Chapter 1

one

Maple Ridge, Vermont

August

Fiona sang along with another song on her favorite playlist as she wrapped the last lock of her dark-brown hair around her curling iron. Counting to eight, she stared at herself in the full-length mirror, scrutinizing the look Leo had helped her put together via several texts while she waited to deplane at Logan International four hours ago.

A slow smile of satisfaction made her dimples pop as she tracked her gaze from her big brown eyes she'd accentuated with a slide of eyeliner and a sweep of mascara to the simple thigh-length powder-blue cami dress she'd bought two days ago in London.

"Not bad," she murmured as she released her curls from the iron, brushing her fingers through her silky tresses, creating the loose waves that had been her goal.

Picking up her clear gloss, she applied it to her lips, then snatched up her phone, snapping a selfie and sending it off in a text. What do you think?

Seconds later, Leo responded. Holy s moke show!

Fiona laughed. You're good for my ego. But it's not too shabby after a transatlantic flight and a two-hour bus ride home.

Girl, that boy is toast.

She snagged her lip with her teeth, hoping that would be true. Wish me luck.

Her friend's next response popped up. You don't need luck. He's crazy about you. Go kiss and make up.

"That's the plan," she whispered as she exhaled a long breath, switching to a picture of herself and Cam snuggled up and grinning just days before she'd left for Europe—before everything had gone so wrong .

She sighed as she studied their happy faces, wishing she'd never accepted the summer internship she'd jumped at the chance to take. Three months in the UK was supposed to have propelled her life forward, not ruined everything with the person she loved most in the world.

But her endlessly busy days, a five-hour time difference, and Cam's crazy schedule had strained a relationship that had been mostly long-distance since she left for college nearly four years ago.

Their breaking point came when Cam found out that Simone Laurier had offered her a job in Seattle after the completion of her senior year at George Washington University. Leo had tagged her in a celebratory post on Instagram before she'd had a chance to tell Cam herself.

"Why am I finding out about job offers on Instagram? Why didn't you tell me, Fi?"

"I don't know. Simone asked me to think about it, and it felt weird saying no when I still have six weeks left here in London. But I'm turning down the position."

"You're turning it down because of me."

"No, I'm turning it down for us."

"You've worked so hard for this, Fi. This opportunity is perfect for you. It's everything you've wanted. I can hear the excitement in your voice when you talk about what you're doing over there. How can I let you do that?"

"You're not letting me do anything."

"I love you, Fi, more than anyone or anything. But it feels like we're drifting apart. I don't know how we're supposed to have a relationship like this. We play phone tag more than we talk. It feels like we're moving in different directions—like you're moving in a direction I can't follow. You know my family needs me here in Vermont."

"I do know that."

"I won't be the reason your dreams don't come true."

She huffed out a breath. "You're putting all of this on me, and that's not fair. You knew from the very beginning that this was my plan—to have a big life."

"I thought we were making a big life together."

"I did, too."

"Maybe… Maybe this isn't working."

"Maybe it's not."

"Maybe we should take a break."

"Maybe we should."

Cam paused for several seconds. "That's what you want?"

She heard the shock in his voice—the hurt—but her frustrations and her own hurt feelings fueled her on. "I guess it is."

"Good, then. Me too."

"Good."

"So, you're saying we're done?"

"I am. We are."

"Fine."

"Fine."

And then she hung up and tried to focus on the one hundred-plus guests she and Leo had been overseeing at the high-end luncheon, even when she and Cam going their separate ways was never what she'd wanted.

After over a month without speaking, Cam had texted her two days ago, asking her if he could pick her up at the airport so they could talk when she flew home.

When she'd accepted his offer and taken a chance by telling him how much she missed him, he'd texted back that he missed her too. After their brief conversation, she'd wasted no time telling Simone that she needed to leave her internship early and that she wouldn't be accepting the job in Seattle with the world-renowned event planning firm. She'd booked a flight, packed her bags, and headed to Heathrow International.

