Chapter 4

I grabbed the car door. "You made a bet out of this?"

"Don't get worked up, we were just having fun." Julian was still laughing. "Oh, by the way—I canceled your reservation and booked a new one for Chloe."

"You're taking her on my honeymoon?"

"I'm messing with you." His voice softened. "I booked you first class on a separate flight. Your back's been bothering you. Long flights are rough."

"Send me the booking info."

"It's all set, just give your name at the counter. Something came up on my end, I'll send it to you in a bit."

After he hung up, I sat in the car for a few minutes, then drove to the airport anyway.

The agent checked twice, then looked up. "I'm sorry, Ms. Bennett. I'm not finding any reservation under your name. Do you have a confirmation email?"

I checked my inbox. Nothing.

I walked away and called Julian again. He listened, went silent for two seconds, then burst out laughing.

"You actually went to check?"

I could hear Chloe laughing next to him.

"Julian. Where are you right now?"

"Iceland. Chloe's always wanted to come. She's never been out of the country."

I pulled the car door open and got in.

"So you told me to go home and change, had me waiting at the airport, then turned off your phone?"

"If I'd told you ahead of time, you would've said no."

"Then why are you telling me now?"

"We're already here. You expect us to just fly straight back?"

I looked down at my white dress and didn't answer.

He sighed. "I'll make up the honeymoon to you. Don't drag this out forever."

"Us?"

Mom's voice came through from the side. "Sweetheart, we already promised we'd bring her out here. You and Julian can plan another trip."

Then Dad: "We'll talk when we get back. What's the point of fighting on an international call?"

I gripped the phone until my nails bit into my palm.

Back when Chloe was scared of thunder, Julian would drive through the rain across half the city to sit with her. When I got stranded at a coffee shop two blocks from his place after work, he told me to just call a cab.

Whenever we went out to eat, he always handed the menu to her first. If I said I didn't like the restaurant, he'd pat my knee and tell me I could pick next time.

On the other end, Chloe said quietly, "Maybe I should just go back. Nora's always like this. None of us are gonna enjoy the trip."

"No." Julian cut in instantly.

Then he said my name again.

"Nora, go home first. I promise, as soon as we're back, we'll plan a real trip."

"When you get back, we're getting divorced."