Page 21 of Winter Glam in Amsterdam

He shrugs. "Yeah, Asher and I hung out with them earlier, and he mentioned something along those lines. Really, Summer? A sex museum? Are you not familiar with the… process? Do I need to be worried? Have the ‘bees and birds’ talk with you?"

"No need to worry," I quickly assure him with an arm pat. "I'm not eager to, but if you need me to so you can have your peace of mind, I can give you all the sordid details." I wiggle my eyebrows at him while a shudder goes through his whole body.

"You know what? It's fine," he quickly presses out and shakes his head. "That's what I thought. So, no boyfriend?"

"What kind of interrogation is this?" I glance up at him, confused.

"It's not an interrogation. It's a brother checking in on his sister." He puts his arm around my shoulders, and I sputter when we bump into each other because his legs are too damn long for me to fall in step with, so I quickly shake it off. "Oh, come on, Summer. We barely even talk anymore."

"I guess that's what growing up is." I shrug and link my arm with his instead. "You're balls deep in your acting roles, your relationship—” I grimace “-no pun intended, and wedding preparation, and I'm, well, not balls deep but deep nonetheless in job applications."

"I still miss you." I stop and look up at him when his tone shifts to an earnestness I'm not used to hearing from him.

"What's going on, Luca?"

"Nothing," he assures me. "I just want to make sure you're okay." His voice becomes a bit softer. "The Walker brothers seem to have some… issues with not talking to each other and drifting apart. And I don't want that to happen to us."

"Well, for one, I think our situations are fundamentally different," I point out. "I mean firstly, we’re only two siblings, Ithink that makes staying in contact easier. And maybe, for them, it’s something that happened thanks to having to grow up too soon."

We exchange a sad smile, likely thinking the same thing, but not speaking it out loud. Thank God we have Mom and Dad.

We turn back to look at them, walking a few meters ahead of us, laughing as Mom is pushing Dad towards the canal, acting like she’s about to push him in, the both of us nodding in a silent understanding.

"You know, the offer still stands," Luca mentions after a while of silence. "If you need me to stretch out my feelers for a job—”

"I'll let you know," I interrupt him and squeeze his arm. "But I need to do this on my own. I can’t be the one they whisper about, saying ‘she only got the job because of her brother.’ I just can’t." God, that would be humiliating. I’ve been scrutinized heavily as an intern, looked down upon just because I have boobs. I can’t add nepotism to the mix and have the gossiping make a new job even more miserable.

Misogyny I can deal with. People pointing out my lacking skills and going on about how I only got the job because of my connections? Not so much.

"Okay." He gives me a quick nod. "I get it. Just remember, the offer stands."

"Thank you.” I take a deep breath as we turn away from the canal. “Now, tell me about your wedding. How’s the planning going?"

"It's going to be so great." He chuckles, and I can see his whole face light up. "But—” He shoots me a wink. “I’m not telling you anything. It's going to be a surprise."

"How mean." I playfully punch his arm, but he catches my fist and holds onto my wrist as he links our arms again.

"Just as mean as never answering my question. So. Boyfriend?"

"Nope." I shake my head vehemently. "I've got enough to deal with at the moment, emotionally. There is no boyfriend and I have no intention of adding one to that list for now." My emotional bandwidth is at capacity with all the frustration and feeling like a failure, but I’m not going to tell him that.

"Well, if you ever need me to give someone the stern talking to, you know where to find me."

All I answer with is a skeptical look at him that makes him burst into a chuckle. Stern talking to? Luca? The personification of a golden retriever?

"I'll be fine. Thank you."

I just decided to settle in for the night with a book, some room service hot chocolate and maybe a hot bath. After dinner with both sets of parents, Luca, Millie, Asher and Kayla where I felt like the fifth, or rather in this case the ninth wheel, I went to the nearest supermarket for some snacks, deciding to call it a day, when a flurry of movement from the window catches my attention.

No way.

I immediately stride over to the window, turning off the light in my room to have a better view outside, giddiness tickling in my guts as I watch snowflakes fall, completely in awe.

Yeah, there's not a chance in hell I could go to sleep now. Not while the first snow I’m seeing this year is falling.

There's just something magical about it, no matter how often I see it. The way it looks like glitter flakes in the soft streetlamp light and how it instantly makes me feel like a child again, about to enter a winter wonderland.

So, I quickly pull on another sweatshirt and jeans over the leggings I wore to dinner, then throw on my scarf that always threatens to drown me, pull on my shoes and rush to the elevators, winter jacket in my hand.

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