“Of course you have. Falling in love equals losing your mind at least for a little while. But you have to do this. What would your life be if you didn’t?”

“Thank you.” I mean it from the bottom of my heart.

“You’re not leaving just yet, thank goodness. You have to tell Jack and Jason and the network and your family. So many hearts to break before you can make your own whole again and live a loved-up life in Paris.”

“My mother has been pestering me about finding a new partner ever since Rebecca and I broke up. She’ll be over the moon when I introduce her to my posh French lady-friend over Christmas.”

“No arguments from me on that front.”

“Unfortunately, I have one last season of The Zoya Das Show to complete before I can join said lady-friend.”

“But so much to look forward to.”

“Yes, like an impromptu trip to Paris next month to interview Stéphanie Mathis.” My heart swells at the mere thought of it.

“Major coup, that. You don’t happen to need a humble assistant to carry your bags, do you? Or hold the microphone while you’re interviewing her?”

“We have people for that.” I look into Caitlin’s smiling face.

“I’m going to miss you. You’re just one of those people I gravitated toward naturally since returning from the States.”

“I was so glad to have you become my friend when you did. So you could help me pick up the pieces of my life.”

“And look at us now.” Caitlin quirks up her eyebrows. “Both of us madly in love with, perhaps, unlikely partners.”

“We should probably drink to that.” I eye the empty bottle on the table between us.

“Let me see what I can find in the fridge.” Caitlin heads to the kitchen, while I think about the broken person I was when she first came back to Sydney less than a year ago, and how quickly things have turned around for both of us.

Chapter Thirty

I book my one-way ticket to Paris while Camille is on Skype with me. I’ve had all the conversations I needed to have. Some were easier and some harder than I had expected. Jack was surprisingly easy; perhaps he was getting tired of producing my show after ten years of it. My parents’ first reaction was sheer devastation—somehow I hadn’t expected that. I guess, whatever their age, parents have a hard time letting their children go.

There’s a lot to sort out, such as a permanent visa and a job, but I want to book this ticket now. I want to print it out and hang it next to my desk at work, and a copy next to my bedroom door so it’s the first thing I see when I get out of bed in the morning. The ticket to my new life.