Memorial Day arrived with bright-blue skies, and Brittany woke up to a beam of sunlight shining across her bed.

She stretched her arms over her head and groaned happily. Since Ian had moved into the apartment over the office last Friday, she and Rory had been hanging out in Lady Margaret. Last night, they’d spent some time going over the plans for the party today before falling asleep in each other’s arms. He was gone this morning, of course, having slipped out before dawn. She turned her face into his pillow and breathed deeply, smelling him: pine and soap and Rory.

Though their conversation on Wednesday night had left her feeling a little insecure, she was grateful to have Thursday away from him to gain some perspective. What was he supposed to do? Ask her to move in with him and his brother? That would be awkward. Or leave Summerhaven and move to Boston to be with her? She hadn’t made that offer to him, and it would have been presumptuous for him to suggest it. He was inviting her to stay for as long as possible before the summer season began, and at face value, that meant that they were maximizing the time they had together.

As for the future? Well, they’d have to talk about it. And unlike Ben, with whom she’d avoided difficult conversations, she wouldn’t avoid it with Rory. In fact, tonight, after the fireworks, she intended to bring it up.

Because weekends were his busiest time, she could volunteer to come up and see him on the weekends, and perhaps he could come down to Boston and spend one night a week at her place. More than anything, she trusted him—he’d never given her reason not to, and his transparency meant everything to her—and as long as they wanted their relationship to work, she trusted that they’d put the effort into making that happen.

Was she nervous? Of course. Her luck in the past hadn’t exactly primed her confidence, but Rory was the most genuine, most loving, most trustworthy person she knew. If anyone on earth wouldn’t let her down, it was him. She rolled out of bed and got dressed, ready to start a wonderful day at Summerhaven.

After running the carnival games all morning and sitting beside Farmer Hank in the front seat of the hay wagon, giving camp tours all afternoon, she was tired by early evening. Standing on the food line, waiting for a burger, she didn’t notice Ian beside her until he tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hey, Britt!”

“Hey, trouble.”

“Trouble? I’m hurt!” He pointed to the logo on his shirt. “Didn’t you hear? I’ve gotten more responsible lately. In fact, Summerhaven’s got a new assistant manager.”

“I heard. Poor Summerhaven,” she said, grinning up at Rory’s brother, who looked so much better than he had two months ago at Tierney’s house.

“Hope my promotion isn’t cramping your style,” he said, giving her a suggestive grin. “You know, hosting my brother in your little cottage night after night…”

“What happens in my little cottage night after night is none of your affair, boyo,” she said, making him throw back his head with laughter.

When he stopped laughing, he nudged her in the hip. “Hey, you know…I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“Oh, yeah?” she asked, nodding her thanks at the server who placed a fresh-off-the-grill burger on her waiting bun.

“Yeah. About Halcyon.”

Brittany squeezed some ketchup on her plate and grabbed a handful of chips from a big bowl. “Forget it.”

“Britt, come on,” said Ian, following her to a nearby picnic table almost filled with locals happily gorging themselves on free barbecue. “Just tell me…how is she?”

“Last I heard? Terrible.”

Ian grimaced, rubbing his beard. “Why? What else happened?”

“Her ex-husband racked up tens of thousands of dollars on her credit card. It’s holding up the divorce. She thinks they may need to declare bankruptcy.”

“Fuuuuck,” muttered Ian.

“Yeah,” said Britt, taking a big bite of her sandwich. She chewed slowly, watching Ian process this news.

“Bastard.”

“Uh-huh,” agreed Brittany, looking over Ian’s shoulder for a glimpse of Rory. She’d barely seen him all day.

Suddenly she caught sight of him near the lemonade table. He was talking to a blonde woman with long hair who wore a tied-dyed sundress. From the looks of her, Brittany would guess she was in her forties, and from the Bulgari sunglasses she was wearing, she was obviously from money. “Hey, Ian…who’s that? Who’s Rory talking to?”

Ian looked over his shoulder, then turned back to Brittany, his expression guarded. “No one.”

Brittany looked at the woman again, the way she reached out to touch Rory’s arm, her fingers curling around his skin and lingering as she laughed at something he said.

“She’s not no one,” said Brittany, putting her burger down as her appetite disappeared completely, the memory of Ben and Angie in the hospital cafeteria flashing through her mind. “Who is she? What’s her name?”

“She’s just…she’s a photographer who lives on the other side of the lake. Her name’s June.”

