Cassie walked into the backyard, her head held high. She’d spent way too long at the hospital, curled up against Logan in the narrow bed before the nurses had finally come to shoo her away. She made it back home to find the party in full swing and ran up to her room to get ready.

Marissa had been waiting for her with a very helpful pep talk, but Cassie’s hands were still shaking as she looked around the backyard. The dress she’d picked out last week for the party now seemed too tight; she could barely breathe. Her heart was pounding, but she told herself even if this was it for her family, she’d still have Logan on her side. She found her parents standing by the French doors leading into the house, greeting people as they milled about.

Her dad’s eyes flashed as Cassie stood in front of them.

“I need to talk to you.” She spoke softly, but her tone was firm. “Both of you. And Di.”

Cassie glanced around and spotted her sister talking to one of the young golfers, but she rushed over when she saw the look Cassie shot her.

As they all followed her into the kitchen, she could feel the annoyance radiating off of them.

“This really isn’t appropriate to leave our guests so early in the evening,” her mom started, as she turned to face Cassie. With a wave of her hand, the servers and other staff left the kitchen. It was just the Harts now, Cassie facing her sister and parents, her heart beating a thousand miles an hour.

Could she really say this?

She thought of Logan, and the beating he’d taken when he thought he hadn’t been able to keep her safe. This couldn’t possibly be worse than that, could it?

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier,” she said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “But I had something to take care of.”

“You mean that Hanes scum?” her dad spat. “I thought I made it clear that you weren’t to see him again.”

Cassie took a deep breath. She could do this.

“I’m still a part of this family,” she said, looking them all in the eye. “I may not always agree with you, or do things the way you want me to but I still want to make you proud, in my own way.”

Her dad scoffed and her stomach lurched. She took another breath and kept going.

“But I can’t play these games anymore. I can’t keep lying, to myself, to others. I want to go to Columbia. I want to be with Logan. I’m sorry if you’re not happy about that. I still love you all. I…I hope you can still love me.”

She waited one more breath, then, seeing their angry faces, looked down, her eyes filling with tears.

“Of course we love you,” said her mom, and Cassie looked up, her heart soaring. Her mom’s eyes were soft for the first time Cassie could ever remember. The facade had slipped a little, and Cassie thought she looked even more beautiful than normal. “I think your father may have been a little hasty this morning in his ultimatum. Things have been tense for everyone lately.”

That was probably as close to the truth as she’d ever get, but it was enough to reassure Cassie that her future might be one she could actually look forward to.

“It’s just…” Cassie’s mom glanced at her dad, whose lips were pursed in furious disappointment. “Things between your father and I aren’t quite sorted out. And the lawsuit he’s dealing with isn’t going the way we’d hoped. So there might not be quite as much for you at Columbia as we’d hoped.”

Diana was scowling. That meant less for law school and her California lifestyle as well.

Cassie’s face, however, lit up in a wide grin.

“You mean I might have to get a job?” Her mind raced with the possibilities. Maybe she could find a job with Logan! And even if she didn’t, she knew he’d be there to help her figure it out. He’d be thrilled to finally be able to share his knowledge of something with her.

“We’ll figure out all the details later,” said her mom, as the facade slipped back into place once again. “Let’s not ruin the party with all this talk of our troubles, okay?”

Cassie followed them out back into the yard, her stomach filled with excited butterflies. She wouldn’t have to pretend to be happy—she was positively brimming with joy.

She was still going to New York. Logan would be there with her. And they’d help each other figure things out as they went.

Marissa caught up with her and linked her arm through Cassie’s.

“I take it everything went okay?”

All she could do was nod, not able to put it all into words quite yet.

“Great!” Marissa squeezed her hand as they made their way down to the beach. “Hey, I meant to ask you before, who was that guy this morning?” Cassie shot her best friend a questioning look. Marissa’s eyes were sparkling. “The one who came to tell you about Logan?”

“Hideki?” Cassie grinned. “Logan’s cousin? I think I heard he’s going to Missoula this year…”