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Benjamin, please don’t be sad for me or angry that your father left. The love I was supposed to find wasn’t his; it was yours. Always yours. You’ve made my life so happy, so full—my funny, brave, thoughtful son. I’m so proud of the young man you’ve grown to become.

Please don’t be scared. I’ll be there by your side and I’ll love you until the last star fades.

Love, Mum

xoxoxoxox

Gasping through tears, Riley folded Ben’s cherished letter, her heart heavy with sorrow and loss for an extraordinary woman she loved but would never meet.

Seventy-Two

One month later

“Mom, check it out. Isn’t this cool?”

Riley held her phone high and did a slow sweep of the flags, shoppers, and food so Maggie, wrapped in her bathrobe post-shower, could feast her eyes on the Maltby Street Market through her tablet. A cloudless, sunny April sky, more typical of a spring day in New York City than London, had brought people out in droves, every stall surrounded by customers hungry for a lunchtime deal. Ben had mentioned to Riley an hour earlier that he’d be lucky if he had any Love Bites left by 2 P.M.

“Mmmmm!” Maggie squinted through the screen over her breakfast. “Are those the loaded waffles you keep Instagramming?”

“Yep! They smell even better than they look!” Riley swiveled, giving her mom a close-up of the batter being poured into the nooks of a sizzling griddle. “You can get them piled high with marshmallows and chocolate sauce or go healthy with fruit.” Riley’s phone returned to her face. “So, come on—spill, Mom. Did Casey bring Sophie last night?” Before Riley left for London, Casey had promised he’d visit Maggie regularly to check in and make sure all was well.

“He did. We had pizza and watched a movie. Sophie is lovely and absolutely adores Casey.”

“Aw! He texted me some cute photos from her cousin’s wedding last weekend. I’m so happy for him. I was worried he might retreat into his dark editing cave with me and Pip gone.”

“Well, he has, but he’s not alone.” Maggie spread strawberry jam on her toast. “Sophie’s helping him with his new documentary.”

“Couples that work together…” Riley glanced over her phone and spotted Ben a few stalls away, handing a box of Love Bites brownies to a customer. “I love it.”

“So, how did it go yesterday afternoon?”

“Mom, it was AMAZING! I shadowed the series director! I swear, it felt like I learned six months of stuff in a day. On the studio floor, she introduced me to one of the BBC’s casting directors, and she invited me to spend half a day with her, too. I told my boss and she said I can go. Can you believe it? The two things I want to do most!”

“Well, sounds like you’re not missing the California dream at all!” Maggie took a bite of toast.

“I’m not!” Riley winced, squeezing through the crowd. “I mean, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t prefer the weather—and having Pip around—but I adore London, really like my new therapist, and love my job—and my boss! She’s been like a mentor to me, and get this: she’s not supposed to say anything, but she gave me a heads-up about two coordinator jobs being added this fall. She told me I should apply but…” Riley looked away with a shrug.

“Riley.” Maggie set down her toast. “We talked about this.”

“I know, but I’m so far away, Mom. What if something…happens?”

“Sweetheart, please don’t worry. I’m feeling great! I’m busy with work, friends, my book club, and I’ll feel even better if you’re living your life, enjoying yourself. If a job comes up while you’re there and it’s something you want to do, apply for it. I’m fine, fit as a fiddle—if I wasn’t, I would tell you.”

“I know,” Riley said quietly. “But I miss you.”

“Oh, honey. I miss you, too, but I’m always just a call away. We talk more now than when you lived here, silly!” Maggie laughed.

“But I can’t hug you.”

“But you will…soon! And I’ll bring you Funyuns, and Ben some black-and-white cookies—a little taste of home.” Maggie picked up her coffee and took a big sip.

Riley slipped behind Ben’s table. “I can’t wait!”

“Can’t wait for what?” Ben waved a blue plastic glove at Riley’s phone screen. “Oh, hiya, Mags!”

“Hey, Ben!” Maggie beamed over her mug. “Look at you, our young entrepreneur!”

“Mom and I were talking about her coming over with Piper in August. Thank God for seat sales!”