1. Cedric

"I'm so looking forward to seeing you."

My friend and boss, Reed, grinned. "I can't wait for you to meet my family and friends."

"Me neither."

"I'll pick you up from the airport and show you around town after dropping your luggage at the hotel."

I bit my tongue, not wanting to ask if there was much to see in Riverford. But that was one reason I so wanted to go there.

"See you soon." I ended the call, and Reed's face disappeared from the screen.

I wandered to the gigantic window in my corner office and observed the slice of city life it offered. The congested traffic, the crowds surging across the intersection, the noise from beeping horns and grime on the windows from the cars and trucks belching fumes were the same every afternoon when I stood here and sipped my tea.

But I was ready for a vacation. Not one in an island resort, visiting art galleries and museums, trekking over high mountains or watching wild animals. Nope, I was headed to the small town where Reed lived.

Reed had given up gallivanting around the world photographing animals in their natural habitat and settled with his partner and baby in Riverford, a place most people had never heard of. He was trying to convince me to take a job at the nature reserve he'd created, and he wasn't shy about that being the primary reason for the invitation to stay there for two weeks.

I'd booked a room in a small hotel overlooking the river and planned to sleep late, eat good food, of which Reed assured me there was plenty, and mosey around the reserve.

As well as wanting to lure me to his small town, Reed was technically my current boss because I worked for his company here in the city, but he'd handed over the day-to-day operations when he moved to Riverford. He video chatted with me often and flew here once a month. The man who used to work eighty-hour weeks, now strolled into the office at the nature reserve at ten and left at four, before collecting his son from daycare.

Reed didn't need telepathy to understand that I was looking to get out of the frantic lifestyle known as the rat race. Working late into the night, often on weekends as well, getting stuck in traffic, paying for someone to clean my apartment because I didn't have the time, and forking out a monthly membership for a gym I didn't have the energy to attend wasn't the life I'd envisioned when I took the job.

I was the company's chief marketing officer and always on the lookout for new ways to market our products that included documentaries, coffee table books, online and in-person photography courses, tours to locations where Reed had taken photos, stationery, and branded clothing. It was a Reed-related empire, managed by someone else.

But while I'd always worked hard, there was another reason I wanted to leave the city temporarily or even permanently; a love affair gone wrong. The man I'd been going to marry sat me down and said he'd met someone else. Someone else. No one wanted to hear those dreaded words.

During the day, I blocked off the pain and did my job, while at night I raged, searching his social media for who this person was, the one who was a more suitable life partner than me. Was the guy smarter, more handsome, more ambitious, or better in… bed?

But the situation was complicated, which was a polite way of saying that my former fiancé, Adrian, being my immediate boss, made it F-ed up. He'd been promoted from office manager and was in charge of the company after Reed stepped away.

And according to office gossip, my replacement also worked here. It was the classic rom-com where the boss fell for his assistant. But the part they left out in the feel-good movies was that I shared his life and his bed while he was sharing part of himself with someone else.

And it wasn't his assistant he'd fallen for. Oh no. It couldn't be that simple. It was the person who sat just outside my office, who knew where I was at any given moment. Yes, it was my assistant.

Today was my last day in the office for two weeks, and I couldn't wait until five o'clock.

With five minutes to go before I could race out and say, "I'm on vacation," I packed my briefcase, and after glancing around the office, making sure everything was in order, I closed the door. Jace was at his desk but staring at his phone, an arrogant smile on his face. Damn, he was chatting with Adrian. I recognized the profile pic.

He didn't look up when I stood opposite him and not when I said his name. He was so absorbed in what? Sexting? He'd forgotten where he was and that I was his immediate boss. I dumped my briefcase on the desk's wooden surface. The slap echoed around the office, and heads swiveled in my direction. But it was Jace's reaction that was the perfect parting gift, better than I could have imagined.

He shrieked and knocked a coffee over his suit.

"Oh, dear." I wasn't sure if his expression of horror was because he'd ruined his clothes or because I'd snuck up on him. "Just a head's up." I leaned in close. "He still hasn't figured out how to operate the washing machine and can't even boil an egg." I waved and smiled. "Have fun."

There were sniggers from the cubicles as I said my goodbyes to the other staff and flounced into the elevator lobby, while in the background, Jace whined about his ruined suit.

Did it make me a bad person that I relished his discomfort? Maybe, but I was loving it.

I took a deep breath of polluted air and waited for my rideshare.

But as I sat in the car while it swerved around traffic and pedestrians, the adrenaline surge I experienced from seeing Jace annoyed wore off, and I headed home to my empty apartment. It used to be my sanctuary and now it just emphasized my loneliness.

"It's just for one night." My speaking out loud startled the driver, and he looked at me in the rear-view mirror.

"What was that?"

"I have one night and then I'm going on vacation." That was a quick save, though his raised brow didn't appear convinced.

Eating leftovers in front of the TV didn't improve my mood, but as I tossed out the garbage and packed the last of my clothes, my mood improved. No matter what happened in Riverford, I had two weeks to decide what to do with my life.

I couldn't continue at the company, but I refused to take Reed's offer just to escape Adrian.

As I lay awake, thinking about the future, I finally admitted I'd had doubts about Adrian. But I had the perfect job with the big office and salary to match, and what came next? The perfect match. But I'd kidded myself until it blew up in my face.

The next day, I slept most of the plane ride, and when I stepped into the arrivals hall, Reed gave me a bear hug. That was so unlike him. His movements were more studied and purposeful, and I'd never seen him rush anything, though the stories he told in person and in his documentaries suggested he skedaddled from animals wanting him for their dinner.

Riverford wasn't big enough for an airport, so we picked up coffee and pastries for the drive. Reed told me about the town and the people he'd met since he arrived, the amazing bookstore run by his partner, Greg, and his quirky friends, Mr. Lucas and Mrs. Ambrose, who sometimes babysat his little boy.

"You'll love Harry. He's my assistant and the guy who knows everyone and everything."

Assistant wasn't my favorite word, but I hoped Harry was professional and not hopping into bed with his boss or someone else's boss. When I said that to Reed, he yelled, "Whoa! I'm his boss, and that isn't happening. Ever."

Good to know.

When he drove into Riverford, it didn't strike me as anything different from small towns I'd driven through when going from point A to point B. We stopped at the bookstore and he introduced me to Greg, who gave me a big hug and said Riverford had a way of healing people and making things right.

"I'm going to pick up Callum and take Cedric to his hotel."

"If you're not too tired, we're going to Mr. Lucas and Mrs. Ambrose's place for dinner and you're invited." Greg nudged Reed, and their odd expressions had me wondering if they were trying to set me up with someone. It was way too soon. I might never trust anyone ever again to get that close to me.

"Riverford is a very special place." Reed started the car, and I waved to Greg. "It casts a spell over you and makes you believe in magic."

Maybe Reed had been eating too many mushrooms or something because he was less the wildlife photographer turned business entrepreneur I knew and more a woo-woo kinda guy. If he told me to manifest my happiness, that would confirm it.