Tessa grabbed the phone and walked outside to show her the trees bursting with pink blooms along both sides of Main Street that gave their town its name.
Every year, they bloomed anew. A symbol of hope and promise.
“Oh, look,” Viv said excitedly. “They’re beautiful!”
“Yes,” Tessa said. “But they probably can’t compare to the trees along the Champs-Élysées, right?”
Viv was too busy exclaiming about the familiar sights to hear that. “Oh, look, I see the candle factory. They’re planting flowers! And the dance studio. And the ice-cream shop. And the Castorinis’ place! Oh, Tessa, I miss home so much.” Her voice cracked a little.
Tessa pressed the flip button so her sister could see her face. “Vivienne, are you okay?” Her sister was always upbeat, talked a mile a minute, and grabbed life by the horns. She was also terrible at faking anything.
There was a pause as Vivienne sucked in a breath. But then her beautiful smile returned, as bright as ever. “Yeah. I’m…great. I feel so lucky to be here, Tessa, and I want you to know that if it weren’t for you, I never could have had this experience. I won’t ever forget that.”
“I know that, honey. You’ve done us proud. But are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
Viv smiled brightly. “Of course I’m sure. I couldn’t be better. How—how about you?”
“Everything’s the same.” Tessa thought about telling her about Leo. About everything. But that wasn’t the kind of relationship she had with either of her sisters.
“Tessa, I’ve got to go. We’ll talk soon, okay?”
“Okay, honey,” Tessa said. “You know you can call me anytime, right?”
“Yes, of course. Au revoir! Love you.” Then she hung up.
Suddenly Tessa realized something. Everything really would stay the same if she kept on her usual path.
She sucked in a breath of warm spring air and pocketed her phone. She loved her sisters dearly, but she was so done watching them live out their lives the way they chose, rotating around her like she was the sun and they were planets. In that they moved and she…stayed stagnant.
When Tess popped back into the bakery, Juliet was on the phone with her mom, telling her about her big announcement. Soon Tessa was swept up in looking at photos of engagement rings on Juliet’s phone, listening to her talk excitedly about Jax, her upcoming date, and all her plans and dreams.
Her sisters were moving on with their lives, come what may.
Tessa knew what it was like to fail. Her broken engagement had made that very public, but she’d somehow survived.
Staying here doing nothing wouldn’t give her family financial stability. And it wouldn’t get her one inch closer to fulfilling her dreams. So maybe it would be better to fail spectacularly than to keep on a pathway that promised absolutely nothing.
…
Leo brought out a plate of fresh cannelloni and placed it in front of his sister, Gia. Aunt Loretta had taught him how to make the ricotta-and-spinach stuffing, and his dad had showed him how to stuff each tube and present it properly on a plate, drizzled with homemade sauce and sprinkled with parmesan.
He’d taken great satisfaction in doing something with his hands. Something that his parents and grandparents and, many years ago, in a small village in the north part of Sicily, his ancestors had done as well. He was excited to continue those traditions. To continue the family pride in these recipes. To put down roots.
Which was why he’d decided to look for a house. Just a small one, nothing flashy, to settle into the community. And, he was hoping, one that might entice Tessa to get on board with his plan. Maybe it was his need to do something, but he’d scheduled a few showings with a realtor this afternoon.
The more he thought about a merger between Tessa and him, the more he knew in his heart it was an unstoppable plan. Together they could turn both these businesses around.
All he needed was for her to say yes.
And the best thing was, she was planning to leave. They’d dissolve their marriage as soon as they could and go their separate ways, no awkwardness or hard feelings. Mission accomplished.
Gia clapped a little on seeing the heaping plate of steaming cannelloni and said something about just coming from Mathletes. Not that he really knew exactly what that was—just that she was a smarty-pants and headed for great things, and that was good enough for him.
Except maybe she was a little too good. He couldn’t believe he was actually thinking that. Gia was sweet natured, laid-back…and did not rock the boat. She didn’t break curfew, she hung out with two super-nice friends, and, as far as he could tell, there were no boys in the picture. And his dad made it sound like she’d already decided on her college choice—a great school, IU, about an hour away.
His dad had never understood why Leo had left Blossom Glen for New York City—so he certainly was never going to encourage Gia to look a little further. And yes, money was tight, but Leo had the means to make it happen.
But his sister didn’t want it. At least, that’s what she said.
“So, what are Mathletes, anyway?” he asked as he set his own plate on the table and they both dug in. The kitchen was quiet, with his dad, Aunt Loretta, and Uncle Cosmo taking their customary lunch break before returning to hit it hard before dinner.
They sat by the window, where they could look out over the gorgeous day and people strolling the walkways in front of the shops under the pink crab apple blossoms.
Gia sat across from him dressed in her track outfit, her dark hair swept up in a ponytail. And she was scarfing down his dad’s famous dish like nobody’s business.
She shrugged. “It’s where you do stuff with numbers. Then I had track practice. I’m starving.”
It was spring of her junior year, and time was ticking on her college decisions. Leo just wanted to make sure that she knew the world was her oyster, regardless of his dad’s deep desire to keep her close. “I was thinking we could make a few college road trips together this summer. What do you say? You’ve never been to New York, and—”
She stared at him like he was speaking another language. “I’m staying here, Leo. IU has a great biomedical engineering program. I think I can get in.”
“That’s great. Have you looked at Purdue, too? They’ve got an fantastic engineering school.” One of his two best friends, Jack Monroe, the mayor, had graduated from the architecture school there.
“I want to go to IU,” she said. “I’m studying for the SAT.”
“You’d live there? In Bloomington?”
“Probably not.” She was still shoveling in the pasta, and he was still trying to figure her out. At her age, he couldn’t wait to get away, see the world, cut loose.