“Jay and I finalized plans for the holiday sim.” Pen brushed some sand from the top of the wood and sat down. “We’re going to turn the pond into an ice rink and use the paintball field for snowball fights. And there will be hot cocoa and candy cane cocktails and gingerbread house–making contests…” She grinned. “It’s going to be great. I’m talking epic, greeting card–level perfection here.”

You were perfect. Julia’s words echoed in Luke’s mind.

“Wow.” He sank down next to his sister. Perfectly imperfect. “Hard to picture all this winter stuff in the middle of summer.”

“Christmas in July, right?” Penelope laughed. “But Jay wanted everything ready for the website so we can start booking the holiday season now. And then there’s the New Year’s Eve party to plan.”

Luke wrapped the dog leash around a broken limb sticking out of the log. He thought about the months ahead, picturing the days turning colder, the nights longer. All of it happening without Julia.

“What do you think?”

“Huh?” Luke blinked.

“For New Year’s Eve. We’re thinking of making that its own separate mini-experience. A weekend event.”

“Oh. Sounds fun.” He frowned. He didn’t want to face those long, cold nights alone … didn’t want to ring in a new year without her.

His sister studied him carefully but didn’t say anything.

That first week after Julia left, Penelope had tried to get him to tell her what happened, but Luke had shut his sister out. It had been too painful to think about, let alone talk about. By the time he’d finally felt ready to open up, she’d stopped asking him about it.

Crumpet sniffed between their feet and sneezed.

“What happened, boy?” Luke glanced down. “Did you snort some sand?” As glum as he felt, he couldn’t help smiling at the goofy dog’s antics, his heavy heart lifting a fraction.

Penelope laughed and pulled a baggie of dog treats from her pocket. She held one out to Crumpet, scratching him behind the ears while he made short work of his snack. “I’m assuming by that point you’ll have launched your start-up.” Penelope said casually, attention still on her pet.

“That’s the plan.” Luke swallowed. A plan that wasn’t moving forward, because he was stuck in neutral.

“Have you given any thought to where you want to open your office?” she asked, the casual tone a bit more forced this time.

Luke shrugged. “Probably somewhere in town.”

“Here?” Penelope looked at him, face aghast. “In this dinky vacation town? Why would you do that?” She shook her head. “You need to go to Milwaukee…” Her gaze turned sly. “Or Chicago.”

He snorted. “I can’t go to Chicago.”