Matthew nodded. “Nina says Lucas Lyons doesn’t do anything by accident. Nothing just ‘happens’ with that guy, kid.”
I sighed. It was clear from the five sharp-eyed expressions on my screen that there were only two ways out of this conversation: confessing or fleeing.
For simple want of company, I chose the former. “Okay. Here’s what happened.”
Twenty minutes later, my crust was finished, the onions were cooking merrily, and my family, including Nina, Xavier, and Nathan (who had crept their way on screen), was well and completely stunned after I had narrated the tale of the last few weeks—minus the more salacious bits.
“So, yeah,” I finished as I continued stirring the onions, which were sizzling nicely. “I saw those texts, and I…I had to leave. Now I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I can continue working for him or his family anymore, but they paid for my education, so I feel like I owe them something, you know?
“You don’t owe him shit,” Lea said firmly.
Every other head on the screen nodded with her.
“I’d say you repaid him with that cookie anyway,” Joni added with a wicked grin.
I rolled my eyes amidst several moans.
“I’ll leave for New York today.” Matthew was moving into action even though Nina was trying to calm him down. “He makes one move to fire you after this, and I’ll tie that bastard up in court so fast he’ll think he’s fuckin’ rotisserie chicken.”
I sighed and set the wooden spoon down. “Mattie, stop. I don’t need you to rescue me here, all right? I don’t needanyof you to solve this problem for me.”
Not one person looked convinced.
“I don’t!” I insisted.
“Okay, but what’s your plan?” Lea pushed.
“I don’t know. What’syourplan, Lea?” I snarked back, though I felt horrible when my sister flinched like I’d slapped her. “I’m sorry. That was just mean.”
“It was,” she agreed. “And you can’t hide in Paris forever.”
I turned off the stove and started spooning the onions into the crust. “I have enough money saved that I can stay here for another week, until Lucas and I were supposed to be back in New York anyway. After that, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. But I’ll figure it out.”
“You could come back to London,” Frankie said.
“Or go to Italy to see Nonna,” Joni suggested.
“Or come back here,” Lea said. “I could make room.”
“We have an extra bed too,” Joni put in.
“Thank you.” I started whisking eggs, cream, and spices for the filling. “When I decide, I promise I’ll let everyone know, okay?”
My siblings didn’t seem to love this solution, but to my surprise, no one argued. It was as if the whole story had taken the fight out of them.
Frankie showed off Lucy’s new crawling skills while Matthew held up his and Nina’s eight-month-old son, Mateo. The babies were only a month apart, and watching my siblings with their children made my chest squeeze with a new yearning.
The truth was, I’d imagined that future for myself only a few nights ago. Not with Daniel, but with Lucas. Just for a moment, when I was drifting off to sleep in his arms, I was convinced we had something real. I had closed my eyes and seen a house that was a cross between the shabby home in the Bronx where I’d grown up and the extravagance of Prideview. Children had skipped outside onto a front lawn bordered by a stone fence. Kids with his storm-gray eyes and unlikely smiles, and my dark hair and love of good food.
A vision I’d foolishly thought was a dream when it turned out to be a fantasy.
“We love you, Mimi,” Joni called through my thoughts.
I shook my head as I realized my siblings were getting ready to sign off. It was morning in New York, and they had to go about their days. “Oh, right. Thanks for talking, everyone. I love you too, and I’ll keep my phone on, I promise.”
With varying renditions of “you better,” they each signed off, one by one, though a quick text message kept Frankie’s screen live.
“Can I talk to Xavier?” I asked her once everyone else was gone.
