We arrived in Paris this morning. Anthony, my mother, and I all flew in and went to the hotel Simon reserved for us. It’s incredible, sumptuously decorated and with a butler assigned to each room. Lilly arrived before us and is already here. I wish Dean had been able to come, but he had a big investor’s meeting in Houston. It will be a fun trip anyway, all of us are sharing the same suite. It will be like a sleepover.

Simon’s brother, Kyle, his nephew, Henry, are staying in the rooms on either side of us. Simon and Addie are in the hotel, too, but on a different floor so that Addie doesn’t see us.

Tomorrow, we’re all heading to Versailles to witness Simon’s very thoughtful and romantic proposal.

It’s wonderful for all of us to be together again. It’s so different from our last trip when Addie and my mother walked on eggshells around each other and ended up having an epic argument. Now, they have resolved their issues and I know this trip will be very different.

The FBI has left us alone the last few months. I haven’t heard from Agent Walker in more than a month.

Kevin’s child custody petition and claims didn’t carry any weight with the court. We are on the same schedule as we have been while things are pending. Anthony lives with me, sees his dad whenever he wants, and Kevin has him officially every other weekend. He also has him for spring break, and every other Thanksgiving.

I'm sorry things didn’t work out the way I’d hoped when we were first married, but I think all three of us will be happier with this arrangement—at least in the long term.

Kevin and Rachael broke up right before we went to court. Kevin contacted me the night before our hearing to say he would drop his claim for custody if I would take him back. I can’t imagine any circumstances under which I could live with him again. Now that I’ve tasted the sweetness and spice of real love and partnership, I can’t believe I had been willing to live with Kevin in a state of forced companionship for the rest of my life.

We’re getting ready to head down to the suite Kyle and Henry are sharing, where we’ve all agreed to meet for dinner. This will be Anthony’s first time meeting Henry, who is just a month past his first birthday. He’s been talking about his cousin Henry non-stop.

Lilly’s been in a great mood, too. Her trip to DC was short, but very sweet. She just seems to be in a better place overall. This is the happiest I’ve seen her in years. And I can’t wait to get a chance to talk to her and find out what’s behind it.

Just then my phone pings with a text. When I look at the screen I see it’s from Dean. This brings an involuntary smile to my face. We’ve been having the best time over the last month. His mother left for the South of France a few days after his party, and we haven’t heard from her since.

I’ll never understand her determination to keep us apart, but it’s nice she’s gone back to being self-absorbed. Dean is more relaxed than I’ve seen him since we’ve gotten back together.

I open the text and my smile vanishes as I read it.

Dean: Red, something has come up. I’ve got to head to Sedona today. I should be back in a couple of days, definitely before you and Ant Man get back. Hope you’re having a good time. Love you, D.

I re-read it a couple of times and can’t shake my feeling of utter confusion. His mother is in Marseille. Why in the world does he have to go to Sedona?

He’s been in Houston on business and was supposed to fly back to DC today. I hope nothing has happened to his mother. That thought spurs me into action, I exit the messenger application and open my contacts. I find Dean’s number and press the little blue phone icon.

It goes straight to voicemail. I decide against leaving one and simply return his text.

Me: D, what’s come up? Is your mom okay? Call me when you get this.

I put my phone away and walk out into our suite’s sitting room where Lilly, my mom, and Anthony are waiting.

“It’s about time. I was just about to send Anthony in for you.” Lilly stands up and pokes a finger in my ribs.

“Cut it out.” I swat her hand playfully and grab Anthony’s hand. “I had to call Dean really quick.”

“Oh, my God, you are so whipped. You can’t even go a few hours without talking to him?” Lilly laughs.

“Lillian, stop teasing your sister. Millicent, you’re going to make us late. We don’t want Simon’s brother to have a bad impression of us.”

My mother looks nervous and I feel bad for delaying us. She has been on tenterhooks since we arrived. When I talked to her about it in the taxi she said she was just excited about Simon proposing. And nervous that Addie, who in general hates surprises, wouldn’t react well.

“Sorry, Mom. Let’s go.” I smile at her. I grab her hand to give it a quick squeeze before I grab my purse.

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Dinner was great. My mother though, was clearly distressed and seemed to grow more and more so as the night wore on. She excused herself back to our room less than an hour after we got there. She told us she wasn’t feeling well. She declined my offer to walk her back down to our room. Anthony is smitten with Henry. He insisted on feeding him during dinner and entertained Henry all night long.

Simon’s brother, Kyle, is practically his twin. His hair, longer on top than Simon’s, is a gorgeous mop of silky chocolate corkscrew curls. He’s got a very easygoing personality. He laughs a lot and has been the life of the party all evening. He’s rakishly charming and irreverently funny. And he loves Addie. It’s obvious from the way he talks about her that they are very close.

I’m so glad she has her own little family here. Tomorrow is going to be such a special day, and I'm grateful Simon wanted to share it with us.

Cara and Louis are the happiest wedding planning couple ever. Their wedding is in six months and they are so relaxed about the whole thing that I wonder if maybe they are on drugs. It’s not a small affair they are having, either.

Louis’ family is an aristocratic one. His father is an Earl. And even in this day and age that still means something. Louis’ older brother, Harry, will inherit the Earldom one day. But Louis, even as the spare heir, is still expected to get married on the family estate. Yes, they have an estate. With its own chapel and vicar, which is why they are getting married there instead of Houston where Cara is from.

Louis is also the first of his brothers to get married. Addie’s told me it’s going to be a grand affair—the Queen herself has been invited. But you would never know it. Cara seems to know none of the details, and Louis can’t seem to keep his eyes off Cara long enough to pay attention to anything anyone is saying.

Lilly, Anthony, and I get back to our suite with Lilly carrying a sleeping Anthony to my room for me.

I walk over to my mother’s room to check on her. When I open the door, I find it empty. I step back out into the suite’s sitting room and look around.

Lilly and Anthony are already in my room when I call out, “Mom?” It’s odd she would leave the room without saying anything. But, maybe she wanted some fresh air.

Lilly walks out of the room, looking around. “Is Mom not here?” She sounds as surprised as I feel.

“Nope,” I say and plop down on the couch, kicking my shoes off.

“That’s so weird. Should we be worried?” Lilly asks as she takes a seat next to me.

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly.

Our mother speaks no French, but I can’t imagine that would stop her from roaming. She’s always liked to do that.

“Maybe she just went on a walk to clear her head, “I posit, not entirely convinced of this myself. I decided to shake off my bad thoughts and focus on getting some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. And then we are going back to London for a few days before we head back to the States.

“I’m going to go down to the bar and get a drink,” Lilly says suddenly. She's growing out her hair again, and she has dyed it back to its natural dark brown.

“Okay, I’m going to wait here and try to get some reading in. I’m sure Mom will be back soon. I’ll go to bed when she gets back.” We smile at each other.

“Glad you’re reading again. I know it was one of your favorite things to do when we were kids. Glad you’re getting back to it.”

With a, “I’ll see you later” she's off. That is so Lilly, she needs alone time. After group gatherings, she always disappears on her own for a while. She just needs to regroup and clear her mind.

I grab my Kindle and settle down to read.

When my mother comes back in hours later, I'm asleep. So, I don’t see her come back in with a suitcase in her hand. I don’t see that her hair is a mess and her clothes are askew. I won’t know anything about what she really spent her night doing until all hell breaks loose.