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AUTUMN

I
was transfixed by the Bellagio fountain as it showered water into the sky, lights of all different colors in each pillar of water. The hotel stood in all of its glory just behind the sight. Violins were playing, the water seemingly following the tune. 
 
“It’s

soooo

beautiful.” I gushed to my sister, Kristina, laying my head on her shoulder. “I can’t believe I’m actually witnessing this right now.” 
 
Kristina chortled. “I never thought we’d be in Vegas.” 
 
“Neither did I,” I sighed blissfully, letting my eyes close for a moment. 
 
“This is definitely nothing like San Francisco.” she said. 
 
“Nothing at all.” I nodded in agreement. 
 
“Are you drunk?” Kristina asked. 
 
“Yes,” I nodded. “What about you?” 
 
Kristina nodded slowly. “Yeahhh.” 
 
I interlocked my fingers with hers, snuggling my face into her shoulder. I smiled. I was happy. Drunk and happy. In Las Vegas. As I stared at the water mountain show, I couldn’t help but feel like that. Free and floating. 
 
“I enjoyed myself tonight,” I said. 
 
“Me too. I’m so happy we decided to come here.” 
 
“Mhmmm.” I removed my hand from hers and stood up again. I began cheering. 
 
“Autumn, shut up.” Kristina spoke through gritted teeth, slapping my hand. I looked around to see I was being sent some dirty looks. 
 
I chuckled. “Come on, people! Lighten up! We’re in Vegas!” 
 
We were going back to California tomorrow, I wanted to enjoy my last hours of bliss in Vegas while I could. I’ll be damned if some party poopers ruin that for me. 
 
We were in Vegas because our sister, Tessa’s boyfriend, Sam, had a business trip here and they invited us. Well, Sam surprised Tessa by flying me and Kristina here. He didn’t want her to be all alone in Vegas while he was working. Unfortunately, it was a fast trip, and Kristina and I had to get back to work. 
 
Even though we have an early flight tomorrow, we still wanted to enjoy our last night in Vegas. So we partied. And we enjoyed it. We never, ever got to do things like this anymore. 
 
I forgot what it was like to actually have fun. And it pissed me off that it had to be so brief. 
 
Once the fountain show concluded, the crowd scattered off to other areas on the Strip, or back to their hotels. 
 
“Should we go back to the hotel?” Kristina asked. 
 
I leaned my head on her shoulder again and whined, “Noooo!” 
 
Kristina did her best to hold back her laughter. 
 
“Is Cameron still at the club?” Kristina asked. 
 
I gave her a look. “How am I s’posed to know?” 
 
Cameron Brink was a family friend of Sam’s and tagged along on this trip, too. She was the one who told us about the club and brought us there with her. She knew a lot of people there. 
 
“Should we go check?” I asked her, praying in my head that she would say yes. I wanted to dance and drink some more. 
 
But I looked at my sister’s face and saw the exhaustion that was deep in her eyes. My shoulders sagged. “Actually, never mind. We should head to bed.” 
 
“Okay. My feet hurt.” Kristina said, picking one of her feet up to show me the heels she was in. 
 
We started walking back to our hotel and it was slightly chilly. I cursed me from a few hours ago for wearing a tank top. It was only March, I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. 
 
“It’s so cold,” I complained, realizing I’d forgotten my jacket somewhere. Or did I even bring it at all? Who knows. 
 
I asked Kristina if we could go find my jacket by the Bellagio, but it wasn’t there. I really can’t remember if I brought it or not. 
 
“Did I forget it at the club?” I mumbled, mostly to myself. 
 
“Let’s go get i–” But she cut herself off with a loud yawn. 
 
Kristina never stayed up late. She was unable to. I was surprised she’d even made it to this late. 
 
“Let me drop you off at the hotel, and I’ll go look for my jacket.” I said. 
 
“You’re really going to go

alone

?” Kristina’s eyes widened. “In

Vegas

?” 
 
I nodded. “I’m a big girl. I’ll be okay.” I interlocked our arms together and we started for the hotel again. 
 
Once we got back to the hotel room, Kristina turned to me with a stern look on her face. “Be very careful and come right back. No gallivanting. Just in and out.” 
 
“Okay,

Mom

.” I mocked. 
 
She gave me a disgusted look. “Don’t call me Mom.” 
 
“Okay, Mother.” 
 
“No!” she spun on her heel, but slipped and almost face planted on the floor. 
 
I quickly rushed over, helping her right herself. 
 
“I

hate

high heels.” she grumbled. “See you soon.” 
 
I nodded, and left the room. I went to the elevator, through the lobby, and finally, outside. 
 
I was walking past the fountain when I saw her, further up from me, but close enough for me to see.
 
“Oh. Cameron.” I said, walking closer to where she was standing. 
 
I stopped when I reached her. “Hey, was I wearing a jacket earlier?” 
 
“No, you were not.” Cameron said. 
 
“Oh.” I said, going silent for a moment and then shrugging my shoulders. 
 
I smiled up at Cameron, having to look

up

at her because she was so much taller than I was. She was very tall. I didn’t know exactly how tall. “How tall are you?” 
 
“Six four.” Her voice was so pleasant. 
 
“Hmm. I love your voice.” 
 
A small smile came upon her mouth. “You’re drunk, aren’t you?”
 
“Way drunk.” 
 
Cameron’s smile widened in amusement at the state I was in.
 
“I say random things when I’m drunk.” I informed Cameron. “Can we go to the Bellagio to see the fountain show?” 
 
“We certainly can.” Cameron said, finding a place for us by the fountain so that we could clearly see it. 
 
“I like the Bellagio.” I said. 
 
“It’s very pretty.” Cameron said, looking out at the fountain show. I stared up at her. 
 
My god, she was beautiful. The best looking girl I’d ever seen. Her face shape was perfect. Her long, wavy blonde hair was alluring. Her lips were almost heart shaped. Even her nose was pretty. 
 
Cameron sensed my staring, looking down at me. The lights all around us made her blue eyes twinkle. 
 
Cameron had been living in San Francisco for a few months now, and I wasn’t blind to her beauty. You’d have to be blind to not see that Cameron Brink was gorgeous. 
 
Yet, I didn’t know

how

gorgeous. 
 
Now that I was staring at her,

really

looking at her features, I realized that she wasn’t just gorgeous. She was jaw-dropping, breath-stealing, Greek Goddess gorgeous. 
 
I wasn’t sure if the alcohol was making my brain mushy and therefore, my eyes. 
 
“You are very attractive.” I blurted, definitely motivated by the alcohol. 
 
Cameron raised one of her perfect, Aphrodite brows. 
 
“You’re serious. And so desirable.” I just kept on  spewing shit out of my stupid mouth. 
 
“You really say whatever enters your mind, don’t you?” 
 
“Just when I’ve had some liquid courage.” 
 
Cameron was quiet, just looking at me. I couldn’t read her expression. I could feel myself getting drunker and drunker. 
 
“Keep going.” Cameron softly commanded. 
 
My eyes were entranced by her lips as she spoke. I snapped out of my trance. “Huh?” 
 
“Keep telling me what’s on your mind,” 
 
“

Ohhh

.” My eyes glided from her lips, down the rest of her body, taking in the black and white dress she was wearing. Her boobs weren’t big, but they were perfect on her. Just like every one of her features. The dress fit her body completely, as if it were made just for her body and her body only. “I would love… to know what’s

under

that dress, lovely as it is.” 
 
Cameron giggled. Another pleasing part of her. Damn, was this woman just utterly perfect, harboring no flaws? 
 
I watched like a child unable to take their eyes off of the TV as she gently guided her hair over her shoulder, and then she pushed the straps of her dress down revealing more skin to me. My eyes widened. 
 
“Holy…” I spoke, barely audible. “Can I touch you?” 
 
Cameron nodded. I reached up, tracing her collarbone with a featherlight touch. 
 
“That tickles.” Cameron whispered in my ear. 
 
Goosebumps rose along my skin at how close we were. 
 
I knew how wrong it was that we were standing here like this. I mean, Cameron was practically like a sister to my sister’s boyfriend. I shouldn’t be feeling this for her, yet I wanted to guide the rest of this infuriating dress down her body, down her long legs. 
 
“Autumn.”
 
My eyes left the skin of her collarbone to snap back up to her eyes. “My name only sounds nice when you say it.” 
 
Cameron’s thumb brushed my cheekbone. “You’re flushed.” Once again, I couldn’t read whatever expression was hidden in her eyes. 
 
“It’s because I’m drunk,” I lied. 
 
“Me too.” 
 
“

You

?” I gaped. “

Drunk

?” 
 
“Yes.” she leaned forward, her eyes slipping down to my own lips. 
 
“But… but you’re so normal!” I exclaimed. I shut up quickly when her lips got closer to mine. “Are you gonna kiss me?” 
 
Cameron murmured, “I’m considering it.” 
 
I always had an answer. This time, though, I did not. 
 
Cameron leaned in closer and I tilted my head up for her. 
 
We both jumped when the water fountain suddenly became loud again, erupting into colorful pillars again. 
 
Ugh. Cockblock. I turned away from Cameron, facing the show. 
 
Cameron fixed the straps of her dress and then got closer to me, our sides pressed against each other as a fast song began playing on the violins. 
 
“It’s so flawless,” I mumbled. “I wonder whose idea this was.” 
 
“No idea.” 
 
I leaned closer to her, my head resting on her arm.
 
The water show ended once more and I was restless. I turned around, my foot getting caught. I was about to fall when a strong hand grabbed my waist. 
 
“Uh oh,” I tittered. “I should be more careful.” 
 
“Let’s go back to your hotel.” 
 
I frowned. “No.” 
 
I loved this night too much for it to end. Once I got into bed, that was it. It would all be over. Gone. 
 
“I can’t believe you’re drunk.” I changed the subject, staring at Cameron. “How are you so normal?” 
 
She laughed. “And what’s your definition of drunk?” 
 
“Acting dumb. Crazy. Stupid. Tired. Overly relaxed. Something. But you’re just… normal. You’re like… coherent.” 
 
“I’m relaxed.” 
 
“No, you’re not. Not drunk-relaxed, at least.” 
 
“Then let’s get more drunk, why don’t we?” She curled a brow, a small smirk on her face.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

CAMERON

I
jumped abruptly from the hotel bed when I heard someone loudly shoving things into a suitcase. That eventually stopped, and then I heard bare feet walking to what sounded like the bathroom. She– Autumn– spent a very brief time in the bathroom before she was back in the huge bedroom. Something else was put into her suitcase. A zipper slid closed. 
 
She was sneaking out, like this was a cheesy high school hook-up that her parents weren’t supposed to know about. 
 
We weren’t teenagers. She was my damn wife. 
 
Holy shit – my

wife

. 
 
I wanted to turn around and scream into my pillow, though unfortunately, I couldn’t – not without alerting Autumn to the fact that I was, indeed, awake. I was in turmoil. I had a pounding headache, and I don’t know if it’s from the hangover, or from the situation I’d gotten myself into. Maybe it was both. 
 
I didn’t want to “wake up”. I kept my position exactly as it was when I was actually asleep. I was heavily concentrated on keeping my breathing even and slow, so Autumn didn’t suspect anything. 
 
I just needed more time to think, more time to prepare myself to speak to Autumn. 
 
I’d clearly lost my mind last night. 
 
I got married in Vegas. Damnit. To Autumn Blossom, nonetheless. 
 
I slept like shit last night, just thinking about how I was now a wife. I had a wife. 
 
And on top of that, I just couldn’t get comfortable. Autumn was pressed against me all night, her arms on top of me or around me, like she was a koala bear clinging to it’s mother. No matter how many times I tried to shift away, she just kept coming back. 
 
I liked to sleep loose and free, and yet, I seemed to have married a woman who must be attached in sleep at all times. 
 
I had

really

gotten myself into a fucked up, messy situation. 
 
The more that I thought about it, my headache thumped harder inside of my skull. Now, I was damn near throwing up. I had never, in my life, made a decision as dumb as this, and while, yes, there was alcohol involved in that decision, it didn’t make it any less crazy. Or legal. 
 
Autumn walked into the bathroom again, but this time, she closed the door. 
 
I opened my eyes for the first time since waking up, staring at the bathroom door. I heard her turn the faucet on, and I took my moment to scream as quietly as I could into the pillow. 
 
This was a catastrophe. What was I gonna do? This was a

marriage

. 
 
I couldn’t be too judgmental towards her for trying to sneak away before I woke up, because I was extremely close to doing it myself last night. I was going to chicken out, and try to delay facing her. Because I had

no

idea what I was supposed to say to her. I still don’t. What

could

I even say? “

Hey, so sorry for drunkenly marrying you. Friends

?” 
 