I just don’t think June’s right for your event.

June. She remembered Rory mentioning June. She was the photographer who he’d originally suggested to capture her wedding and then awkwardly unrecommended after they’d spent a little more time together.

“Who is she?” whispered Brittany, a terrible ache taking hold of her. “I mean…who is she…to Rory?”

“I don’t want to…” Ian held her eyes for a moment, then shifted his away. “Talk to Rory. He’ll tell you. It’s not my place…but, Britt? Believe me. It’s nothing you need to be worried about.”

Except Ian’s body language didn’t correspond with his claim that June was “nothing.” He was evading the question and avoiding her eyes, and it made Brittany’s blood run cold in recognition. Secrets. Lies. Cheating. She’d been here before.

“Fine,” she said, picking up her plate and standing up from the table. Leaving Ian, she headed for the garbage can, throwing away most of her food.

“Hey, Brittany!” said Doug, who was passing her with a tray of watermelon slices.

She offered him the brightest smile she could muster. “Hey, Doug! Great party.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking around with a satisfied nod. “Everyone’s having fun.”

“Hey, Doug,” she said, hooking her thumb in Rory’s direction, and trying to sound casual, “how long ago did June and Rory break up?”

“Huh,” said Doug, wrinkling his forehead. “Did they break it off? I didn’t know.”

“So they’ve been together for a while, huh?”

“Mmm. Together?” Doug grinned at her. “I don’t know if I’d call them together, Britt. More just banging boots, I think.”

“Banging boots,” she murmured, feeling her heart drop to her stomach like a big, fat brick as tears welled in her eyes. “Right.”

“Hey…are you okay?”

“Yeah! Dust in my eye. G-Great party, Doug,” she said before hurrying away.

Beelining to the path in the woods, she power walked back to the main path, tears streaming down her cheeks as she panted from exertion and fury and sadness.

…it’s free until June 3. You could stay if you want to.

But not beyond the third, right? Because there’s another June across the lake waiting for some “boot banging” as soon as the fourth rolls around!

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she muttered through tears, turning right onto the main path toward Lady Margaret. Luckily all of the visitors were at the barbecue, and no one was around to see the crying crazy lady talking to herself. “Why would your luck change, dummy? Why would Rory be different? How many times does this need to happen before you see? Before you get it through your thick head? There’s something wrong with you, Brittany! Face it! You’re unlovable!”

Walking fast and not looking down, she tripped on a root, falling to the gravelly path with a cry as her hands broke her fall. When she turned them over, bloody and dirty, it only made her cry harder, and she stood up, pressing them to her pants. Then she continued her walk, slower now, all of her indignation swallowed by the stinging in her hands, by the anguish in her heart.

She’d thought Rory was different. She’d believed that he was special, that he wouldn’t let her down. But here she was, bleeding and broken, as she pulled her suitcase out from under her bed and started throwing her clothes into it.

He had someone else—like Travis, like Ben. She wasn’t enough for him, and she’d probably never be enough for any man. And it fucking hurt. It hurt because she wanted to belong to someone, and she thought she belonged to Rory. And damn, it, she loved him. She was madly and completely in love with him in a way that felt different from any man she’d loved before.

But it wasn’t different.

It was just more of the same.

And Brittany Manion had finally had enough.

***

The look on Ian’s face as he approached told Rory that something was going down…and that it wasn’t good.

“Will you excuse me, June?”

“Of course. And Rory,” she said, leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’m happy for you. I’m glad it all worked out with Miss Impossible.”

“Me too,” said Rory, waving good-bye to her before meeting Ian halfway across the field. “What’s up?”

“Brittany.”

Rory froze, scanning Ian’s face. “Is she hurt? What happened? Where is she?”

“Fuck,” muttered Ian, rubbing the back of his neck. “Halfway back to Boston? She saw you with June. I didn’t tell her who June was, but she knew something was up between you two. Then I saw her talking to Doug, and after that she took off.”

“When?”

“Five minutes ago?”

“I was just talking to June! Nothing else.”

“Yeah, but old lovers have a way of touching sometimes…a hand on an arm…the way you might lean in a little too close when you laugh. It’s the leftover comfort of established intimacy…even if things are over…”

“Fuck,” Rory growled. “Did it look that bad?”

“From where she was sitting?” Ian winced. “Didn’t look good, man.”

