39Molly was never one to turn down chocolate in any form, so when Pascal told her his mother had made her famous chocolate torte with raspberries, she ordered it without hesitation. Seeing that the restaurant wasn’t busy, she started to make conversation, but Pascal backed away and scurried into the kitchen before she could get out a word.
Something was going on, she was absolutely sure of it. People don’t suddenly change into unrecognizable versions of themselves, for no reason. She wanted to know why.
But in the meantime, there was a cup of espresso and a big slice of the chocolatiest torte ever made, decorated with whole raspberries around the outer edge and a sauce spilled over the dense slice like a fruity red quilt. Molly took her time, taking tiny sips of the strong coffee and sav
