Tinsel (Lark Cove #4)(5)

She probably agreed with everything that reporter had written.

Silence loomed in the kitchen as we drank our coffee. “It’s, um, quiet this morning.”

“The kids were up late last night. I’m sure they’ll sleep in.”

“Sorry.” They’d stayed up late because my flight hadn’t gotten in until nine. With the thirty-minute drive from the airport to Lark Cove added on top, they hadn’t gotten tucked into bed until almost ten.

“Don’t worry about it. A late night isn’t going to hurt them.”

“I can’t believe it’s already been six months since you guys came to the city. The kids sure have grown since this summer.”

Charlie, Collin and Camila were eleven, four and two, respectively. While Charlie was still the same tomboy she’d always been, Collin and Camila were developing their own personalities. Collin was a bundle of energy, never stopping as he explored the world. And Camila wasn’t the baby she’d been last summer. Now she was talking and doing her best to keep pace with her older siblings.

Maybe she’d have better luck than I had.

Did they think their aunt was a complete failure too?

With talk about the kids out of the way, there wasn’t much else to discuss at five in the morning. So we sat there, listening to the refrigerator hum. Halfway into my coffee, I wished I’d stayed in bed. There was an elephant in the room, and it was named NY Scene.

“You think it’s true.”

“Huh?” Thea asked.

“The magazine. You think what she wrote was true.”

“The truth?” She sighed. “Yes and no. Yes, I think they captured the facts. No, I don’t think you’re all of the things she called you.”

“Thank you.” My chin quivered. That was maybe the nicest thing she’d ever said to me. “I, um . . . I feel kind of lost. I don’t want to be that person.” Useless. Spoiled. Petty.

Thea was quiet for a few moments then reached across the granite counter and covered my wrist with her hand. “I have an idea.”

“What’s that?” I looked up, my hopes skyrocketing that she’d help me out.

“You’re going to have to trust me.”

“I do.” I nodded. “I trust you.”

“Good.” Thea smiled and went back to her coffee. I waited for her to tell me her idea, but she didn’t say a word. She just kept sipping from her mug for a few minutes and then got up and went to the fridge for eggs.

“Uh, are you going to tell me your idea?”

She grinned over her shoulder then cracked the first egg on the edge of a bowl. “Just trust me.”




I frowned at the dingy building outside the car window. A few hours after breakfast, Thea had loaded us all up in their SUV and ordered Logan to drive to the Lark Cove Bar.

“Are we getting lunch here or something?”

“No, I’ve got to get a few things organized before we can go.”

“Where are we going?” Logan asked.

“Paris. We’re leaving this afternoon.”

“What? Paris?” I looked between them both in the front seat of their SUV. “Why didn’t you say anything at breakfast? Or when I called you yesterday?”

“Um, because I didn’t know,” Logan told me then turned to his wife. “We’re going to Paris?”

She nodded. “Isn’t that what you gave me for my Christmas present?”

“Well, yeah. But we can go whenever you want.”

“And I’ve decided I want to go for New Year’s Eve. You can kiss me underneath the Eiffel Tower.”

“Gross, Mom.” Charlie groaned in her seat next to me. Collin and Camila just giggled from their car seats.

“I’ve already arranged for the kids to stay with Hazel and Xavier,” Thea told Logan, earning a cheer from the kids that they’d be staying with their gran. “The jet is already here since Sofia flew over last night. We just have to pack and go.”

“But what about the bar?” he asked. “Your New Year’s Eve party is in two days. You really want to miss it?”

She shrugged. “They can party without us this year.”

“But—”

“I rarely do anything spontaneous, gorgeous. I’m stepping way outside my comfort zone here. Just go with it.”

His entire frame relaxed, and he reached across the car to take her hand. “Paris is what you want?”

“Paris is what I want.” She nodded. “Ten days. Just the two of us.”

“Okay. Then we’ll go to Paris.” He leaned across the car and planted a firm kiss on her lips, getting more groans and giggles from the kids.

“Is this your idea?” I asked. “For me to house-sit while you’re gone?”

Thea gave Logan a grin that could only be described as diabolical. “Sort of.”

“Wait. What do you mean—”

Before I finished my question, she opened the door and started unbuckling the kids.

I rushed to get out of the middle seat and follow, hurrying to catch up as she crossed the snow-covered parking lot. “Thea, what do you mean sort of?”

“Trust me.”

“I’m starting to fear those two words.”