Rory handed his clipboard to Ian. “Take this. And don’t come and find me unless the whole place is burning down.”

“Yeah! Yeah. Don’t worry! I’ve got things under control,” called Ian at Rory’s back. “You go after her!”

Racing through the woods, Rory didn’t stop until he reached the main path, panting as he speed walked the rest of the way to Lady Margaret.

Half of him was worried out of his mind, and the other half was furious.

He knew that she’d been hurt by other men, and he understood from Ian how his and June’s body language—coupled, no doubt, with misinformation from Doug—had led her to believe he was cheating on her.

But, damn it, he’d done everything—everything—possible to make her feel safe, to prove himself to her, to move at her pace, and the idea that she would run off without even talking to him hurt. In fact, it made him fucking furious, and the idea of losing her scared him to death.

When he reached Lady Margaret, he could hear her banging around inside, doing God only knows what, but he was so grateful she was still there, he rested his hands on his knees for a moment and took a deep, calming breath.

Then he stepped over to the cottage and knocked on the door.

“Britt?”

“I’m…not…here!” she yelled.

“Let me in.”

“Screw you!”

“Open up,” he said. “June and me…it’s not what you think.”

She threw open the door, and Rory winced at the sight of her: red-rimmed eyes, wet cheeks and fists by her sides—she was barely holding herself together. Shit. This is bad.

“Britt,” he said gently, hurting for her, “please let me in, mo mhuirnín. We need to talk.”

“Mo mhuirnín? Your s-sweetheart?” she scoffed, her face crushed. She reached up to swipe away more tears. “Just how many sweethearts do you have, Rory?”

“One,” he said, holding the door and stepping inside. “You. Only you.”

“I don’t believe you,” she spat, turning back to her suitcase.

His eyes followed her motions, his whole body tensing up when he realized she was packing. He reached for her arm, forcing her to stop what she was doing, turn around, and face him.

“I asked if you dated anyone while you’ve been here,” she cried.

“And I said, ‘No one special.’”

“Well, it sure looked special to me!”

“Brittany, I’m not sleeping with June. I haven’t slept with her since before the day you came to check out Summerhaven. I swear it on Tierney and Ian’s lives. Once I’d met you again—even though you were engaged to another man—I ended things with June.”

She was motionless, staring up at him, and he could feel the struggle within her. She wanted to believe him, but her past hurts were making it difficult for her to trust.

“I promise you, Brittany. I promise you that since the day you walked back into my life, there’s been no one for me…but you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“Why would I? What man tells the woman he loves about some other woman?”

Her eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. “Wait. What did you say?”

He was still holding her arm, but he slid his fingers down her arm to her hand, winding his fingers through hers, grateful that she didn’t pull away. “I love you. And maybe it’s too soon for me to tell you that. But, Britt…sweet woman…that’s the truth. That’s all my cards on the table. I love you.”

“You…love me?” she asked, her body swaying toward him, though her feet didn’t move.

“I’ve been in love with you since the day you walked back into my life looking for a place to get married. I’m crazy about you. Mad for you. Distracted. I keep having conversations with you in my head, trying to get you to consider staying for the summer, or—or, hell, forever, but I’m not good at this and I—”

“You’re doing fine,” she said softly, her face relaxing just a little as she squeezed his hand. “Keep going.”

He stepped forward, closer to her, searching her eyes. “I’m not perfect, but I will never hurt you on purpose. I will never, ever cheat on you. I will never lie to you.”

“What’s the deal with you and June?” she asked, lifting her chin, her expression so desperate to trust him, it twisted his heart.

“We were…I don’t know what you called it. Um, friends with benefits, maybe? We’d occasionally get together at her place for dinner or drinks and sometimes that led to…to…” He let his voice trail off.

“How long did this go on for?” she asked.

“A couple of years. Now and then. It wasn’t a regular thing.”

“Do you love her?”

“No! No, no, no! Not at all! It’s not like that. Not even a little. June’s a friend. That’s it.”

“So she was your friendly booty call across the lake?” asked Brittany, pursing her lips in disapproval.

“Sort of. I guess.” Christ, he hated this entire conversation. “But I’d give up her friendship forever if you asked me to.”

“I wouldn’t,” she whispered. “I don’t want you to give up friends for me.”

“I swear to you—she and I were over the moment you walked back into my life. Can you trust me?”

She still looked a little worried and disapproving, but at least she wasn’t crying anymore. Finally she took a deep breath and nodded. “I believe you, Rory. I trust you.”

