Chapter 1

1

DANIELLE

" W hen do you think you'll get here?" Mom's voice booms through my car's speaker as I head west on the highway, dotted with evergreen trees, gold lights glimmering like stars, and wreaths with bright red bows fastened to the poles. She doesn't give me the chance to reply. "You know I'm cooking your favorite—meatballs and gravy."

"Meatballs and gravy are Josh's favorite, Mom," I tell her with a sigh because, of course, my brother's the most important child.

"Oh, what do you want to eat then, hun? And when are you getting here? Can we expect to see someone with you? Joshua's bringing Hilary, and Evelyn … well, Evelyn and Jake are off again. Who knows what's going on with them? I really want her to get it together and land that plane."

"Land that plane?" I cringe at what I know she obviously means. "Just because Jake's great-great-grand-whoever is the founder of Heffen's Bluff doesn't mean he's a plane to land on Evelyn's runway."

"Don't be gross, Danielle."

"Mom, you started it. Jake's net worth as a descendant of the town's founder doesn't guarantee anything for Evelyn other than hearing about how his family founded the town."

Mom huffs out a deep exhale. "You know that Evelyn can bring you around some of her friends. You never talk about your dating life, Danielle. I'm just worried you won't find your person."

"I am my person, Mom. I'm really busy at work, and I'm not…" I pause, wondering how to end this call without being a bitch to my mother. I hate talking about dating life—well, the lack of one. She and Dad were together forever before he died. He's been gone almost eight years now, and she still won't date.

Thankfully, my phone line beeps from the sound of another call coming in. The perfect way to get off the phone. "Mom, I gotta go. That's my other line. I'll be there in an hour or so. Maybe I'll even bring my boyfriend with me."

I click off the line before she can say anything, letting her sit in my sarcasm as I answer the flashing face of my annoying younger brother.

"Josh-You-Whore," I sing the name I gave to him around his fifteenth birthday when he refused to date one person at a time.

"Is that how this week's gonna go, Dateless Dani? It's been what? Six weeks since our lunch, and you're giving me shit?"

"Truce." I shake my head, not wanting to go there with him. "You sound uptight. And remember that it's been a few months since we saw each other. You know how Evil Lynne gets when she finds out we're doing things without her."

Josh groans. "Why couldn't I have brothers? I still don't get why we can’t have lunch without Ev getting jealous. You two have lunch and go out without me plenty of times, and I don't care. Evelyn should just come to D.C. when we invite her, but no, she wants to hang around Heffen's Bluff."

"I think she's scared of what Jake might do if he knows she's out of town."

"If you have to worry about what he's doing when you're not around, then you don't need to have him around at all."

I smile, my face warming at the memory. "That's what Dad used to say."

"I wish he were still here. At least y'all listened to him. You and Ev don't listen to me at all."

"That's not true. I listen to you all the time."

He chuckles. "Did you get your oil changed?"

Just as the words come out of his mouth, my car's check engine light springs to life on my dashboard. I won't dare give Josh the satisfaction. "Of course I did. You literally told me six weeks ago to change my oil. You know, at that lunch we didn't have. I listened to you."

The clanking noise following a slight tremor through my steering wheel forces me to pull over to the side of the road, with a giant billboard announcing a local Christmas market and a snowman figurine standing guard in front of it.

God, even my car agrees with Josh about me not listening and decides to prove it right at this moment.

"Everything alright, Dani?" Josh asks.

"Not in the slightest. I think my car's angry that I just lied to you about getting that oil change. Before you say anything, I meant to get it done, but work is crazy?—"

"You're a fear coach," he says dismissively.

"And that doesn't change the fact that I help my clients manage their fears, most of whom are in the political arena. Just come get me, Josh."

The pause in his voice tells me I'm not going to like his answer. I hear him tightly inhale and picture him tightening his jaw. "I'm at the train station waiting for Hilary. If I'm not here when she gets off that train, I'm going to be miserable and single like you."

"I'm not single or miserable," I blurt out.

"Oh? Who's the lucky guy? Will he make an appearance at dinner, or should we set an imaginary place at the table for him?" He laughs.

"I didn't want to say anything because I don't want to jinx things." The lies come as easily as my sarcastic farewell remark to my mother. "I'll have to call him to see if his plans have changed this week, but I need to get on the phone with roadside. Hang up the phone."

"Fine, just be sure to let me know your boyfriend's name as soon as you think of it."

"Bye." I hang up, hating that I talked myself into a relationship that doesn't exist. Thankfully, I don't have much time to kick myself for lying to my brother. The customer service agent stays on the phone with me the entire time while they get a tow truck out to my car.

My gaze sweeps at the small shops a bit farther from me—all festooned with garlands and their windows frosted with artificial snow. Just my luck, I guess. Of all the things I thought could go wrong for our Christmas Eve dinner, this was the last on my list.

A flatbed pulls up beside me after thirty minutes of discussing awkward holiday travel plans with the agent. It's the season of oversharing and somewhat caring. I just want my family to care less about my dating life. However, I'm thankful to possibly get back on the road to see them.

