Page 42 of Winter Glam in Amsterdam

Summer is sitting on the couch, her knees pulled to her chest and resting her chin on them, with a blanket draped around her, only glancing up when she hears me enter.

She looks miserable.

Lily is sitting next to her, bags under her eyes and worry written all over her face. But all of that doesn't matter. Because when Summer's eyes meet mine, I see a wave of emotions in her eyes and a silent plea for rescue.

"Why don't you girls go downstairs for a bit?" I suggest. “Spend some time with your boyfriends.” All of their heads whirl around to look at me with glares so intense I feel like I've just become the enemy.

But it doesn't matter.

Because Summer's face softens, the creases on her forehead disappear. She’s clearly pleased with my suggestion.

"In fact, I insist," I find myself saying. “All of your guys are in the dining room. So, as I see it, you're sitting up here worrying. They're sitting down there worrying. And correct me if I'm wrong, but all the worrying doesn't seem to be helping much."

The three girls exchange glances with each other, then look at Summer.

"How can you say that?" Kayla gets in my face. "Fuck yes, we're worrying."

"I'm not saying that's a bad thing." I lift my hands in a defensive gesture. "I'm just saying it's not helping. Take a break, have a little breather, you can continue to worry afterwards."

The room becomes so silent you could hear a pin drop as the girls seem to hold their breath.

"He's right," Summer whispers. "A little harsh, but right. I appreciate your concern." She reaches for Lily’s hand. "I really do. But knowing that it’s fucking up your vacation is not helping. We're still in Europe," she adds with a sharp laugh falling from her lips. "You all should go out, have an amazing time where you can walk about without bodyguards needing to shield you fromcrazy fans and paparazzi. Trust me, it will make me feel a lot better to know I’m not ruining your vacation."

"Are you sure?" Millie asks, sinking on her knees in front of her. "You know, it's not like hanging out with you sucks or is ruining our time here."

"Yeah, we like hanging out with you," Lily continues and I bite back a grin when Summer's cheeks turn an adorable crimson red.

"I like hanging out with you too," she admits softly. "And I mean, no offense, but it’s a bit much. I need a bit of space and wrap my head around everything that’s happened."

Good. That’s exactly what I figured. I’m pretty sure she just didn’t want to hurt their feelings, but I’m glad she’s voicing what she needs.

"Okay," Millie finally declares and reaches for Lily's hand to pull her up, all of them gathering their bags and whatever they brought, getting ready to leave. As do I, when Summer's voice stops me.

"Tanner, can you stay?"

I freeze, my hand already on the doorknob.

"Have fun, you two," Lily declares with an annoying grin and pushes herself past me, flicking my hand off the door knob andopening it herself instead, then giving me a little wave as she pushes the door close behind Lily.

“Of course.” I take a deep breath as I turn around and force myself to act cool. “But I'm not going to coddle you. Get dressed, we're going for a walk."

She looks at me with wide eyes, not moving a muscle. Then suddenly she bursts into laughter. And holy hell, I didn’t even realize how badly I needed to hear that sound.

"Thank fuck," she finally presses out, all but jumping up from her spot on the couch and letting the covers fall to the ground as she crosses the room with confident steps.

"Really?" I lift my eyebrow, watching her as she pulls clothes out of her suitcase stashed in a corner.

"Yes," she says more firmly, shooting me a look over her shoulder. "Listen, you really weren't wrong with what you said. I love those girls, I really do. But really, I'm just trying to forget this whole thing happened." She waves her hand in the air vaguely as she turns back around. "Is that healthy? Probably not. However, I'm not going to deal with it here anyways. I know I can talk to them if I need to, but the way they're hovering made me feel like I needed to, if that makes sense?”

She gets up, clothes clutched to her chest as she shoots me a grin.

“They planned this whole girl’s day to get my mind off things, watching movies, having a little pajama party. I felt bad about objecting to their plans or sending them away, so thank you for doing it instead."

"You’re welcome?" I answer but it sounds more like a question, because I'm getting whiplash from how quickly her mood changed. One moment she seemed like a woman about to have a mental breakdown, and now she’s suddenly dressed and almost jumping in her spot, ready to leave.

"So, let's go." She turns around to check her windows. "Oh man, no snow."

"I think it's supposed to snow tonight, though," I tell her, snagging her key card as I open the room door for her to walk out ahead of me.

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