Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
J ami Chou stepped off the plane, exhaustion clinging to her like the honey glaze on a perfectly crisp Peking duck. That was the last decent meal she'd had after nearly forty-eight hours of travel from her father's native China to her mother's homeland in the middle of America. The bustling noise of the airport was a sharp contrast to the sleepy quiet she’d just left behind in Asia. The familiar scent of fried food and stale coffee hit her nose, making her stomach churn.
She pulled the strap of her overstuffed carry-on higher on her shoulder, sighing as she shuffled toward the baggage claim. Her cargo pants were wrinkled. Her dirty blonde hair, though clean, was a mess. She was pretty sure she smelled like a mix of airplane air and the questionable noodles she'd eaten at one of her three layovers. It had been a long journey, but seeing her sisters again—that would make all the travel misery fade away.
She glanced around the airport she’d flown in and out of more times than she could count over the last five years. It looked... different. Cleaner, shinier, somehow more polished.
Her eyes caught the new LED signs hanging on the walls, the sleek, modern lines of a renovated terminal she barely recognized. New restaurants with trendy logos lined the concourse, and even the coffee kiosk had a new pretentious, neon-lit menu that probably cost more than her plane ticket.
Upgrades. Lots of them.
Her chest tightened as a small, unwelcome thought crept in. All these changes—all that money.
She rubbed her temples, the ache in her head competing with the exhaustion that had settled deep in her bones. It shouldn’t bother her, but the idea that everything around her was moving forward in her small town while she had jetted across the globe but somehow felt like she was on pause gnawed at her.
She couldn’t shake the niggling feeling in her brain, like a persistent itch. She was running low on funds. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, the truth clung to her. Her travels had been exhilarating—sampling the finest cuisines in every corner of the world, hopping from one exotic locale to another—but they hadn’t come cheap. And now her bank account was dangerously close to empty.
Another look around the sparkling new airport with its polished floors and modern upgrades made her wonder just how long she could keep doing this. It was clear—money made the world move forward. It made airports gleam with newness, kept the restaurants thriving, the signs bright.
And money was something Jami desperately needed more of.
As much as she hated to admit it, her sisters had done the smart thing. They had tapped into their inheritances, invested in their businesses, and built something solid. Now they were both thriving while she was out here, still chasing... what? She wasn’t even sure anymore.
The truth gnawed at her, uncomfortable and sharp. The only way she could access her own inheritance was to do what Jacqui and Jules had done: get married.
The thought of tying herself down, of letting anyone get close enough to truly see her, made her stomach twist. Marriage wasn’t in her plan. At least, it hadn’t been. But then again, neither was being broke and stuck in the middle of America.
Jami tugged at her carry-on, its wheels protesting as they squeaked along the polished airport floor. Her feet felt like lead. The dull ache in her back reminded her just how long she’d been on the road. She was halfway to the baggage claim when she caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd.
“Jami? That you?”
She blinked, focusing on the man standing a few feet away. His suit was rumpled, and his eyes were bloodshot, the kind of tired that came from more than just a long flight.
“Ryan?” she asked, stopping short, surprise flickering through her exhaustion at the sight of her high school boyfriend.
"Wow, look at you," Ryan said, a slow grin spreading across his face. He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a small chuckle. "It's been forever. What are you doing back in town?"
"Just visiting family for a while," Jami replied, noting the slightly off-kilter sway in his posture. "What about you?"
Jami and Ryan Daniels had dated her senior year of high school. Until another guy had come between them. Though Ryan didn't know that.
It had happened after a silly game of Truth or Dare. Rather than tell a dangerous truth, Jami had opted for a dare. That dare led to a kiss that haunted Jami every day since. The kiss hadn't been given to her by her high school boyfriend. It had been taken by her worst enemy.
"Just got back from a weekend in Vegas." Ryan gestured vaguely toward the terminal with his thumb.
"It looks like you lost your shirt."
Ryan shrugged, not correcting her. "You know how it is. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."
Jami did know how it was. Ryan loved to play cards. He'd missed a few of their dates because he'd been in a card game.
“But it’s good to be back. Good to see you, actually.”
“Yeah, same here,” Jami replied, offering a polite smile even though her brain was already moving to the baggage carousel ahead. There was a time, back in high school, when she and Ryan had been... something. He had been easygoing, always quick with a joke, and they’d had some good times together. He’d been her first real relationship, in the way that teenage relationships were real—a combination of awkward kisses and weekend hangouts.
But now, standing here, all Jami felt was a vague sense of wistfulness, not the pull of old feelings. Ryan had never made her pulse race or her heart skip a beat. Not like…
No. She wasn’t going to think about him. And she definitely wasn't going to think about that kiss. Especially not during the daylight hours. She dreamed about it at night far too much.
Ryan must have caught her drifting off because he stepped closer, offering a casual grin. “Hey, we should catch up. Maybe grab a drink sometime while you’re in town?”
Jami blinked, forcing herself to focus. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be here for a bit.”
Ryan pulled out his phone. The screen was cracked in a few places. “Great. I’ll give you a call.” He flashed another smile, one that she remembered used to send a flicker of excitement through her. Now it just felt... familiar. Comfortable. Like an old pair of shoes that she'd outgrown.