Her seven-hour flight had given her time to ponder and reflect, and she knew exactly what she wanted. Her path had never been clearer. She and Cam loved each other. They supported each other's dreams. They had for the last six years. And that's why, in her heart, she knew it would all work out.

Fiona grinned as she heard the car pull up in the driveway. Taking a last peek in the mirror, she grabbed her phone and hurried downstairs, throwing herself into her mother's arms as Mom walked through the front door.

Mom laughed with delight as she returned her embrace. "Fiona, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come home early."

Mom set Fi's phone on the table, then captured her hands as she stepped back. "Europe has certainly agreed with you. You look beautiful , sweet girl."

Fiona grinned. "Thank you. Leo helped me pick out the dress and gave me some makeup tips."

Mom nodded as she studied Fi's dress. "You know I'm thrilled you're here, but I thought Cam was picking you up at the airport. In three days."

Fiona shrugged. "He was. But I wanted to surprise him—to fix things—before I have to go back to school next week."

Trouble clouded Mom's blue eyes as she sighed. "Fi…"

Her light mood immediately vanished because Mom rarely said her name like that. "What's wrong?"

Mom sighed again. "I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do in this situation…"

Fiona swallowed as her uneasiness grew. "What is it?"

"Come sit down," Mom said as she pulled her over to the couch, keeping Fiona's hand in hers as they sat. "Cam came by the house a couple of days ago, pretty upset. He shared some news that he wanted me to hear from him—that he wanted to tell you himself."

Fiona's heart began to pound as her anxiety increased. "Is he okay? Is he sick?"

She shook her head. "Cam's health is fine." Mom squeezed her hand tighter. "He and Ally Foster… She's pregnant."

Fiona continued to hold Mom's gaze. "Okay…"

"The baby's Cam's, honey."

Fiona rushed off the cushion as she instantly grew sick. "That's not true."

Sympathy filled Mom's eyes now. "I'm afraid it is?—"

"No," Fiona said as she shook her head more adamantly. "I don't believe you."

Mom stood, capturing her hands again. "Sweetie, I saw Ellie at the council meeting this morning. We had a chance to talk. All of this has come as a huge shock to everyone. She told me Cam moved out of his apartment—that he's back home. Ally's been feeling quite poorly, so she's had a hard time working at the salon… They'll both be staying with Ellie and Danny while they try to figure things out."

Fiona shook her head again as she tried to take it all in—as she fought to comprehend that the girl who'd hated her throughout high school would be living in Cam's family home. That Cam and Ally were going to be parents . Together. "No."

Mom nodded. "Ellie mentioned that Cam and some friends are helping Ally move this afternoon?—"

"No," Fiona repeated as she rushed to the entryway, grabbing her phone and the car keys off the table before she ran out the door.

Mom hurried after her, stopping in the doorway. "Fiona, come back."

She didn't listen as she got behind the wheel and quickly backed out. "It's just a mistake," she assured herself, unable to believe anything else as her hands trembled on the steering wheel.

"We love each other," she told herself next as she paused more than stopped at the occasional stop sign, driving closer to Ally's above-the-garage apartment in the same older neighborhood Fiona had lived in nearly all her life.

She slowed halfway up the next block, stopping when she spotted the familiar pickup truck.

Getting out, she left the Camry to idle in the middle of the street, listening to the Top 40 music echoing from a window as she walked closer to the well-maintained colonial, still trying to convince herself that there was another explanation—that other people besides Cam drove a black Dodge Ram.

But her breath backed up in her chest as she read Bennet & Sons Home Builders on the side of the work truck. And then she froze when Cam and Cam's best friend hefted a chest of drawers through the open garage door. Ally soon followed in short shorts and a tank shirt, looking stunning and no worse for the wear while she carried a small U-Haul box in her arms.

