Marie’s was the restaurant inside the lodge owned by Giles and his family, where Mattie had held their intimate rehearsal dinner. And now that they were married, I supposed Mattie owned it too.

“Fine,” I huffed, taking my laptop off my flannel-clad legs and standing up to stretch.

“And you can’t wear that,” she said, taking in the pajamas I’d never bothered to change out of.

“I’m unemployed, not a slob,” I said defensively. Did she really think I was so far gone I’d forgotten how to put on a pair of jeans and run a brush through my hair?

A phone ringing caught her attention and she pulled hers out. “It’s Mom,” she said.

“Don’t answer⁠—”

“Hello,” she said, pressing the speaker button and holding it between the two of us. I glared down at her. Telling my parents about the abrupt change my life had taken was not on my priority list today. They’d stress and worry and ask me a million questions.

“Hi, honey.” My mom’s cheery voice rang through the room. “We’re about to board our cruise and I wanted to call you before we got on. We’ll probably be hard to reach for the next couple of weeks.”

They were always going on some cruise with their friends. They had retired completely last year and were taking full advantage of all their newfound free time.

“I hope you have so much fun.” Mattie waved at me before pointing at the phone. Say something, she mouthed.

I shook my head stubbornly.

“Have you heard from your sister?” Mom asked. “I’ve tried texting her a few times the past week and I haven’t heard from her.”

Mattie glared at me. “You know what, Mom? She’s actually right here. Why don’t you say hi?”

“What? She’s there? In Key Ridge?”

“Frankie’s in Key Ridge?” I heard my dad say in the background of the call.

Mattie pressed the mute button. “Tell them. Just get it over with.”

“Fine. Whatever.” I waved my hand in defeat. It wasn’t like she’d given me much of a choice. They knew I wouldn’t fly here on a whim and that something must be up.

“Mattie? Are you still there?”

I took the phone from my sister and unmuted the call. “Hi, it’s Frankie.”

“Frankie, what are you doing in Colorado?” I could hear the shock in my mom’s tone.

“She’s really there?” my dad asked, his voice muffled.

“Yep, I’m here.” I caught Mattie’s eye. It almost felt like she was enjoying this.

“Did you take time off of work?” my mom asked. The way she said it made it seem like the most far-fetched possibility. And it was. I only took vacations around the holidays and never within the first few months of a new year. That was our busy season.

“You could say that,” I mumbled.

Mattie shoved my leg with her foot.

“Okay, you know what?” I sighed and drug a hand over my face. “Mom. Dad. I was laid off last week. That’s why I’m here.”