But it was just so much more complicated than that. If this was a different person, then we could just divorce and it would be an embarrassing mistake from the past. We would never have to see each other again. But this was not a different person.
 
This was Autumn. My best friend’s– practically my brother– girlfriend’s sister. We couldn’t just part ways. Our lives were too entwined. It would hurt everyone around us, too.

Sam

. Oh my god. I forgot about Sam. He was surely going to kill me. Probably Tessa, too. Autumn was Tessa’s baby sister for fuck’s sake. 
 
Maybe I would have to run away from my problems, not go back to San Francisco, move somewhere else. I would miss Sam, but it would be better than dealing with this clusterfuck drunk me had so graciously created.
 
No, I couldn’t do that. Because legally, Autumn was my wife. 
 
At last, the bathroom light shut off, and I quickly snapped my eyes closed, so forcefully it worsened my headache. I heard the door open, and then her feet coming back into the room once again. 
 
Something else zippered. 
 
We would have to get an annulment. That was the perfect solution. 
 
I was hoping that Autumn would also want to take this to the grave, kept between the two of us. If we got an annulment, no one else would ever have to know. The marriage would have never existed. 
 
Since she was trying to sneak out, and I was pretend sleeping, then discussing the annulment would have to wait until I went back to San Francisco. 
 
I had no idea what time it was, but I could hear cars outside the hotel window and light slipping through the tracks of the curtains. 
 
Last night replayed in my head again. The

after

the wedding. The sex. Just thinking of it made me wet. I wasn’t sure I’d ever had such intense sex. We weren’t light or tender last night. We were harsh and savage, even. It was definitely the best sex I’d ever had. 
 
This would all be much simpler if it had

just

been sex. But instead, we’d gotten fucking married. 
 
I doubted Autumn would want to stay married. It wasn’t like we were in some important, years-long relationship. It was a mistake. A mistake we’d both made when we were drunk. 
 
I could hear her walking again, closer to the bed. Closer to me. She stopped next to the bed, and then she leaned down. 
 
I couldn’t help it anymore. I opened my eyes, meeting her own warm, dark chocolate ones. 
 
They were the most beautiful cocoa. A perfectly made brownie, or a kind of fudge. Even if it was weird to use food to describe eyes, it was the most perfect description. 
 
Those brown eyes had roped me in last night at the Bellagio, and then again when we stumbled into bed together. 
 
I stared at her. She stared at me. The air in the room shifted, becoming heavy and tense. 
 
Shame was the only way to describe the expression on Autumn’s alluring face. She opened her mouth to say something, interrupted by a knock on the door. She whipped around at the sound, snapping her out of her trance. She tripped over her own two feet. 
 
I reached my hand out to grab hers to prevent her from falling. 
 
Her eyes snapped over to where my hand was, gripping her own. For a second, I felt her squeeze my hand, but it was so brief I was sure I imagined it. Then she dropped my hand like a dead weight. She motioned for me to be quiet. 
 
Whoever was at the door, she wanted to hide me from. Though I didn’t want this marriage either, for some reason, that seared my heart. 
 
“Autumn? Are you ready?” I registered Kristina’s voice from the other side of the door. 
 
“I’m coming,” Autumn called back to her sister, yet her feet didn’t move forward. She was still leaning towards me. It was obvious thoughts were swirling around in her pretty head, but her mouth just didn’t know how to quite form them. 
 
I knew exactly how that felt. 
 
“We have to get to the airport, we can’t miss our flight,” Kristina mentioned. 
 
Autumn’s shoulders sagged. “I’m coming.” 
 
She looked at me, a sorrowful smile on her face, a silent apology in her eyes. 
 
It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t have to be regretful. I was the one who suggested we went to the chapel. I was the one that asked for a marriage license. It was all me. 
 
It was all my fault. 
 
I wanted to say something to her, but my mouth was frozen shut. She got up and put her sneakers on, and then grabbed her suitcase, pulling it to the floor and pulling up the handle. 
 
I moved over so that she could open the door without worrying about Kristina seeing us. I pulled the covers up as high as I could while still maintaining the ability to breathe. I laid as flat and as still as I could on the edge of the bed. I heard the door open. 
 
“Let’s go.” Autumn’s happy tone was clearly forced. 
 
“Shhhh,” Kristina complained. “I have a hangover. Do you not?” 
 
“Yes. Let’s just go.” Autumn adjusted her tone. 
 
I heard their suitcases and footsteps slowly fade away as they left. 
 
“Motherfucker.” I rolled over, burying my face into the same pillow I screamed into before. I could still smell Autumn’s scent on it – fresh lavender in bloom. 
 
As much as I despised her sleeping so close to me, I enjoyed just breathing in that lavender all night. It was… soothing. 
 
Finally, I forced myself to sit up. I ran my long fingers through my hair and then massaged my eyes, which were still, unfortunately, sore. 
 
My mind was still having a hard time figuring out how the hell I managed to get married.

Married

. It seemed so strange to say that word, even though I’d said it what had to be one-hundred times over the last eight or so hours. We could have done

any

other dumb, non-legally-binding thing. So,

why

did I have to get

married

? 
 
What the hell was I supposed to do now? 
 
Autumn was at the airport– or almost there– and getting ready to get on a flight back to San Francisco. I was planning on going back to New Jersey for a while, enjoy my home. Sam was all moved into San Francisco now, as was his daughter from his previous relationship. They were happy with Tessa. I didn’t like San Francisco too much. I was only there temporarily to help Sam and Jazlyn move in with Tessa. 
 
I wasn’t sure where my life was headed before last night. Well, I still don’t. But I just knew I was going to stay in Princeton for a while, and then figure out what I was going to do. The only time I ever planned to go back to San Francisco was to visit Jazlyn on birthdays, or something. 
 
However, I couldn’t really go back to New Jersey now. Not yet, anyway. Not with my

wife

being in San Francisco. 
 
My wife, who I knew nothing about. I didn’t know her favorite color. What her cell number was. What her Instagram user was. What her favorite food was. Yet, she was my wife all the same. 
 
With a groan, I stood up from the bed, letting the blanket fall back onto the mattress. I was naked, so I grabbed my dress from last night and put them on, since I didn’t have any other clothes here. I probably looked like an idiot in a dress in the middle of the day, but it wasn’t like I had any other choice right now. It still smelled of Autumn’s lavender… 
 
I never drank. It was a rare occasion that I got drunk – of course, the one time in forever that I chose to get drunk, I got fucking married. Go figure.
 
I dragged my hands over my face, distraught. I couldn’t believe I got myself into such a mess. This was embarrassing. 
 
I never got embarrassed. Not anymore, not for years. I hate this feeling. 
 
It wasn’t Autumn’s fault that I felt like this. It was all my own doing. 
 
All I knew was that I desperately needed to get out of this hotel room. 
 
I needed to get out of Las Vegas. 
 
I needed to absolutely never, under any circumstances, touch alcohol again. 
 
Both Autumn and I were drunk. That kind of risky drunk, where you thought everything was fine and you were in control. It wasn’t the kind of drunk where you knew you were shitfaced – we fully thought we were in our right minds, too brave. The kind of drunk that made you think the dumbest idea ever was the best one. 
 
“God damn it.” 
 
I quickly got my shoes on and zipped out of the room. I took the elevator two floors down to my own hotel room, which looked completely pristine, because I’d hardly been in it. 
 
Maybe I should have stayed at a different hotel entirely, farther down the strip, so that I didn’t end up running into Autumn and Kristina. 
 
I hurriedly got all of my shit packed, which luckily didn’t take long because most of my stuff was still in my suitcase in the first place. Finally, I wheeled it behind me and left the hotel. 
 
There were plenty of cabs by the entrance waiting to take people to the airport, but I decided to go for a walk for just a little bit, needing to clear my head. 
 
The air this morning felt nice. It was crispy and chilly. I took a deep breath, and realized I hated Las Vegas and everything about it. 
 
Autumn Blossom, a genuine, alluring young woman had been sucked into the dangerous poison that was Sin City. And I was the reason for it. 
 
I stared down at the ground as I walked. I carefully avoided the Bellagio, because I did not want a reminder of the moment everything started for Autumn and I. At that damn fountain. 
 
I don’t know how long I walked, but I know it was a decently long walk. I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I always used exercise as a way to help me cope with negative feelings, but it seemed completely useless today, because my heavy chest and twisted stomach didn’t let up in the slightest. 
 
I looked up finally, trying to figure out where I had ended up walking. 
 
“Fuck me.” 
 
The fountain would have been better than this. My legs had their own agenda, not informing my brain of their plans. If I thought that the fountain was a harsh reminder, then what I was looking at now was a punch to the mouth. 
 
It was on the smaller side, which was unusual for Vegas, as everything around it was huge casinos and large buildings and hotels. It wasn’t very ‘Vegas’, if that even made sense. It was too enchanting to be in Vegas; it wasn’t fake enough. This Chapel was too beautiful. 
 
The walls were white stucco and the windows were stained glass, blues and greens that shone more beautifully in the morning than they did in the moonlight at night. There were vines and delicate flowers all over the front of it. The doors were pale wood, a heart in the middle of them. 
 
The inside was even more beautiful, filled with sunflowers all over the ceiling, fairy lights, greenery, and tulips. It wasn’t Vegas at all. It was elegant, sweet. Under true, love circumstances, I would have loved a wedding here. 
 
But my wedding wasn’t real. My love wasn’t true; there was no love at all.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

AUTUMN

“
E
xcuse me?” 
 
I moved at the sound of the lady’s voice. I zoned out, tracing random shapes and swirls on my desk. I hadn’t even heard her walk up to me. 
 
For the past three days, I’ve been like this. Ever since I got home from Vegas. 
 
“I apologize,” I brightly smiled. “What can I do for you?” 
 
“I’m organizing a charity gala. Could you help with that?” 
 
I nodded and then asked for her name so I could assist her in the planning of her event. After a little bit of communicating, the lady headed out. 
 
This event planning business– Autumn Planning– had been in our family for generations. It was named after my great-great-grandmother, who I was also named after. It was strange that I loved this job so much and just so happened to share a name with it. 
 
I had a vanilla chai candle burning on my desk, creating a cozy atmosphere in the office. It was nice and warm. I kept it cute in here so that when guests came in, looking for an event planner, they felt comforted. 
 
It was my business. Technically.

Technically

, Autumn Planning belonged to my parents, even though I’d been running it for years. Everyone who walked in thought it was mine. 
 
Not quite. Not yet. Not officially. 
 
Mom and Dad wanted to make sure I was ready to take it over completely, that I was mature enough. That I was capable of handling the responsibility of owning a business. 
 
A week ago, I was the most responsible person to grace the Earth. I was so sensible. 
 
Then I had to go and ruin it by flying to Las Vegas last weekend and gotten married while drunk. 
 
I groaned. Every time I thought about Saturday night, I had the urge to vomit. 
 
What was wrong with me? I vowed to never drink alcohol ever again. It was by far the most spontaneous, careless decision I have ever made. 
 
I laid my face in my hands. 
 
I was twenty-two years old and married to a total stranger. 
 
I can’t even begin to imagine how the hell my family is going to react, but I know it won’t be good.
 
I was hoping that Cameron and I could keep it a secret and then get it annulled before anyone found out. The marriage will have never existed. That way, if anyone ever found out, years down the line, it would just be a big joke that didn’t actually matter. My parents couldn’t get too mad if the marriage technically didn’t exist. Legally. 
 
It was a dumb idea to sneak out of the hotel room on Sunday morning. I should have sat down and had a conversation with Cameron. At the very least, I should have given her my phone number. 
 
I didn’t know if Cameron was back in California yet. I didn’t know if she was even

coming

back in the first place. I hoped she did, because I need her legal full name and her address. 
 
Oh, and a lawyer. I was going to need a lawyer, definitely. I didn’t have one of those. 
 
If this was

anything

else, any other screw-up, I would call my dad. He would take care of everything for me, make sure I was good. 
 
But I couldn’t do that this time. 
 
If I wanted to keep this entire thing a secret, I had to find a lawyer outside of San Francisco. I could look in Sacramento. It was far enough away that rumors wouldn’t spread around here. 
 
I really needed a plan. Desperately. 
 
I took a pen out of the pen cup and opened a blank page in my notebook.

Step 1: Get a lawyer.

That was a stupid step one. I scribbled out the words.

Step 1: Find Cameron.

If she was back in San Francisco, she was undeniably avoiding me. Not that I truly minded. I haven’t been ready to face her yet either, not ready to actually make this whole thing real by seeing her face. 
 
Disgrace twisted in my gut. I cringed at the feeling. 
 
I got married. 
 
To a stranger. 
 
In a tank top. 
 
