Aurélie

Chapter Forty Two

The thirteen days that Lena spent in hospital passed in a blur. The three of them operated on minimal sleep and would pop back to the house to wash, shower, eat and repeat. They formed a good tag team to ensure someone was always with Lena because they knew she felt uncomfortable in hospital. They had managed to find a cover chef to run the classes that Lena was missing and they had to keep the fledgling business running whilst she was out of action.

On the night that Lena was finally discharged, Seb took Aurélie to one side outside the hospital. He was holding Lena's small suitcase of overnight things that they had brought with them when she was first admitted. 

"Aurélie, do you think that maybe your Dad and Lena might need some..ah..private time together when they get back to the house? I think I would feel like I was in the way if I was there on her first night at home. I'm sure your dad will be able to look after her and help her with the stairs and everything," he arched an eyebrow and looked at Aurélie, a smile forming on his lips.

 "You know," she replied, catching his drift, "You might have a point. Let me nip in and chat to Dad to see what he thinks." She stretched up and planted a kiss on his lips, letting it linger before she pulled away.

"Sly fox!" she called over her shoulder as she walked into the hospital lobby to find her father.

It was decided that Rory and Lena could indeed do with some private time. Aurélie tried not to let herself dwell on that concept too much, so she and Seb got into a separate taxi and headed across town to his flat. For some bizarre reason, Aurélie had butterflies zooming around her belly, nothing like the small moths that she had mistaken for butterflies with Blake. This was the real thing, she could feel it and it was making her toes curl in anticipation. What if he lived in an absolute dive? What if he was so messy and she was disgusted and he could tell by the expression on her face and it ruined everything? Stop being an idiot. You're ruining already if he catches you with a daft expression on your face. She reprimanded herself.

Seb paid the taxi driver and held the door open for Aurélie. He led the way down to the front door of a towering old building. Going in first he reaching into the darkness and turned on the hallway light. Aurélie took a deep breath before following him in. She was pleasantly surprised. 

The flat was by no means the tidiest flat she had been in but it was quietly elegant and masculine. It was very obviously an artist's flat. A gorgeous kitchen with dark granite work tops and a large American style fridge was on the left while a living space and couch were on the right. Straight ahead was a double bed which Aurélie tried not to focus on too much but that was all she was thinking about. The bed was nestled beneath a steep flight of wrought iron steps that led up to a darker area that she couldn't quite make out. 

"What's up there?" she asked.

"That's my studio, do you remember me saying about painting in natural sunlight from the window up there?" He hugged her from behind and kissed her neck, pointing up over her shoulder to a beautiful circular window. 

"So that's where the magic happens!" she laughed. 

"It's where the art happens," he murmured into her neck, turning her around to kiss her. Their mouths opened and Aurélie forgot what they were even talking about.