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      She considered adding something of a more personal nature, even going so far as to type PS The weather is lovely, followed by We should visit here together one day, and then she immediately deleted such trite words, knowing what her mother would think of them.

      She sent off the email and closed her laptop, hesitating as she considered calling Cole to see how he was doing. A sense of obligation prompted her to reach for her phone. She took note of the time difference, opened her speed-dial list and tapped Cole’s name. She drew a breath and held it as the line rang once, twice, three and then four times before her ex-boyfriend finally answered.

      “Hello, Fee.”

      She cringed at Cole’s nickname for her.

      “Ophelia,” she corrected.

      “Right. Of course. Sorry.”

      He sounded truly contrite, and guilt washed over her. She quickly brushed it aside.

      “How’s paradise?” he asked.

      “It’s lovely,” she said, and realized she was nervously tapping her index finger on her laptop. She cleared her throat and pushed the computer from her lap.

      “Have you convinced Montgomery to accept the contract yet?”

      She felt a twinge of irritation. “I’ve barely been here twenty-four hours. It’s not the easiest recruitment ever, you know.”

      “So I take it that’s a no?”

      His voice held a hint of amusement, and she found her irritation rising.

      “If you were here—”

      “I’m not.” He cut her off.

      This sudden interruption gave her pause. She couldn’t fault him for being touchy, not after she’d broken things off between them.

      “I’m sure you’ll convince him eventually,” he said. This generous nod to her recruiting abilities sharpened her guilt even further, but she reminded herself of the reason she’d broken up with Cole in the first place.

      “I’ll certainly do my best.”

      The silence between them was strained.

      “Cole—”

      “Ophelia—”

      They both stopped.

      “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Fee?” She didn’t correct him a second time about the nickname. She already knew to what he referred.

      “It’s all I’ve ever wanted, Cole. It’s the only thing I’ve ever asked of you—that you be willing to move to Paris so I could oversee the European branch when the time came. I know that it’s a big commitment, but every time we discussed it, you said you’d be willing to go with me when the time came. Now it’s finally coming to pass, and you’re backing out of your end of the bargain.”

      “Don’t forget that the entire deal hinges on you bringing Montgomery out of retirement. You just pointed out that it’s not the easiest recruitment, by far.”

      “It changes nothing about you and me, though. I asked you to choose. I told you what it came down to—Paris with me or New York without me. You made it quite clear what you preferred.”

      “I asked for some time to think about it—I didn’t know I was writing us off forever by wanting a chance to consider my options.”

      “I want to be more than an option for you,” she stated. “Besides, has anything changed since I left? Have you decided I’m worth it, after all?”

      The soft static of the line spoke volumes even when Cole said nothing. She scoffed slightly.

      “Paris is everything to me. Everything,” she reiterated.

      “Everything?” His voice was wounded when he finally spoke.

      She sighed with weariness and leaned over to rest her forehead in the palm of her hand. “Cole, please. You have always known how important this is to me.”

      “But you’d be leaving everything familiar behind. Including your mother.”

      A

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