Read Online The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver - Free Book Online

every barrier she had in place. It was as if she could see the hole in her heart and it was bigger than she’d ever let herself believe.
    Christmas lights were twinkling in every tree, glowing stars dangled amongst the branches, and all along the street angels were looped across the road by their wings. She watched the people hurrying past on their lunch breaks, the pavement packed, everyone carrying bags of Christmas shopping. She heardcarols echo from the nearby church choir practice and thought of her and Jackie singing in stupid voices as teenagers at the school Christmas choir service. Rachel pulled her hat down over her ears.
    ‘Is this seat taken?’
    She looked up, surprised, and saw Philippe, his grey woollen overcoat hanging open over his suit. Rachel shook her head and moved her bag along to make room. ‘No, please sit.’
    He made a poor effort of brushing off the snow and folded himself down, resting his elbows on his knees and turning his head to look at her.
    ‘My brother is better today?’
    ‘No,’ she said with a laugh.
    He nodded silently, then stared out ahead of him. ‘I have a problem,’ he said after a second.
    ‘No, really?’ She looked worried.
    He laughed. ‘Nothing serious. I must buy a gift.’
    ‘Ah, I see. What kind of gift?’
    ‘I’m not sure yet. That’s my problem. I feel I will only know when I see it.’
    ‘A tricky gift.’ She laughed.
    ‘
Mais oui.’
He sat back, stretching one leg across the other, raking a hand through his neatly cropped hair. ‘I am on my way to look now. I see you and I think maybe you would like to come? Your taste so far has been…impeccable.’ He smiled.
    ‘Oh, no, I can’t.’
    He nodded and looked forward again, unmoving. ‘That is a great shame.’
    ‘I have to go back to class soon. I don’t have time.’
    ‘How long do you have?’ He checked his watch.
    She looked guilty. ‘Forty-five minutes.’
    He smiled again. ‘I understand.’
    ‘No, no, you don’t, it’s just I feel I need some time. Something happened in class. I just—’
    ‘Come anyway.’ He cut her off. ‘Come anyway, just because. Maybe just because I really do need some help.’
    Rachel fiddled with her gloves, picking a hole in the wool. The snow had started to get heavier, dusting the pavements like icing sugar.
    ‘OK,’ she said after a pause. ‘OK, why not?’
    ‘
Bon.’
Philippe stood up and held out his hand to help her up; she took it for a second but let it drop as soon as she was standing. As soon as she did she wished that she hadn’t.
    He put his hands deep in the pockets of his overcoat and they walked together to the row of little shops in the Marais.
    ‘Wait a second—what is this?’ Philippe stopped her halfway down the road and then peeled something off the back of her coat. ‘It is a new look, yes?’
    She blushed as she looked at the tatty, wet napkin he was holding that she’d used to sit on. ‘It was to protect my coat,’ she said, grabbing it from his hand and scrunching it up in the bin. ‘How embarrassing. I walked the whole way from the park with it hanging off me.’
    He blew out a breath. ‘No one will care. They will think it is fashion.’
    She raised a brow as if that would never be the case and he laughed as if he completely agreed.
    They walked on in the direction of the Marais, their feet leaving a trail of footprints in the light coating of snow as Philippe pointed out landmarks and places she might want to visit some time.
    Approaching the network of narrow streets, she saw all the gift shops were bustling, looking warm and inviting, playing classical carols and serving glasses of
vin chaud
.
    ‘So what does your friend like?’ Rachel asked.
    ‘I’m not so sure.’
    ‘Great start. Male or female?’
    ‘Female.’
    She felt a bolt of jealousy that took her by surprise. Who would be buying her presents this year? Not Ben. She always insisted he shouldn’t bother and he never did. Jackie always gave her a