“Want to do something different today?” I enter the bedroom, the question on my lips, then come to a halt when I take in Maddie’s expression. She’s clutching her phone in a death-grip, and her face is pale. “What’s wrong?”

She doesn’t meet my eyes. “I’ll call you back, Misti,” she says, and hangs up.

“What’s wrong?” I repeat. “Is your sister okay?”

She gives me a small nod and tries to change the subject. “What were you saying? You asked me if I wanted to do something today?”

Damn it, Maddie, talk to me.

She’s clearly upset. Her lips tremble as she struggles not to cry, but she’s losing the fight. I take one step into the room and fold her into my arms. Her hair smells like summer rain, and her body is soft and warm in my embrace.

I don’t talk; I just hold her as she sobs. I rock her back and forth, my hand rubbing her back, soothing her. “Maddie, honey. Please don’t cry. Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”

She half-sobs, half-laughs. “You can’t fix everything, you know,” she says, her voice muffled into my shoulder. “Sometimes, there are problems even Cameron Drake can’t solve.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

She laughs this time, a weak and watery laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. “Sorry to fall apart on you,” she murmurs, pulling away and reaching for a tissue. “Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder.”

“Anytime, Mads,” I say, meaning it.

A fleeting wistful look crosses Maddie’s face.  “What were you saying when you came in?”

“I thought we could take the boat and head out for the day? Mrs. Coleman can pack us a picnic.”

“Just you and me?” she asks hopefully.

I nod. I’ve enjoyed hanging out with Ryder, Zoe, and Noah, but I want some alone time with Maddie. Sleeping with her every night, spending time with her during the day, I’ve realized something important. I can’t let her go again. I love Maddie.

Nine years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I was devastated that Maddie picked money over me, and I’d allowed bitterness to overtake me.

I was wrong. I should have gone to her, demanded answers. Tried to understand.

I’ve been given a second chance, and I’m not going to screw it up. Maddie and I are meant to be together.

I toss my phone on the bed. “You and me. No distractions, no interruptions.”

Her lips curl into a smile. She drops her phone next to mine. “Sounds amazing.”

We head south on Lake Rosseau and thread our way to Lake Joseph. It’s a perfect warm summer day. The water is calm and there’s a slight breeze in the air.

At my side, Maddie’s quiet, lost in thought. I put my arm around her. “What’s bothering you, Mads?”

She sighs. “Why did you want to date me, Cameron? You could have had any girl you wanted.”

“Seriously? I was crazy about you.”

“Yes, but why?”

“You’re really hot,” I joke. She digs an elbow in my side. “Okay, okay,” I hold up my hands and try to put into words why I’d felt at home with her. “The real reason? I never had to act with you.”

She gives me a puzzled look. “Act? Act how?”

“With everyone else, I was Cameron Drake, heir to the Drake billions. My grandfather gave my high school ten million dollars, and they named the library after him. My uncle, Ryder’s father, was hockey captain. Every single day, I had to deal with the weight of all those expectations.”

I pause to gather my thoughts. “Then I met you. You had no idea who I was, and when you found out, you didn’t care. I didn’t have to pretend with you.” My grip on her hand tightens. “The week I met you, a woman who worked for my father accused him of sexual assault. My grandfather pulled the family together, all of us, and coached us on what to say to the press if we were interviewed.” My lips twist into a bitter smile. “Noah was only fourteen. His brothers Zachary and Declan were thirteen. And we were being taught that people only wanted us for our money. When I was with you, I was free of all that bullshit.”

She rests her head on my shoulder. “That’s horrible,” she says quietly. She pauses for a long time. “My father’s getting out of prison. That’s why I was upset earlier.”

Maddie rarely mentions her father. I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t even know he was in jail. I blink in confusion. “Because he’s being released?”

Her mouth curls into a frown. “My father would sell his soul for twenty bucks,” she replies. “He’s got a drinking problem. He’s angry. He’s violent. He keeps getting into bar brawls, and he keeps getting arrested for it.”

“You weren’t close?”

She snorts. “I met him for the first time when I was ten. His kids were never a priority. I was never important. Until I met you. Then, suddenly, he was interested in me. It didn’t take me long to realize that you were the real target.”