Sure, alcohol was partly to blame for the catastrophe that was Saturday, but it couldn’t take all of the blame. I had gotten caught up in the excitement of it all. My eyes landed on that cute, charming chapel and I sparkled. 
 
And Cameron had seemed so… positive. 
 
Not once had she seemed in doubt of what was going on. 
 
She walked right into that chapel, holding my hand firmly, filled with resolution. And when her beautiful voice asked for a marriage license, she made it sound like the absolute best idea in the world. 
 
Standing in that beautiful, green, floral chapel, I was convinced that it was destiny. 
 
Well, destiny was full of shit. 
 
And I was royally stupid. 
 
No, I would be okay. I could fix this. I couldn’t avoid Cameron anymore. After work, I had to track down my wife. 
 
Tessa mentioned once that she was renting a house from the Lenins, so I knew that would be on Jiminez Road. 
 
I wasn’t going to call Tessa and ask. If she wasn’t there, I would figure it out. Calling Tessa would be suspicious, since Cameron and I– to everyone else– had nothing to do with each other.

Step 2: Tell Cameron not to tell a single person about this – and especially not Sam.

I heard the door open as I was writing. My heart skipped eight beats when I saw my parents walk inside. 
 
“Hi,” I said, but my voice was too shining. I hid my notebook. I looked at their faces, trying to see if they had found anything out. 
 
My mom had a smile on her face. That had to be a good sign. If she knew anything at all, she would be crying right now. 
 
Dad looked around the office, which was also normal. If he was mad, he would have an angry scowl on his face. 
 
Okay. Everything was fine. They had no idea. They didn’t have to know anything. 
 
I was going to find Cameron and we were going to figure everything out. Together. This marriage would be gone faster than I could blink. It would be as if it never even happened. 
 
“Hi, beloved,” Mom walked over, standing next to my chair. She touched a piece of my hair. “Your hair looks pretty today.” 
 
“Thank you.” 
 
I hadn’t been able to sleep for the past three nights. Every time I would fall asleep, I would see Cameron’s face. Either I would dream of our wedding night at the chapel, or I would see her in bed as her tongue worked wonders on me. 
 
Last night in particular, I woke up with a pulse between my legs so forceful that I got out of bed at three a.m. and walked around my whole house. Then I showered and curled my hair. 
 
Tonight, when I woke up at a ridiculous hours, I decided I was going to deep clean the house. 
 
“Hi, kid,” Dad stood in front of my desk. 
 
“Hi, Dad. What are you guys doing today?” 
 
“Just running some errands,” he said. “I told Lukas I would get groceries for him to help him out.” 
 
“You don’t have any of the kids today?” I turned to Mom. 
 
“No.” She frowned. Mom watched my nephews and niece a lot. There were three of them, and they were all under the age of two. While most people would relish a day off, my mom got disappointed. “Jules worked an extra shift last weekend, so she took today off to spend time with Milli and Pierce. And Selina wanted to keep Juan home to spend time with the new baby.” 
 
“Oh, okay.” 
 
Selina, my brother Brian’s wife, just gave birth to a new baby boy named Hayden. 
 
She was my sister-in-law and also my favorite employee. She moved to San Francisco to be an event planner. That was how she met Brian. 
 
She was the best event planner I’d ever worked with and I had to admit that I wanted her to come back after her maternity leave was over. But I’m not stupid. I knew she would most likely stay home with Juan and Hayden.
 
“How’s everything going here?” Dad asked. 
 
“Excellent. Active.” Now that Selina was gone, me and the other event planners here had to work harder. Yesterday, we were so swamped that I was non-stop working. 
 
I did whatever I had to to keep this place glittering and customers happy. 
 
“We wanted to talk to you for a minute.” Mom looked over at Dad. 
 
The look that they shared made my stomach clutch. 
 
“Okay,” I said. There was no way this was about Cameron. It was impossible. Either way, my heart still lodged itself in my throat. “What about?” 
 
“Do you want to talk somewhere quieter? Like your office?” 
 
Why did they want to talk in a private room?

Hellfire was about to rain

. “Um…” 
 
“We can just talk here, Aryan.” Dad looked over his shoulder to make sure it was empty. 
 
All of the air left my lungs. 
 
I was only slightly relieved that we weren’t going to the office, because that meant I wasn’t in total deep shit yet. 
 
The place was empty right now. And while I might have one or two people come in, it would most likely be dull for the rest of the day. Most people who came in to have their events planned came in the morning.
 
“What’s going on?” I asked. 
 
“Two things. I was at the bank the other day and I was talking to Heidi.” 
 
I hated Heidi. Whenever he needed to have an event planned and he came here, he always had an air of conceit.
 
“He wants to reserve the annex for the bank’s employee appreciation dinner in the summer.” 
 
“Striking.” 
 
My parents owned a place next door that held events. So while I planned them, if a client needed a place to actually

have

the event, all they had to do was go next door and reserve it. 
 
“Just tell Heidi to look at the calendar on the website and pick a reservation,” I told my dad. 
 
“He said he tried, but he couldn’t find anything. You know he’s old and doesn’t really know his way around technology.” 
 
He didn’t know his way around technology yet he still managed to run a bank. And he had an assistant who could help him. 
 
“Could you print the calendar for him?” Dad asked. 
 
Literally the only reason I put the calendar on the website was so that I didn’t

have

to print it out anymore. But whatever. I couldn’t say no. “Okay. When will he stop by to pick it up?” 
 
“Actually, could you drop it off at the bank?” 
 
No, I couldn’t go out of my way to drop it off at the damn bank and then be forced to chat with Heidi because he didn’t want to actually try to use a very simple website. But I couldn’t say no. “I’ll go tomorrow morning.” 
 
“Thanks.” 
 
“Sure.” I forced a smile onto my face, dreading whatever else they were going to tell me to do. “And what’s the second thing you need?” 
 
“We just wanted to check and see how the past couple of months have been,” he said. “We just met with the accountant to review the taxes. Last year was the best year we’ve ever had.” 
 
“Oh.” My chest surged with ego. “Really?” 
 
“We’re proud of you.” Mom patted my arm. 
 
“Thanks.” It was a comfort to hear those words, especially after how hard I’d been trying to earn them. 
 
To earn Mom and Dad’s approval. 
 
While the travel guide business belonged to Brian, the event planning was incorporated as a separate entity owned completely by my parents. The physical building, they’d split with my brother. Two businesses run independently that shared an address. 
 
Besides Blossom family ranch, Autumn Planning had always been Mom and Dad’s most time-consuming business venture. Dad had always been focused on the ranch, while Mom managed the event planning. She’d worked here for years until she’d handed me the reins. 
 
She’d put in her time with this business. What she wanted for their retirement was to be at home, surrounded by their grandbabies. So they’d spent recent years trying to settle their affairs. Dad wanted us all standing on our own two feet and the Blossom businesses controlled by his children. 
 
My oldest brother, Lukas, was now running the ranch. The love of Lukie’s life was his wife, Julesy, and their two kids. But the land was a close second. 
 
Brian was the same. Selina and the boys came first. If he wasn’t with his family, he was happiest guiding people with their travels. 
 
Kristina had her bookshop. 
 
Tessa had taken her inheritance to pay for college to become a meteorologist and buy a house. 
 
Elrand, our youngest brother, was a pilot, flying planes in Alaska. Of us all, he seemed like the one who was still wandering. Still finding his wings. 
 
But as sure as Lukas was about the Blossom Ranch, as devoted as Brian was to travel guiding, I was equally as devoted to Autumn Planning. 
 
More than anything in the world, I wanted this to be

my

event planning business. 
 
I’d gone to college because Mom and Dad had always taught us that a higher education was crucial. But from the time I was sixteen, working here to help out in high school, running this business had been my dream. Then I’d become the manager. 
 
I’d thought the next step would be assuming ownership. 
 
Except then they’d offered it to Brian. 
 
Half because he was older. Half because he had more experience managing a business and more money to cushion hard times. Largely because I’d gotten into a sticky situation with an ex-employee. 
 
Apparently, I was too soft. Too kind. 
 
I led with my heart. 
 
Somehow, that had become my greatest fragility. The obstacle keeping me from my dream. 
 
Ironic, as Mom and Dad were the people who’d taught me to be caring. Affectionate. Trusting. But seemingly for my dream, for this business, my personality was all wrong. 
 
I loved my parents. I loved my family. But that? 
 
It had crushed my heart. 
 
When I’d learned they wanted to give the business to Brian, I’d been shattered. A grand blowup had ensued. There had been tears. There had been guffawing. Both from me. 
 
Luckily, Brian had turned them down. He’d convinced them to give me more time to prove myself. 
 
Did I really need to prove myself? 
 
There was a reason Mom and Dad didn’t spend much time here.

Me

. This business ran on autopilot because I took my job solemnly. 
 
I lived and breathed Autumn Planning. 
 
Yet for whatever reason, it still wasn’t enough. My parents had such confidence in my siblings. Even Elrand. But my brothers and sisters didn’t see this side of Mom and Dad. The hovering. The micro-managing. 
 
Though it was enjoyable to have Mom and Dad say they were proud. 
 
“We just wanted to recognize the changes you’ve made recently,” Dad said. “Perhaps it’s time to start talking about transferring ownership.” 
 
Seriously? I reached down and pinched my own leg. Was this really happening? Finally? 
 
“When we came to you about Brian taking over the business, we told you that you weren’t ready,” Mom said.

Ow.

I didn’t need the reminder. I remembered every word of that conversation. 
 
“And now you think I am?” I asked her. 
 
“Yes, we do.”
 
Holy. Shit. This was happening. This was really happening. 
 
“Any time there’s been an issue with an employee, you’ve handled it completely,” Dad said. “The client count is the highest in history.” 
 
Before me, they’d never even kept track of that number. But I could tell you how many clients we’d had every day of the year for the past three years. 
 
“And the magazines and blogs we’ve been mentioned in lately.” Mom’s smile was infectious. “It’s just astonishing.” 
 
“Thanks.” 
 
During the summer months, we had clients galore. The same was true around the holidays. So I’d worked hard to drum up press features for Autumn Planning that would give us clients during our silenter months. Spring break. Thanksgiving. And though there were still slow times, our off-peak seasons were getting livelier and livelier.
 
“The business is successful financially,” Dad said. “You’ve really shown us how trustworthy you can be.” 
 
Trustworthy. That word was like a knife to my heart. 
 
Trustworthy, twenty-two-year-old women didn’t get married in Las Vegas on a drunken whim.

Oh, no. No no no no no

. 
 
The minute they found out about Cameron, I could kiss my business goodbye. 
 
Maybe I should tell them. Get it out there in the open. Grovel and pledge to fix it. 
 
“It won’t happen instantly,” Dad said. “But as long as this energy continues, we’re  looking at stepping away officially by the end of this year.” 
 
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. 
 
“Wow, Aryan, we’ve made her speechless,” Dad teased. 
 
Mom laughed, putting her hand on my arm. “It’s comforting to know that you’ll be the one taking care of this place. That you’ll take care of it long after we’re gone.”

Tell them. Tell them now.

“I need—” The words lodged in my throat so hard that I actually coughed. 
 
“Are you okay?” Mom rubbed a comforting hand up and down my back.
 
I nodded, swallowing hard and along with it went the words that would destroy this image in my parents’ minds. “I won’t let you down.” 
 
Dad smiled, his blue eyes growing soft. “No, you won’t.” 
 
My heart shattered. 
 
I was going to let them down. I was going to be a complete failure in their eyes. They were going to be so disappointed in me. Just like with the lawsuit.

“We’ll leave you alone now.” Mom gave me a short hug. “I’m making potato soup for dinner. Wanna come over?” 
 
Her potato soup was one of my favorites. “I have plans. Next time.” 
 
“All right.” She grabbed Dad’s hand, and as he waved goodbye, they walked out the door. 
 
The moment that door closed, I dropped my head into my hands, slamming my elbows onto the counter in the process. “How could I fuck up so bad?” 
 
Why did I marry Cameron? Why? 
 
Why couldn’t we have just done something stupid like tattoos? Tattoos would have been better than a

marriage

. 
 
I had to fix this. I sat straight up and got off my chair, grabbing my phone and bag. 
 
We had to keep this a secret. That was the only solution. 
 
If I wanted to own this business, no one in my family could know the truth. Which meant I needed to find Cameron. Now. Before she told Sam. Before Sam told Tessa. Before Tessa told Kristina and Kristina told our whole family tree. 
 
I put out the sign on the front counter that said that we needed a break. Then I ran to Gloria’s office. 
 
Gloria was our newest hire, but she was good enough to handle manning the counter by herself for a few.
 
“Hey, can I ask you for a favor?” 
 
