Page 52 of Winter Glam in Amsterdam

Luca smiles and leans in to give Millie a kiss on her cheek, while all of the parents at the table burst into a collective “Ahww” and Asher grimaces like he's about to puke under the table.

"Aren't you two cute?" Mom asks, eyes sparkling with adoration. I think it's fair to say she's very pleased with Luca's future addition to the family.

"You girls do that. How about you?" Luca plays the question back to our parents, lifting his eyebrow, amused before he adds, "And just let me put it out there, if it's anything involving sex, I don't want to know."

"Don’t worry, son. We wanted to visit Madame Tussauds and the flower market for some souvenirs," Millie’s mom explains, making all of us younglings relax in relief. From what I've heard, my parents went into the sex museum a few days after Tanner and me, and I thank the heavens every day since then that we didn’t run into each other.

It's funny how vacations show you a whole different side of your parents. One you never expected, nor wanted to see.

"Have fun, kids," Kayla says teasingly. "Don't touch any of the sculptures inappropriately. Tristan, make sure to keep her away from Ryan Gosling."

That makes all of us break into laughter. And a little bit of the weight on my shoulders lifts. It might not have been a part of my plan, but hanging out with the Sirens sounds like an alternative I can live with.

God, it's still so surreal that I get to hang out with the Sirens.TheSirens. Like, what do you mean my future sister-in-law and her bestie are world famous? They’re so… normal.

Apart from the fact that even with their faces hidden beyond recognition, thanks to face masks and sunglasses, hair tucked under thick wool beanies, they draw attention.

It's just something about their aura, I think. The confidence that they carry themselves with. The kind of confidence I wish I had.

I’d passed on the viral food spots on my first walk through the city, but when Kayla mentioned how she’d also fallen victim to her social media algorithm, we decided to give a few of them a try after all.

So, our girls' day started by spending way too much money on underwhelming food. It looked so good online, I’m still pouting when we make our way to the boats.

"Come on, let's get an obligatory stroopwafel before we go on one of those little boats," Millie suggests, and both Kayla and I nod eagerly.

"Thank fuck, I can't wait to sit down," I whine, making the two of them chuckle. "I don't know how you do it."

I shake my head at them, impressed. We've been on our feet the majority of the day since most of the viral foods we tried were more like snacks and less ‘let’s sit down to eat’ food and I swear I can already feel blisters forming on my left foot. But the two of them are completely unfazed.

"Oh, this is nothing," Kayla says with a grin. "Try doing that in high heels."

"Oh god." I grimace. "No way in hell. You two must be the equivalent to Wonder Woman."

"I'll take it," Millie jokes. She links her arm with mine as we get into line for the thin caramel waffles.

“Which one would you like?” Kayla asks before ordering for all of us and I kind of feel like I'm out and about with my two sugar mommies. They've insisted on paying for everything, shooting me glares if I even dared to pull out my wallet.

Maybe the status of being Luca’s sister might not be the worst thing after all.

"So," Millie starts as we sit down in the very corner of the boat. It is lined with two-seater benches, so Kayla sits down in front of us sideways to stretch her legs over the seat beside her and can be involved in our conversation. "What's up?"

"What do you mean, what's up?" I lift my eyebrow at her, confused, trying my best to not look like a deer in headlights. Does she know about Tanner and me? Was it that obvious?

"You know." She waves her free hand vaguely, taking a small bite from her waffle. "How are you doing? With what… happened to you and all."

"I think I'm doing all right, all things considered," I say and take a bite of mine as well. My eyes rolling back when the taste of the sweet caramel hits my tongue.

"This is fucking delicious," I say. But the two of them pin me with their stares.

"They are," Millie agrees tentatively, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Are you sure everything's fine though?” Kayla says, clearly knowing what Millie is thinking. I swear, sometimes it’s like the two of them share a brain. “You don't seem very happy."

I take another bite, stealing a few more seconds to come up with an answer. These two are so sweet. A part of me wants to talk about everything that happened, have them bitch about Tanner with me and just do some good old girl gossiping.

But Tanner, is not worth another thought. Much less another word.

I'll act like everything between us just never happened. That's what I decided after breakfast, when I kept staring at my phone, hoping it would light up with a message or call. Which obviously didn’t happen because I blocked him. Nonetheless, hope occupied my thoughts. And I don’t want to hope anymore.

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