10
Getting to know each other
WHEN SYLVIE RETURNED to the bar after settling Lisa for the night, she was alarmed to find Jean-Luc sitting on his own at the corner table.
Her dismay must have shown on her face for as he stood to pull out a chair for her, he said, “I know you didn’t bargain on spending the evening alone with me, but something came up and Robert had to go and help his mother. If you’d rather I left you alone, I will quite understand. I haven’t been as welcoming as I might have been.”
For a moment, Sylvie was tempted to accept his offer to leave. She wanted to say that she would rather be alone. Could she cope with being put down again? While she hesitated, Jean-Luc waited for her reply, his jaw was rigid and his eyes soft. She remembered how mellow he had been earlier on
