“Don’t forget you’re in a senior position now,” Bryn told her. “And favoritism is a very schoolyard word to use. It’s business. If you’re better than the others, you’re better than the others. Learn to accept it.”

Keira didn’t share her sister’s confidence. She squirmed uneasily. “Well anyway, even if it was abroad I wouldn’t be able to go.” She thought of Shane and smiled dreamily. “I have plans here.”

“Ah yes,” Bryn said, smirking. “The boyfriend. How long until he arrives?”

Keira’s mind conjured up the image of Shane’s gorgeous face—the stubble on his chiseled jaw, those amazing Irish blue eyes—and flitted through a myriad of wonderful memories from the month they’d spent falling in love.

“A week,” she said through a dreamy exhalation, thinking of the sensation of his lips on hers, the touch of his fingers against her skin. “Which reminds me, I should call him.”

It would be approaching midnight in Ireland where Shane lived, and so it would be her last chance to speak to him before he went to bed. Then she’d have to endure an eight-hour-long Shane absence while he was sleeping. No texts, no cheeky messages or funny quips. Those eight hours were almost unbearable for her at the moment, so strong was her craving for him.

“You call him every morning?” Bryn asked, surprised.

Keira picked up the hint of disdain in her sister’s voice. She was a perpetual singleton and serial dater, which made her suspicious of anyone who claimed to have found love.

“Yup,” Keira replied. “You’re usually snoring so you don’t notice.”

“Well, I think that’s unhealthy,” Bryn began. “You’re already too reliant on him.”

Keira rolled her eyes as she stood. Bryn liked nothing more than to be a know-it-all, despite being a rather dismal role model. And if she only knew, Kyra thought, if she could only witness what she and Shane had together, she wouldn’t be so sure of herself.

Keira took her phone into the bathroom, knowing it would be the only place where she could get any privacy in Bryn’s pokey apartment, then dialed Shane’s number. The usual thrill of excitement ran through her body as she waited, listening to the dial tone, in anticipation of hearing Shane’s beautiful voice again. She couldn’t wait to tell him about all the exciting things she had planned for his visit, all the sights of New York she was planning on showing him, from sampling food along Restaurant Row to river walks in Tribeca, the Tenement Museum, the gardens in Battery Park, the apple farm upstate and art galleries in Chelsea. Her itinerary was packed to the brim and she knew Shane would be just as excited to experience the city as she was to show it off.

Finally the call connected and Keira felt her heart soar. But rather than his usual chirpy voice, Shane sounded strained. And rather than answering the call with a silly over-the-top pet name like bunny or petal, he used her actual name.