Page 94 of I Loved You First

More tears trailed down her cheeks because they did look like a gorgeous family. But they weren’t. Because this wasn’t her place and they weren’t hers. Her time in Maple Ridge had been a much-needed break, but nothing about her life here in Vermont was real.

Grabbing her phone from her back pocket, she scrolled through her contacts, finding Simone’s information, pressing the number to her direct line at Laurier Group. Because she no longer had a reason not to.

“This is Simone Laurier.”

Fiona cleared her throat, not at all surprised that her boss had picked up on a Sunday. “Simone, this is Fiona Willis.”

“Fiona,” Simone said with pleasure. “Please tell me you’re heading back to Seattle.”

“I am.” She swiped at her cheeks as she turned away from the happy image on her bedside table. “I should be in the office tomorrow if I can get a flight tonight.”

“This is great news. I know you and Leo are running point on the wedding, but I have another project I want to hand off to you. It’s smaller but important and very short notice. A dinner party for one of our VIPs. It’s happening Saturday evening.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she lied as she picked up her suitcase, unzipping it as she set it on her bed. “If you want to email me the preliminaries, I can look them over during my flight. I should be ready to run with it by the time I touch down.”

“Perfect. I’ll send it now. It’ll be great to have you back. We miss your energy around here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you then.” Turning as she hung up, she gasped as her mother stood frowning in the doorway. “You scared me.”

“Honey, what are you doing?”

She headed for her chest of drawers, wiping at her cheeks when fresh tears fell. “I need to get back to Seattle.”

Mom stepped farther into the room. “Why? What happened?”

She jerked her shoulders. “Ally’s back.”

Mom’s frown deepened. “So?”

Fiona grabbed half of the shirts in her drawer, putting them in the suitcase. “So, Cam needs some space. Me being here makes things complicated for him and Brady.”

“But you’re happy. The two of you are so happy.”

She shook her head and started to cry because her mother spoke the truth. But it didn’t matter. “Our arrangement wasn’t forever. Cam and I both knew that.”

“Fiona—”

She whirled on her way back to her drawers. “They’re not mine, Mom. It was easy to let myself forget that.”

“He doesn’t love that woman, Fiona.”

“But he could.” And the idea broke her heart all over again. “Cam and Ally have history, too.”

Mom shook her head. “Nothing like anything you two shared.”

“They have a child together.”

“Because of a drunken one-night stand.”

She couldn’t bear to hear anymore. “You’ve always told me that everything works out the way it’s supposed to—that fate always plays its hand. Clearly, Cam and I aren’t supposed to be together.”

Mom sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re running on emotion, honey. Take a few moments to think.”

She shook her head. “I don’t need to. You’re healthy again—busy doing the things that make you happy. It’s time for me to get back to my life.”

“Fi—”

She grabbed the rest of her tops. “Cam and I don’t have a future. We never once talked about anything more than enjoying the summer.”