“Of course.” 
 
“I’ve had a bit of an emergency come up. Could you man the counter for an hour or so?” 
 
“Sure.” She nodded. “Is everything okay?”

No

. “Yes,” I lied. “I’ll be back soon.” 
 
I ran out of her office and out the front door. I had to walk home, because my dumbass chose to walk to work instead of driving today. 
 
My house was only two blocks away, which was really the only reason I’d rented it. But it was shockingly cold outside, so I was practically running instead of walking. 
 
The moment I got home, I ran straight into the garage and into my emerald green Tesla. Then I sped across town to Jiminez Road. 
 
Jiminez was on the outskirts of town. The houses out here were a little more secluded, most of the homes were large and private. The turnoff to the Lenins’ house was the last in line, and when I reached it, I parked in the narrow driveway. 
 
A midnight blue Ford Mustang was parked in front of the house. Inside the house, the lights were on. Standing on the front porch, with her hands tucked into her jacket pockets, was Cameron.
 
My heart skipped a beat. 
 
Cameron stood eerily still, her blue eyes indecipherable. She was as gorgeous as she had been on Saturday. That long, slightly wavy blonde hair. That strong face. Soft lips and an alluring body. The ache in my core that had woken me up this morning ignited again. 
 
Never in my life had I had sex that good. I came three times. The fact that Kristina didn’t hear us having sex on our end of the suite was a miracle. Because that woman had me screaming. 
 
My cheeks flushed as I parked beside her Mustang. I took a deep breath and stepped out of my car, walking to the base of the porch steps.

Here goes nothing

. 
 
“Hey, wife.” 
 
Cameron’s jaw clenched. That clench had to be a good thing… right? A sign that Cameron didn’t

want

to be my wife. 
 
“So… about this marriage.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

CAMERON 
 
M

arriage

. 
 
That word hit like a semi-truck speeding. 
 
Autumn was standing at the base of the stairs, staring at me with those warm brown eyes. They caught in the afternoon sun, making them shine to a russet color. 
 
She was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt paired with a black leather jacket. She looked warm. Cozy, but stylish at the same time. Gorgeous. 
 
She was so goddamn gorgeous. 
 
There was a little resemblance between Autumn and her big sisters. The long, dark hair. The rosy lips and the shapes of their mouths. 
 
But Autumn had a softer appearance, in a way—it was hard to describe. She was like a doe-eyed deer come to life. It was just… how she was. She had such a liveliness. So much positive, light energy. A twinkle of pep in her beautiful eyes. 
 
My wife. 
 
I groaned. “This is a fucking mess.” 
 
“You took the words right out of my mouth,” she muttered, starting to go up the steps. “Should we go in?” 
 
“Yeah.” It was cold out today.
 
Autumn stopped next to me on the porch, glancing around, analyzing everything. 
 
There were two levels to the house. The porch stretched across the front. Directly above us, there was a balcony that extended from the loft bedroom. 
 
When I came to San Francisco in January, the owners had an impressive pile of wood for the fireplace. The stacks had slowly diminished while I’d been here, but hopefully there was still enough to last for the remainder of my stay; I loved that fireplace. The chopped pieces leaned against the railing of the porch. 
 
The house wasn’t like ones I was used to. There were no big windows in the front, taking up a large amount of space. Instead, those massive windows were on the back of the cabin, leading to a view of the landscape. 
 
The green tin roof blended in with the trees that surrounded it. The wood siding was the same color as the earth of the forest ground. It would have almost appeared camouflaged, if not for the front door being painted a brilliant tangerine. 
 
That reddish-orange color shouldn’t have blended in, not that startling of a color, but oddly, it fit that door perfectly. I couldn’t see it being any other color. It was meant to be tangerine. 
 
“Cute cabin,” Autumn said. “I’ve never been here before. I like it a lot.” 
 
“How did you know where I was staying? You didn’t ask Tessa, did you?”

Shit

. If Tessa knew about this, then that meant Sam knew. And that was not a conversation I wanted to have. Not yet, anyway. 
 
“No. Oh God no.” Autumn shook her head. “Tessa mentioned a bit ago that you were renting a cabin from the Lenins.” 
 
“Oh.” 
 
“Anyway, I’m here because I need to talk to you.” She motioned to the front door. “Can we go in?” 
 
“Yeah.” I walked over to the door, holding it open for her to walk in first. 
 
She walked past me, her perfume filling my nose. Lavender and warm vanilla. Coconut undertones and a hint of pine needles. The combination was very subtle, but enticing nonetheless. 
 
“When did you get back?” she asked, her gaze moving around the inside of the cabin. 
 
“About fifteen minutes ago.” I dragged my bags in and immediately went to light a fire. After it was lit, I went outside to the porch, about to grab more wood for later on, when I heard tires pulling up. 
 
“Oh. Good.” She seemed relieved that I had only just gotten back. 
 
I nodded my head in a motion for her to follow me through the cabin. 
 
The kitchen was at the front of the house, across from a tiny dining nook. I walked to the living room, toward the open ceiling and large windows that looked out at the property. The fireplace cracked, its heat warming over the chill in the air. 
 
The cabin had baseboard heat, but I liked having the fire going wherever I was at home. 
 
Autumn spun around, examining the whole room, from the spiral iron staircase that went up to the loft to the ajar bathroom door next to the laundry room. 
 
The cabin was small. Intimate, cozy. With the loft and a second small bedroom, it was plenty of space for me. 
 
It was built in the seventies and had the vibe of that decade. The walls were covered in tongue-and-groove boards. The honey color matched the huge beams that stretched from the floors to the peak of the roof. The furniture was a combination of upholstery and leather, some pieces newer than other ones. 
 
It was nothing fancy, but it was completely comfortable. It was perfect for a girl who needed a rental for just a couple of months. 
 
San Francisco was only a temporary stop. 
 
Sam had moved here permanently, but I had only ever planned to stay for a little while, just to help him and his daughter get settled in here and make the transition easier for her. Then I was planning on returning to Jersey. Or maybe even find a new place. 
 
My home in Jersey was waiting for me. I would go back. Or… maybe I wouldn't. But first… Autumn. 
 
The silence between us was prolonged. She was looking everywhere but at me. 
 
Where had the woman who talked too much gone, the woman who spat out every thought that popped into her head? Maybe the words were lost in her brain, just like they were lost in mine. 
 
“I’m sorry.” That seemed like a good start. 
 
“Things, um… got out of hand a bit on Saturday.” Pink roses became the color of her cheeks. “I’m sorry too.” 
 
“It’s my fault.” 
 
I had replayed every moment on Saturday everyday for three days now, and I still couldn’t figure out exactly what happened. Yet I remembered every single second. From the fountain to the chapel. The memory of her—writhing underneath me with that hair spread out in strands of silk across the white pillow, that mouth parted in bliss—was embedded in my brain. 
 
It seemed I couldn’t think of Autumn and not get horny immediately. I frowned, angry at myself, and looked out the windows. 
 
“You do want an annulment, right?” she asked. 
 
“Yeah.” Without a doubt. “The sooner, the better.” 
 
“Thank God.” A rush of air left her lungs. “Just making sure.” 
 
Annulment was the only option for us. So why was it that her relief bothered me so much? 
 
I brushed it off, facing her with my arms crossed tightly. “I have a good lawyer. I can reach out to him and get everything in motion.” 
 
“Okay. Obviously I’ve never done this before. Should I get a lawyer too?” 
 
“If that would make you feel more comfortable, sure.” 
 
“Maybe. I’m not sure.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, pondering the thought. “I’ll let you know.” 
 
“Okay.” I nodded. “You should probably give me your number.” 
 
“Right.” She pulled her phone out of her jean pocket and waited for me to recite my number. 
 
A moment later, my phone chimed with a notification from its place on the kitchen island. 
 
“Anything else?” I asked. 
 
“No. Uh, yes.” She gave me a deep frown. “I have some things going on. Good things, I’m praying. But this was kind of, um… reckless. And it would be amazing if it could all just be kept between us.” 
 
“A secret.” It wasn’t like the thought hadn’t crossed my mind as well. But just like her relief had, it stung. 
 
“Yes, I really need this to stay locked away. Especially from my family.” 
 
“So you’re asking me not to tell Sam.” 
 
“Yes.” She sighed again, once again frustratingly relieved. 
 
“To lie to my best friend.” 
 
A lightning strike of panic crossed her eyes before she intertwined her hands together, shaking them as she begged, “Please, Cameron. My family will freak the fuck out over this. And my entire future depends on them seeing me as responsible.” 
 
That seemed a bit melodramatic. Or it should have been, but there was true sincerity on her face as she said it. And desperation. “We can’t hide this forever, Autumn.” 
 
“Not forever. Just until it’s annulled. I would rather tell everyone that we screwed up and fixed it than have an audience while we’re in the process of cleaning up our mess, you know?” 
 
My jaw clenched, muscles jumping and pulling. 
 
“So, is that a yes? You’ll keep it secret?”

Fuck

. I really loathed lying. And not telling Sam felt like a lie by omission. But maybe she was right. Maybe it would be better to at least get the annulment in motion before announcing our

marriage

. 
 
Unless we weren’t able to get said annulment and this turned into an even bigger fuck-up than it already was. I would save that headache when—if—the time came. 
 
“Fine,” I snipped. 
 
“Thank you. Okay, uh…” Autumn motioned over to the front door. “I’ll get out of your way. I need to get back to work. And just call or text me, I guess, when you hear from the lawyer.” 
 
My eyes dropped to her ass as she walked away from me, taking in her curves. 
 
My body’s reaction was immediate. Heat swarmed my veins. Nothing good could come out of me fantasizing about Autumn. Yet I was unable to move my eyes. 
 
She slipped out of the door, her wavy hair bouncing as she jogged down the stairs. Her car door slammed closed, and seconds later, the sound of tires on gravel disappeared, leaving me alone in silence. 
 
A secret marriage. 
 
Sam was going to kick my ass for this. 
 
We’d been friends for years. Best friends. The two of us had clicked instantly.
 
I clenched my fists, frustration crashing like waves underneath my skin. 
 
A fuckup. I hated fuckups. 
 
Usually, I’d spend a few hours on the court with Sam until the frustration dimmed. But if I called him, he would ask why I was angry. He would want to talk. 
 
And I’d just agreed to keep my damn mouth shut. 
 
So I walked to the stairs, ignoring the bags that needed to be unpacked and the laundry that needed to be done. 
 
I changed out of my jeans and boots, swapping them out for basketball shorts and a tank top and sneakers. Then, with my AirPods in and loud music playing, I went outside and started running. It was when I reached the end of Jiminez Road that my phone dinged, the chime interrupting my music. 
 
Pulling it out, I kept running as I read the text from Sam.

Did you make it home alright?

I typed a quick reply.

Yep

Sorry they couldn’t get you on our flight

Yeah too bad

Sam and Tessa had flown back to California today too. When I told him I was flying back earlier than I originally planned, he sent me their schedule with the hope that I could go with them. 
 
Except I requested the later option, not wanting to see Sam yet. Not before I’d spoken to Autumn. Maybe because I knew that it would be hard to keep the truth to myself. 
 
A secret? How was I supposed to keep this from him? 
 
There were things that Sam didn’t know about me. He knew about my past relationship, but I didn’t share the details. 
 
No one knew what happened. 
 
No one but Mira. 
 
Except this was completely different. Autumn would be his sister-in-law soon. I had no doubt about that. That made us siblings by law. 
 
I stopped running. My heart pounded. 
 
Not from the exercise, but from the reality. 
 
Fuck, he was going to be so pissed. There was a chance that this would end our friendship. 
 
“Damn it.” I bent down and grabbed a rock from the side of the road, throwing it as hard as possible. It hit a tree with a loud sound, then dropped with a muffled thud. 
 
Sam was one of the very few people in this world that I trusted completely. He earned it by trusting me with his own skeletons. 
 
He told me about his past with Tessa. The mistakes he made years ago. His desperation to win her back. His willingness to give up everything for love. 
 
Tessa and I didn’t know each other well, but the fact that she’d been willing to let go of the past, to forgive Sam… not a lot of people had that kind of strength. 
 
Both of them trusted me. 
 
And this was how I repaid them? With a secret marriage? A secret annulment? 
 
This was wrong. 
 
Autumn begged, but I shouldn’t have agreed. A secret was only going to make things worse. 
 
I turned around and ran back to the house. When I got to the porch, I went straight to the shower. Then I grabbed my keys from the kitchen counter and drove, parking in an empty space on Teravainen. 
 
Downtown had become a regular hang out spot. I’d spent countless afternoons walking up and down the blocks, looking at stores and offices. There wasn’t a restaurant that I hadn’t eaten at at least twice.
 
