Page 54 of Winter Glam in Amsterdam

“That’s crazy,” Millie hisses. “I would be so scared to just wake up in the water one morning.”

Kayla and I nod in agreement, a chill running down my spine at the thought. I definitely prefer hard ground under my house.

The boat ride takes us in a circle around the city and the captain, who also functions as guide, explains a bit about places we’re driving by.

"Is it just me or is that guy weirdly obsessed with the mafia?" Kayla asks in a whisper when he starts another tirade, and both Millie and I start to nod eagerly.

"Right? First the flower market, then our hotel, and now the tourism shops? The mafia is busy here," I whisper back with a grin.

"Did you at least see some hot mafia daddies around?" Millie asks Kayla with a giggle, making her roll her eyes and shake her head at Millie.

"What?" I ask, confused, looking from one of them to the other. Is this some kind of inside joke I missed?

Kayla shoots Millie a glare.

"She saw one of the romance books I brought along. A mafia dark romance. And now she's teasing me with it."

She lifts her arm over her backrest to flick Millie against the forehead and I lean back to let the two bicker.

I wasn't kidding before. I'd always longed for sisters. Having a brother is great, but now that I'm hanging out with the two of them, it's such a different vibe.

They pick up on nuances. They don't bulldoze me with questions when they realize I'm uncomfortable. They can read the room, a talent that has wholly evaded my brother.

And even though by now I am about eighty percent sure that they picked up on something going on between Tanner and me, they know better than to ask.

And it's taking such a weight off my shoulders to just hang out with them and have a lovely last afternoon here in Amsterdam.

I would never admit this out loud, especially not in front of Luca, but I’m glad he made me come. And I really,reallydon’t want to go back yet.

Tanner

“How's my favorite sister?” I ask enthusiastically, slowly opening the door to her hospital room. Her face lights up when I come into sight before she quickly schools it again. Like the cool teenager she is.

"Your one and only sister," she says pointedly, "is going up the fucking walls. When can I leave?"

"You need to ask Adam for that," I tell her and sit down on the uncomfortable chair right next to her bed, throwing the bouquet of get-well-soon flowers into her lap.

"I don't think he wants to talk to me," she admits, reaching for the bouquet and turning it in her hands. "Carnations." A small smile starts playing at her lips. They’ve always been her favorite. "Thank you, Tanner."

"Anything for you," I say, and lean back with a sigh. She might be right. Adam is still angry with her. And I get it. I was, and kind of still am, too.

Yet I can’t forget about the fact that she’s still our little sister and has never broken a bone before—this whole experience must have been scary and I can’t exactly blame her for forgetting to press ‘send’ on a message right before her first ever surgery.

So for now, I’m swallowing my anger. Adam is angry enough for the two of us. Considering he’s bearing the brunt of the trauma that losing our parents caused, since he was the oldest when it happened, I’m sure there’s a healthy portion of fear he’s not admitting to in his reaction.

"Okay, so how exactly did that happen anyways?" I point at her casted arm curiously, and she grimaces.

"Honestly, I don't even know," she whines and shakes her head. "One moment I was skiing down the mountain. The next, someone drove into me and lost control and next I know I was hugging a tree.” I grimace at that image.

“God, I guess you can be lucky it’s only a broken arm,” I mutter, and she nods.

“Thanks to Jackson’s insistence on us wearing protective gear,” she points out. Jackson is still not too happy with her as well, but this might just be an argument in favor of her forgiveness. “My friends helped me down the mountain and called theparamedics. Truthfully, I don’t remember much. I was in so much pain."

"So that fucker did not stay? Check if you’re okay?" I ask, sitting up straighter, anger bubbling in my stomach.

"No," she says and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Trust me. If he did, I would have given him a piece of mind and got him on the hook for the medical bills. You know I'm a good skier, Tanner." She looks at me insistently, and I nod.

Jackson had taken us sledding and skiing once when we were younger, and she'd taken such a liking to it that she made him take her every year. It took a lot of tantrums, but of course, he gave in. She basically grew up on these things. So, it has to take a lot for her to break her bones doing it.

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