Julien smiled for the first time in months. "Deal."

And Julien? He was in the pantry, organizing the spices by aroma. Camille appeared, holding two glasses and the salvaged jar of honey. "I have a proposition," she said. "Not a relationship. I can't do that. But… a recipe. You cook, I taste. We see what happens."

"Then what do you want to be?" he asked, his voice cracked.

He took her hand. It wasn't a fix. It was a restart.

They dined as six again, but differently. The seating was rearranged. Sophie and Antoine sat together—not as lovers, but as friends who had saved each other from loneliness. Chloe and Marc discovered they both loved bad detective novels. And Julien and Camille, at the small table by the window, shared a single spoonful of honey.

Chloe dropped the bag. They kissed, raw and real.