I marched toward Autumn Planning, about to open the doors, when a beautiful face appeared in the glass. 
 
“Oh.” Autumn’s eyes widened as she stepped outside. “Sorry. Uh, ma’am.” 
 
“Ma’am?” What the fuck? 
 
Autumn gulped. Then before I could tell her that we needed to talk about the whole secret plan, she ducked past me and hurried away. 
 
She practically flew down the sidewalk, getting to the corner and looking both ways before crossing the street. 
 
“What the fuck?” 
 
Was she really going to pretend like I was just some stranger? That I hadn’t had my mouth on her days ago? 
 
“Hell no.” I stormed away from the building, following her across the street. 
 
She walked with her head down and her hands pulling the hems of her jacket, using it to cover her fingers and keep them warm. 
 
I’d forgotten to put a jacket on. A tank top was a stupid choice in the cold, but because my blood was so hot, and getting hotter every second, I didn’t feel it. 
 
Autumn headed away from Teravainen, down a street into a residential area. We reached the end of a block, and she kept walking. 
 
So did I. 
 
By the start of the second block, my long strides had closed the gap between us. I was behind her by three feet. 
 
She heard me behind her and glanced over her shoulder, those brown eyes narrowing. But she didn’t stop walking. 
 
So neither did I. 
 
“Cameron,” she hissed, sending me a glare. “People are going to see us.” 
 
“Who?” I held up my hands, looking around the dead street. Not a single person was out in their yards. It was way too fucking cold. And no one had driven by either. 
 
She frowned, faced forward and kept on walking. 
 
“You could at least not run away when you see me.” Or call me

ma’am

. 
 
“We literally just agreed to keep this secret.” 
 
“So that means I’m a fucking stranger to you now?” 
 
She buffed, her breath creating a cloud as she turned off the main sidewalk for a walkway. She changed directions so fast that I’d blown past her and had to turn around to follow her to a small, single-level house with dark blue siding and a white door. 
 
Autumn stopped on the stoop, bending to lift up the corner of her welcome mat and grab a key. 
 
“Not a smart place to hide your house key,” I said. 
 
“Who said I was hiding it?” She slid it into the lock. “That’s just where I keep it.” 
 
I blinked. “You leave your house key outside your house for anyone to grab? You’re joking.” 
 
She didn’t answer. She stormed inside the house, dropping her phone on a small table in the entrance before walking to the connecting living room. 
 
I closed the door behind me and followed. 
 
She spun around, her hands flailing in the air. “Why did you follow me here?” 
 
I was about to tell her that I changed my mind. That I couldn’t keep this a secret from Sam. But I didn’t get the chance. 
 
“You can’t just follow me. If people see us, they’ll know. If my parents find out, I’ll lose everything. They’ll think I’m irresponsible. They’ll think I haven’t changed. They’ll think I can’t be trusted with Autumn Planning. Then that’s it. They already didn’t want to give it to me. They already tried to give it to Brian and probably would have if he didn’t say he didn’t want it because yeah, maybe I wasn’t ready for it back then and maybe they were right about me being too close with the employees but it’s been a good year and seriously, this will ruin everything.” 
 
She gasped for some air. Then she started pacing. 
 
The talking? That didn’t stop. Apparently my wife didn’t need alcohol to ramble. 
 
It was like being in Vegas all over again. I watched her, mesmerized, and unable to look anywhere else. 
 
Another woman might have glanced around her house. Made sure a serial killer hadn’t used her very-not-hidden key to break in when she was at work. 
 
But I just stared. 
 
“Why did we get married?” Her hands raked through her glossy hair. “We could have just had sex. I definitely would have had sex. A lot of sex. Because it was good sex. I mean, we could have kept having sex. But this? My family is going to—” 
 
“Autumn.” I closed the distance between us, my eyes searching hers. 
 
Her shoulders dropped. “I have to show them that I’m responsible.” 
 
I hated that word coming out of her mouth. She was too free, too pure, to be trapped by the expectations of others.
 
“Fuck responsibility.” 
 
“Cameron.” She frowned. “Not helping.” 
 
I didn’t like that frown. So I pressed my lips over hers and kissed it off. 
 
She whimpered, her body going rigid. 
 
That wasn’t right. The best part about Saturday was the way she melted for me. So I pulled away and whispered against her mouth, “Relax.” 
 
“I can’t.” 
 
“You can.” 
 
It took her a second, but her eyes fluttered closed. The tension left her body. When I licked the seam of her lips, she moaned. And this time when I kissed her, she sank into it, letting me slip inside. 
 
Damn, she tasted good. Better than Saturday. How was that possible? 
 
Would sex be better too?
 
There was only one way to find out.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

AUTUMN 
 
C
ameron’s tongue slid against mine in a lazy swirl before she pulled away, planting a kiss on the corner of my mouth. Soft. Sweet. Then she whipped the top from my body fast enough to make me gasp. 
 
She swallowed it with a plundering kiss, then devoured my mouth. Her palms flattened on my skin, pressing and pushing her movements rough and feverish. 
 
One moment she was slow—the next, fierce. 
 
Cameron made my head spin just like she had on Saturday. She set the place, and there was no option but to keep up. There was no predicting her next move. There was no chance for my mind to wander or to think of anything other than Cameron. 
 
My body, my brain, was in a constant state of anticipation, hanging on the edge, waiting, wondering what she’d do next. 
 
No man had ever commanded me so entirely during sex. Probably why no man had ever made me come as hard, as fast, as Cameron. She behaved like delivering pleasure was her sole purpose in life. 
 
“Cameron.” My fingers dove into her hair as her mouth dropped to my pulse, sucking and licking a wet trail toward the hollow of my throat. Shivers erupted on my bare skin. 
 
She cupped my breast, the entire curve fitting into the palm of her capable hands. 
 
It was a gentle caress. Her thumb traced my nipple through the lace of my bra. Then with a lightning-quick tug, the cup was yanked down and that same thumb gave the same pebbled nipple a flick. 
 
Then came the pinch. 
 
“Ah.” I hissed, arching into her touch. 
 
Her mouth replaced her fingers, drawing the peak of my breast past her lips. Her tongue flattened. When her teeth grazed my skin, a fresh wave of desire pooled in my core. 
 
“Yes,” I moaned, my eyes fluttering closed as I leaned into the touch. 
 
One of my hands unthreaded from her hair, trading those light, soft strands for the smooth fabric of her sweater. I balled it into my fist, holding tight while she tortured my nipple. I held on with all my might, keeping her in place. 
 
“More.” 
 
She bit me again, followed it with a hard suck, and released my nipple with a pop.
 
Then she trailed her mouth across my sternum, freeing the other breast to give it the same treatment. 
 
The ache in my core felt like a jackhammer, the beat pulsing between my legs. 
 
I shoved her shirt up her ribs, needing to feel her naked skin against my own. Needing to feel her mouth on me. 
 
“Please.” If she stopped here and left me suffering, I’d never forgive her for it. 
 
Cameron growled, releasing my breast. Then she took hold of my wrist, tearing my hand free from her shirt before she reached behind her head and yanked it free. 
 
My knees quaked. God, that was sexy. I could watch that move a million times and it would never get old. 
 
The athletic plane of her torso was like a magnet to my hands. I flattened my palms against her breasts, roving up, down, side to side. Her nipples scraped against my skin. 
 
I rose on my toes, too short to reach Cameron’s mouth. But it didn’t matter. She slammed her lips on mine, stealing my breath. 
 
Our tongues dueled. Our teeth clashed. It was a kiss between two people who hadn’t memorized each other’s mouths yet but were cramming in every detail like there’d be a test tomorrow and we were hellbent on a crash course. 
 
My fingers dipped to her toned stomach, skimming over it. 
 
Cameron seemed intent on touching every inch of my torso. Her touch was like a torch, leaving sparks in its wake as she unclasped my bra and ripped it free from my arms. 
 
The heat from her chest only made my nipples harder. A shiver went down my spine. 
 
Cameron tore her mouth away, her panting breath mingling with my own. Her eyes were so dark they were nearly black. A muscle feathered in her jaw. The corded lines of her neck strained. 
 
What was she doing? “Why are you stopping?” 
 
Her nostrils flared. “Autumn—” 
 
“Don’t stop,” I whispered, taking a step away, instantly missing the heat from her long body. Then I flicked open the button on my jeans, dragging the zipper down before pushing them off my legs, shimmying them to the floor along with my panties. 
 
Her hands balled into fists. The muscles in her arms flexed. 
 
Was this a good idea? 
 
I shoved that thought away. Maybe it was reckless, but right now, I needed her mouth on me more than I cared. 
 
“Cameron.” I took another step away, silently pleading with her to follow. 
 
My heart climbed into my throat as we stared at each other. 
 
Her indecision was as potent as the desire swimming in my veins. 
 
I

craved

her. Only one night and Cameron Brink had become an addiction. 
 
But she stood unmoving, her chest barely rising as she breathed. The only signs of life were those blue eyes dragging over every inch of my naked body. 
 
I fought the urge to cover myself. To reach for my clothes puddled on the floor. This was the boldest I’d ever been. My nerves bubbled to the surface and spewed from my mouth. 
 
“Don’t stop,” I pleaded for the second time, the desperation unmistakable. “Please. I don’t ever act like this. With men. My sex life is dull. The guys I’ve dated have been underwhelming, to say the least.” 
 
An orgasm had been nearly as rare as a phone call the next day—by me, not them. Most of my past lovers hadn’t earned a second chance. 
 
“Then Saturday . . . I didn’t know it could be like that.” 
 
Maybe this was something Cameron could walk away from. Maybe the sex had been just okay. A woman with that body, and that talented tongue, probably always had it good. 
 
What if I was lackluster? Oh, no. It hadn’t been that good for her, had it? Why hadn’t that occurred to me before I’d taken my clothes off? 
 
“You know what? Never mind. This was a bad idea. We have enough complications. You should go, and I’m going to shut up.” 
 
Then die of embarrassment, naked in my living room. 
 
My hands lifted, about to cover my mound. Except at that exact moment, Cameron surged. 
 
A long stride and the space between us vanished. Her lips sealed over mine, and I moaned, the relief of a tidal wave that crashed into my bones. Was this pity? Did I care?

No

. Not as her tongue slid against mine. 
 
My fingers fumbled with the button on her jeans until I managed to flip it free. My hand dove into her panties. I was desperate to feel her on my hand, to stroke her. 
 
Except Cameron tore away before I could do anything, batting my hand away as she toed off her boots and wrenched her jeans free from those thighs. Her black panties came with the pants. 
 
My heart skipped at the sight of her, her cunt wet. 
 
Sinew and sin. 
 
I could stare at this naked woman for days and not get enough. 
 
Cameron reached for me, taking me by the elbow to spin me around, her chest hot granite against my back. Then she pushed me toward the back of my couch, the leather cold against my belly as she bent me over. 
 
Her breath was hot against my skin as she spoke into my ear. Her palm skated over my ass cheek. “The next time you talk about any other human being touching this body, I’ll spank your ass so red you won’t sit for a week.” 
 
My breath hitched. My pussy clenched. Why did I want that? 
 
Cameron reached around my hip, her fingertips featherlight as they traced the inside of my thigh. 
 
My entire body trembled as she moved higher, inch by tortuous inch until finally, they dipped into my drenched slit.
 
“This body.” She nipped at the base of my neck as her finger slipped inside. “You think I didn’t like being with you, Autumn?” 
 
Whether it was her skilled finger or the way she growled my name, I wasn’t sure, but my toes curled into the carpet. 
 
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this pussy.” Her finger eased out, shifting to my clit. “What have you done to me?” 
 
A mewl escaped my throat as she flicked my swollen bundle of nerves. “Cameron. More.” 
 
“You want my mouth, angel?” 
 
“Yes.” I pressed against her, tilting my hips. 
 
Her finger circled my clit again, driving me wild. Then she squatted and in a single motion, pressed her mouth to me. 
 
I cried out, my eyes squeezing shut from the shock of the feeling, savoring the way her mouth felt against me. 
 
“Fuck, you taste good.” Her arms wrapped around my thighs, trapping me in place. The world faded away. 
 
Her arms loosened. Her palm splayed across my spine, at the base of my spine, holding me against the couch. 
 
So I extended my arms, bracing against the back of the couch as I rose on my toes, pushing against her. My head was already spinning, floating to the stars.  
 
Cameron’s hands gripped me by the upper thighs, her touch bruising. 
 
Tomorrow, I’d have little indents, blue and black, just like I had on Sunday morning. Those marks had faded too fast, and I wanted them back. 
 
“Oh God, Cameron. That feels so good.” 
 
