Viv was too busy exclaiming about the familiar sights to hear that. “Oh, look, I see the candle factory. They’re planting flowers! And the dance studio. And the ice-cream shop. And the Castorinis’ place! Oh, Tessa, I miss home so much.” Her voice cracked a little.

Tessa pressed the flip button so her sister could see her face. “Vivienne, are you okay?” Her sister was always upbeat, talked a mile a minute, and grabbed life by the horns. She was also terrible at faking anything.

There was a pause as Vivienne sucked in a breath. But then her beautiful smile returned, as bright as ever. “Yeah. I’m…great. I feel so lucky to be here, Tessa, and I want you to know that if it weren’t for you, I never could have had this experience. I won’t ever forget that.”

“I know that, honey. You’ve done us proud. But are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

Viv smiled brightly. “Of course I’m sure. I couldn’t be better. How—how about you?”

“Everything’s the same.” Tessa thought about telling her about Leo. About everything. But that wasn’t the kind of relationship she had with either of her sisters.

“Tessa, I’ve got to go. We’ll talk soon, okay?”

“Okay, honey,” Tessa said. “You know you can call me anytime, right?”

“Yes, of course. Au revoir! Love you.” Then she hung up.

Suddenly Tessa realized something. Everything really would stay the same if she kept on her usual path.

She sucked in a breath of warm spring air and pocketed her phone. She loved her sisters dearly, but she was so done watching them live out their lives the way they chose, rotating around her like she was the sun and they were planets. In that they moved and she…stayed stagnant.

When Tess popped back into the bakery, Juliet was on the phone with her mom, telling her about her big announcement. Soon Tessa was swept up in looking at photos of engagement rings on Juliet’s phone, listening to her talk excitedly about Jax, her upcoming date, and all her plans and dreams.

Her sisters were moving on with their lives, come what may.

Tessa knew what it was like to fail. Her broken engagement had made that very public, but she’d somehow survived.

Staying here doing nothing wouldn’t give her family financial stability. And it wouldn’t get her one inch closer to fulfilling her dreams. So maybe it would be better to fail spectacularly than to keep on a pathway that promised absolutely nothing.

…

Leo brought out a plate of fresh cannelloni and placed it in front of his sister, Gia. Aunt Loretta had taught him how to make the ricotta-and-spinach stuffing, and his dad had showed him how to stuff each tube and present it properly on a plate, drizzled with homemade sauce and sprinkled with parmesan.