Natalie circled the ad. The school autumn break was starting on Monday and she’d have two weeks to visit as many apartments as she could.

“What do you think?” Marie walked into the living room and planted herself in front of Natalie.

Natalie blinked, uncertain about what Marie was referring to.

“Don’t stare at me like I’m a Martian. I’m wearing your present from Rome.” Marie pointed at the emerald green scarf wrapped around her neck.

“Oh, it looks great on you, and it brings out the green in your eyes.”

“I think so, too. I really like it.” She sat down next to Natalie and gave her a peck on the cheek.

“I’m glad.”

“And I’m flattered you thought of me during your cathartic Roman holiday.”

Natalie smirked. The holiday had been cathartic indeed. After returning from Rome five days ago, she left Fred and moved in with Marie. She’d finally figured out what had happened during her week as an amateur PI.

She’d outgrown Fred.

When she told him she couldn’t marry him, he didn’t believe her at first.

“You can’t be serious,” he said.

“But I am.”

“Don’t be stupid. You’d throw out a perfect relationship because of one slipup?”

“I don’t think it was a perfect—”

But he wasn’t listening. “This isn’t like you, Natalie. You’re a reasonable person. You don’t act on impulse.”

“Well, maybe I’ve changed.”

“People don’t change.”

She stared into his eyes, unblinking. “I’m leaving.”

He grabbed her by the arm. “I’m not going to beg you to stay. Why can’t you just get over the affair with Jeanne. She means nothing to me.”

“I am over it, believe me. But I’m also . . .over you.”

He glared at her, a vein pulsing on his neck.

“I shouldn’t have accepted your proposal,” she said.

He let go of her arm. “You’re an idiot. You’re an unforgiving, intolerant, narrow-minded prude. And you’ll regret this. You’ll come back and grovel at my feet.”

She didn’t protest. In fact, she was glad for his insults. They absolved her from guilt. Unwilling to bare her soul to him, she’d withheld an important detail—the true reason why she was ending it.

She had decided she deserved better than him.

And there was something else she’d omitted to tell Fred. It wasn’t his infidelity that nailed the lid over their relationship. It was hers.

There was no denying how much she’d enjoyed spending time with Adrien. How easily she related to him. How keenly she felt when he kissed her. She’d grown emotionally involved with another man. An uncomplicated, funny, sweet man whom she couldn’t stop thinking about.

A man whom she couldn’t bear never seeing again.

“Why don’t you go out for a walk?” Marie asked, interrupting Natalie’s reminiscences.

“Will you come with me?”

“I can’t. Have to put the final touches on this stupid order. It’s due on Monday . . .But if I finish it today, I promise I’ll spend the whole day tomorrow watching romcoms with you.” Marie winked. “Unless you’d prefer to watch war movies at this point in your life.”

Natalie smiled. “I haven’t changed that much. Still a sucker for romcoms, especially now.”

“Romcoms it is! Now, off you go. It’s such a beautiful day. Would be a shame if neither of us enjoyed it.”

As she walked out of Marie’s building, Natalie marveled at how the weather had changed overnight. The Indian summer had finally kicked in. It wasn’t exactly hot but it was dry and sunny. Jackets were unbuttoned, umbrellas at home, and chins lifted. As for the city, it was drop-dead gorgeous in its red and yellow outfit, bathed in golden light.

Natalie crossed the river to the right bank and headed to La Bohème. She’d spent the past week wanting to call Adrien but chickening out. She’d thought about texting him, but even that was too difficult. She’d written about twenty different messages and deleted them all.

He may not be there, she told herself. He could be in so many places other than La Bohème on a Saturday afternoon. Maybe he was out of the city or out of the country. She tried to prepare herself for the worst—to find him at the bistro talking to another woman. And why wouldn’t he? Would he be too angry to even contemplate giving her a second chance? His bitter words still rang in her ears, “Was I handy entertainment? Or did you think of me as your plan B?”

She saw him as soon as she saw the bistro. He sat on the sidewalk terrace, sipping a drink. By himself. Or rather, with Fritz. He had to be playing against the devious computer program, judging by the fierce look of concentration on his face.

She approached his table quietly.

“Your invisibility cloak isn’t working,” he said, turning toward her.

He squinted in the bright light of the sun, and Natalie caught her breath at how much she liked the sight of him.

She dropped her head to her chest. “Dammit. I knew it would happen at the worst possible time.”

“What brings you here?” he asked.

She panicked. She wasn’t ready yet. “I had time to kill.”

He shut his laptop and pointed to the empty chair at his table. “Want to join me?”

“Yes, thank you.”

It was weird to sit facing him, and no longer have to pretend they weren’t really talking. Weird and wonderful.

He looked into her eyes. “Natalie, I think you should dump your fiancé and go out with me.”

“So you’re not upset with me anymore?” She couldn’t keep the corners of her mouth from quirking up.

“Only if you dump him. Otherwise, I’ll relapse.”

“Done,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“I left him on Monday. Moved in with a friend.”

“Ha!” He smiled an unapologetically jubilant smile that filled her with joy. “So you will go out with me then?”

“You really need me to spell it out?”

“Yes, please.”

“All right.” She leaned in and said in a low, determined voice, “Adrien Aubert, I’ll go out with you. I’d be seriously happy to go out with you. And thank you for asking.”

He opened his wallet and placed a ten euro bill on the table. “This should take care of the check. Shall we?”

“Shall we what?”

“Go out. Literally. I can’t kiss you here the way I want to. And I wouldn’t want my favorite bistro to blacklist me for improper behavior.”