"This isn't happening," Fiona whispered, still in disbelief, until Cam turned his head and their gazes locked. She saw it then—the surprise and apology in his gorgeous green eyes.

Instantly, her heart knew what her head had been unwilling to accept. Everything about her life as she knew it crumbled into a million pieces.

Tears coursed down her cheeks as she fought to breathe—as she turned away and hurried toward the car.

"Fi, wait!"

She picked up her pace, full-out running, as she heard Cam's footsteps quickly approaching.

"Fiona, stop!"

But she didn't stop. Instead, she got behind the wheel, flipped a U-ey, and burned rubber as she slammed her foot on the gas.

Five blocks quickly passed in a blur of tears and grief. The sobs came when she spotted the sweet two-story house she and Mom had fixed up together. Home.

But she felt none of the familiar comfort in being there as she pulled into the driveway and ran up the porch steps, yanking open the door. "Mom!"

Mom rushed from the kitchen. "Fi?—"

"I need to go," she said as she hurried upstairs to the bedroom, crouching to shut the suitcase she'd barely unpacked, zipping it and grabbing her purse. She yanked up the heavy luggage, dragging it beside her down the steps. "I need to leave. I have to go right now."

Mom stopped her with a gentle tug on her arm as Fiona reached to open the screen door. "Take some deep breaths, honey."

Fiona adamantly shook her head. "I can't. Please take me to the bus station."

"But—"

"Please, Mom. I know Cam will come, and I can't be here when he does."

Mom nodded, following Fiona outside, getting behind the wheel as Fiona fought to get the suitcase into the trunk.

Getting in the passenger side, she heard her cell phone ringing on the floor. Ignoring it, she buckled her safety belt while Mom backed up.

"Fi, where will you go?"

She shrugged, finding it impossible to stop crying. "To the airport. Then to DC. School starts next week."

"Where will you stay?"

She jerked her shoulders again. "I'll call Tara when I get on the bus. I'm sure I can stay with her. Her parents said I'm always welcome." But she would stay in a damn shelter until the dorms opened if she had to. Because she wasn't staying here.

Her cell phone stopped ringing and alerted her to a text. Short on patience, she huffed out a breath as she yanked it up, reading it.

Fi, please talk to me. Please let me explain.

Then Cam's gorgeous, grinning face filled her screen when he called again.

Another wave of sorrow broke her as she selected his name in her contacts and blocked him. Instantly, the car was quiet, except for her shuddering breaths and sniffling.

She'd been the biggest of fools. Cam hadn't texted her two days ago because he'd been missing her the way she'd been missing him. He hadn't wanted to get back together like she had. Cam had wanted to tell her that he'd moved on and made a child with someone else.

Minutes later, Mom pulled into the bus station lot, parking close to the Boston-bound bus.

Fiona got out, eager to secure a ticket and be gone. Pulling her suitcase from the back, she shut the trunk.

Mom met her around back, cupping Fiona's face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, baby girl."

She started to cry again.

"I know it doesn't seem like it now, but you're going to be okay."

Fiona cried harder. "He doesn't love me."

Mom wiped away her tears. "You're my strong, brave girl. You can do anything you set your mind to. Go make a life for yourself. Make all of your dreams come true the way your dad wanted you to. Call Simone and take the job in Seattle."

Fiona nodded. "Okay."

Mom wrapped her up in a tight hug. "Put your tickets on the emergency credit card. I'll bring you your stuff next week before we both have to get back to the classroom."

Fiona held on. "Thank you, Mom."

Mom eased back. "I love you, sweet girl."

She sniffled. "I love you, too."

"Lift up that chin, and go get your ticket, baby."

She nodded, swiping at her cheeks as she walked inside, heading for the ticket booth.

Buying her fare, she immediately headed for the bus that was due to depart in eleven minutes. As she took her seat and stared out at the outskirts of the town she'd grown up in, she promised herself she would take her mother's advice and build a new life. And she would never look back.