to find Pa’s letter, almost important enough to ask the pilot to turn back just so I could rifle through my drawers in search of it. At the time, when I’d arrived back in New York after the quasi-memorial that had been arranged because Pa had apparently decided to get himself buried at sea before we arrived at Atlantis, I’d been so angry I hadn’t wanted to know.
Why were you angry, Electra?
The therapist’s words rang in my ears. The truth was, I didn’t know the answer. I seemed to have been angry ever since I could walk and talk, and probably before that too. All my sisters loved to tell me how I’d screamed the place down as a baby and things hadn’t gotten much better as I’d grown up. I certainly couldn’t blame it on my upbringing, which had been pretty perfect, although odd, given the fact we were all adopted and the family pics looked spookily like a Gap ad due to our different ethnicities. If I ever questioned it, Pa’s answer was always that he’d chosen us especially to be his daughters and that had seemed to pacify my sisters, but not me. I wanted to know why. The chances were, now he was dead, I’d never find out.
‘An hour to landing, Miss D’Aplièse,’ the attendant said as she refilled my glass. ‘Can I get you anything else?’
‘No thanks.’ I closed my eyes and hoped that my contact in Paris had been as good as his word and delivered what I needed to my hotel, because I was desperate for a line. When I was clean, my brain began to work, and I started to think about Pa, about my sisters, my life . . . and I just wasn’t comfortable doing that. Not right now anyway.
For a change, I actually enjoyed the shoot. Spring in Paris – when the sun was out anyway – was crazily beautiful and if I felt I belonged in any city, it was right here. We were in the Jardin des Plantes, which was awash with cherry blossom, irises and peonies, and everything felt new and fresh. It also helped that I liked the photographer. We finished way ahead of schedule and continued the chemistry in my hotel room that afternoon.
‘What are you doing living in New York?’ Maxime asked me in French as we drank tea from delicate china cups in bed then used the tray to do a line. ‘You have a European soul.’
‘You know, I’m not really sure,’ I sighed. ‘That’s where Susie, my agent, is and it made sense to be near her.’
‘Your modelling “maman”, you mean?’ he teased me. ‘You’re a big girl now, Electra, and can make your own decisions. Live here, then we can do this more often,’ he said as he clambered out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower.
As I gazed out of the window across the Place Vendôme, which was packed with people sightseeing or browsing the elegant shops, I thought about what Maxime had said. He was right, I could live anywhere; it hardly mattered because I spent so much of my life travelling anyway.
‘Where is home?’ I whispered, suddenly feeling deflated at the thought of returning to New York and my soulless, echoing apartment. On a whim, I reached for my cell and called Mariam.
‘Am I doing anything in New York tomorrow?’
‘You have a dinner at seven p.m. with Thomas Allebach, the head of marketing for your fragrance contract,’ Mariam responded immediately.
‘Right.’ Thomas and I had shared some pleasant downtime over the past few months since Mitch had left me, but I wasn’t enamoured. ‘And Sunday?’
‘There’s nothing in the diary.’
‘Great. Cancel the dinner – tell Thomas the shoot here has run over or something – then move the flight back to Sunday evening, and extend my hotel booking for another couple of nights. I want to stay in Paris a little longer.’
‘Perfect. It is a wonderful city. I will confirm everything as soon as it’s done.’
‘Thank you, Mariam.’
‘No problem.’
‘I’m staying on longer,’ I said to Maxime as he emerged from the shower.
‘That’s a shame, because I’m out of town for the weekend. If I’d have known . . .’
‘Oh.’ I tried not to let my disappointment show. ‘Well, I’ll be back again sometime soon.’
‘Let me know when, won’t you?’ he said as he dressed. ‘I’d cancel if I could, but it’s a friend’s wedding. Sorry, Electra.’
‘I’m staying for the city, not you,’ I said as