"Your dad is my best friend," Keeley said simply, unable to articulate the full truth.

Violet rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, he is now, but you weren't friends first. I've known Noah since we were in diapers. That's not romantic at all."

Her perspective was shaped by romance novels and chick flicks. For her, true romance had to be big, flashy, and over-the-top. But love could also be simple and sweet.

Noah's affection was definitely of the simple and sweet variety. Violet, who loved reading about grand, dramatic gestures, easily overlooked it.

Keeley's heart ached for her daughter. But she had to support her; it was a matter of principle.

"I'm sure you'll find the romance you're hoping for someday, even if it doesn't arrive in the way you expect."

Violet tilted her head, confused. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

Keeley laughed. She certainly hadn't expected to marry the same man twice, especially after his behavior the first time.

But Keeley was grateful for how things unfolded. She wouldn't love Aaron as she did now if not for everything they'd been through. She believed in fate; things happened as they were meant to.

"I always thought I'd marry someone normal," she said with a shrug. "Not someone whose name was known throughout the city. But the heart wants what it wants, and ultimately, it wanted your father. I don't regret my choice."

A thoughtful expression settled on Violet's face as she returned to her book, digesting her mother's words.

Just then, Aaron returned, soaking wet from the ocean, and unexpectedly scooped up his wife. She shrieked in surprise, protesting that she wanted to read, but he was adamant.

"Our sons ditched me, so you're coming with me," he said simply.

"Aaron! Put me down!"

"Nope."

He carried her into the waves, making her swim with him. Violet peeked over her book, a fond, amused smile playing on her lips. That—that was the kind of romance she wanted someday. She wanted someone who loved her so much they never wanted to be apart.

Kaleb spent most of the vacation with other teenagers avoiding their families. Violet felt a pang in her stomach each time he left; it felt strangely personal.

She spent considerable time with her parents and younger brothers—floating down the lazy river, going down water slides, relaxing on the beach, even visiting the spa with her mother.

"Ah, it's been a while," Keeley sighed contentedly as the masseuse worked her magic.

"Have you even heard of self-care, Mom?"

"We're old friends. Very old. Haven't been in contact for a while," she joked.

Violet shook her head in dismay. Her mother was going to work herself to death one day.

"Seriously, are you ever going to relax?"

"When my treatment gets FDA approval, probably," Keeley admitted.

She cared deeply about her brother's research. Violet understood; her own issues with her brother consumed her life.

FDA approval would take years. Her mother hadn't even reached the second phase. By the time it happened, Violet would likely be out of high school. Was she really going to wait that long to relax?

"Dad's going to make you quit if you work too hard," Violet predicted.

Keeley shook her head. "No, he supports my research dreams more than anyone. He wouldn't do that."

Violet sometimes wondered how her father could be so overprotective of his wife yet allow her to overwork herself. It seemed illogical.

Passion ran in their family. Her mother was passionate about her research; her father, about her mother; Kaleb, about baseball; Oliver, about space. Nathan hadn't found his passion yet, but they all would eventually.

Violet's passion was dance. It was the only time she felt truly able to express herself. Ballet wasn't just grace and elegance; she'd seen modern ballet that was as fierce and powerful as it was beautiful. Sometimes classical ballet suited her; other times, contemporary ballet better reflected her mood. Ballet was an outlet for her emotions.

If her mother felt as strongly about her research as Violet did about ballet, she understood why she'd work herself to exhaustion. And if her father loved her mother enough to understand that, of course he'd let her get away with it.

"I want to take driver's ed," Violet announced.

She couldn't get her learner's permit until September (she had to be fifteen and a half), but she wanted to start the process. Driving would give her mother some breathing room.

"I can sign you up as soon as we get home," Keeley said with a yawn. The massage was making her sleepy.

Good. Violet wanted to be more self-sufficient and helpful to those she loved. Noah wasn't the only one who felt inadequate. Perhaps if she were more capable, she could convince them she was enough, even with her failures.

Maybe if she weren't so needy, Kaleb would want her around again. If she could do everything he used to do for her, wouldn't he return and be her best friend again?