“Thank God.” He felt the adrenaline begin to drain from his tense body. “It would kill me to lose you.”

“You won’t,” she said, letting him pull her into his arms. “I’m yours.”

“And I’m yours,” he pledged. “I love you, Britt. I’m crazy in love with you.”

She gulped, her brown eyes so wide, he couldn’t look away as she whispered, her voice breathless and tender, “I love you too, Rory. That’s why it hurt so much to think I’d misjudged you.”

It was his turn to blink at her in shock, because never—not in his wildest, sweetest dreams—did he expect to hear those precious words from her so soon.

“Say it again,” he murmured.

She smiled at him—a small smile, but after their fight, he needed it. He needed to know they were going to be okay.

“I love you,” she said. “Is it too soon for me to fall in love again? I don’t know and I don’t care. I love you. That’s how I feel, and there’s nothing I can do about it. There’s nothing I want to do about it…except to let it happen.”

He couldn’t stop himself from dropping his lips to hers in a passionate, relieved kiss, grateful when she reached up and locked her hands behind his neck, arching against him with a low moan. His blood sluiced hot and fast to his cock, which hardened under his khaki shorts, pressing its length into her, wanting her, needing her in ways they hadn’t begun to explore.

Reaching for her cheeks, he leaned away from her so he could look into her eyes. There was something else he needed to say.

“I messed up on Wednesday night, Britt. I don’t want you to leave on Sunday. I don’t ever want you to leave. I just didn’t want to put pressure on you. On us. This thing between us is still new. But if you want to stay, there’s a little place over the chapel that’s all yours. Ian and I can fix it up, and you can stay as long as you want.” When she didn’t answer, he scanned her face, looking for clues as to her feelings. “Or, um, if you need to go back to Boston, I’ll come see you as much as I can. Every week. Ian’s taking over more now, so I can take a few days off and drive down for a couple of nights. We’ll make it work, Britt. God, please tell me you want to make it work too. Please.”

She reached for his hands, covering them with hers. And as he stared down at her beloved face, he slowly realized the reason she hadn’t answered yet was because her eyes were brimming with fresh tears. She sobbed softly, tightening her grip on his hands.

“Don’t be sad,” he said, leaning forward to nuzzle her nose, to brush his lips over hers.

“I’m not sad,” she murmured, her lips moving softly against his. “I’m so happy, I don’t know what to say.”

His own happiness surged and he reached for her, lifting her into his arms. He held her tightly, kissing her relentlessly before pivoting toward the empty bed. Lowering her down to the duvet, he followed, lying on top of her, bracing his weight on his elbows as he kissed her. Her fingers slid down his back to his waist, pulling his polo shirt from his shorts, and he paused in kissing her to grab the shirt behind his neck, pull it over his head, and toss it on the floor. With Rory still straddling her hips, Britt sat up and did the same, her shirt landing softly on top of his.

“Are we doing this?” he murmured, his voice husky with need.

“I can’t wait anymore,” she answered, reaching behind her back to unclasp her bra and let the straps trail down her arms. “I trust you. I love you. I want you.”

Pulling the pink satin from her chest, Rory gasped softly as his gaze dropped to the twin points of her pink nipples, standing at attention, ready for him. He lay down on his side and dipped his head, sucking one bud into his mouth and laving it with his tongue as she plunged her hands into his hair and whimpered. Skimming his lips to her other nipple, he circled the straining flesh with the tip of his tongue, around and around until the need to taste her overwhelmed him and he sucked the stiff nub between his lips.

She cried out, her breathing shallow and choppy, desperately forcing his head up and smashing her lips into his for a hungry kiss. Rory reached for the elastic waistband of her shorts, flattening his palm over the rutched fabric in case she wanted to stop him or slow down. But she responded by kissing him harder, so he slipped his thumbs under her panties and pulled them down to her ankles. He knelt beside her, gently clasping each foot to remove them entirely.

Naked on the bed with the afternoon sun bronzing her body, Brittany was so beautiful, he could barely believe that she was his—that he was allowed to love this goddess-woman, that she’d narrowly escaped the clutches of two unworthy men to somehow wind up with him.

“You’re stunning,” he whispered, his eyes resting on the smooth skin that hid her sex. His mouth watered. He wanted to taste her.

“Now you,” she murmured, and his eyes slid slowly up her body, locking with her dark, steady gaze.

