I should not enjoy that.
I absolutely should not enjoy that.
But I do.
Just a little.
Okay, a lot.
Colby follows my gaze, then looks back at me.
Something almost like understanding passes between us.
Not romance.
Just a strange, dangerous alignment. Two people caught in a story that neither one of them started.
Jillie slips her mittened hand into mine, then, after a hesitation, reaches for Colby’s too.
He stills. So, do I.
My daughter stands between us beneath the festival lights, holding both our hands like this is the simplest thing in the world.
Like men don’t leave.
Like headlines don’t hurt.
Like pretend things can’t become dangerous.
Across town, phones keep buzzing.
By tonight, everyone will know.
By morning, the whole internet will believe Colby Reid has a secret family in Briar Cove.
Chapter two
Colby
Fake Relationship Proposal
My phone starts vibrating at 5:12 a.m.
By 5:14, I regret having a telephone.
I groan into the pillow and blindly reach across the nightstand of my cabin bedroom. The screen lights up with seventeen missed calls, forty-three texts, and approximately one thousand notifications.
Most from teammates.
Which means this is already catastrophic.
I crack one eye open.
TOBY:bro did u secretly become a suburban father overnight
LIAM:the internet thinks you have a six-year-old daughter??
JAMIE:Call me before you call anyone else.
