“I told you your old lady busybody routine would catch up and bite you, Petunia,” says Gladiola.

“Bite me? You’re the one who said we needed to help things along like a fairy godmother. Fairy godmother, my tush. Look at Jessie, she’s devastated.”

“Hush,” Wanda says, and she pats my arm.

“Bah. Rotten pumpkin, fairy godmother nonsense,” mutters Gladiola.

I smile even though my heart’s not into it. Wanda, eyes bright behind her horn-rimmed glasses, notices the wobble in my smile.

“Well, dear, no matter what happens, rest assured, we are all proud of the woman you’ve become. It takes a lot of courage to admit you’ve been wrong. I’m sure your mom told you that.”

I nod. She did.

“So what will you do?” Petunia asks.

I think about what I’ve done, who I’ve been and who I strive to be. I always wanted my mom to be proud, but now I realize I want to be proud of myself too.

“I’m going to tell the people I hurt that I’m sorry. And if Will won’t come here, then I’ll go to him.”

The ladies cheer. We look up as the door to the computer room opens and Mr. Frank walks in.

“What’d I miss?” he asks.

“Class is canceled,” I say. “I’m going to go find my true love.”

“We’re landing in five minutes,” Gavin says. He looks over at me from the pilot’s seat. “Nervous?”

“No,” I say. It turns out, in addition to all his other extreme sports and stunts, Gavin also has his pilot’s license and a small plane at Romeo’s private airport. And he’d heard from Will two days ago that he was heading to NYC for a while.

“Did I mention how much more I’m going to like having you as a sister-in-law than a soul mate?” he asks. He was all too happy to fly me to the city and deliver me to his brother.

“Only about five hundred times.”

“Good. Because as soon as we land, I’m going to win back my fiancée. I was a self-sabotaging idiot.”

“Good luck,” I say, and I wholeheartedly mean it.

He grins and his eyes crinkle.

“Do you think he’ll show?” I ask.

“He’ll show,” Gavin says with utter confidence. “I know my brother, there’s no way he won’t show.”

The lights of the New York area loom closer. We stop talking as Gavin takes the plane in for landing.

The 102nd floor of the Empire State Building is cold. The air conditioning is on high and the sky is dark. The lights of the city surround me. The observatory is crowded, even though it’s nearly ten at night. A family with six kids pushes past me to see the view. A middle-aged couple at the window kisses.