Jenna watched Lily run ahead with Stella and Sofia, all of them eager to reach the bear exhibit. Angel was right there with them, looking as serene as ever with Farrell, Nico, and Luca close behind.

Christophe and Charlotte, in a world all their own and holding hands like newly minted lovers, didn’t bother trying to keep up. They’d arrived on the heels of Luca and Isabel the day before bearing an assortment of French delicacies and an air of refinement.

Jenna knew Christophe was from an old, titled family, but when she’d first met him she couldn’t imagine a woman who would either tame him or suit him.

He’d been aloof and reserved, even egotistical.

Then again, which of the Syndicate men weren’t?

But Christophe had been shaped both by the history and culture of his family name and by the ruin brought on by his father’s philandering. When Christophe met Charlotte, he’d been in the process of rebuilding the legacy, hunting down the antiques and art his father had sold off to settle multiple divorces after the death of Christophe’s mother.

It made sense that Charlotte would suit him. An art curator from Los Angeles with a mother who was a once-famous starlet and a father who had run a respected antique store in Paris, Charlotte fit Christophe like a priceless glove.

Jenna had watched them with fascination since their arrival, marveling over the easy sensuality that moved between them. She couldn’t help wondering if it was the lack of children in their life.

“Is everything all right?”

Jenna looked over to find Isabel, the beautiful woman who lived with Luca in Miami, walking next to her.

Lush and voluptuous, with dark hair that fell in waves down her back and wide eyes rimmed with long eyelashes, Isabel was raising her little sister, Sofia.

It was a tall order for someone so young, but it meant she must know plenty about life with children.

“Just imagining an alternate timeline where I’m that carefree,” Jenna said with a laugh.

Isabel followed her gaze to Christophe and Charlotte. They were moving slowly, like they had all the time in the world, Charlotte’s head resting on Christophe’s shoulder as they walked.

“Ah,” Isabel said. “I know what you mean. It does look easier.”

Jenna smiled, her eyes on the children. “They’re exhausting, aren’t they?”

Isabel nodded slowly. “Sofia is a bit older, but I remember when she was young like Stella and Lily. The energy! My god!”

Jenna smiled, charmed by Isabel’s Columbian accent, her honesty. They’d met briefly in the past, but never in a setting as intimate as a holiday.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one,” Jenna said. “I adore Lily, of course, but — ”

“Sometimes you wonder what it would be like to be free?” Isabel asked.

“Maybe a little,” Jenna said.

She couldn’t tell Isabel that she already felt free. She had support and money and so much more that so many others didn’t have.

But none of that would change the fact that having another baby would add more stress, more pressure, to the mix. She’d already sensed a new tension between her and Farrell, an undercurrent she couldn’t define.

If they’d been different people they would have talked about it. She would have asked him about the tension in his shoulders and the frown lines around his mouth.

Instead they made love like teenagers — aggressively, ravenously, as if they might never get another chance. Farrell held her afterwards, stroking her hair, telling her he loved her.

Still, the unspoken burden sat between them.

“It’s understandable,” Isabel said, continuing their conversation as they stepped inside the building that provided a view to the bear exhibit. Behind the glass, a group of brown bears meandered over the terrain. “It’s hard to remember yourself when someone needs something from you all the time.”

“That’s a good way of putting it,” Jenna said.

“Daddy! We can watch them swim!” Lily said breathlessly, running down a ramp to a viewing area that provided a glimpse under the water where the bears swam.

“Right behind you, love,” Farrell said, following Lily and the girls down the ramp with Luca while Nico put an arm around Angel and pulled her close for a kiss.

They came to the fence and Jenna watched as one of the bears walked over a tree trunk, stretched over a pond. The animal moved gracefully in spite of its size, traversing the trunk like a gymnast over a balance beam.

Was Isabel right? Was Jenna forgetting herself? Were she and Farrell forgetting how to be themselves with each other, cracking under the pressure of parenting and managing their complicated lifestyle?

Or was it her secret? Was Farrell able to sense there was something unsaid? That she was keeping something from him?

It wouldn’t surprise her. He knew her better than anyone.

She drew in a deep breath and was surprised when Isabel covered her hand on the railing.

“Try not to worry,” she said. “I can see that there is love between you. These things have a way of working themselves out when there is love.”

Jenna smiled and squeezed Isabel’s hand. “Thank you.”

Isabel was right — love was never in short supply. Words weren’t easy for either of them, but Jenna knew the love was there. She felt it in the way he looked at her, like she was the sun, moon, and stars.

The way he always held her a moment longer than necessary.

The way he made love to her like there was nothing in the world as urgent as joining his body with hers.

“What are you two talking about?” Angel said, joining them by the railing.

“The men, but I’ve had quite enough of it,” Jenna said.

Angel laughed. “Amen. I was thinking the day after tomorrow might be the perfect day for a shopping trip in the city. I can call Maria to come watch the girls since the men will be gone.”

Jenna looked at her. “Gone?”

Angel couldn’t hide her surprise. “They have to make a trip to Athens. You didn’t know?”

Jenna wasn’t sure if she was angry or ashamed that Farrell hadn’t told her.

“I didn’t.”

“I’m sure it slipped Farrell’s mind,” Angel said. “And anyway, it’s only a day trip, which I think calls for a nice lunch and a little retail therapy.”

“Did someone say retail therapy?” Charlotte asked, joining them.

Angel lifted a hand. “Guilty as charged. It’s incredibly materialistic, of course, but it’s been ages since I’ve so much as window-shopped for anything other than children’s clothes, toys, and housewares.”

“I’m in,” Jenna said, trying to hide her annoyance at Farrell.

Why hadn’t he told her about the trip to Greece?

“Shopping for anything made in this century sounds heavenly,” Charlotte said.

“Are you still working on the house?” Angel asked.

Calling the Marchand estate on the French island of Corsica a house was a bit like calling the Mona Lisa a craft project. Restoring it — and the antiques Christophe was determined to return to the family estate — was a full-time job.

“Still?” Charlotte asked with a lift of one delicate brow. “I’ll be restoring that place on my deathbed, I’m sure.”

Angel laughed. “You poor thing. I think you deserve something beautiful, just for you.”

“It’s settled then,” Isabel said. “A day in Rome — no men, no children, no purchasing of dishes or stuffed animals or tiny clothing allowed.”

“Unless the tiny clothes are for us,” Jenna laughed, thinking of her extensive lingerie collection.

“Oh, you’re naughty!” Charlotte’s smile was sly. “I like that about you.”

Jenna laughed, her cheeks flushing. She’d never had any real friends besides Kate. She wasn’t practiced at the intimacy and vulnerability of it.

But she liked these women. The prospect of finding refuge in their friendship was like the promise of a warm fire in the hearth of a long-cold house.

Her excitement was dampened by nervousness when Farrell turned away from the bears and started up the ramp toward them.

He smiled when his eyes found hers, but she couldn’t help remembering that he’d kept the trip to Greece from her.

Couldn’t help wondering what else he was keeping from her.