Chapter 48:
Mixed Emotions
(Maya’s POV)
The sky above Paris was painted in soft blues, streaked with the faintest trace of white clouds drifting lazily. The Eiffel Tower loomed in the distance, a familiar steel sentinel that never lost its magic, no matter how many times I saw it. Jamie darted across the grass, his laughter carrying like music in the air, while Laurent spread out the blanket and unpacked the basket he had carried.
“I don’t know how you talked me into this,” I said, lowering myself onto the blanket with a sigh. “You realize I have mountains of papers to grade, right?”
Laurent smirked, his easy confidence still the same after all these years. “You needed a day, Maya. Even professors deserve to eat something other than cafeteria food once in a while.”
I smiled faintly,