A low groan came from her chest, the sound shooting straight to my core. The swirl of her tongue was perfect and each time she sucked, she made me shake. 
 
The palm she had on my spine slid down my back, circling the dimples above my ass before trailing around my hip. The caress was so soft compared to the ferocity of her eating me out. I felt her everywhere, each cell in my body at her mercy.
 
She tickled my ribs.
 
It earned a half-laugh, half-cry. Cameron knew exactly where I needed those fingers but she was toying with me. 
 
“Cameron,” I panted, letting go of the couch to snag her hand, bringing it between my legs. 
 
“You want to come?”
 
“Yes.” My voice was a breathy plea. “Touch me.” 
 
“Touch yourself.” She ripped her hand free of my grip, bringing it to a breast. She rolled my nipple between her finger and thumb, then she plucked. Hard. 
 
“Ah.” My yelp bounced around the room as my fingers slid to my center. 
 
My heart thundered, and my pulse roared, as I felt her tongue. A new shiver rolled over my shoulders. 
 
Cameron shifted, her hand abandoned my nipple. She reached for my center too, her fingers finding mine. Then she rubbed at my slick folds. “You’re dripping for me.” 
 
“Yes.” I nodded. “Only you.” 
 
She laced her fingers with mine, bringing them to my clit. Then her mouth left me as her hand guided mine, circling slowly at first. 
 
Fire licked my veins as the pleasure built higher and higher. My heart raced as my lips trembled. Her tongue was back on me, exactly where I needed her. Her fingers drove me wild. She sent me flying toward the edge until I shattered. 
 
White stars stole my vision. Pleasure captured my breath. I broke into a thousand tiny pieces as I lost myself to the ecstasy, feeling nothing but Cameron as I came, pulse after pulse, longer and harder than I’d ever come in my life. 
 
It took minutes, hours, to float back to earth. I was in a  haze when I finally cracked open my eyes. 
 
My hand was still threaded with Cameron’s and touching my core. Her other arm had wrapped around my shoulders, holding me against her as her heart pounded against my spine. 
 
“Wow,” I breathed. 
 
She stood fully, bringing me with her and peeling me from the couch. 
 
My hair was in my eyes. My body felt boneless, and if not for her arm, I probably would have face-planted on the floor. My legs had lost all their strength. 
 
Her teeth grazed my bare shoulder, and with our hands still threaded, she touched my center. 
 
“I’m not keeping this a secret forever,” she said. “But I’ll do it. For now.” 
 
That sentence sobered me instantly. My eyes popped open. “How long?” 
 
“Figure out a way to tell them, Autumn. Or I will.” 
 
I gulped but nodded. She was right. This couldn’t continue indefinitely. “Just . . . give me a couple weeks.” 
 
“Fine. In the meantime, don’t pretend like I’m no one.” She smeared my release along the inside of my thigh, then dragged our sticky fingers to my belly, marking me there too. “Don’t run away from me. Don’t pretend that you don’t know what it feels like when I’m eating you out.” 
 
Okay, so maybe that hadn’t been my best decision earlier. In my defense, I hadn’t expected to see her and I’d panicked. 
 
Cameron tugged her hand free and stepped away, leaving me on swaying legs. 
 
I held on to the couch, regaining my balance. 
 
By the time I turned around, she’d already pulled on her jeans. Her shirt came next, tugged quickly over that chest still damp with sweat. 
 
“You want this to happen for a while, fine.” She stepped into her boots. “I’ll give you the orgasms the losers from your past couldn’t. But when I see you on the street, you look at me.” 
 
A lump formed in my throat. 
 
I hadn’t meant to hurt her. To make her feel like nothing. But I was afraid that when I looked at her, anyone around us would see. They’d see the  desire. The craving. The intimacy.
 
“Cameron—” 
 
She didn’t let me apologize. She marched out the door, slamming it closed behind her. 
 
She left me standing naked in my living room. 
 
“Shit.” I buried my face in my hands, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from crying.
 
I’d messed up. Again. 
 
Somehow, I’d managed to make Cameron feel used. Cheap. 
 
Was that what the other men thought of me? Those guys I’d dated and hadn’t called again, did they feel like I’d used them? 
 
My dating history was a train wreck. My marriage history wasn’t any better. 
 
“Oh God. I have a marriage history.” 
 
My stomach churned. Someday, I’d meet the person of my dreams. And when they asked me to marry them, when we exchanged vows, it wouldn’t be for the first time. My heart twisted, and my chin began to quiver. 
 
I was married. 
 
I was about to have an ex-wife. I would be an ex-wife. Shame spread across my skin like a rash. 
 
There was no erasing what had happened in Las Vegas. My only option at this point was to fix it.
 
So I squashed the urge to cry, to scream, and collected my clothes from the floor, bundling them against my chest. I carried them down the hallway to my bedroom, where they were dropped in my hamper, and then I rushed through a shower, erasing Cameron’s perfume and the scent of sex from my body. 
 
With my damp hair twisted in a knot, I dressed in a black gown and grabbed my laptop from my tiny office. I spent the next three hours researching California divorce lawyers. 
 
My top choice was a woman in Sacramento. She was far enough away from San Francisco that hopefully no one local would ever find out. But she was also close enough that I could drive there to meet if needed. I put her at the top of my list, noting my second and third choices to call in the morning. Then I steeled my spine and made a call.
 
To my wife. 
 
“Yeah,” Cameron answered.
 
“I’m sorry. About earlier. About running from you and pretending like I didn’t know you. I panicked.” 
 
She blew out a long breath. “It’s all right. This is . . .” 
 
“Fucked up?” 
 
She barked a dry laugh. “Yeah.” 
 
“I’m going to call a lawyer in the morning.” 
 
“‘Kay. I left a message with mine.” 
 
“We’ll let them get this sorted. And I’ll tell my family.” Somehow. 
 
She hummed her agreement. 
 
The silence stretched for a few heartbeats. This was when I should have hung up, but I just sat and listened to nothing. Cameron’s scent might not be on my skin anymore, but I was sitting on the couch and her spicy, woodsy scent still clung to the air in the living room.
 
If they made that smell into a candle, I’d burn it twenty-four-seven. 
 
“We should probably stop hooking up.” I hated the words the moment they came off my tongue. But it was time to start fixing those mistakes. 
 
“Probably a smart idea,” she said. 
 
It was a smart idea. So why did that make my spirits sink?
 
“Night, Cameron.” 
 
“Bye, Autumn.” 
 
She ended the call. 
 
As I stared at the screen, something twisted in my stomach. 
 
Like that goodbye wasn’t only for tonight.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

CAMERON 
 
Y

ou are cordially invited . . .

The wedding invitation in my hand might as well have been a knife. The sheet of textured ecru paper sliced straight through my heart. 
 
“Fuck.” I tossed it on the kitchen counter beside the stack of mail that had been delivered today. 
 
Ironic that the first day I received mail at the A-frame as its official owner was the same day that invitation arrived. 
 
My mail had been forwarded from my place in Princeton to San Francisco for weeks. Whether I’d bought this cabin or not, that card still would have found its way into my mailbox. Still, it felt like a bad omen. 
 
Why would they send me an invitation? Why couldn’t everyone just leave me alone? 
 
I left the kitchen, walking through the house—my house—to the slider that opened to the desk. The babble of the nearby creek played quietly in the background. The breeze rustled the pine and fir trees, making their trunks sway. The air nipped at my arms, cool despite the sun streaming through the sky. Last night’s dew had mostly disappeared but there were still a few damp, shady spots that gave the air an earthy, rich aroma. 
 
Spring was coming, and I could feel the energy of a new season. 
 
I hated winter. But this weather, I could live with for a while. For however long it took for Autumn and me to get this annulment. 
 
The wheels of the legal process were grinding at a glacial pace. At this rate, I’d be here through summer. 
 
It had been a month since I’d spoken to Autumn. One month since I’d eaten her out against the couch in her living room. One month since that woman had twisted me into a goddamn knot. 
 
One month since I’d seen my

wife

. 
 
Turns out, she didn’t need to pretend not to know me. I’d avoided her spectacularly. 
 
Her attorney had contacted mine, and legally ending a marriage was more time consuming than it should have been. We’d gotten married in less than an hour. Yet a month later, Autumn was still legally my wife. 
 
Had she told her family, like she’d promised?

No

. 
 
If she had, Sam would have confronted me about it. But as far as I could tell, beyond Autumn and me, not a soul in San Francisco had a clue. 
 
Still, I’d kept my mouth shut, just like Autumn had asked. I hadn’t told Sam even though it was getting harder and harder to face him with every passing day. The putrid, crawling guilt churned my insides. 
 
This secret was eating me alive. 
 
Maybe if it had been any other woman, a stranger, keeping this quiet wouldn’t have burned so fiercely. But Sam and Tessa were engaged now. Autumn was his soon-to-be sister-in-law. This betrayal extended to his family. 
 
And fuck, he was going to be pissed. 
 
Another irony. Of all the people in this world, having Sam as my brother was a dream. Except when this came out, it would likely ruin our friendship. 
 
Maybe I’d get lucky and he’d understand. 
 
Unlikely, but a girl could hope. 
 
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It could have been a hundred different people. But that uneasy feeling came back with a vengeance. The bad omen. And sure enough, when I dug out my phone, a familiar name was on the screen. 
 
Ash must have known I would have received the card by now. 
 
My heart began racing. With it came that familiar disquiet I couldn’t seem to overcome no matter how many years passed. “Hello.” 
 
“Hi.” Once upon a time, I’d lived for that

hi

. “Did you get my wedding invitation?” 
 
“Yes.” 
 
“And?” 
 
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “And what?” 
 
“Are you coming?” 
 
“No.” 
 
“Why not?” 
 
“Because it’s fucked up.” Of all the people in the world, I was the last one who should go to that wedding. 
 
“It is fucked up. But isn’t that who we are? Isn’t that who we’ve been since we were kids?” 
 
I wanted to argue. “Maybe.” 
 
“Good. Then you’ll come.” 
 
“I’m not coming.” 
 
“Why not? Did you develop a dislike for Italy? Or are you afraid to see me again?”

Yes

. “No,” I lied. 
 
“Prove it.” 
 
It had been years since I’d seen Ash. There’d been a time when our relationship had been the only good in my life. From the day we’d bonded over mutual disdain for our asshat parents, we’d filled a void in each other’s lives. We’d leaned on one another. 
 
For so long, it had just been us. Together. 
 
Until it had all fallen apart. 
 
Was I scared to face Ash again? Maybe. Mostly, I was afraid of what I’d see in myself. I was afraid I’d find the girl I’d been once, lingering beneath the surface. That years of distance, years of trying to be better, hadn’t really done a goddamn thing. 
 
That no matter what, when I looked in the mirror, an unworthy woman would be staring back. 
 
Yeah, I was afraid to see Ash again. 
 
“I have to go.” I ended the call, then I turned away from the view, stalking inside.
 
Sam and I were meeting at Blossom Coffee this afternoon to catch up. Since his game last month, he’d taken a break from training so I hadn’t spent every day with him like usual. When he’d texted this morning to see if I wanted coffee, I’d almost declined. 
 
His lack of training had been my salvation. If I didn’t have to face him, then it was easier to keep Autumn a secret. But if I stayed away too long, he’d suspect something. So I walked through the house, swiping my keys from the counter and paused to take one last look at that invitation.

You are cordially invited. . .

That card had been sent to rub this wedding in my face, hadn’t it? Sent so I’d have to say no. Ash had to know that I wouldn’t go, not in a million years. 
 
Unless . . . 
 
What if I did? 
 
What if I went to this wedding? What if I showed up, just to spite the past? What if I had changed? 
 
Would I be able to finally let go? Finally get that freedom I’d been chasing for years? 
 
“What if I went?” I picked up the invitation and ran a finger along the handwritten calligraphy. 
 
Was I seriously entertaining this idea? Yeah. Damn it, maybe I should go. If nothing else, it would at least give me satisfaction to see everyone’s faces as I waltzed into the reception. To prove to myself I was over the past. 
 
That I would face my parents and Ash, then walk away again. 
 
And if I came with a date . . . 
 
A wife, maybe? 
 
“What am I even thinking?” I tossed the invitation on the counter and headed for the door.
 
I wouldn’t—

couldn’t

—do that to Autumn, even if one look at her would send Ash into a tailspin. Besides, it wasn’t like Autumn would want to go. Why would she? I was her soon-to-be-forgotten ex-wife. Which meant my only option was to check the

With Regrets

box on the RSVP card. 
 
My molars ground together.

You win, Ash.

I wanted to go. But Yeah, I was afraid. Especially to go alone. 
 
Hurrying outside, getting far away from that invite before I did something reckless like accept, I climbed into my SUV, then drove into San Francisco, doing my best to shake that phone call. 
 
