Chapter 371

• "Lucy has suffered a little set back in her plans so I think she should just take a few days to breathe and consider other avenues." Ben said to the others then he looked to the young woman who was still clinging tightly to his shirt. "Lucy, you are welcome to stay with us while we're in Paris." He looked at Gabriella. "We're here for five days?" Ben guided her back to the couch and she finally let go of him as she sat.
• "Yes, we have five days in Paris then we set off south." Gabriella agreed. "We certainly have room if she doesn't mind sharing a room some nights. We have the floor, six rooms. Yours, mine which I'll share with Miriam, Catherine's which she's sharing with Sophia, Rachel and Megan are in another, Tina has room with an extra bed and Daniel has his own room which he is thrilled about. As we have the whole floor and elevator access to our floor is controlled by our room keys, I'm comfortable about Daniel being on his own." She turned to Lucy. "You can bunk with Tina... or Tina can stay with Rachel and you can bunk with Megan," she amended when she saw the rapport the two young women had. Megan smiled at Gabriella and Lucy nodded.
• "OK, it's settled. You're officially part of our party as of now. If you don't mind I'm going to take a hot bath then I'm going to take a nap. I'm bagged," Ben said feeling the weight of the ordeal he'd been through suddenly hit him like a sandbag.