Backing up until he stood on the floor by the foot of the bed, he held her eyes as he unbuckled his belt, then reached for the button on his shorts, opening them quickly, hooking his thumbs under his boxers and shoving them down his legs. As naked as she, his cock jutted out form his body, pulsing with his every heartbeat, aching to be surrounded by the wet heat of Brittany’s body. But first, he wanted to be sure she was ready for him.

Gently spreading her legs, he crawled up the bed, positioning himself between her thighs and flattening his hand over her mons. “Is this okay? If I touch you here?”

She nodded as one of his fingers slid between the lips of swollen flesh, his calloused digit swiping over her clit and eliciting a deep moan. She closed her eyes, leaning back in the pillow beneath her head as he traded his finger for his tongue. Cupping her ass, he pulled her body closer, burying his face in the apex of her thighs and sucking softly on her throbbing flesh.

The sounds of her moans and whimpers, coupled with the way her back rose off the bed with pleasure, made Rory’s cock impossibly harder, straining and stuff, desperate to feel the soft, wet, heat of her sex around him. The fingers in his hair tugged and scratched, and finally he realized she was pushing him away.

“I want to feel you inside me,” she murmured, her dark eyes cracking open to look down at him.

Me too. “Are you on the pill?”

She nodded. “Have you been careful?”

“I’ve always used condoms in the past, but…” One, he didn’t want to stop what they were doing, get dressed, run home to get a condom, and then run back here…and two, he wanted to feel her. He wanted to feel everything.

“I don’t want anything between us either,” she said softly, reading his mind. Her sweet lips tilted up in a smile as she reached up and caressed his cheek. “Come to me, Rory. No more waiting.”

He leaned down to kiss her, positioning his ready cock at the entrance of her sex, then pushed forward, slowly, carefully, locking his eyes with hers to watch her, to feel the intense intimacy of the moment as they joined their bodies together.

“I…love…you…” he panted, drawing back before thrusting forward into her sweetness again. And Brittany, who miraculously loved him back, met his movements with her own, receiving him, holding him, wanting him, and loving him.

And after they’d cried out each other’s names and the shudders of bliss had subsided, Rory held her limp, sated body against his own, thanking God and every angel that had ever safeguarded His creation that the woman of his deepest dreams was the realest gift he’d ever been given.

***

“We never finished our conversation,” said Rory, holding her against his chest, his naked front to her naked back and a warm duvet around them both. “We got distracted.”

They were sitting on the roof of Lady Margaret, watching the fireworks that Doug was setting off up the path near the north dining hall. It was a perfect view, a perfect celebration, a perfect end to the best day of her life.

He leaned down to press his lips to her bare shoulder. “No pressure, mo mhuirnín. I want you to decide what happens next.”

“No,” she said, sighing contently as she leaned back against him. “I’ve made enough solo plans in my life. It doesn’t work. Any plans from now on, we make together.”

“Okay,” he said, trailing kisses along her collarbone before resting his chin on her shoulder. “Then here’s what I want: I want you to stay with me at Summerhaven this summer. We’ll fix up the apartment over the chapel, and it’ll be yours. Well, ours. I’ll go back and forth between your place and mine so I can still keep an eye on Ian.”

“That sounds good to me,” she said, smiling at the lake that held so many of her dearest memories from childhood and would be the sight of so many happy days with her love. “I’ll need to go to Boston now and then to check on A Better Tomorrow. And there are occasional stockholder meetings at Manion International that I attend. I meet up with possible donors at benefits and galas, so I attend those sometimes as well…though I’d love it if you’d be my date when I got an invitation.”

“You, in a dress and heals? Hell, yes, I’ll be there.”

She giggled softly. “And after the summer? What then?”

He took a deep breath. She knew that if she looked at him, he’d have that telltale crease in his forehead, but she also knew that she could trust him. Whatever was on his mind, he’d tell her when it was time.

“If Ian’s doing well, we could talk about moving to Boston together someday.”

“You’d do that?” she asked, turning slightly in his arms so she could see his eyes.

“Oh, yeah. I longed for Boston when I was kid. I longed for anywhere besides Summerhaven. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I had a good childhood and I’ll always love it here. But I wanted more than this camp in such a quiet town. Maybe this is my chance to have that.”

“With me,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him.

“Always with you,” he answered, leaning his forehead against hers as fireworks lit up the night sky over Summerhaven.