Main Street was busy, like it typically was on Saturdays. A cluster of teens walked toward the theater. A woman pushed a baby stroller toward the local toy store next door to the kitchen goods shop. Two men, each with salt and pepper hair, emerged from Autumn Planning. 
 
I didn’t let myself glance through the front windows as I passed the building. Was she working today? 
 
It hadn’t been as hard as I’d expected to stay away from my wife. Turns out, I was scared to be in the same room as Autumn Blossom. I didn’t trust myself around her. She was too tempting. Too irresistible. And I clearly had no control. 
 
If I got addicted to sex with her, the taste of her tongue and the feel of her lips, that amazing perfume, it would only make it harder to walk away. 
 
And though I might have bought a house, that didn’t mean much. I’d be leaving San Francisco soon enough.
 
Just not today. 
 
I parked in an empty space on Main. Sam’s truck was in front of Blossom Coffee. 
 
My stomach knotted as I headed for Kristina’s café.

Blossom Coffee

was stenciled in gold letters on the front door. Today’s special was written in white, swirly script on a chalkboard sandwich sign in the center of the sidewalk. Through the black-paned windows, I spotted Sam at a table. 
 
The bell above the door tinkled as I walked inside. 
 
He looked up from his phone, jerked his chin and grinned. “Hey.” 
 
“Hi.” I drew in a breath, smelling coffee and cinnamon. “I’m grabbing a coffee. Want a refill?” 
 
“Nah.” He picked up his half-full mug. “I’m good.” 
 
I walked to the counter where Kristina was waiting with a warm smile. “Hey, Kristina.” 
 
“Hi, Cameron. What can I get for you?” 
 
“Just a coffee. Black.” 
 
“You got it.” She smiled wider, then moved to a large coffee pot, plucking a ceramic mug from the nearby shelf. “Haven’t seen you around much lately.” 
 
“Been busy.” Avoiding my wife. 
 
Kristina filled my cup, then brought it over. “Anything else?” 
 
“No, thanks.” 
 
“Sure, um, I was wondering . . .” Kristina hesitated, like she wasn’t sure what to say. But before she could finish, the door’s bell jingled, stealing her attention. 
 
A couple walked toward the counter, so I slipped away to let her take their order. 
 
I took the chair opposite Sam’s. The gurgle and hiss of the espresso machine sounded from the counter. 
 
“How’s it going?” Maybe if we kept the conversation about him, he wouldn’t ask too many questions about me. 
 
“Good. Damn good.” 
 
“How’s Tessa?” 
 
“Also good.” He smiled. It was the happiest I’d ever seen my friend look. “She took Jazlyn to the ranch today to ride horses.” 
 
“Sounds like fun.” I lifted my steaming mug, carefully taking a sip. 
 
Sam leaned in a bit closer, then jerked his chin toward Kristina. “Tessa would kick my ass if she knew I was saying this, but I thought you should know. I think Kristina’s got a thing for you. Don’t be surprised if she asks you out.” 
 
My hand shook, so hard that scorching dollop of coffee sloshed into my mouth. I winced, setting the mug down as my tongue burned.

Well, fuck

. 
 
“Nah, I don’t think so.” I risked a glance toward Kristina. “She’s just friendly. I’m a customer.” 
 
“Think it’s more than that but . . . just letting you know.” Sam held up a hand. “I’ve had enough secrets to last my lifetime. I’m all about having everything out in the open these days.”

Son of a bitch

. The guilt was as bitter as my coffee. 
 
What was Autumn waiting for? Why hadn’t she told them? Maybe she’d never planned to share the truth. Maybe she’d promised with no intention of following through. 
 
I took a sip, not caring when it scalded my tongue. Then I glanced to Kristina again. 
 
She was sweet. Pretty. She was Tessa’s twin and the sisters were close. But when I looked at her, there was no uptick to my pulse. No crippling desire to taste her mouth. 
 
There was only one Blossom I couldn’t get off my mind. 
 
And her name was on the event planning agency. 
 
“It wouldn’t bother me,” Sam said. “You, dating Tessa’s sister.” 
 
And if I’d married one? Would that bother him? I swallowed down the questions with another searing mouthful of coffee. 
 
This wasn’t going to end well, was it? Every time I delayed the truth was another day Sam would have to resent me. 
 
He’d spent years living a lie before he’d moved to San Francisco to win back Tessa. Maybe he’d understand my reasoning for keeping this marriage a secret. Or maybe he’d hate me even more for hiding the truth. 
 
If Kristina did have a crush, it would only make things worse. Damn it. That was an added complication I didn’t need.
 
She’d been at the club in Vegas with Autumn. I’d noticed her staring a few times but hadn’t thought anything of it. Mostly because I’d had my eye on Autumn in that gray tank top and sexy-as-fuck jeans. 
 
Yes, Kristina was pretty. 
 
But she wasn’t Autumn. 
 
The coffee shop door opened again and boots pounded across the floor. 
 
“Daddy!” Jazlyn raced through the shop, her chestnut braid swinging across her shoulders. 
 
Tessa came in behind her, smiling as she followed. 
 
Sam hopped out of his chair in time to catch Jaz as she flew into his arms. “How was it?” 
 
“So much fun.” She giggled as he tickled her side. “Can we go again, Tessa?” 
 
“Of course.” Tessa nodded. 
 
“Tomorrow?” Jaz asked.
 
“Um, sure?” Tessa laughed. “As long as it’s not raining.” 
 
The rain, I’d take. I craved a wet, rainy spring. 
 
“Want a snack?” Sam asked, setting his daughter down, nudging her toward the counter where Kristina was waiting. Then he bent to give Tessa a kiss. “Good?” 
 
“Really good. It was fun.” She smiled at Sam, the two exchanging a few quiet words before she greeted me. “Hey, Cameron.” 
 
I raised my hand. “Hey, Doc.” 
 
“Sam told me you’re going to stick around for a while.” 
 
“Yeah, a little bit.” 
 
“She can’t live without me,” Sam teased. 
 
I gave a quiet, nervous laugh as I shook my head. 
 
They thought I was staying to keep training with Sam. I’d let them believe I’d bought the A-frame because I was growing attached to San Francisco. 
 
In truth, buying the cabin had been easier than moving. That would come soon enough. 
 
While Autumn and I sorted through the legal bullshit of an annulment, it would be easier if we were in the same town. So three weeks ago, I’d called the owners of the A-frame to extend my vacation rental. Except they’d informed me they were going to sell it this spring. They wanted to capitalize on the peak market time. 
 
I liked the A-frame. I liked its solitude. Its cozy nature. 
 
So I’d bought it myself. In cash. 
 
When this marriage was annulled, I’d be the one to sell it. Maybe even make a slight profit if the timing was right. 
 
Though it all depended on the courts. 
 
Autumn was set on getting an annulment. She wanted a judge to say this marriage had never existed in the first place. But the grounds for an annulment were limited. According to the latest update from my attorney, he was skeptical that we’d be granted one. Meaning we’d have to go through with a divorce. 
 
Either way, when this thing with Autumn was done, I’d leave San Francisco. I’d bid farewell to California, hopefully long before another insufferable winter. 
 
My place in Princeton was still an option. Maybe I’d head back toward the East Coast. I wouldn’t live in Maryland again, but I had a house in North Carolina. I could spend a few months in the Outer Banks figuring out my next move. 
 
Or maybe I’d leave the country all together. I also had an apartment in Edinburgh, and if I wanted rain, Scotland wouldn’t disappoint. 
 
“I’m going to say hi to Kristina and get some water,” Tessa told Sam, patting his abs before heading to the counter. 
 
Sam took a seat but his eyes stayed locked on his woman. 
 
Tessa smiled as Kristina slid a to-go cup to Jazlyn, the top nearly overflowing with whipped cream. Then as Jaz returned to our table, Tessa leaned in closer to talk to her twin. 
 
Kristina had been about to ask me something earlier. As she spoke to Tessa, her eyes flicked my direction, and with that quick glance, the flush of her cheeks, my stomach plummeted. 
 
She did have a crush, didn’t she? How had I missed it? Did Autumn know? 
 
“You all right?” Sam asked. 
 
“Yeah.” I shifted my attention, watching Jazlyn as she sipped her hot cocoa. “Great.” 
 
Maybe Kristina had mistaken my frequent visits to the coffee shop as interest. Kristina was a fantastic pastry chef. I liked her croissants. They reminded me of the ones our chef had made when I was a kid. But romantically? No. 
 
Besides, I was already married. 
 
The door’s bell chimed again, and a familiar face came inside. Dua, Jazlyn’s mother, walked to our table. Like me, she was new to California. 
 
After her divorce from Sam, she’d been engaged to a guy in Princeton, but they’d recently split, so she’d moved here to be close to Jazlyn. 
 
For years, Dua and Sam had been best friends. Their marriage had been a farce but they’d done their best for Jazlyn. Except last month, before the championship event, Dua and Sam had gotten into a huge fight. 
 
Ever since, he’d been cold and distant, Sam’s grudge taking on a life of its own. I hoped like hell he wouldn’t hold one against me too. 
 
God, I hated this. I hated the secret. I hated lying. 
 
It wasn’t right. The longer this continued, the worse it would get. A month would be hard enough to explain. But two? Three? 
 
One look at Sam and Dua, the two of them barely making eye contact, and I knew we couldn’t continue on this road. Not if I wanted to keep Sam’s friendship.

Fuck me

. Autumn was going to be livid. 
 
Dua and Sam traded details about Jazlyn’s schedule while Tessa grabbed a lid for Jaz’s hot chocolate. Then, after a tense goodbye, Dew took her daughter’s hand and left the coffee shop. 
 
“Are you going to be pissed at her forever?” Would he hate me someday too? 
 
“No.” Sam dragged a hand through his hair. “Time to let it go, isn’t it?” 
 
Tessa took the empty seat beside him, holding out her hand. 
 
Kristina wasn’t behind the counter. She must have ducked into the kitchen for something. Which meant if I wanted a captive audience with Sam and Tessa, this was my chance. 
 
I’d warned Autumn. 
 
Her time was up. 
 
I couldn’t keep this a secret any longer. 
 
“Since you’re both here. I, um, need to talk to you about something.” Damn it to hell. This was going to be painful. I sat straighter, trying to find the right words. “I, uh, well . . . I fucked up.” 
 
Not the right words.

Shit

. 
 
“What happened?” Sam asked. He tensed. So did Tessa. 
 
“I sort of . . . I, um . . . fuck.” I rubbed my jaw, swallowing hard. Then I closed my eyes and blurted, “I married your sister.” 
 
“What?” Tessa’s jaw dropped. “You married Kristina?” 
 
Kristina. Of course she’d think this was Kristina. Because she had a crush on me. While Autumn pretended I was a goddamn stranger. 
 
“Uh, not exactly,” I muttered. 
 
Another jingle sounded from the door, and then there she was. The source of my misery. 
 
“Oh, uh, hi.” Autumn came to stand by Tessa’s side. The color rose in her cheeks. Her eyes darted everywhere but at me. 
 
How could she ignore me? I couldn’t tear my damn eyes away. 
 
And that, well . . . that fucking pissed me off. If she called me ma’am, I was going to lose my ever-loving mind. 
 
“Hi,” Tessa said. “Cameron just told us that—” 
 
“Oh my God, you told them?” Autumn shrieked. “How could you tell them? We agreed to keep this a secret until it was annulled!” 
 
No, we’d agreed she was going to tell them. 
 
“Wait.” Sam leaned forward, pointing between the two of us. “

You

two got married?” 
 
I was about to explain, but Autumn kept on talking. 
 
“Now everyone is going to find out. Gah! Damn it. I’m never drinking again.” She spun around, jogging for the door. 
 
I shot out of my chair and chased. “Autumn, wait.” 
 
She didn’t. 
 
She just kept on running. 
 
Again. 
 
So I chased her down the sidewalks of San Francisco. 
 
Again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

AUTUMN 
 
“A
utumn.” Cameron’s hand wrapped around my elbow, stopping me before I could round the corner and disappear down the block toward my house. “Let me explain.” 
 
“No,” I whirled, shaking loose her grip. “How could you do that? How could you tell them? We agreed to keep it a secret. Maybe you don’t care what people here think about you. But I do. This is my town. This is my home. This is my

family

. You told Tessa.

My

sister. You are a thief, Cameron Brink. You are a

thief

.”
 
She’d robbed me of the chance to explain. 
 
Gone was my opportunity to fix this. Gone was my hope to keep this quiet until I’d worked up the courage to tell my family the truth. I glanced across the street, toward Autumn Planning. 
 
Did this mean my business was gone too? 
 
