He kisses me on the cheek. “I have an early Christmas present for you,” he says as he reaches into the breast pocket of his blazer.
I poke him playfully in the arm. “I thought we agreed we were just going to go out for dinner.”
He pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to me. Opening it up, I find a printed copy of an email from New York University. Oh my god. My heart leaps.
“Paul, what is this?” I demand, even though I know exactly what it is. I’m just too excited to form coherent sentences.
“I got accepted to a visiting student program at NYU,” he says, rubbing my back. “I will be there from January to May, with the option to extend it through the summer if I want.”
“Oh my god. I’m so excited, I think I might cry.”
Paul laughs, and pulls me in for a hug. I missed his smell, being away for so long. Relying on FaceTime these past few months has been manageable, but we still miss each other constantly. Starting next month, he’ll only be an hour’s car ride away—maybe less, depending on the traffic. We’ll be able to see each other on the weekends.
With my head resting against his chest, we gaze out the window together. I’m probably getting ahead of myself, but maybe Paul could come stay with us over spring break. We can stay in separate rooms, if it would make Mom and Dad more comfortable.
I’ll talk about it with them, because that’s what we do now, or we’re trying to. For years, we lingered on the bank of the river, scared to dip our toes in the water—but how do you cross to the other side that way? There’s only one way to do it, and we’ve finally figured it out. We have to hold each other’s hands and wade into the deep.
Acknowledgments
A huge thank-you to all the people who worked on this book and supported me throughout the process:
My editor, Catherine Wallace, who waded into the deep with me to explore the murky waters between good and evil. You are brilliant, and it was a joy to bring this book to life with you.
My agent, Danielle Burby: I am lucky to have you as an agent, and even luckier to have you as a friend. Thank you for writing dates, Bachelor nights, and helping make my book dream come true.
The team at HarperCollins who produced, designed, and spread the word about this book: Renée Cafiero; Mark Rifkin; Jessie Gang; Shannon Cox; Aubrey Churchward; and Erin Wallace, I am so grateful for your hard work.
My parents, Lisa and David; my brother, Russell; and my in-laws, Carol, Bob, and Hilary. Your excitement and encouragement have meant everything to me. I love you!
Finally, my husband, Tim. My love. Thank you for exploring Paris with me; for your boundless knowledge of military history; for reading and listening to this book a thousand times; and for being by my side, always.
About the Author
Photo credit Louis David Photography
JORDYN TAYLOR is a New York City–based writer and journalist, currently the deputy editor at Men’s Health magazine; her work has appeared in the New York Observer, Mic, and Glamour.com. You can visit her online at www.jordynhtaylor.com.
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Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE PAPER GIRL OF PARIS. Copyright © 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Cover photographs © 2020 by GettyImages/Fox Photos (airplanes) and
GettyImages/Michael Cogliantry (Paris skyline)
Cover design by JESSIE GANG
Digital Edition MAY 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-293665-3
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-293662-2
2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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The Paper Girl of Paris Page 26