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I pulled my trench coat shut and crossed my arms over myself in hopes that it would shield me against the cold wind as I neared the hotel. One of the perks of working for Prim was the conferences they sent me to. In the last seven months, I’d visited Spain, Milano, Venice, Rome, Cannes, and London. More places than I’d been to in my life before this, for sure. Every trip brought new information, new experiences, and I was gladly taking it all in. I hadn’t been designing as much as I thought I would, but I’d been learning more than I thought imaginable in such a short period of time. My boss, Yamina, said she was trying to groom me for success. Prim would open their U.S. branch soon, and they’d be looking for people to head the departments, which meant I had a real shot at big-time growth in the company. The idea both terrified and elated me.

The bellhop greeted me with a smile as I walked inside. “Good morning, ma’am. Are you arriving for the conference?”

“Good morning, yes, would you mind pointing me in the right direction?” I smiled as wide as my stingingly cold face allowed me.

“Take the corridor to the left. You’ll see the registration tables there.”

I’d been there seven months and my French was still pretty awful. They just spoke so fast and had this thing they did with the back of their throat when they pronounced words. It was lovely to listen to and difficult to imitate. I’d spent hours in the café by my apartment just listening to people around me talk. Thankfully, most people understood English and spoke it better than I could imagine myself speaking French. Much to my chagrin, my sister seemed to have no problem picking it up. Though, I had a slight suspicion it had something to do with an elusive man she’d met a few months ago. She’d broken up with Ben and started dating the new guy shortly after she moved to Paris to be closer to me.

My phone vibrated in my pocket just as the woman at the registration table handed me my badge. I fished it out quickly and smiled at the sight of Cody’s name on the screen. Cody, the buyer from Barney’s I’d befriended and stayed in touch with, frequented these conferences as much as I did. The fashion industry was a small world and coming to these conferences made you see that. I answered the call before it was sent to voicemail.

“Where are you?”

“I just walked in.” I pushed forward through the crowd that had gathered around the tea and coffee table. “This place is a madhouse.”

“I told you.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t believe you.”

He chuckled into the phone. “I see you. At three o’clock.”

My eyes bounced to that direction. He was wearing a powder-blue suit that matched his eyes, and his blond hair brushed neatly to the side. I smiled, disconnected the call, and slid my phone back into my pocket as I reached him.

“Look at you, vest and everything.” I reached up to kiss him on both cheeks.

“Look at you embracing the European culture.”

I laughed. “You too? Samson gave me a lot of crap about it last time he was here.”

“Sam is the brother of you-know-who?”

“Yes.” I smiled because he remembered not to mention Rowan’s name.

“How’s he doing these days? Last time we spoke, you said he was going in for an MRI.”

I swallowed thickly, trying to contain the emotion brought on by those simple questions, but a stupid tear broke rank and slipped down my cheek. Quickly, I wiped it away and then cleared my throat. “They found a mass in his brain and did a biopsy to confirm that it’s cancerous. He’s staying positive and says he’s fine, but I feel like I need to see him in person to determine that for myself. He will be in town this week to see a doctor here.”

Sam had said it was nothing serious, as if that diagnosis were ever a joke, but he was dealing with it as best he could, and if that meant making light of things, then I’d follow his lead. He’d be staying with me for a few days while he saw the specialist. Apparently, the research in Europe was more advanced than what we had back home.

“You’re a good friend.” Cody put a hand on my shoulder and stood in front of me to look me in the eye. I smiled shakily. “Let’s talk about something else. I wouldn’t want you to ruin the tough reputation you’ve built in the industry in such a short amount of time.”

“You’re right.” I cracked a smile. “Do you think anyone noticed?”

“I think you’re safe.” He grinned before placing his hand on my expansive belly. “Any names yet?”

“Nope.”

“You aren’t going to be one of those hippy moms who waits to name her baby until after she takes it home, are you?”

I swatted his hand away playfully. “It’s a baby not an it, and no.” I laughed before hooking my arm around his and letting him lead me into the first room. “I just can’t think of any names. I feel like I need to look him in the eyes first.”

“Hippy mom.”

“Says the guy wearing the powder-blue suit.”

“I’m a trend-setter, darling.”

We got a few dirty looks as we walked into the room for being loud, which made us cling to each other tighter as we fought to stifle our laughter. We moved to the front of the room quickly, found two seats in the second row, and got comfortable.

“This is more crowded than Milan,” Cody whispered.

“It’s because this is the hi-tech one,” I whispered back. “They’re going to show us whatever groundbreaking technology they’re using to put the material together.”

“I’m only here because it’s mandatory. I’ve already been to three of these presentations.” Cody pulled back and looked at me, eyebrows pulled up. “So, what are they teaching you at Prim?”

I laughed. “You ask me this every time we see each other.”

“And you never answer my question.”

“Because you’re making me think you’re some sort of spy,” I whispered. He chuckled softly and faced forward.

The presentation began, and we watched in silence as they unveiled a white machine that looked like a sewing machine-loom hybrid. Of course, it wasn’t life-sized, but that didn’t seem to dampen the excitement of the inventor. Over the next hour, the man explained the different production stages of fabric and how this machine was able to streamline them to create a superior product. Admittedly, it wasn’t very interesting, but nothing presented as a PowerPoint ever was.

Cody must have glanced at his watch five times. I fully expected him to walk out in the middle of the presentation like he’d done in Milan when we saw a similar one, but he managed to stay in his seat. When the presentation finished, we clapped and stood to make our way to the exit. As we did, he walked slightly in front of me, turning every so often to make sure I was okay. If the situation were different, it may have been weird, as if the gesture were too intimate. Since there was no way anyone would be interested in an enormously pregnant woman unless it was the man who’d made her that way, which he wasn’t, I knew he was just being a good friend.