Something happened after that call with my brother. It was easier to let go. Maybe because I understood how much jeopardy I put my family in when I reached out. Maybe because hearing his voice made me realize he was doing ok on his own. He didn’t need me to push him through the day anymore. He hadn’t needed that in a long time. I hoped it wasn’t all dependent on Morgan. Regardless, it reminded me he was living his life and I didn’t need permission from anyone to live mine. How I moved forward was up to me.

Whatever it was, it made the holidays happier. Easier.

We bought a small tree. Decorated it with shiny antique ornaments that cost more than they should have. We exchanged gifts.

Vaughn surprised me with a trip to Switzerland for New Year’s. For the most part, the country closed down through the first week of January. Vaughn didn’t have to work at Mertech, and it was strange, but even Blackwing seemed to take the holidays seriously.

We stayed in a small village that looked like a European postcard. The streets were lined with patio lights. The gas lamps flickered when we walked home from the pubs. We drank amazing beer. Had incredible sex. Rang in the New Year together.

Once we returned, it was as if we lived in a bubble. I went to lunch once a week with Aubrey. We joined a book club together and met some other ex-pats. We drank wine and talked about our husbands. It was the most social I’d been since college.

Vaughn left for work each morning as a marketing executive at Mertech and came home to me each night. I cooked something new almost every night. I was determined to master French cuisine. On the nights I was too tired, he picked up take out on the way home.

It worked. I felt calm. At ease. At peace with breaking from the past. I stopped trying to cling to my old cases. I stopped worrying about never practicing law again, or mentoring students. We were happy. We were in sync. Connected.

Until I ran into Eloise at the flower shop.

“Ahh, Kate. Bon jour.” Her curls danced next to her cheeks.

I almost dropped my coffee from Marie’s. “Eloise,” I answered cautiously. “Bon jour.”

She seemed out of place here. Like she dropped into my life from a helicopter circling overhead. That was absurd. But it was exactly how it felt.

I had stopped to look through the early shipment of tulips. Spring was a long way away, but the white and pink flowers made it seem like it was only around the corner. They were deceiving, like many other things in my life.

“The sun is out. We should walk.” She eyed the sidewalk outside the shop’s door. I knew it was a directive, not a request. I decided not to argue.

I smiled at the clerk, placing the tulips back in their silver buckets, and followed Eloise onto the pavement. I buttoned my coat.

“You look well, Kate.” Eloise had a brisk pace.

“Thank you.” I pressed my lips together, hurrying next to her. I didn’t like the game of catch-up she made me play.

“It seems you’ve adjusted to the move since the last time I saw you. Paris life suits you?” she asked.

“Oui,” I answered with a little more smartass quip than Eloise probably cared for.

I didn’t expect her to lead me to a restaurant. She opened the door. The floors were tiled in oversized black and white squares. The pale yellow paint on the walls was chipped and peeling. She slid into a seat by the window, pointing for me to join her.

I had passed this spot many times, but never wandered in. It always looked closed. Sitting on the inside, I realized it was because of the gloom that hung in the air.

A man walked toward us, offering menus.

“My treat.” Eloise smiled. “An early lunch.”

I wasn’t in the mood for food. I wanted to know what in the hell this was about. It had been nearly two months since I had last seen her. Why was she here now? A spiral of fear twisted through me. What if it was Vaughn? What if something had happened to him? Eloise was too calm for an emergency.

I ordered a chicken salad to appease her and handed the waiter my menu.

An older couple walked in a few minutes later and sat in a booth at the back of the restaurant. Their heads bowed toward each other in quiet conversation. It was eerie in here.

“Let’s see. We have a lot to discuss,” Eloise began.

“Do we? I’m not sure about that.” I stared at her. I refused to fidget. I refused to let her be in charge.

“Look. I’ll be honest with you. The time table has moved up here. The client needs their services much sooner than we thought.”

I sighed. “Why are you telling me this? I’m not one of your employees, or contractors. This isn’t my business. It’s yours. And Vaughn’s,” I added. “I don’t really want to know the details.”

Eloise cocked her head to the side. “His business is your business. That’s how these types of relationships work. You helped before and you need to help him again.”

I shook my head. “No. We keep our work separate. I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

“What work?” she snapped. “You do nothing, Kate. Nothing. Unless you consider book club a meaningful contribution. How much do you make from that? Are you planning on contributing to a blog or something?”

My eyes narrowed. “I don’t need to explain what I do to you.” I was rattled. I hated that she knew how I spent my time. That she used it against me.

“Yes and no. But, that’s beside the point.” She paused when the waiter returned with our food. “Merci.” She smiled at him. He left, his shoulders slumped. His face expressionless.

“Let’s start this over. You have become useful where Aubrey Auclair is concerned. You have her confidence. Her trust. Both are valuable. We can move things along with your help. It’s necessary.”

“I’m not going to exploit my friendship with her to help the company.” It was a euphemism for Blackwing Vaughn and I agreed upon.

Eloise leaned into the table. “It’s not a friendship. She is next to the mark. Your relationship is a result of the assignment. I realize you haven’t been trained, but you have to realize that. She isn’t your friend.”

“She is,” I argued.

“And when you move to Morocco or to Cleveland, are you going to stay in touch? Write emails? Call each other?” She smirked. “Once she knows what you’ve done she’ll never want to hear your name again. People like us don’t have the luxury of friends.”

“I’m not like you,” I hissed.

Eloise chuckled. “That’s what your partner keeps saying. Do you have any idea what he has sacrificed? You shouldn’t even be here. The least you can do is prove your gratitude.”

“What sacrifices are you talking about?”

“The kind we don’t allow. At least we didn’t before you. It was the first time I can remember an exception like this.”

I shook my head. “You don’t have to tell me. I’ll ask Vaughn. Whatever it was, I know he doesn’t want me to work for you, so stop trying to pit us against each other. It won’t work, Eloise.”

“You’re a real modern power couple.” Her eyes were cold.

“I don’t think either of us are interested in that title.” I smiled.

“This isn’t a game. Our clients are worth billions. That’s with a B. You take the assignment, carry it out like last time, and everyone wins. Mrs. Auclair has access to her husband’s private safe. We need you to get us that code.”

I blinked. “Are you crazy?”

She cut into the chicken breast on her plate and dipped it in a sauce. “No. Do I seem like an impulsive person to you? We need the code. You have the appropriate cover to get access to their flat.”

“Well, I’m not going to do it.” I folded the napkin in my lap and pushed back, ready to leave the table. After the last time, I wasn’t going to do Eloise’s bidding again. I had promised Vaughn. I had promised myself.

It wasn’t worth pleasing her only to have to turn around and try to put us back together. I knew he could handle anything and everything Blackwing threw at him. He didn’t need me to do this. If Vaughn needed the code, he’d find a way.

“Sit down,” she hissed, gritting her teeth through a smile. “I have more to say.”

“No.” I shook my head. “You’re not going to say it to me. I don’t work for you, Eloise. I don’t appreciate the drop by visits, or the lunch. Leave me alone.”

I moved away from the table, but her hand clasped my wrist, gripping against my watch.

“Ow,” I whined.

“You can’t walk away like that.”

I shook her off my arm and rubbed my wrist. “I’m not a recruit. I don’t care how much you threaten me. Vaughn can handle what you need him to do. He’s very good at his job. Leave me out of it. I won’t get that code for you.”

I ran out of the café before she could stop me with another assault of lies or manipulation. Before she broke through the thin wall I had built. Before she used my love for Vaughn against me.