“Non?” he asked, cocking one eyebrow.

“Non. No lover. I dumped him last month after I found out he’d been cheating on me with his employer.” As the words escaped my mouth, I wondered at myself. I wasn’t the type to share my life with just anyone, let alone someone I barely knew. It must be jet-lag, I reasoned.

Sebastian did not respond. He took out a cigarette and offered me one. When I refused, he shrugged and turned his back on the wind so he could light it.

I sighed. “I suppose you think I’m mad, to fly across the Atlantic after getting my heart broken. Maybe I am mad.”

Sebastian exhaled a perfect ring of blue smoke and smiled. “Love makes even the sanest person mad. You’re not alone in that experience.”

“So that’s my story. How about you? Do you live in Paris? And how come your English is so good?”

“I’ve lived in Paris my whole life, except for the year when I was an exchange student in London. That’s where I learned to speak English. Tell me honestly, is my English any good?”

I smiled. “Oui.”