Winner of the Launch Pad Writing Competition 2022 In this witty and heartfelt debut love story for fans of Josie Silver's One Day in December , a woman stranded in Paris for the day discovers that the wrong road can sometimes lead us in the right direction. When Hannah and her boyfriend, Simon, set out to Amsterdam, they’re confident that they’ll make it to his sister’s wedding in time. However, unbeknownst to them, their train is scheduled to divide in the middle of the night. And when it does, half of it continues the route to Amsterdam. And the other half—the one with Hannah in it—heads three hundred miles away, to Paris. Left without her belongings or hope of reuniting with Simon, Hannah has no choice but to spend the day in Paris before the next train out. Worse than being stranded in a foreign city alone? Being stuck with Léo, the handsome but infuriating Frenchman who blames Hannah for his own unwanted delay. The series of mishaps that sends them traipsing through the City of Light is only further proof that Hannah’s day has gone from bad to worse. But as she takes in the glorious sights of the city—and spends more time with Léo—Hannah discovers that the unexpected detour might actually be leading her to the life she was always meant to live . . . “…Decadent fun in Brown's debut romcom. Fans of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series may also enjoy this.” —Booklist “A young woman spends an unexpected, unstructured day in Paris in Lorraine Brown’s heartfelt debut.” —Bustle "Fresh, charming and wonderfully escapist." — Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare "A charming, romantic read, which gave me a real hankering for croissants!" — Sophie Cousens, author of This Time Next Year " As effervescent as a glass of champagne, The Paris Connection sparkles with love and adventure, warmth and wit. Reading this book was like a holiday in Paris—exciting, romantic, and over much too quickly. Lorraine Brown’s emotional, heartwarming page-turner will transport you to Paris quicker than you can say Oui! Oui!" — Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany “Along with two lovable and believable characters, Brown’s delightful rom-com zips us through the streets of Paris with charming wit, a nail-biting adventure, and spot-on descriptions of the city of light. A truly sweet treat.” — Samantha Vérant, author of The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux " The Paris Connection is the romp through the City of Light that we all need! Witty, charming, adventurous—it was a pure delight traveling with Hannah as she takes a risk and discovers the life she is meant to live."—Jenn McKinlay, author of P aris is Always a Good Idea Lorraine Brown trained as an actress and recently completed her final year of a postgraduate diploma in psychodynamic counselling. She was one of 11 mentees chosen to be part of Penguin Random House UK's 2017 WriteNow program, which aims to launch the careers of writers from under-represented communities. She lives in London with her partner and their nine-year-old son. 1 I sprinted up the steps at Venezia Santa Lucia station with minutes to spare before our train left without us, battling to keep up with Si, who was already several meters ahead and currently flinging himself through the glass doors of the station entrance. "Come on, Hannah!" he yelled, disappearing out of sight. I groaned under my breath, zigzagging through a group of about a hundred and fifty tourists who had decided that this was the perfect place to start fumbling about with maps. "Sorry," I said, pushing past them, my breath ragged, my heart pounding in my chest. Missing the train was not an option; it would absolutely not be worth the fallout if we did. I accelerated up the last few steps with beads of sweat trickling down my back, soaking through my flimsy cotton camisole and pooling at the waistband of my jeans, which I now bitterly regretted wearing given the thirty-degree heat. I'd thought I was being clever: it would be freezing on a train in the middle of the night, surely, and so I'd dressed accordingly, which wasn't ideal now, with the July sun beating down on my head. I followed Si inside, struggling to keep pace, his blond hair bobbing in and out of view. My suitcase, clearly not designed for high-speed maneuvers, kept either tipping over onto its side or slamming painfully into my ankle. It was as though everything lovely about Venice had disappeared the second I ran through the doors of the station. I couldn't hear water taxis honking to each other anymore or take photos of the reflection of the sun setting over the Grand Canal. Instead there was incessant chattering and too-loud announcements in frenzied Italian and the wails of hot, tired children. It was disappointing that my lasting impression of beautiful Venice might now be tainted by this chaotic, fluorescent-lit concrete block of a station. "You're slowing down!" shouted Si over his shoulder. He waite