Jami rattled off her number, watching as Ryan typed it into his phone with a nod. “I’ll be in touch,” he said with a wink before heading toward the exit, his steps a little less steady than they should’ve been.
Jami exhaled, shaking her head as she made her way to the baggage claim. It was funny, running into Ryan like that. He was a reminder of another time, a simpler time. A time when things like Vegas weekends seemed like grand adventures.
But even with all that history, there was something missing. She’d never felt that magnetic pull with him—the one that made her heart race or her breath catch. She used to think maybe that was just something out of the movies, but then again...
Her thoughts faltered as his face—Jed’s face—flashed in her mind. No. She was not going there. Not now. Not ever.
Jami squared her shoulders, pushing the thought away. She was home. Well, sort of. And she had bigger things to worry about than old flames and the one man she wasn’t going to think about.
As soon as Jami spotted Jacqui and Jules standing by the baggage carousel, she felt a wave of nostalgia and frustration wash over her. Nostalgia because, well, this was home. Frustration because of what had changed. Right now, it seemed like that was everything.
“Jami!” Jacqui called, waving wildly. Jules was right beside her, doing the same, their bright smiles warming the icy pit of weariness inside her.
Jami dragged her tired feet over to them. The second she was close enough, she found herself wrapped in a double hug that knocked the wind out of her.
"Ugh, you two..." Jami groaned, but her arms wrapped around them just as tightly. The scent of spicy ginger and warm vanilla was the smell of their family restaurant during lunch hour rushes and lazy Sunday kitchens pulling sheets of cookies and tins and of cakes from the oven. It made everything else melt away.
"You look... terrible." Jacqui pulled back with a teasing grin.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I probably smell worse though," Jami said, wrinkling her nose and motioning to her crumpled clothes. "Like... airplane ramen and regret."
Jules leaned in to sniff dramatically, then recoiled with mock horror. "Yep, definitely stale ramen."
Jami grinned, pushing Jules away playfully. "Please, you two look like old hags."
Jacqui raised an eyebrow, hand on her hip. "Excuse me, I’m a happily married hag, thank you very much."
They all burst into laughter, the sound echoing above the rumble of suitcase wheels and announcements over the loudspeakers. With the Chou sisters, it was like no time had passed at all.
Jacqui grabbed one of Jami’s suitcases, Jules the other, and they started ushering her toward the exit like they were afraid she might bolt.
Outside, the cold Midwest air hit Jami in the face like a slap, and she shivered, pulling her coat tighter around her. It was early fall, and the crispness in the air was a reminder that winter was just around the corner. They arrived at Jacqui’s car—a shiny Ford truck that Jami could’ve sworn belonged on a ranch.
“Whoa.” Jami stopped, blinking at the massive vehicle. “You’re driving a truck now?”
Jacqui shrugged, patting the side of it like it was a prized horse. “Noah’s. Mine’s getting serviced.”
Jami shook her head in disbelief as Jules climbed into the front passenger seat—her seat, the one Jami always took because she was the middle child, and Jules, being the baby, always sat in the back.
It was a small thing, but as Jami slid into the back seat, the weight of change pressed down even heavier on her. The gleam of gold and diamond bands on her sisters’ left hands caught her eye, and a pang hit her square in the chest.
So much had changed.
Her sisters were married now. They had new lives, new routines, new... everything. Jami was still drifting from place to place, restaurant to restaurant, chasing reviews and new culinary experiences across the globe. It was exhilarating—most of the time. But right now, it just felt... empty. Like home had moved on without her.
As Jacqui navigated the familiar streets out of the airport, Jami watched the blur of new restaurants and stores. Even the street name of the airport had changed. She hadn’t been gone that long, had she? The sinking feeling deepened as they drove into town.
"Is that a new clothing store?" Jami asked, spotting a shiny sign she didn’t recognize. "And what’s up with that café? Didn’t it used to be the?—"
"Old hardware store," Jules finished for her. "Yeah. They closed up shop last year."
Jami swallowed hard, her eyes scanning the streets that were both familiar and foreign. "Seems like everything’s changed."
Jacqui glanced at her in the rearview mirror, her voice gentle. "It’s not all bad, you know. It’s just... different."
Jami pressed her lips together. Different. Sure. Different, like the fact that both her sisters had lives that were solid, grounded—while she was still hopping from country to country, experience to experience, like a leaf in the wind.
“You okay back there?” Jules asked, turning around to look at her with concern.
“Yeah, fine. Just tired,” Jami lied, glancing out the window again as they made their way through town.
She wasn’t fine. She was far from it. Her inclination was to turn around and get back on a plane. To go and get lost in another culture and its cuisines. But her funds were too low for that.
Her big sister couldn't bankroll her adventures anymore. Not with the restaurant needing her full attention. She had never considered asking her baby sister for a loan when she had achieved her dream of opening a sugar-free bakery.
Just as their dreams were within their grasps, both of her sisters had had disaster strike. It was their marriages that had solved the problems for them both; namely in the form of receiving their inheritances. Their grandfather had put in his will that his six granddaughters could only get their sizable inheritances after they married.
Both Jacqui and Jules had approached their marriages practically… only to later fall madly in love with their husbands. But what if Jami could enter into an actual marriage of convenience like her sisters had planned? Except with her, it would have to remain convenient because she had no plans to stay here and make it anything more.
And she knew just the unlucky guy to propose to.