“And she’s younger than you!” Samreen tsked. “Have some shame.”
“Ammi! You can’t say things like that. It’s consideredrude.”
“Acha, acha. Millie is why I called—the baby is coming, so I’m flying down.”
“What?” Surprise pricked her. Usually Millie told Emmeline things first; the sisters were always united.
Emmeline removed her phone from her ear to check her notifications; she saw four missed calls from Millie, as well as a text from her brother-in-law, Liam.
So Milliehadtried telling her. Emmeline had just been too distracted to realize. She snuck a glance behind her to look at the distraction in question: Luke was at the tea table, pouring out boiled water.
She shot him a dirty look, then turned her attention back to her mother.
“I’m flying down to be with her,” Samreen was saying. “I’ve already told them at work, and then the winter holidays begin next week, so I’ll be at Millie’s for the next three weeks until school begins again.” Samreen was a school librarian.
“Okay, Ammi,” Emmeline replied. “Should I fly down now as well?”
Stress bounded through her; did Millie need her? How fast could Emmeline fly down? She’d need to close the roasting plant for a day or two because it was a two-hour flight away.
“Ugh, I wish Millie lived closer,” she complained, not for the first time.
“Thatisyour fault, you know,” Samreen reminded her.
Emmeline frowned. This was the response she got from any of her family members when she complained how faraway Millie had moved after getting married, because it was Emmeline who had introduced Millie and Liam.
Liam owned coffee farms. Years ago, when Emmeline was starting out with her business, she’d brought Millie along with her to a variety of farms to see who she wanted to source her beans from.
Coffee had always been Emmeline and Millie’s thing; they both loved cafe-hopping and being baristas at home, so when Emmeline needed to decide where to get her coffee beans from, of course she brought Millie along as her partner-in-crime.
Coffee farms were down south in the warmer, tropical climate: a two-hour dragon ride or a four-hour car ride. Back then, Torch wasn’t old enough to be ridden, and Millie hadn’t hatched an egg yet. They could have borrowed their father’s dragon, but they didn’t mind making a whole day out of it, driving down together and talking the entire way over.
When they got to Liam’s farm, it was an instant connection between Millie and Liam. Millie always fell in love easily, but with Liam, it was different. A year later, they were married, and two years after that, she gave birth to her first son, then a daughter two years later, and now the third was coming.
“The doctors say it’ll be another day,” Samreen said. “I’m going early to watch the children. Check in on your father and brothers and come down tomorrow.”
“Okay, got it,” Emmeline said. She chatted with her mother for a few minutes more. After hanging up with her mother, Emmeline dialed her sister. It rang twice before the call went through, but instead of Millie answering, it was Liam.
“Hey, Emmy, Mills just fell asleep,” Liam said. Emmelinecould hear her niece in the background demanding juice. “Ira, one second!” Liam said. “Sorry, it’s a madhouse in here.”
“As per usual,” Emmeline replied with a laugh. “But don’t worry—Ammi will be there soon, and I’ll come tomorrow. Do you need anything? Millie? The kids?”
Anxiety shot through Emmeline as she thought of her very pregnant sister about to go into delivery. Millie had done it before twice, but still. Emmeline knew she couldn’t relax until both her sister and new niece were safe.
“We’re okay—but actually, Noah has been remembering your cookies, if you could bake some?” Liam asked.
“Of course.” Emmeline froze large batches of cookie dough for this precise reason (and because she needed an emotional support sweet treat every other day).
“You’re the best,” Liam said. Ira shrieked in the background. “Okay, see you soon.”
“Bye!”
Putting her phone away, Emmeline released a long breath. Unbidden, a pang of jealousy went through her; she wanted what her sister had, a little family of her own.
The Sterling family was huge, but it didn’t feel like any of those people were just for her. And while Emmeline was really close with different people, they all had lives of their own—their partners. Aiden and Saphira. Millie and Liam. Even her parents; even her two younger brothers, who were a unit on their own.
Most of the time, Emmeline enjoyed her independence, but sometimes, she felt so lonely.
Emmeline looked up and caught Luke watching her. His expression was soft and curious, and for some reason she feltexposed, as if he’d read her mind. She glared, and he only raised his brows before turning his attention back to his notebook.
