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“Your personal shopper? Why would she care about my color preferences?” I frown at him. These past three days have been… annoying, quite frankly. And also stupidly entertaining. He’s always been my favorite of Hudson’s friends. And I’ve alwayskind of hero worshipped him. But since he sprung me from jail, I’ve seen a whole other side of him.

Luckily, he’s spent most of the last few days at his office. And avoiding me. But still, when he’s here, all he talks about is how I need to behave, what we will say to people when we get to Liberty, and how my brother can never find out about this.

I don’t tell him I’m already a pro at lying to my family.

“I figured you’d need non-paint splattered clothes in Liberty,” he tells me. “And she’s already having my wardrobe shipped there.”

“I don’t need any favors from you,” I mutter.

“Funny how you didn’t say that when you were in jail.”

Okay. He has me there. I pick up my phone and start to scroll.

“By the way, our flight leaves on Friday,” he says.

I blink. “Our flight?”

“Private jet.” He smiles, like he knows that’s going to rile me up.

“Isn’t it going to be suspicious if we both arrive at Liberty at the same time?” I ask him. “Especially since my family knows I’d rather pull my nails off than fly in your PJ?”

“PJ. Nice.” He mulls it over, and for once, I think he actually listening to me. “How would you prefer to travel?”

“Train.”

“That’ll take days.” He looks aghast, like I suggested we travel by donkey.

“Then I’ll leave tomorrow.” And it’ll give me at least two days without him. Because yes, he’s annoying. But he’s also handsome, and stupidly funny, and he smells great. Like all the time. It’s distracting. Putting me off my game. “I’ll still get there before you do.”

He looks at me for a moment. “Okay, I’ll get my assistant to book it.”

“You trust me?” I ask.

“No. But I realize I’m asking a lot from you. If you want to travel for days by train, that’s fine by me.”

Wow. That was easier than I thought. Maybe he’s not so bad after all. But then he goes and spoils it.

“And, quite frankly, I could do with a few days away from you, too.”

seven

EDEN

“You’re really here!” Autumn squeals as I step off the gang plank of the Liberty ferry, onto the island I grew up on. She runs to me, throwing her arms around me, and for a second I luxuriate in my big sister’s embrace.

And then I feel it. Her bump. And a lump in my throat forms. I step back, taking her in. “Look at you,” I say. “I can’t believe it. You’re going to be a mom.”

“I know.” Her nose wrinkles, but I can see the happiness radiating from her. “I can barely believe it myself. Married, pregnant, living back here? Remember when all we talked about was escaping?”

The rock in my throat gets bigger. Because that’s still all I can think about. Even though I’m so happy to see her, there’s still this feeling of guilt I get whenever my family or Liberty is involved.

“I’m parked on Main Street,” she says, going to grab my battered rucksack. I bat her hand away.

“You’re pregnant. I’ll carry it.”

“Ugh, I hate this. Everybody thinks I’m an invalid. Parker won’t let me do anything, it’s infuriating.”

“Shut up. You always loved being treated like a princess,” I remind her.