Chapter 1

Four years after I ran out on my wedding, I ran into my ex in the children's play area of a mall.

He was standing there alone, his eyes locked on the little girl with pigtails beside me.

Daisy was holding up a lollipop, asking me to help her unwrap it.

My hand froze mid-tear on the wrapper.

"Jill Sullivan."

He crouched down, looking at Daisy, his eyes rimmed red.

"You ran off with the child for four years and never told me?"

"You've been hiding in a small city like this, living like this, just so I'd never find out?"

He reached out to touch Daisy's face, and I knocked his hand away.

"Dustin Stephens."

I carried Daisy to my other side.

"This is my brother's daughter. My own niece."

"My brother and his wife had something to deal with today, so I brought her out to play. It has nothing to do with you."

1

Dustin said nothing.

He stayed in that half-crouch, staring at Daisy for a dozen seconds before he slowly stood up.

His stare frightened Daisy a little, and she tugged at the hem of my shirt, shrinking back.

I picked her up and headed for the exit of the play area.

"Jill Sullivan, stop right there."

I pushed into the crowd with Daisy in my arms, head down, my steps quickening.

His voice came from behind me, pressed low.

"Aren't you going to give me an explanation?"

I glanced back at him.

I regretted that one glance.

He was thinner than he'd been four years ago, his cheekbones sharper, his eye sockets deeper, his jawline hard enough to cut.

But his eyes hadn't changed.

Those beautiful peach-blossom eyes, now completely bloodshot.

"There's nothing to explain."

I left the words there, held Daisy tight, and ducked into the elevator.

In the last second before the doors closed, I saw him reach out a hand, then pull it back.

My brother was waiting for me in the basement parking lot.

He took Daisy from me, and frowned when he saw how unnaturally pale my face was.

"What happened?"

"I ran into someone I didn't want to see."

"Who?"

"Just drive."

I got into the passenger seat and pulled my seatbelt tight.

Sebastian glanced at me, didn't ask any more, and started the car.

As we drove out of the parking lot, I saw Dustin in the rearview mirror, standing at the exit.

His car was parked at the curb, but he hadn't gotten in.

He just stood there, watching our car drive away.

Daisy sat in her car seat in the back, swinging her legs and biting her lollipop.

"Auntie, why was that man crying?"

I didn't know how to answer.

Sebastian answered for me.

"That's grown-up business, Daisy. Don't worry about it."

Then he rolled the windows all the way up and dropped his voice a notch.

"Was that Dustin?"

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the seat.

"Mm."

"How could he be in Cranehaven?"

Sebastian was quiet for a few seconds.

"What are you going to do?"

I rolled down my window and let the night wind pour in.

Early autumn in Cranehaven had already turned cool, and the wind in this seaside town always carried damp and salt.

"Nothing. It was just a coincidence. There's no way he can find me."

I underestimated Dustin.

The next morning at six thirty, I got to the shop to open up and found someone already sitting on the steps out front.

His suit trousers were wrinkled, the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, and there was a layer of bluish stubble on his chin.

He was gripping a cup of coffee gone stone cold, and there was no telling how long he'd been sitting there.

He looked up when he heard my footsteps.

There were the dark shadows of a sleepless night under his eyes.

"I've been looking for you for four years."

His voice was dry and cracked.

"Do you know that these four years, I combed through every city you might have gone to?"

"You changed your phone number, deleted all your social media accounts. Your dad wouldn't tell me, your mom said she didn't know."

"I thought something had happened to you."

He paused, gripping the coffee cup so hard the paper crumpled out of shape.

"You think this is a coincidence? I got word you were in Cranehaven three months ago, and I've flown out every weekend to look for you. Yesterday was the twelfth time."

I stood in the shop doorway, a yard away from him.

The keys were clenched in my hand, my knuckles white.

"You shouldn't have come looking for me."

"Why?"

"I left on my own. No one forced me."

"And because of that you couldn't leave me a single word? On our wedding day, hundreds of people were sitting there, and the bride was gone."

He stood up, more than half a head taller than me.

"Jill Sullivan, no matter what happened, you owe me a reason."