Chapter 23

Marseille, France. A beautiful seaside town I should have loved.

The ride here had felt like a century as I stared out the window, alone with my thoughts as my sisters played a card game. Upon our arrival in Marseille, a taxi delivered us to our hotel last night, where we shared another single room but, thankfully, spread ourselves across two beds instead of one.

Now I sat in the terminal, waiting for our check-in time. My sisters went to find a snack, promising to bring me something. They were surprisingly gentle with me today, probably because Jillian overheard the last part of my conversation with Hunter yesterday before he stormed off. They didn’t ask questions, which I appreciated.

Thunder echoed outside, and I peered out the window to find the docks bathed in a depressing grayness beneath dark storm clouds. They fit my mood perfectly.

I pulled the list from my pocket and opened it. The edges were worn now, threatening to tear any day, so I held it with care. My handwriting, so perky and straight then, brought me right back to that night with my mom. I could still remember her leaning over my shoulder, pointing to an item here and there or suggesting another .

Romantic Moments I Want Deserve to Experience:

· A selfie at the Eiffel Tower

· A walk along a cobblestone street in the rain

· Critiquing a Monet painting together

· Admiring the stained-glass windows at Notre Dame

· Being admired while descending an elegant staircase

· A dinner cruise and kiss on the Seine

· Holding hands at the Paris Opera House

· A romantic French dinner

· Being serenaded at the airport

Eight out of nine wasn’t bad, I decided. After all, being serenaded at an airport required one to physically be at an airport. It also required a lover, which I didn’t currently have. Hunter would be home by now or almost there, likely stewing about my refusal to come along.

How could I help Hunter see that keeping my family together, however shattered we already were, was important too? Our parents’ breakup had torn us apart. I refused to let anything get between us again. If I had to trade my own happiness for my sisters’ happiness, I would make that sacrifice.

It seemed I’d done exactly that. They would get their money and I would lose Hunter forever.

I pulled out my phone, set it on top of the brittle paper, and scrolled through my photos. My sisters and I at the airport back home, bright-eyed and excited. Us in front of our Paris hotel, slightly less bright-eyed but still excited. The tiny room and bed we’d shared.

The three of us standing on the Eiffel Tower, my arm extended while holding the phone and the other two crowding in. Beyond us lay a blanket of white and green—the city of Paris. Not a romantic nighttime view, but still a moment with people I cared about.

A few more seconds of scrolling and I paused on a photo of a painting. A white snowstorm, the complete opposite of the idealistic beautiful lily pond paintings I expected to find.

More photos. The stained-glass windows at Notre Dame, every bit as majestic as I expected and at least five times more. The beautiful grounds at Versailles that I didn’t get to enjoy much.

Hunter and I inside the Paris Opera House, dark except for our faces glowing from my phone’s poor flash. Our not-so-romantic French dinner with my sisters, which Claude crashed. I’d captured as much as possible on my phone, but the camera in my mind had captured even more. My phone didn’t show Hunter pulling up to that curb and telling me to get in the car, nor did it show that moment between us on the sofa. Or how it felt to sob in his arms, lying together on his bed in the darkness of his room.

Mom insisted I’d meet my future husband out there, somewhere in the world. That I would live the exotic life she always wanted to, so different from her own. Never did it occur to either of us that my destiny lay in the house next door or that the items on this list could only be fully enjoyed with the sisters I brought with me.

Yet the tiniest part of me wanted to see that ninth item on the list realized. I wanted to see Hunter hurrying through the terminal, calling my name. Wrapping me in his arms and telling me he was sorry and that he understood and trusted me. That his dad was fine after all and he’d be waiting in Paris when I returned so we could begin our life together.

I kept watching the crowd as busy couples arrived to board the ship, dragging baggage of every color under the sun. All weary but most smiling, excited for the vacation ahead they would share together. They didn’t have to choose between family and the partner they loved.

“Kennedy!” Jillian said, bounding up the ramp and handing me a muffin from a vending machine. “It’s our turn to check in. You ready?”

No. I wanted to sprint back to the train station, hop on the train, and dash to the airport. I wanted to show up on Hunter’s doorstep, suitcase in hand, and tell him I knew how it felt now—to be held in place, unable to come when I knew I was needed. To feel my heart pounding in my chest and know it was in tune with someone thousands of miles away who didn’t quite understand.

“Yes,” I told her, grabbing the handle of my suitcase and rising to my feet. “I’m ready.”

We’d barely found our room when Alexis left to grab herself some lunch at the buffet, leaving Jillian and me alone on the bed.

We’d be sharing a cramped room again, but this time, our suite had a fold-out sofa bed Alexis happily agreed to take. Her exact words were, “I can sleep on a rock if I’m sleeping alone.”

I knew the second the door closed behind Alexis that Jillian wanted to talk because her eyes bored into mine like a fox staring at a rabbit.

“Say what you want to say,” I told her with a sigh.

She folded her legs underneath her like we were kids again. “He asked you to come home with him, didn’t he?”

Shoot. She wasn’t supposed to hear that part of the conversation. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Because of me.”

This discussion couldn’t happen right now. Not with my emotions so close to the surface. “I’m going to grab some lunch.”

Jillian’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm before I could get up. “No, you aren’t. We need to talk about this. I saw Jen’s post on social media about their dad and the fundraiser. I had no idea their financial situation was so dire.”

I blinked. Fundraiser? “Is Hunter’s dad not covered by insurance?”

“His retirement benefits haven’t kicked in yet, and he got fired a few months ago, so they don’t have any right now. Sad situation. But anyway, her post filled in all the gaps. Hunter is going home to be with his family, and he wants you by his side during this difficult time. That’s a perfectly reasonable request for a guy to have.”

“Not when his girlfriend is legally bound to tour Europe with her sisters,” I pointed out.

“Oh, stop it. You aren’t legally bound to go anywhere. I’m taking you to the airport the minute we set foot in Rome.”

“And kissing your inheritance goodbye? Not a chance. That money will set you up for life.”

Jillian gave me a stern look. “You aren’t very observant, are you?”

“What do you mean?”

She sighed. “That’s it. I’m teaching you how to use social media the second we get a chance. If you followed my channel, you’d know.”

“Know what?”

“I made twenty thousand dollars last month, and I’m on track to get another forty this month. Kennedy, I’m already set up for life. I love what I do and I can live however I want, inheritance or no inheritance.”

I gaped at her. “Forty thousand ?” I barely made fifty grand in an entire year. And she made that with videos on the internet? In one month?

Jillian put her hand on my shoulder. “I would rather have a happy sister than four million dollars. I’d rather have a happy sister than forty million dollars. You and Alexis are all I have left. Of course I want you to follow him home, if that’s what it takes to get him back.”

The tears I’d fought for days threatened to make an appearance. I didn’t deserve a sister like Jillie. “Thank you. I can’t begin to tell you how that makes me feel. But I doubt Alexis would feel the same way.”

Jillian shrugged. “Ask her. You might be surprised. The question is, could you give up your portion if it meant getting Hunter back?”

Yes.

I didn’t even have to think about it. If I could have Hunter in my life, I wouldn’t hesitate to give up the money. But I didn’t want to toss my sisters aside to do it. If there were a way to keep my family intact while experiencing happiness with Hunter, I would do it, money or not.

“Think about it,” Jillian said with a wink, sliding to her feet. “Just know I’m removing myself from the equation. You’ve been protective of me for way too long. Now it’s my turn to be protective of you.”