My sister’s engagement party is the last place I want to be, and I’m furious about it. This is something I should be excited for. Instead I’m dreading it because I might run into Sam. Sammy. Samuel Logan. The man who broke my heart. And even though I like to pretend otherwise, I never really recovered.

I’ve compared every relationship since to him, even if I try to put it out of my mind. It’s probably not fair to compare things to the explosive, all-consuming, power of first love, but I can’t help it. It was perfect, or at least it was in my mind. And I haven’t experienced anything since that’s come close.

We’ve lived in the same town our entire lives and haven’t run into each other since that awful prom night. But go figure, my sister is going to marry his little brother, and the party’s at his family’s estate. He’s going to be here, and I’m going to do my best to just stay clear of him entirely, but just in case, I’ve made pulled out all the stops to make a smoking hot impression: Plunging neckline, smoky eye, and heels so high that my feet are going to kill me tomorrow.

Totally worth it.

I pull into the driveway and I roll my eyes when I see that they’ve hired valets for the evening. I mean, I really shouldn’t be surprised. The Logans are town royalty and practically made of money. One of the valets—so young he’s practically a kid—runs over to me as I pull up to the house. He’s got a big grin on his face and I can’t help but smile back. At least he’s having a good time. I do my best to avoid looking at the enormous house behind me as I hand him the keys, and I’m still standing there a few minutes after he’s driven off in my car.

I can do this. I can. I have to do this for Rose. There’s a pressure growing in my chest. A heart attack would be a pretty good excuse to skip this party. But I know I’m not having a heart attack. That’s the downside of being a nurse: no delusional self-diagnoses. Taking a deep breath, I turn to face the house. It looks the same, in that way that houses tend to do. Like it hasn’t been eleven years since I last stepped inside. Like the man who lived there didn’t shatter my life.

Time to get this over with. I walk up the stairs, and the sound of my high heels on the steps seems really loud to me, almost like thunder. My heart is beating fast, too. I need to keep it together. A man opens the door for me as I approach, and it takes me a second to recognize him. “Benjamin?” The Logan’s long time butler. He was always kind to me.

He looks at me. “The elder Miss Monroe. It’s been a long time.”

“Yes. It has.” I force a smile.

“Enjoy the party.”

I sigh. “I’ll do my best.”

And then I’m through the door. Thankfully Rose is the first person that I see. “Hi!” she squeals and pulls me into a warm hug. I’ve been working long hours and it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. It’s been touch-and-go with us since she and Thomas got together. I’m grateful that he saved my father’s bakery, and I’m happy that she’s happy, but I still harbor resentment toward the Logans. Thomas seems nice, but it hurts to see him. And because of that, I’ve kept my distance from Rose.

“Hi,” I say, hugging her back. “It’s good to see you.” And it is. Rose has been like a different person since she and Thomas got together. Lighter, more carefree. I can’t help but think this is who she’s meant to be.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” she says, “because I was promised that as soon as you arrived I could stop greeting people at the door.” Looping her arm through mine, she pulls me further into the house. “Thomas, look who showed up.”

Thomas turns, and smiles when he sees me. “Hello, Fiona.” There’s a light hug and a kiss on the cheek. Thomas has always been sensitive to my history with his brother. He likes me, but I think he knows why I avoid him.

“Hey.”

“So now,” Rose says, abandoning me and allowing Thomas to wrap his arms around her, “it’s your turn to stand by the door.”

“Is that so?” he says with a smile, leaning down to kiss her.

The way he kisses her, I have to look away. It’s too intimate. I’m so, so happy for Rose, but I also want what she has. I want that kind of happiness. Rose pulls away laughing. “Go!”

He does, making it back to the front door just in time for another guest to enter. Rose floats back to me. “You look great, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you want food?”

I glance over toward the piles of food in the next room, and my stomach turns. I’m too nervous to eat. “I’m good for now, I think.”