My chin began to quiver, fury and frustration bubbling to the surface as tears. “This changes everything.” 
 
“You said you’d tell them.” 
 
“I didn’t, okay?” My hands flew out at my sides. “Not yet. I was going to but . . .” 
 
But I was a coward. 
 
“You should have checked.” I poked a finger into her chest. “You should have waited.” 
 
“Fuck. I know.” She dragged a hand through her light hair, and that was it. End of explanation. 
 
“‘I know’? Just . . . ‘I know’?” My hands balled into fists. Never, not once in my life, had I wanted to hit someone. Even as a child when I’d fought with Kristina or Tessa over a toy. Even in my freshman year of high school when Elrand had snuck into my room and read my diary. Today? I wanted to punch my wife in that beautiful face. 
 
“I’m sorry.” Cameron sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t plan on telling them. It’s been festering. We were sitting in the coffee shop and it just came out.” 
 
“It just came out. Seriously? It just came out?” 
 
We’d kept this a secret for a month. Cameron and I had avoided each other, relying on texts and emails for the few times we’d needed to exchange details. Otherwise, we let our lawyers do the speaking. 
 
But today, it had just come out. 
 
“I can’t believe this is happening.” My phone vibrated in my coat pocket. I pulled it out and turned it so Cameron could read Tessa’s name too. “Would you like to answer this?” 
 
Cameron’s jaw ticked. 
 
“Didn’t think so.” I declined the call and returned it to my pocket. Before I spoke to anyone, I needed to think of what to say. “Oh my God. My parents.” 
 
Mom and Dad were going to kill me. 
 
My hands dove into my hair, pulling hard at the strands. 
 
“Autumn—” 
 
“We were so close to having this behind us.” My voice was practically a shriek. “So freaking close. We just need the annulment and—” 
 
“We’re not going to get it.” 
 
Now she sounded like my attorney. “We might.” 
 
“We won’t. Which means we’re looking at a divorce.” 
 
Divorce. My insides twisted. My lawyer had warned me about this. She’d said it would be easier if we just got divorced if we didn’t even bother asking for an annulment because they were so tricky to obtain. 
 
But I didn’t want a divorce. I wanted this marriage gone. Erased. 
 
I wanted it to be like it had never happened.
 
I wanted it to be my secret.

Forever

. 
 
That was the real reason I hadn’t told my family. Because I’d let myself hope for the annulment. I’d convinced myself that I could make Cameron agree to keep this secret permanent. Then no one would ever have to know. Not my parents. Not my siblings. No one. 
 
Stupid Autumn. 
 
Another stupid idea. 
 
I should have told them. Now it was too late.
 
Cameron had done it first. 
 
The lump in my throat began to close, but I managed to croak out a single word. “Why?” 
 
She checked over her shoulder, taking in the sidewalk, making sure no one was close enough to hear. “Kristina has a crush on me.” 
 
I blinked, leaning in closer because I couldn’t have heard her right. “Say that again.” 
 
“Kristina. Your sister.” 
 
“Yes, I’m aware that Kristina is my sister,” I deadpanned. 
 
“She’s got a thing for me.” 
 
“No, she doesn’t,” Did she? 
 
Kristina hadn’t mentioned it. Though we’d both been busy lately and hadn’t spent a lot of time alone together. In the past month, I’d only seen her at Mom and Dad’s, when we’d all met at the ranch for a family dinner. The house had been noisy and chaotic. Not exactly the best time for sisters to gab about their crushes. But still, she would have hinted, right? 
 
“How do you know? Did she ask you out or something?” My head began to spin. “Do you . . . do you like her too? Wait. Was that why you told Sam and Tessa? Because you want to date Kristina? Does she know we got married too?” 
 
I’d run from the coffee shop so fast that I hadn’t even thought about Kristina. 
 
“Oh my God. You want to date my sister. And we’re married.” I swayed on my feet, about to double over and vomit on her boots. 
 
But Cameron’s arms were there, wrapping around me, holding me steady. “Breathe.” 
 
My lungs wouldn’t work. My stomach was doing cartwheels.
 
This was happening too fast. Nothing was going according to plan. Cameron was . . . mine.
 
She wasn’t mine but she was mine. Sort of. 
 
How was I ever going to face her if she fell in love with Kristina? How was I going to forget that she’d given me the best orgasms of my life? How was I going to see them together, knowing what it felt like to have her mouth on me? 
 
“Breathe, angel.” Cameron’s voice, low and smooth, sounded in my ear. 
 
“I can’t.” My chest heaved. The world tilted sideways. Was this an anxiety attack? 
 
Yep, I was going to puke. 
 
One moment I was swaying on my feet, the next, they were swept out from beneath me. 
 
Cameron cradled my body, holding me against her chest as she walked. 
 
I stiffened, opening my eyes because I wasn’t ready to go back to the coffee shop. To face my sisters. 
 
But Cameron walked toward the street, carrying me to her Yukon. 
 
With a pop, the passenger door opened and she set me on the black leather seat. She closed me inside, then rounded the hood, climbing behind the wheel and starting the engine. With  a glance in her mirrors, she reversed away from the curb and headed down Main. 
 
She hit a button on the console. My seat warmers. Then she turned up the temperature, glancing over with her eyebrows furrowed. 
 
How did she know I was cold? 
 
Oh, right. I was shaking. Was it the cold? Or was it sheer panic?
 
I didn’t ask where we were going. I didn’t care. I just closed my eyes, waiting until the warmth seeped into my skin and the trembling in my fingers stopped. 
 
The SUV slowed before Cameron took a corner. Then the whirl of the tires changed to a crunch as we turned off the pavement and onto a gravel road. I cracked my eyes as a street sign flew by. 
 
Jiminez Road. She was taking me to the A-frame. 
 
Strange, how I’d only been there once, but the idea of that cabin soothed some of my worries. And this conversation, no matter the outcome, would be best had in private. 
 
“Sorry,” I whispered. “For freaking out.” 
 
“My fault.” Cameron shifted, her wrist draped over the wheel. “Better?” 
 
I nodded. “Getting there.” 
 
The drive down the gravel road settled more of my nerves. The rumble of the wheels, the bounce and jostle you didn’t have on asphalt. It reminded me of the ranch, of the countless hours I’d spent riding shotgun with Dad as he’d checked pasture fences or counted cattle. 
 
My queasy stomach and clammy palms were gone by the time we reached the A-frame. My knees wobbled, just slightly, as I hopped out of the Yukon and followed Cameron inside, where I was greeted by the scent of a wood fire and Cameron’s perfume. 
 
“What happened to your dining room table?” I asked. Instead of the round oak table that had been here the last time I’d visited, there was a black folding card table with four matching chairs. 
 
“I bought this place.” She tossed her keys on the small kitchen island. “I called the owners a few weeks ago to ask if I could extend my rental. They wanted to sell the place. So I bought it. Most of the furnishings too. But they wanted the table.” 
 
“You bought this?” Did that mean she was staying in San Francisco? Even after the annulment? 
 
My head started to spin again, so I walked to the card table, sinking into one of the folding chairs. 
 
“I’m sorry,” Cameron said. “I’m sorry I told them.” 
 
“Who knows?” 
 
“Just Sam and Tessa. It happened a minute before you came in.” 
 
I swallowed hard. “And Kristina?” 
 
She blew out a long breath, leaning against the island. “I’m guessing Tessa will tell her.” 
 
“But you didn’t?” 
 
She shook her head. “I didn’t know she felt that way.” 
 
My heart began to race. “And do you? Feel that way about her?” 
 
“No.” 
 
Relief crashed through my bones, my muscles sagging. Maybe it was silly, to feel this claim on Cameron. Okay, it was silly. We were former lovers and soon-to-be former spouses. But still, the idea of her with Kristina made me want to scream. 
 
“I’ll have to tell Kristina,” I said. “If Tessa didn’t already.” 
 
My phone vibrated in my coat pocket again. I didn’t want to check to see who was calling this time. I was too scared to see

Mom

or

Dad

on the screen. 
 
“I’m mad at you,” I murmured. 
 
“I’m mad at you too. You said you’d tell them in a couple of weeks. You didn’t.”
 
I frowned. “I’m aware.” 
 
“Don’t you think it will be better this way? If people find out from us instead of gossip?” 
 
“Or not at all,” I murmured. 
 
Cameron studied my face, her eyes narrowing. “You weren’t going to tell them, were you?” 
 
The blame, the scorn, in her voice made me wince. “No one needed to know.” 
 
Her jaw clenched. “That’s why you want the annulment.” 
 
“Do you want everyone to know?” 
 
Cameron didn’t answer. She just cast her gaze toward the island and the stack of mail on its surface. 
 
It turned quiet. Too quiet. She might be okay with these long stretches of silence but they made me squirm. The vinyl beneath my thighs squeaked. 
 
She had a right to be angry. So did I. 
 
But the damage had been done. By both parties. 
 
Hiding this marriage was no longer an option. 
 
“How did you tell them?” I asked Cameron. “Sam and Tessa? How did you tell them?” Maybe I could steal her explanation because, at the moment, my own eluded me. 
 
She sighed. “Told them I fucked up.” 
 
Brutal. But effective. And true. “Then what?” 
 
“Said I married your sister. Tessa assumed it was Kristina. Then you walked in the door.” 
 
To freak out and announce our marriage. 
 
“Ugh.” I dropped my elbows to the table, letting my head fall into my hands. “What a cluster.” 
 
My phone vibrated again. The curiosity was too much, so I slipped it out. Tessa. She’d called three times. Kristina, only once. 
 
“How do we fix this?” The question was for myself, but Cameron answered. 
 
“What if we called off the lawyers?” 
 
“Huh? What do you mean? We have to get the annulment. Or . . . a divorce. We need the lawyers.” 
 
Cameron stared at that stack of mail on the island, her expression focused on whatever was on the top. “What if we stay married?” 
 
I rubbed my ears. They didn’t seem to be working right today. “Say that again.” 
 
She stood straighter, her gaze whipping at me. “What if we stayed married?” 
 
“You want to stay married. How does that fix this?” 
 
“Hear me out. What if this marriage wasn’t some drunken mistake?” 
 
“Except it was a drunken mistake.” Had she forgotten that we’d both been riding the alcohol express as we walked into the Shannah Chapel and messed up our lives? 
 
“We know that,” she said. “No one else does.” 
 
“I don’t understand.” I pressed my fingers to my temples, to the headache that had sent me to Kristina’s coffee shop in the first place. It had faded momentarily, during my panic attack. But it was brewing again, raging behind my skull. 
 
“Instead of hiding this, what if we owned it? Tell everyone we got married. Admit it was rushed and reckless. But tell them there’s something here and we’re going to see if it works.” 
 
My hands fell along with my jaw. “Stay married. To me? But I just announced to the coffee shop that we’re getting an annulment.” 
 
Cameron lifted a shoulder. “We tell them it’s not a for-sure thing. Which it isn’t. And that we’re just exploring our options.” 
 
Stay married. That was impossible. Wasn’t it? 
 
Cameron’s gaze flicked to the stack of mail again. It was subtle. But something on that stack kept drawing her attention. 
 
“What are you not telling me?” I asked. 
 
She faced me, pinning her shoulders back. “I need a favor.” 
 
“And I’m guessing that favor has something to do with whatever you keep staring at.” I pointed to the mail. 
 
Cameron nodded, plucking a square card from the stack. “I need to go to a wedding at the end of June. Go with me.” 
 
“As your wife?” 
 
“As my wife.” The way her voice dipped, low and gravelly, sent a shiver rolling over my shoulders. 
 
“And after the wedding?” 
 
“We’ll get divorced.” 
 
Divorced. There’d be no annulment. No erasing this mistake. 
 
“I know you want this to be annulled,” she said. “But there was aways a good chance we’d have to go through with a divorce instead.” 
 
My shoulders slumped. “I know.” 
 
“I’ll take the blame,” she said. “You can tell the world it was my fault. Tell your family I was a horrible wife. Tell them I cheated or something.” 
 
“No.” My lip curled. I wasn’t going to paint Cameron out to be a person she wasn’t. “They’d hate you for that. Sam would hate you. We’ll just tell them it didn’t work out.” 
 
Cameron took one step toward me, then stopped. “Does that mean you’ll do it?” 
 
Did it? My mind was reeling. 
 
I’d gone to Blossom Coffee for some caffeine to chase away a headache. Less than thirty minutes later, Cameron and I were discussing a fake marriage. 
 
“Who?” I asked. “Whose wedding?” 
 
Cameron dropped her gaze, staring at her boots for a long moment. Then she lifted her chin and whatever openness she’d had a moment ago in those light eyes was gone. They looked shielded. Hard. 
 
“My ex-wife’s.”