I put two and two together. “That’s why you’re upset? Because your father might extort me?”

She nods. “It’s always been the reason,” she replies. “Both now and nine years ago. Your dad was concerned that having a father in prison might impact your political career. Me, I was just afraid he’d want money from you.”

“What political career?” I absorb the rest of her words and freeze. When did Maddie and my father have this conversation? “Say that again.”

“I thought we weren’t going to rehash the past.” She shrugs. “It’s okay. You made your choice that day. It’s old news now. Water under the bridge.”

A cold shiver trickles down my spine. “Humor me,” I tell her, my voice clipped. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

She gives me a concerned look. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Tell me,” I insist again.

“Fine.” She gathers her thoughts. “I was already uncomfortable at the cottage. I didn’t fit in and I knew it. My clothes were wrong; I didn’t know what fork to use for what food. I stuck out like a sore thumb.”

I flinch as I hear her stark assessment. I’d been oblivious to most of her discomfort. I’d just been delighted she’d been there at my side.

“Then your dad cornered me. He’d found out my father was getting out of jail. He accused me of not giving a damn about your future. If I cared about you, he said, I’d leave you. He even offered me money to disappear.”

She’s staring into the distance. “I always knew that my time with you was temporary. I couldn’t allow my father to sink his claws in you. So I wrote you a note and left.”

“What note?” I ask sharply.

She frowns at me. “The note,” she says, as I should know exactly what she’s talking about. “You know, where I told you why I was leaving.” Her lips twist into a wry smile. “I was young and foolish,” she confesses. “I thought you would come after me.”

“I never got a note.” Waves of pure, cold rage cascade over me. “My father told me he’d offered you fifty thousand dollars to leave me, and you’d accepted.”

She stiffens in my embrace. “I didn’t take his money.”

For nine years, I thought Maddie had picked money over me. My father had played me expertly. Already conditioned to assume that most women were gold-diggers, I’d fallen for his lies and I’d allowed him to ruin the relationship I had with Maddie.

And I might have never known differently. I might have gone to my grave thinking that Maddie had betrayed me.

“I believe you.” I swallow. I’ve been such a fool. I should have known that Maddie would never, ever betray me. “Maddie, I’m so sorry. I listened to my father’s lies, and I shouldn’t have.”

Her eyes sparkle with tears as she squeezes my shoulder. “I’m sorry, too.” I start to tell her that this situation isn’t her fault, and she holds up her hand. “No, wait, Cam. Let me say this. In the time we dated, you never once made me feel like I didn’t belong. You always stood up for me. I should have had more faith in us. I was insecure about being poor, about my dysfunctional family, about my father getting out of jail. I didn’t trust what we had between us.”

“There’s going to be consequences,” I vow. “He’s never been much of a parent. But,” my voice turns to ice, “this time he went too far.”

We both fall into silence. I’m simmering in rage. I’ve tolerated my father’s presence in my life, but no longer.  If he thinks I’m going to pick my family over Maddie, he’s miscalculated. Badly.

It’s starting to get dark when we approach the dock. “Not exactly how I’d planned the day,” I say wryly to Maddie.

It’s the understatement of the year. Today was a fucking disaster. I’d planned on telling her I loved her. I wanted to ask her to stay in Toronto with me.

Instead, I’m left reeling.

She chuckles. “I’d say,” she murmurs. She doesn’t pull away from my embrace, and I take comfort in that. “Cam,” she says, her voice sharper, “is there someone waiting for us at the dock?”

I peer through the gloom. She’s right, there’s someone pacing up and down. As we near, I make out who it is.

My father.

“Where have you been?” he snaps at me as soon as we’re within earshot. “We’ve been trying to reach you all afternoon.”

Tension radiates off Maddie in waves. I fight the urge to punch my father. “What do you want?” I snarl.

His next words cause the bottom to drop out. “Emily had a heart attack,” he replies grimly. “She’s been airlifted to St. Michael’s. The doctors aren’t sure if she’s going to make it.” He gives me a look of sheer contempt. “I hope your picnic was worth it.”