“And we all survived.” Darcy still thought about that magical weekend, far more than she should. In the middle of Manhattan’s freezing rain and winter darkness, she would often catch herself gazing out her office window and conjure up memories of the sunshine warm on her skin, surfing on a private beach, swimming with friendly dolphins, kissing Logan O’Donnell...

“This is different,” said Kitty. “This is Christmas. Nobody skips out on Christmas.”

“I’m not skipping out. I’ll just be...elsewhere.”

“This is not happening,” said Lizzie, doodling with a red pen in her dayrunner. “We have to stick together at Christmas. We have to.”

“Otherwise the world will come to an end, right?” Darcy touched her sister’s arm. “Look, I don’t want to make trouble. I’m trying to save everyone the tension and awkwardness of me being in the same room as Huntley.”

“Just don’t be tense and awkward around him, and all will be well,” Mary said simply.

“Sure,” Darcy snapped. “I’ll just forget that he still shows up for family holidays as if he deserves to be there.”

“We don’t want him there, either,” said Kitty. “We want you. That’s why you should come, and we’ll tell Huntley he’s not welcome.”

Darcy could imagine this conversation going round and round, never finding a conclusion. She was sorely tempted to tell her sisters about the cheating, but that would open yet another avenue of conflict. They would take sides, they’d gang up on Huntley, they’d create a rift between the families, just at the moment Lydia was going to deliver a new Collins baby. Darcy clenched her jaw, unwilling to be the architect of that.

“My mind is made up,” she told them. “I’m going away for Christmas. I’m going to have a fantastic time.”

“With your friend India? Doesn’t she feel guilty, stealing you away from your family? What kind of friend is she?” Mary asked.

“The best sort. The kind who’s there when I need her, offering what I need. In this case, I need to do something fun and different, like surfing at Thanksgiving.”

“She’s got a point,” Lizzie said. “Surfing sounds fun.”

“Totally fun,” Darcy assured her. “They might not be surfing, though. According to India, the O’Donnells are negotiating where they’ll be spending Christmas, too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Lydia. “Where are they taking you?”

“They’re deciding between sunshine and snow.”

“You mean they have more than one fabulous vacation spot?” Kitty nudged Lydia. “Maybe we should all make friends with the O’Donnells.”

“Maybe you should,” Darcy said. “One faction of the family wants to spend Christmas in the Florida sun. Another wants a white Christmas in the Catskills.”

“What sort of place in the Catskills?”