Prologue

“Are you sure about this?”

He nodded. “I think it’s time.”

“I’m not so certain. Why her? Why now?”

He rolled his eyes because this wasn’t up for debate and it wasn’t as if they hadn’t had this discussion before. “We’ve been over this before. The book sales have far surpassed anything I ever imagined, and with the movie deals coming in, I think it’s time to start inching my way into public life.” His words were met with a laugh.

“You have no idea how lucky you are. The fact that you’ve gone this long without anyone having a clue as to who you are, where you live—hell, no one even knows what you look like! Are you sure you want to give that up?”

He nodded. “It’s time.” Standing, he looked at the framed photo on his desk and smiled. “Believe it or not, I miss being a part of something…more.”

“You can be a part of anything you want. No one has to know who you are or what you do for a living. For crying out loud, create an identity for yourself and go out and live a little more if that’s what you want! I just think inviting a bunch of people—”

“Not a bunch,” he cut off, “just one.”

“You’re seriously losing your mind, you know that, right? There is no way anyone is going to agree to that kind of condition. We can say that there can be no more than three—”

“No,” he said more firmly. “One. She comes alone, or it doesn’t happen.”

“And then what will you do? Will you just forget about this entire thing? Go on living like this—cut off from the world? Is that what you want?”

Sitting back in his seat, he sighed. “She has to come. I know that in the end, she’ll agree to the terms.” He paused and looked across the room at his friend. “And besides, don’t be such a drama queen. I’m not cut off from the world. I live a very fulfilling life and I do socialize.”

“Going into town to food shop and waving to people on the dock when you take your boat out is not socializing.”

“It is to me.”

“Okay, fine,” his friend said, obviously realizing it was pointless to argue. “I’ll draw up the papers and make the connections and then…we’ll see.” He looked down at the papers in front of him. “These dates work for you?”

“I’m the one who picked them, so yes. They work for me.”

“Okay, good. I wouldn’t want to interfere with all of your waving and picking produce.”

“Good one.” He rose and held out his hand. “Thank you for handling this for me. Let me know the minute you hear back from her.”

The door closed and he let himself relax and sit back down. He had never planned for his life to work out quite like this. Didn’t think he’d live to see it end up like this. And yet here he was. For years he’d enjoyed the quiet, the solitude, and the freedom to blend into the background without anyone knowing exactly who he was. It had been novel at first, even a little fun. But now, he wanted more. For all of his accomplishments, there was still something missing.

He could buy anything in the world that he wanted. His success had afforded him that. But the one thing he wanted most, he couldn’t buy. When the idea first hit him to do this, to allow himself to be “unmasked,” he knew there were dozens of media outlets that would kill for the opportunity. He didn’t want a media circus, and he didn’t want to be looked at like someone who belonged in a freak show.

This was his life. He’d created it. He’d earned it. He’d nearly died to have it. It was time for the world to hear his story. He was fortunate enough that he had the power to choose who to tell it to.

If only she’d agree to come.