Page 140 of The Lost Book of First Loves

“Welcome officially to the family,” Ali said.

June smiled and hugged her again. “Thanks. But I don’t think either one of us had any remaining doubts, did we?”

“I didn’t. But verification is always good, right? I have one more I want you to open now. You can open Grandma’s giftslater. I thought maybe we could do a video call with her when you do.”

June mentally rearranged her afternoon schedule so she could spend the rest of the day with her sister.

“Good idea.”

She opened the second present, while Alison practically vibrated with anticipation.

Inside was a book with a bound leather cover. Her eyes suddenly burned with tears.

“The Forgotten Road,”she exclaimed, reading the cover. “How?”

She had only been gone a month. How had Alison managed to have the book printed in that time?

“Remember I told you I had that friend who hired someone to print copies of her book? I wanted you to have your own copy of Dad’s book so I ordered a rush job.”

“Oh, Ali. Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

It was more priceless to her than a box overflowing with diamonds. A tear dripped out as she hugged her sister again.

“You’re welcome. I had a dozen copies printed. So far only you, me, Grandma and Beck have them.”

Beck.

Simply hearing his name brought back all the yearning she had been fighting for weeks.

She was in love with him. That truth had become inescapable through all the long hours she had been away.

“Have the two of you decided whether you want to release it on a wider scale?”

“Not yet. We’ve talked about it, but, like I told you, we won’t make that call without you being involved. It was dedicated to your mother, after all.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted the entire world to read something that felt so intensely personal to her, even though the book was a completely fictionalized story that likely bore little resemblance to her parents’ actual affair.

Ali shrugged. “Basically, we decided not to decide for now. There’s no rush. We can all kick it around.”

She didn’t want to take part in any discussions. That would involve having to talk to Beck, and she wasn’t sure she had the strength to do that.

“For now, you have your own copy and you can reread it whenever you like,” Ali said.

“Thank you.”

Her sister suddenly looked sly. “There’s something else. It’s in your office.”

“This is enough,” she protested. “Really. More than enough. I can’t believe you came all this way.”

“I was glad for an excuse, since I might not have the chance to see you again for a few months. Xan and I are leaving next week for India.”

“Before you get your bar exam results?”

She knew her sister had taken the test the week before, with much angst and worry.

“I won’t get them for at least another month. Why sit around stressing about it when I could be exploring the world with the man I love?”

As always, Ali glowed when talking about Xander. It warmed June’s heart to see her so happy. She had since watched many of Xander Scott’s travel videos and had been impressed at his passion and creativity, not to mention his courage and undeniable charm.

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