The sun's sitting high in the afternoon sky, bouncing off the shiny exterior of the truck's chrome grill. I turn away from the gleam and see the highway signs showing I'm not too far outside of Heffen's Bluff. Hopefully, it's not the oil because the last thing I want is to let Josh be right about anything.

The tow truck driver gets out, circling the front of the truck, and that's when I see him.

Oh my God. The ground shifts from under me, and I have to steady myself, unable to believe my eyes for one second.

The late afternoon breeze catches his jet black hair, flipping tousled strands in front of his ruggedly handsome face—all hard, sharp angles. Piercing shale blue eyes stare at me, and he blinks slowly—his disbelief mirroring my own.

He doesn't have as many earrings and gauges from the last time I saw him, and his tattoos now cover the entirety of both his arms. Strong, muscular arms that flex and bulge while glistening under the sun's rays.

"Jelly Bean?" There's a slight twang in his deep voice that makes it sound like he sings about long whiskey nights.

"Collin?" I'm practically breathless as I drink him in. It would be an insult to say he looks the same. He doesn't. He looks better than my memory paints him. A clean white shirt that hugs his broad shoulders and muscled chest and dark denim jeans make him look like he's in a denim ad. No coat even though the wind is nipping at my fingertips, the air crisp with December chill.

Tall, sexy, with a shine to his skin that makes him look tan even though we're heading into the Christmas season. His expression shifts from curious to delight as he wraps his arms around me, hugging me tight. My nerve endings crackle with sparks the moment his skin touches mine, and I melt into him all too easily.

Damn, he smells as good as he looks too. A mixture of cinnamon and a brand-new car air freshener.

"Oh, Jelly Bean, it's been what? Ten years? You're as gorgeous as I remember." Collin puts me down, making my 5'4" height seem even smaller under his towering 6'2".

I have to tilt my head up to gaze back at him. "Yeah, I think it has been. What are you doing here?"

Collin takes a step to the side, using his hand to underline the logo on the side of the truck's door. "The Wright Spot is my place."

"I should’ve known! Wow, that's great. Your timing is perfect too—showing up in my life again—especially since I need a tow." I laugh and mimic his gesture, but there's no logo on my car door.

"Let me take a look. Pop the hood," he says, nudging his chin toward the front end.

The lever is right by the door as I reach inside while Collin sets up road flares and lights to make sure oncoming traffic sees us. After a few minutes of poking around under my hood, he runs to his truck, grabs a bottle of something, and pours it somewhere in the engine.

I try to ignore the warmth weaving through my legs at the sight of his muscles flexing. He has no business looking this good while fixing my car.

"Did you find the right spot yet?" I ask him, teasing and desperate to ignore the unexpected but familiar tendrils of desire coursing through me.

After wiping his hands on a towel he pulled out of his back pocket, Collin peeks around the hood to look at me. He cocks his head to the side with pity in his eyes. "Ma'am, your oil's drier than a week-old biscuit in the Sahara. When's the last time you got this car looked at?"

I'm about to tell him it's been at least two years, but my phone rings to distract me from the star of my teenage fantasies. God, he's even hotter than I remember. Why does Collin Wright have to be this stupidly handsome? He has the same effect on me as he did back when we were teenagers.

"Yeah, Mom?" I answer the call, forgetting that it's still connected to my car's speaker.

"Joshie just called and told me you're stranded. I can come and get you. You know, if you had that nice young man you mentioned traveling with you, he would have taken care of you. Didn't you say you were bringing your boyfriend? Where is he?"

Collin injects himself into the call. "Ma'am, Mrs. Brogan, Jelly … I mean, Danielle isn't stranded. It took me a while to get here, but I'm taking good care of her."

I can almost see Mom perk up. "Who's that, Danielle?"

"It's me, Collin Wright, Mrs. Brogan. I stayed with y'all those few weeks all those years ago."

"Oh honey, how are you? Wait a minute, is this the guy, Danielle? The one you've been all secretive about?" She pauses, her voice dropping. "Is your brother the best choice for boyfriends?"

I groan and run my fingers through my hair. "Foster brother for nine weeks doesn't make us related or even siblings, Mom."

She ignores me. "Okay, then. How about you bring him for dinner? Oh good, I don't have to leave the house. These meatballs aren't going to make themselves. Honey, you and Collin, come. The more, the merrier. You should have said something earlier, Danielle."

"Mom." I shake my head at the rapid-fire speed of this conversation.

I'm ready to tell her the truth, but Collin swoops in beside me to tell her, "Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Brogan. I'd love to join y'all for dinner."

Mom talks over him, too. "Danielle, you really shouldn't be so rude to someone you're dating, especially around this time of year. It's very rude not to tell me you're bringing someone home with ya. On second thought, I’m going to run to the market and grab a few more groceries. Love you. See ya soon, honey."

My mother ends the call, leaving me standing beside Collin, who's grinning from ear to ear, his eyes shining with mischief. With his proximity, I forget the chill seeping into my bones. I forget my piece-of-shit car. I forget everything else, and all I see is him.

He sucks his bottom lip between his teeth—something he unconsciously does whenever he’s up to no good. "So I guess we're dating, Jelly Bean."