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His cheeks colored, and after a moment he nodded and extended onearm. Ignoring that, she put her arms around his neck and gave him a firmsqueeze. “You’re a good guy, Larry. Be nice to these people around here, okay?Do it for me. They’re your friends.”

He seemed conflicted. His brow creased dramatically, as if aninternal battle waged. “Even Ms. Chase? Because that one is just out of—”

“Even Ms. Chase,” she said slowly.

“Very well.” He nodded hesitantly and headed down the stairs. She’dmiss that quirky guy, as frustrating as he could be. Alone now, she steppedonto the second-story sidewalk and stared out over the railing to the courtyardbelow. She would miss Seven Shores, too, so very much. She watched the wavescrash just above the roof, dusted with the colors of the setting sun. Thecourtyard stood empty, which allowed her to envision all the great times they’dhad out there, from theme nights to late night talks and water balloon fightsin the summer. She placed a hand over her heart in honor of the friendshipshe’d found there that she’d never let go. She might be leaving, but thesewomen would travel with her in her heart.

“Gonna miss this place,” she said, and stood there for one final,long-lasting look. She blew a kiss to the buildings that were so much more thanthat to her and headed inside. She had a big trip ahead of her.

* * *

“No, no. I don’t think we can make that work.” Claudette leanedback in her elegant desk chair and stared at Spencer like she’d just asked forher own personal elephant.

“I had a feeling you would say that,” Spencer said. “You want mehere in Paris to learn the company culture, to work under the mentorship ofsomeone like Gerhard, and truly live the brand.”

“All very important. Now you understand.”

“I understand entirely, and I’m more than grateful for the chanceto work under the Bertrand label,” she said, as respectfully as possible.

“Then why are you asking to return to California?”

She took a deep breath and prepared to state the rest of her caseas the sounds of incoming emails pinged like an electronic symphony on thecomputer behind Claudette. All a reminder of a successful business runningitself as they sat in those very chairs. Somehow that only added to thepressure. She swallowed, and began. “I can do all of those things if I designfrom Los Angeles, and I’m more than willing to travel to Paris whenever youneed me for face-to-face time, to go over samples, sketches, all of it. I don’tmind the travel. I welcome it.”

Claudette eyed her. “This is the kind of opportunity that mostyoung designers would kill for. Yet you are unhappy.”

“I’m not unhappy with the job, but I guarantee that you’ll getbetter work from me back home, in my element.”

Claudette sat forward, incredulous. “You’re homesick? This ishomesickness?” She saidthe word like it was the most offensive of weaknesses.

“It’s more than just that. I left a lot unfinished, and—”

“Then you should see to it,” Claudette said, head held high.“Bertrand will release you from your contract.”

It was a blow. Spencer’s eyes fluttered closed. Those were not thewords she was hoping to hear. “Isn’t there some sort of compromise we couldcome to? I was hoping that after we talked—”

“You either want to be here or you don’t,” Claudette said, icily.“There are too many others waiting for your job for me to hesitate. This is aninsult.”

Silence hit and stretched. Spencer shifted uncomfortably at thedecision in front of her. The ramifications of throwing it all away would behuge. But what she had waiting behind door number two felt so much moreimportant. It had taken her a lot to fully understand as much, but she had.

“In that case, I’m sorry. I’ll turn in my badge and keys to thefront desk.”

Claudette didn’t say anything as Spencer excused herself from theoffice with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit in her stomach. In fact, shefelt more than a little nauseous. As she walked the length of the hallway,however, something interesting happened. With each step she took, thatsickening feeling gradually fell away until all she was left with was anoverwhelming sense of relief and excitement for what was to come. She closedher eyes and took a deep, fortifying breath. It was time to be honest about herfeelings and reclaim what she so desperately missed. She just hoped Hadleywould be open to what she had to say.

If not, then what? God, she couldn’t think about that. Not now.She had to pack.

* * *

It was ten that night when the friends gathered at the now-closedCat’s Pajamas one last time together. Hadley had made a point of saying herpersonal goodbyes to Kate and the twins earlier that night. That had been hard.She couldn’t imagine months going by before she saw the little kiddos. Wouldthey be crawling by then? Talking? Would they forget all about her? She triednot to dwell on all she’d miss. Next, she’d caught Elle in the parking lot onher way back to her house, and Taylor had been nice enough to stop bypersonally with a going-away gift for Hadley, a journal with a photo of theEiffel Tower on the cover—extra thoughtful as always. She’d miss them all noend. Thank God for technology and social media that would hopefully keep herplugged into their lives.

However, standing there in the dimly lit coffee shop with Isabel,Autumn, and Gia brought with it a new kind of sadness. These three, shecouldn’t imagine life without.

“Do you have snacks for the flight?” Autumn asked, nervouslymoving toward the storeroom for baked goods in case Hadley said no.

“I do. I packed a very detailed and varied bag of snacks just likeyou told me to.”

“And your book?” Gia asked. She always paid attention to whatinstallment Hadley was on.

Hadley smiled. “Yes. The new Captain Janika is prepped and readyto accompany me overseas.”