin are orgasms.’ They continued to scrutinise her, and Isabella hardly dared move.
‘Thank goodness for that,’ Rosie eventually said with an exaggerated sigh.
‘We were starting to get a bit worried for you. We don’t want you to get hurt.’
‘We thought we’d seen some feelings—’
‘Or a look in your eye—’
‘That meant you might be falling for him.’
‘ThankGodyou’re not.’ Wren threw her arm around Isabella’s shoulder, and they carried on walking. ‘I mean, look at him now, on his phone. Probably on Tinder as we speak.’
Isabella linked her arm with Rosie and let them pull her along between them, trying to ignore the fact that her mood had soured.
Later that night, she curled up in the window seat she’d created in the bedroom window of her flat. Surrounded by cushions, and lit by scented candles, she would sip her chamomile tea in her cosy place and run through her plans and meetings the next day, mentally packing her bag or planning an outfit. It had become her routine. A ritual.
But as she glanced across the square to The Bistro she finally accepted that it was more than that. It was her last chance of the day to catch sight of Etienne as he closed up. Some nights, she didn’t see him at all, only Katie or Mile End Mickey as they left. Other nights, her patience would be rewarded and he might come outside to get some air or look at the stars before heading back inside. And then she’d head off to bed with her phone and that photograph.
She hated to admit it, but Rosie and Wren were right. It wasn’t only his sexual prowess she liked. It was him. The full Etienne package.
Now, over the square, she saw the lights go out, without a glimpse of the man himself. Tonight was not her lucky night. She sighed at what she knew deep down. She really liked him.
The feelings had crept up on her. He’d made her laugh at karaoke. She’d seen his softer side with the kids. He’d listened when she told him about Daniel. She was impressed by how much he cared for his friends. He seemed like much, much more than just a player. He’d been a surprise.
But it was a silly crush. And it wasn’t going anywhere. She knew that. It wasn’t like it was real feelings or anything, was it?
She got up to put her cup in the sink before turning to the calendar, marking the day off with a red cross through it. Ten days until opening. Ten days until her sex ban was over.
Ten days until potentially the end of her no-sex deal with Etienne. And then what? A one-night stand and it would all be over?
She shook herself. Forcing herself to focus on the positives. Ten days to go to smash her goal, to be single and successful.
Suddenly it didn’t seem to have the same rousing ring to it.
Chapter Forty
Etienne
