“I should have guessed,” Sophie groaned, but she pushed the door open to let her mom in anyway. If there was one thing she’d learned from long experience, it was that her mother wouldn’t be shaken off easily. If Sophie wanted to put her on a plane bound for the Mediterranean—and she wanted nothing more—it would take a concentrated effort on her part.

“It wasn’t me.” Dawn sprang from the couch the moment Sophie and her mom struggled into the living room under the weight of all the luggage. “I have an alibi. Three of them.”

“Honestly, you’re both acting as though I’m not welcome.” Alice pulled a genuine frown. “I know I’m only your fusty old parent, but I thought it would be nice to spend some time together. Just the four of us girls, you know? Shopping, a spa day or two, maybe a weekend trip to Seattle. We haven’t done anything like that in ages.”

Sophie instantly felt guilt-ridden. Even though her parents only lived twenty minutes away, she didn’t spend nearly as much time with them as she should have—especially since her mom’s entire life revolved around her daughters. Or daughter, rather. While she was an affectionate parent to all of her offspring, there was no denying that the bulk of her maternal worries had been tied up in Sophie for so many years that it was impossible for her to shake the habit. She’d even given up her career as nonprofit executive to take care of Sophie, which meant that now, at fifty-eight, she had little to occupy her time.

Other than, you know, stopping by for unannounced visits that lasted weeks at a time.

“What did Paulette tell you?” Sophie motioned for Dawn to resume her seat on the couch. Her mom didn’t follow suit. Instead of sitting in her favorite floral armchair, she elected to stand there among her suitcases, looking like the picture of staged rejection.

“That daughter of hers just had twins. Did she show you the pictures? She’s up to eight grandchildren now. It must be so wonderful, being surrounded by all those babies…”

“Mom.”

“What? It’s not unusual, you know, for a woman of my age to fantasize about grandchildren. You’d have thought, with three daughters of a marriageable age…”

“Mom.” Dawn was the one who spoke up this time.

“Oh, I know. The marriage part isn’t required in this day and age, but it would be so nice to see at least one of you settled down. Lila would be such a responsible parent. And you, Dawn, have so many men to choose from.”