She left Paris. She told herself it was growth.

It wasn't.

Claire Whitfield has spent her life perfecting the art of leaving. New York at twenty-five. Chicago at thirty-one. Paris at thirty-four. Different cities, different men, same pattern—she disappears before anyone can leave her first.

Now she's in London, with a new job, a new flat, and the same suitcase she's been carrying for a decade. She's done running, she tells herself. This time will be different.

Then Tom Ashford texts her.

Heard you're back. Coffee?

Nine years ago, Claire lived in London for one brief, disastrous year. She met a man at a party—a journalist with a sharp wit and a way of seeing through her defenses. Something almost started between them. Something she's never quite forgotten.

She left without saying goodbye. She's good at that.

Now Tom is married. Two daughters. A house in Highgate. A life that doesn't include her and never will.

But he remembers. And Claire can't stop wondering: does she want him, or does she want the woman she was before she learned to run?

Some questions don't have safe answers. And some doors, once opened, can't be closed again.

The Art of Staying: London is the second novel in a series about a woman learning that home isn't a place you find—it's a choice you make, over and over, every single day.

This book can be read as a standalone, but readers may enjoy starting with The Art of Staying: Paris.

Perfect for fans of:

• Emily Henry
• Josie Silver
• One Day by David Nicholls
• Beth O'Leary