“You’re a stubborn son of a bitch, you know that, Cameron?”

Brent Roberts, the man who’s spoken those words, is something of a sore loser. He inherited his media company from his father, and in the five years he’s been the CEO, he’s done his level best to run it into the ground. He’s lucky I’m interested in buying it, and despite what he thinks, I’ve offered to pay a fair price.  

I shrug. “If you think you can do better elsewhere, you’re free to walk away.”

He glares at me and I stare back. Truth is, I have no use for men like Roberts. He’s lazy and unfocused; he’s never done an honest day’s work in his life.

Roberts caves, as I expect him to. “Fine,” he mutters sullenly. “Let’s get this deal done.”

Debra Marks, my second in command, conceals her triumphant grin as Roberts signs on the dotted line. When the team of lawyers clear out of my office, she thrusts her fist in the air in a victorious gesture. “What a fool,” she smirks. “He has the best team in the country, and he doesn’t know it. We’ll make much better use of Pulse Media.”

“Indeed.” I walk over to the bar in the corner of my office and pour her a drink. “You did good on this deal, Deb.”

She accepts it with a smile of thanks. “You flatter me, boss. It wasn’t my negotiating skills that sealed the deal.”

I slosh some top-shelf whiskey into a glass, and raise it in Deb’s direction. The Pulse Media deal has taken months of hard work and preparation. I’ve earned this celebration.

“Any summer vacation plans?” Deb asks as we sip our drinks. “You typically head to Muskoka this time of the year, don’t you?”

It’s practically a Canadian rite of passage to go away to the family cottage during summer. Deb has no idea that her innocent question sends a sharp stab of pain through my heart. Even now. Even after all these years.

I haven’t seen or heard from Maddie in almost a decade. She was offered a choice between money and love, and she chose the cash and broke my heart.

I wonder where she is now.

“If I can get away,” I hedge. “What about you, Deb? That husband of yours whisking you off somewhere good?”

“Nah,” she replies. “I like Toronto in the summer. We’ll go away when it gets colder. We’re planning a trip to Greece in the fall.”

There’s a knock on the door, and my assistant Kelli sticks her head in. “You have a visitor, Mr. Drake,” she stammers. “It’s your grandfather. I know he doesn’t have an appointment, but…”

Poor Kelli. She has no desire to get in the middle of a family feud, and I don’t blame her. “That’s okay, Kelli, I’ll see him.” I gulp down the rest of my drink as Deb gets up to leave. “Have a good weekend, Cam,” she says. “See you Monday.”

I haven’t seen my grandfather in a few months. He’s a difficult man to love, strict and unyielding. He enters my office now, giving the bottle of whiskey on the table a disapproving look. “Drinking on the job? Is this what passes as work nowadays?” he demands.

I refuse to be drawn into this discussion. “Hello to you too, grandfather. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

He sits down opposite me, grunting as he folds himself into his seat. That noise, a small admittance of weakness, startles the crap out of me. Through my adolescence, my grandfather has been such a larger than life presence that I’ve failed to realize he’s getting old. He’s in his eighties now. He’s not going to live very much longer.

I straighten the pieces of paper at my desk to avoid confronting that thought. The silence between us grows. He breaks it first. “I was in the neighborhood,” he says, “and I thought I’d come and see if you were planning to come to the cottage this year. I left a message for you, but you haven’t replied.”

Every year, my family gets together for one week in the summer.  Seven days of seething resentments, angst and dysfunction. My father will be there, ready to pitch some crackpot scheme to my grandfather. His sister, my aunt Emily, will be there, patient and smiling, trying to smooth over the various squabbles that tend to break out when we’re around each other. My uncle Colt died when I was a teenager, but his four sons typically attend. Of course, we never talk about my estranged uncle Julian, and we do our level best to pretend that branch of the family doesn’t exist.

The family drama isn’t the only reason I don’t want to go. Every time I go to the cottage, it reminds me of Maddie. Every time I sit on the dock, I can’t help remembering the times I slathered sunscreen on her velvet skin. Every time I swim in the lake, memories of her laughter haunt me.

Even now. Even after all these years.

Summer after summer, I go back to the cottage, observing the Drake family traditions, though all I feel is pain. The wound is still there, and being at the cottage just lances it open.  

This year, I’m going to stay away. I’m going to remain in the city where there are fast women and faster cars, and an infinite number of distractions, and I’m going to let Maddie go, once and for all. “I haven’t made up my mind,” I lie.  

