Paris. City of culture and romance. Cathy loved it. James had a bit of a soft spot for it too; which he would never admit in a million years. But it had been a college trip to Paris when he had met Cathy – fallen over her suitcase actually. So when his wife suggested that they return to the city of their youth to introduce their daughters to it, he was enough of a softie to agree.

Lilly was grumpy for the whole flight. Teddy had kissed her for the first time the day before they left and she was reluctant to leave him. It had taken him all summer to pluck up the courage and when he finally managed it they had less than twenty four hours as a couple before she was whisked away. Life was not fair.

Lucy, however, was grateful for the distraction. The whole Stig business was confusing. Too confusing. She pushed it all to one side and dug her nose into her guide book again, her ipod playing the CD Stig had given her yesterday just before he kissed her fingers…she turned her head to the window of the plane and watched the clouds below. If anyone had asked about the small smile on her lips she would have denied it even existed.

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They were staying in the bohemian area of St Germain des Pres. Except that, these days, Lucy thought describing somewhere as bohemian when it had a Cartier shop in the middle of it was pushing things. She said as much to Stig when she emailed him.

Their fantastic little hotel in a side street was tiny. There was barely room for two in the lift and the girls took to racing their parents up the stairs to their rooms, which once there they had to duck into. But the rooms were newly furbished with new double showers and stylish fittings and from the window of the room she shared with Lilly, Lucy could see four of the pavement cafes which she had read so much about.

The metro system with its intricate wrought iron signs and stylised writing captured her imagination, and then they stepped onto a train to Le Louvre. They were joined immediately by an accordion player and his friend totting a double bass and Lucy's heart caught as they started to play before the doors had even closed. The music, something she didn't recognise but which was so characteristically Parisian made her forget the little rat she had seen under the rails just before the train pulled in. She wondered if any place in the world managed to be exactly what you read on the guide book page the way that Paris was. When the train stopped at Le Louvre, she marvelled at the display cases on the platform and then her parents pulled her on into the museum.

Later that night, she tried to describe the whole experience to Stig in an email. She wrote five or six paragraphs and still felt she had hardly scratched the surface. Soon the emails describing her days became a regular occurrence and Stig's witty and lengthy replies became something she looked forward to.

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Stig was working double shifts at 'Choke and Float' because he would not be able to work for the last two weeks of the vacation and his father had told him whatever money he earned in the vacation, Derek would double. So he came home very late at night worn out. He would go straight to his room because no one else was up and flick on his laptop to read Lucy's latest email.

She wrote like a travel guide but because it was Lucy, he found it interesting. She described the places she visited, the things she had seen and the people she had watched. There was colour in her writing, and humour. And he liked the way she always signed her emails LucyX.

He replied. Stories of the goings on in the café, which considering the cross section of the population of London were quite entertaining. In two weeks, he watched marriages break up, affairs started, and even crimes planned (although that was just a case of vandalism, and the owner had quickly stepped in to stop that one.) He told her about his own holiday, what his family were doing, and his preparations for Queens. Once he nearly told her he missed her. But he deleted the words at the last minute.

Casey was surprised at her son. The last few months he had seemed to grow up. She watched him from a distance and one time her mind played tricks on her and she saw teenage Derek again. Then she realised the reason behind the change, and suddenly warning Cathy seemed like a cruel thing to do.

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"Stig's in love." Casey announced one evening as she lay with Derek in bed watching a film. Derek chuckled. "It's taken you this long to realise it?"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, he's been working his way up to it since we went to Queens. I'm not worried about him breaking her heart. I'm worried about Lucy breaking his."

"He is mopping about a bit."

"He'll be at college soon. They'll sort it out."

"I've not seen him like this before, though."

"Case. He's a big boy now. Not your little ankle-biter anymore."
"I feel old."
"You look it."

Casey stuck her tongue out at him. He grinned and she felt his hand under her nightshirt.

"Good thing I'm into old hags isn't it?"

"If I were you, I'd start laying the charm on, because going down the route you're on will just lead to a night on the sofa and a bit of a drought in the physical gratification department."

"I love it when you use big words."

"Der-ek." Casey said fairly weakly as he started to undo the buttons on her shirt.

He began to kiss her neck.

"Shall I turn the film off?" he asked.

"You don't deserve this Venturi." She groaned as he kissed his way to her collarbone.

"No?"

"No." Casey fixed his eyes with her own and slipped her own arms around his neck. "I on the other hand, do deserve it."