“I was certain you were never coming back to New York City,” Shelby added in the other.

Keira drew back. “I know, I’m sorry. Everything happened so quickly—getting sent to Ireland, breaking up with Zach, moving out the apartment. I just haven’t found time to get my thoughts in line.”

Bryn, who was still standing holding the door open, added, pithily, “It was a family only time, you know?”

“Sure,” Maxine said with a stiff smile.

Keira tugged her friends further into the apartment. “Come on, let’s drink. And talk.”

“And pack,” Bryn added in a parental way.

They all tumbled inside, chatting with giddiness. Bryn reluctantly opened a bottle of wine for them to share, then sat at the kitchen island with a huff, handing a glass to each of Keira’s friends with a dark expression.

“So, you’re off to Italy?” Shelby asked, grinning with excitement. “How long for this time?”

“Three weeks,” Keira replied, folding clothes and placing them in her case. “It’s sort of my niche at the magazine at the moment. I go abroad and write an article on love. They’re calling me the Romance Guru.”

Shelby and Maxine exchanged a glance, one that Keira could immediately read into.

“I know, I’m hopeless with relationships. Two breakups in as many months, right? But I can just play a character.”

“You mean lie?” Maxine asked with a laugh.

“If I have to,” Keira replied, recalling how much she’d struggled writing the last piece. Then she’d been a cynic trying to deny the fact she was falling in love with Ireland, and, more specifically, Shane. Now she was supposed to be taking the other view, of being a hopeless romantic, a convert who would easily and willingly lose herself in love and passion. She felt anything but.

“You’ll just have to fall for a hot Italian guy,” Shelby added.

Keira smirked. “Wouldn’t that be nice?” she mused, though she felt as though a nun in a monastery had a better chance of a passionate love affair than she did at this moment in time.

“You’re going to miss Halloween,” Maxine added, glumly.

“I know, it’s a shame,” Keira replied. “It’s my favorite holiday. But they go all out in Italy too. It’s actually like a four-day public holiday, I think. The day of the dead, All Souls’ Day, All Saints’ Day, it’s a massive deal. A huge party.”

Shelby folded her arms in mock affront. “Basically you’re saying that your Halloween experience will be tons better than ours.”

“No!” Keira laughed, protesting. “Well, maybe.”

Everyone laughed. Except Bryn, of course. She was staring into her wine glass, pouting.

“Anyway,” Keira said, “we can have a great Thanksgiving together. I’ll be back by then.”

Bryn’s head snapped up. “We’re having Thanksgiving at Mom’s this year, remember. Just the three of us.”

“That’s the meal,” Keira contested, growing impatient with her difficult sister. “I can spend the rest of the day with my friends, can’t I?”

“Of course you can,” Bryn huffed. She went back to staring into her glass.