He frowns. “It’s probably going to be the last summer you’ll get to spend there,” he says. “I’m selling the cottage.”

At that, I sit up. The huge, rambling farmhouse has been in my grandfather’s family for generations.  More than that, it’s my aunt Emily’s home. Why he suddenly wants to get rid of it, I have no idea. It isn’t for the money--he has plenty of it. “You’re selling the place?” I ask carefully. “To whom?”

“Ryder’s interested,” he replies.

Shock courses through me. Ryder is Uncle Julian’s son. I had no idea my grandfather was even in contact with him. “And you’re entertaining his offer?” I ask carefully. “What about Emily? This is her home you’re talking about.”

I’ve only met Ryder once, at a party in Toronto a few months ago. He seemed like a good-enough guy, very much in love with his wife, Zoe.

If it weren’t for Aunt Emily, I wouldn’t care that Ryder wants to buy the cottage. But my aunt loves the cottage. It’s her home, damn it. She spends all her time there, even in the cold winter months, lost in memories of happier days.

“I’ll find Emily another place to live,” my grandfather replies dismissively. “I want the cottage to go to a Drake, and Ryder’s the only one in your generation who seems to be interested in children. His wife is pregnant.” His knuckles grip the armrests of the chair he’s sitting on. “I have six grandchildren. You. Ryder. Noah. Zachary. Declan. Liam. And Ryder’s the only one who’s settled down.”

“Seven,” I correct him. “You have seven grandchildren. You forgot Ryder’s sister Gigi.”

His lips curl with distaste. “I refuse to count Julian’s illegitimate daughter.”

“Of course. Because it’s Gigi’s fault that your son couldn’t keep it in his pants.”

He flinches. “I demand to be spoken to with respect,” he says through clenched teeth.

I refrain from rolling my eyes. It’s not like I’m learning anything new about my grandfather. Edward Drake only cares about the family name. Emily has no children, and even if she did, they wouldn’t be Drakes. Because of that, she’s getting tossed out of her home and Ryder, who is a near-stranger, will move in.

My aunt is the only member of my family that I love without reservation. She has a heart of gold. She’ll never say anything about being forced to leave the cottage, but she’ll be miserable. To keep her happy, I would do anything.

“You’re selling to Ryder because his wife is pregnant?” I straighten another piece of paper on my desk, thinking quickly. There’s no point offering to beat Ryder’s price; my grandfather will only dig in his heels harder. And there’s no point trying to appeal to his heart; Emily was eighteen when she sneaked out to go to a party with her boyfriend, and got into the accident that damaged her spine and left her in a wheelchair. My grandfather still hasn’t forgiven her for breaking his rules and leaving home without permission.

I can’t produce a pregnant wife, but I can do the next best thing. I can show up to Muskoka with a fiancée. I can be obviously, visibly in love. My grandfather barely knows Ryder; it’ll be enough to change his mind about selling the family cottage to my estranged cousin. “In that case, I’ll be there,” I continue. “Also, I’m bringing someone.”

“You are?” His eyes light up, and I wince inwardly. Lying to an old man, Cameron? Even for you, that’s low. “You’ve never brought anyone to the cottage.”

Except for Maddie. Of course, Maddie was from the wrong side of the tracks, and my grandfather and my father like to pretend she didn’t exist. I’m not surprised Edward Drake doesn’t mention her now.

I double-down on the lie. “Yes. I’m seeing someone and it’s serious. You’ll meet her next week.”

“It’s about time,” he says, slowly rising to his feet. “You’re thirty-one. When I was your age, I’d already been married for eleven years.”

And he’d had four children, three sons and a daughter, and of the four of them, only two are alive. Things haven’t been easy for Edward Drake.

I feel a surge of sympathy for the old man and another stab of guilt at the lie I’m telling him. Then I remember his casual dismissal of Aunt Emily, and my resolve hardens. I intend to buy the cottage and make sure my aunt lives in it for the rest of her life.  

He moves toward the door, then turns back, a stiff smile on his face. “I’m delighted to hear that you’ve found someone, Cameron.” He hesitates for an instant, then continues with a look of resolution on his face. “I’m looking forward to meeting your girlfriend. And if you’re getting married and are interested in the property...”

His voice trails off, his meaning clear. If my grandfather is convinced I’m in a serious relationship, I have a shot at getting the cottage. If not, he’ll sell it to Ryder.

The family vacation is next week.

I have seven days to find a woman that is crazy enough to pretend to be madly in love with me and smart enough to pull the wool over my family’s eyes, and I don’t know where to start looking.