“Well then, let me give you a tour,” she says. “This place is amazing. I haven’t spent that much time here, and every time I come I discover a new room.”

My stomach jumps into my throat, and the words stick behind my teeth.

Rose freezes. “Shit. You’ve been here before. Probably more than I have.”

“Yeah,” I clear my throat. “A long time ago, though.”

My sister pauses, tilting her head and looking at me in that way she has—like she’s reading my mind. “Drinks. We need drinks.”

“God, yes,” I say and follow her over to the bar that’s been set up for the party. I don’t want anything complicated, so I order a vodka cranberry. Tasty enough to drink quickly and strong enough to take the edge off.

“I think we can safely say that this is a success,” a voice says from behind us.

Rose turns with a smile and hugs a woman I recognize as Vanessa Logan. Samuel and Thomas’s mother. “I think so too!” Rose says.

Vanessa looks at me, and even though it takes her a second, I feel the moment she recognizes me. “Fiona,” she says.

“Hi Mrs. Logan.” Vanessa was always a bright spot in the Logan family, and after everything happened between me and Samuel, she tried to reach out to me. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her. If I could go back and do it again, I’d take the comfort she offered. “It’s really good to see you.”

She reaches out and puts a hand on my shoulder. “You too, darling. Now that you’re part of the family we’ll have to catch up again. Maybe do lunch?”

“I’d like that,” I nod.

Turning, she gestures to two men standing a little behind her. The air between them is thick, and they’re pointedly not talking. “You remember my husband, David?”

The older man raises an eyebrow and looks at me. Unlike Vanessa, there’s no recognition there. I reach out and shake his hand. “Fiona Monroe, Rose’s sister,” I say.

“And this is my eldest, Robert.”

The younger man turns toward me, and I can see a passing resemblance to his younger brothers, but he’s different. Less polished. He’s just as attractive as his siblings but he seems out of place here, like the suit he’s wearing is the most uncomfortable thing in the world. I don’t think we’ve ever met before. Robert shakes my hand. “Hello.” He seems bored.

“Nice to meet you.”

“I remember you,” he says with a soft smile. “We may have met in passing years ago.”

“I’m sorry that I don’t remember.”

He laughs. “It’s fine. I believe you had other things on your mind.”

I blush because being with Sam was the only thing on my mind at that time. I’m saved by someone I don’t recognize coming up to our little grouping. “Rose, Vanessa, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Rose glances at me. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

She and Vanessa move across the room, and David drifts away to talk with some other men. I recognize a few other guests as rich businessmen from Hawthorne. I realize that I’m glaring at them when Robert says, “Enjoying the party?”

“What?” I’d forgotten he was there, and I smooth out my face immediately.

He points to my hand. “You’re holding onto that drink like it’s a lifeline.”

“Oh. Yeah. Well…”

He chuckles, but it doesn’t sound like he actually thinks it’s funny. “You don’t have to explain to me. I don’t really want to be here either.”

“Parties not your thing?”

“Sure,” he says. “We’ll go with that.” He orders a beer from the bar and takes a sip. “I don’t blame you, by the way.”

I do a double take. “I’m sorry?”

“For glaring at my father.” The look he shoots in David’s direction…the phrase ‘if looks could kill’ comes to mind. I’ve never liked David Logan, because he’s always seemed cold, distant, and strict. The incident with my father’s bakery hasn’t exactly made him popular in my family, but I never got the impression that he’s a bad person. Or that his family didn’t like him.

“Your sister seems nice enough, but my family doesn’t deserve nice. Especially not him.” He nods over his shoulder at his dad.

I glance over at David, conversing with his group. I’ve never heard anything like this before, and it’s a little startling. What is there about David Logan that would make his son look at him like that? I’m about to ask him when I hear my name called from across the room. Rose is waving me over.

Looking back at Robert, he gives me a tight smile. “Go. And good luck with your speech.”

“Speech? What speech?”