She needed to be alone to nurse her wounds and think about what she was going to do next. Because the truth was, all she really wanted to do was hide under her quilt and forget about everything. If she could just rewind two months, she would. Before Tony had come back into their lives, before he decided he wanted to share custody and turned her life around. Yes, if she could only rewind two months, she could avoid meeting Declan. And even if she couldn’t avoid the meeting, she could avoid falling in love with him.

Love.

Because that’s what had happened. While she was busy trying to save her little family, she’d done the unthinkable and fallen in love with Declan McCormick.

That should be a good thing. She should be over the moon excited and giddy and all the things that you were supposed to be when you were in love. So why was she so miserable?

Because he didn’t love her.

She’d heard him say it himself. She was a thing he had to take care of. And then he’d be gone to whatever cause needed him next because that’s all she was to him. A charity case. Someone to help out of a bind. That’s what Declan did. He helped people. Just like he’d tried to help Evie.

She sat on the deck as long as she could. Finally, when she couldn’t avoid it any longer, she made her way back inside and dumped her now cold coffee down the drain. She was hoping to sneak into the bathroom to get ready, but Declan’s voice stopped her.

“Good morning. I was wondering if you were ever going to get up.” He came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck sweetly.

The tender gesture almost broke her but somehow she swallowed hard and managed to keep the tears at bay. He was just so dammed good at his role. He was so good at pretending to be her fiancée that he’d even fooled her.

Well, if he could act, she could too.

Evie put a smile on her face that she hoped looked a whole lot more natural than it felt and turned around. “I can’t believe I slept in so late,” she said. “But I have a lot to do so I’m just going to get going.”

There was a flicker of disappointment on his face. But maybe it was her imagination. “Do you have time for something to eat? I’ll make you breakfast.”

She wanted to. More than anything, Evie wanted to sit down at the kitchen table and chat with him while he made her a delicious breakfast that they could enjoy over another cup of coffee. She wanted that so very much.

But only if it was real. She no longer wanted the story.

She shook her head. “No. I really don’t have time. Sorry.”

This time, she was sure she saw disappointment on his face. Her heart clinched a little, but she steeled herself against it and turned to leave.

“Maybe tonight?” Declan reached out for her arm, his touch hot on her skin. She looked over her shoulder at him. “How about a movie on the couch? I’ll make the popcorn. It’s world famous.”

She couldn’t help it, she cracked a smile. “World famous, is it?”

“Absolutely. You’ve never tasted anything like it. I promise.”

She thought about it for a moment, and remembering that Jonah was going out with Tony, she finally nodded. “Okay.” Besides, it might be a good time to talk to him about their next steps. After all, there was no point carrying on with their charade any longer. “I’ll see you tonight.”

---

“Seriously, Cal.” Declan puffed out the words. “You need to slow down.”

His brother turned and jogged backward, which only rubbed salt in his jogging sucks wound. “You can do better than that,” Cal said with a laugh.

Bastard wasn’t even out of breath after taking him on some sort of super speed run through town. For the life of him, Declan couldn’t remember why he kept agreeing to go jogging with his youngest brother. It had seemed like a good idea the first few times, more as a way to spend time with Cal, but now it was starting to seem more and more like torture as his brother only seemed to get fitter while he didn’t.

“Okay,” Declan said as soon as he caught up with Cal, who was finally waiting for him. “Let’s walk for a minute.”

“If we must,” Cal conceded. “I don’t need to be on set until later. We’re doing a night shoot tonight.”

“How’s that going anyway? Shooting? When’s the premiere?”

“Funny you should ask.” Cal took a swig of his water bottle. “Jade was just talking details about that yesterday. I think it’s going to be on Labor Day. Kind of an end-of-summer kick-off. She wants to use the big screen in the park that they use for family movie nights and invite the whole town. Combine it with the Labor Day festival.”

“That’s actually a good idea.” Declan polished off his own water and reached for Cal’s bottle. “After all, this show has been kind of a town effort since the start.”

“Exactly. And don’t worry, you’re VIP, so I’ll make sure you and Evie get front row seats with the rest of us.”

“Gee, thanks.” He laughed and drank his brother’s water. “And Jonah, too.”

“Of course.” Cal smacked him on the back. “That’s sure something, isn’t it? You and Evie. I think I saw it coming, but not really, you know?”

Declan shrugged. Of course he hadn’t seen it coming. Declan himself hadn’t seen it coming.

“Well, you know how happy it makes Mom, right?”

“What are you talking about?” The last time he’d talked to his mom about him and Evie had been at dinner when they’d taken a little walk. The entire conversation had been a bit strange and he’d gotten the distinct impression that she didn’t fully support the engagement. She hadn’t outright said anything, but she didn’t have to. Maybe she sensed something was off? Whatever it was, he certainly didn’t get the impression that she’d been happy for him. “She’s happy?”

“Of course she is.” Cal stopped at a fence and stretched one quad up behind him. “She said something like she didn’t think she’d ever see the day where you would fall in love.”

Love. He almost laughed out loud because he never thought he’d see that day either.

“She said it was nice to see you so concerned about someone else that you’d do anything to make them happy.”

“That’s kind of a strange thing to say.”

“Whatever.” Cal dropped his leg and picked up the other one. “But you know Mom. Heck, I’m just happy she’s been in town for so long. It’s nice to have her back. To have all of us back. I had Milena look into one of those condos for her, you know?”

“Oh yeah?” Declan was more than happy to have the conversation turned away from him. “And what does she think about that?”

Cal laughed. “Well, Milena said she could save her whichever one she wanted. Mountain view or lake view—she just had to say the word. But Mom wasn’t excited. She said she needed to think about it.”

That didn’t really surprise Declan. All of them knew how hard it was for their mom to be back in Cedar Springs, with all of the memories of what had happened, and that terrible evening when their dad had come to let her know he was leaving them. But none of them realized exactly how difficult it was. He’d only been sixteen when it had happened, but he would never forget seeing his mom as she locked up the house the next morning when they said good-bye. She’d stood at the wooden door, with her palm flat against it, her head dropped in defeat. Her entire body looked so small at that moment.

He’d gone to her and put his hand tentatively on her shoulder. He’d never forget the look in her eyes when she turned to him and said, “It’s over, Declan. All of this. The memories, the love, the dreams, the future. The door is closed now, and in this moment, it’s gone.”

Then she’d turned and without another look behind her, walked toward the van where they were all waiting to go home. This time for good.

None of what she’d said made sense at the time. Heck, it still didn’t really make a lot of sense, but it wasn’t the words so much as how she’d spoken them that had made the most impact.

Not only had her heart been completely crushed, but so had her spirit. And somehow it was all tied up with Cedar Springs. The fact that she’d come back at all had been nothing short of a miracle as far as Declan was concerned. But something was different about his mom now. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it; she seemed stronger, and yet a little more fragile, all at the same time.

“Well,” Declan finally said to Cal. “I can talk to her if you like. Maybe I can see what’s stopping her.”

Cal nodded. “Sounds like a plan. But first, we need to get home. Are you ready?”

His muscles groaned in protest, but with a shake of his head, Declan moved and did his best to keep pace with his brother on the way home. Or at least not get too far behind.