“Bring back sweets,” Johnny called out.

“Chewy ones,” Mack yelled.

They sounded like young boys again, and she walked around the car and spoke through the window. “I’ll do my best. Keep your rooms tidy.”

“Yeah, right,” Mack said.

Liv gulped away a lump in her throat, unable to remember the last time she’d gone away without them. A strong pull reared inside her, ordering her to get back into the car.

Don’t go, Liv.

Even her own thoughts were taking Jake’s side.

She gripped the handle of her suitcase and looked toward the airport terminal. People were filing in and out, arriving and leaving. Jake’s eyes were full of hope that she’d change her mind. She kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll be back before you know it,” she said.

Wheeling her suitcase toward the building, she turned back to wave. As she stepped through the glass doors, her heart soared with excitement and her mind spun with worry at the same time. After checking in her luggage, she headed toward a bookstore and browsed all the novels, to restore a little calm.

When she touched down at Dubrovnik Airport, Liv was greatly impressed by its cleanliness. The frayed navy fabric of her suitcase looked tatty against the shiny white marble floor.

After going through customs, Liv spotted a man dressed in a smart black suit and a peaked cap. His sign read Starling and Green, and he insisted on carrying her suitcase to the shiny black car that awaited. She informed him she’d be his only passenger.

He opened the rear door for her. “Welcome to my beautiful country, Ms. Starling,” he said.

Liv didn’t correct him.

The thirty-minute drive along the coastal road felt like they were gliding. The car rose up high in the mountains, giving her a magnificent view of tiny white houses and the glistening turquoise sea below. The scenery was so otherworldly it belonged in the pages of fiction.

When they arrived at the hotel, Liv navigated the revolving doors into the lobby while still wearing her sunglasses. She kept her head low and peeped over the top of them.

The winding grand staircase looked like it had been transported from a Hollywood movie, and a pink marble fountain had coins shining in the water. A woman in a black sequined dress tinkled a tune on a grand piano. Liv became aware that her mouth had dropped open, and she clamped it shut again.

A small group of girls loitered in a corner, straining their necks to look at Liv. They were dressed as Georgia Rory in blazers and floral dresses with big black boots. They looked away again, their faces etched with disappointment. Even if Meg and Marlon had kept things quiet about Essie’s attendance, it looked like word had filtered out to fans somehow.