For the rest of the night, the word magical kept popping into my brain. Everything with Garrett was magical, perhaps because it was new and because it was temporary. We had a deadline, which gave us a sense of urgency. After our shower, we went back to bed and wrapped ourselves in a cocoon of blankets and limbs. There was more kissing, which led to round two and then round three.

Every time Garrett buried himself inside me, our connection to each other seemed to intensify. Somehow, it felt stronger. He filled me physically, but the emptiness inside me that I never acknowledged and always avoided felt full again. This is insane, I thought to myself as Garrett slept next to me. Love at first sight didn’t exist, and it was impossible for love to grow in such a short amount of time. Isn’t it? I rolled over onto my side, facing away from Garrett. This is just infatuation, I told myself.

When I woke the next morning, I wasn’t surprised to find myself alone. Garrett had told me that he was always up at dawn. Subconsciously, I must have realized he wasn’t in bed, and I found myself awake just after sunrise.

Garrett cast a formidable shape against the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the city and Elliot Bay. He was shirtless, and he seemed relaxed, maybe even peaceful. The tattoos that paid tribute to his fallen brothers didn’t carry over onto his perfectly muscled back. I didn’t want to disturb him, but my body started to hum with desire.

“I know you’re there,” he said quietly. “I can smell jasmine.”

“I didn’t want to bother you,” I confessed.

“Did I wake you up?” He turned and extended a hand, a signal that it was okay for me to join him. I padded barefoot over to him, and my hand slipped perfectly into his. We were made for each other. I brushed aside the thought because this wasn’t love; it was infatuation. Love takes time, doesn’t it?

“No, you didn’t.” Garrett pulled me to stand in front of him, and he wrapped his arms around me. Together, we watched the city come alive. “Are you hungry? I have a few stops to make at Pike Market before we go back to Gig Harbor.”

“I could eat,” Garrett replied easily. He bent his head and brushed his lips along my shoulders. “You need to get dressed, though. Otherwise, we’re never going to leave this place.”

Garrett wore only his black boxer briefs, and I had managed to scrounge up a tiny camisole and a spare pair of panties. Over the past two years, I’d returned to the city a few times between temporary guests and left a few items in the event I needed them. Reluctantly, I slipped out of his arms and returned to the bedroom where I traded this morning’s camisole for yesterday’s T-shirt.

It didn’t take me long to clean up the condo and make sure that everything was turned off before we left. As I locked up, I decided it was time to either rent the condo long-term or sell it. Garrett and I headed back to Pike Place Market where we stopped for coffee and French pastries at Le Panier. I made sure to pick up a dozen of the delicate pastries that my dad and Valerie adored. Then we headed into the market to the flower vendors where I bought a huge armful of colorful, fragrant bouquets—Valerie’s favorites.

“Why don’t you move back to Seattle?” Garrett asked as we headed back toward the parking garage of my building. “You love it here. I can tell by the rosy glow of your cheeks.”

“I do love Seattle, but I have to be in Gig Harbor with my family right now.”

“I meant …” His voice trailed off, and I understood him perfectly. After my father died, he thought I should move back to Seattle.

I shook my head firmly. “No. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself when he’s gone, but I don’t think moving back to Seattle is the answer.”

There was a lot unsaid as we drove away from Seattle and back to Gig Harbor, and it weighed heavy between us. Promises and plans that we were too afraid to make because the future was so uncertain. In a few days, Garrett would be leaving for a year. I wanted him to say my place was with him, but I kept reminding myself this wasn’t love; this was just infatuation. Love would grow. But deep in my gut, it had already started.

The moment Garrett pulled into my driveway, Valerie flew out of the house and waited on the porch with a scowl on her face. As soon as I got out of the car, she started yelling. “Where have you been?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you call? We have plans to make. You can’t just run away from this, Cami.”

“I know,” I said softly. “I’m sorry. I’m here now.”

“We needed you yesterday.”

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. I couldn’t lose my cool. “I’m sorry, Val. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“She just needed time to clear her head,” Garrett interjected. I looked back to see him leaning against the driver’s side door. He made no attempt to get the box of pastries or the flowers. His hands were firmly across his chest, and his expression mirrored Valerie’s. He was being protective and wasn’t going to budge an inch until Valerie calmed down.

“Well, I needed time too, but I don’t have some knight in shining armor on call to whisk me away and then fuck away the pain,” Valerie hissed.

“VALERIE! What the fuck?” I yelled just as Garrett started forward. I put out a hand to stop him, but it was no use. He was already between us, shielding me.

“You better watch your mouth,” Garrett growled.

“Or what? You can’t do anything to me. You don’t even know me, or her, or what we’re going through right now. You’re just looking for a warm place to stick your dick. Palmer told me all about you last night.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What did Palmer say about Garrett?”

“He finds a new chick to fuck every time they’re home on leave. It only takes him a few days for him to find someone willing to spread her legs for him. Gee, Cami, how long did it take this time?”

“Shut your mouth,” Garrett managed through clenched teeth.

“Why? You don’t want her to hear the truth?”

“No, because all you’re doing is hurting your sister more than she already is.”

I hadn’t realized it, but tears were streaming down my face, and my knees were shaking. Garrett spun just in time to catch me as I fell to the ground. “Hey,” he whispered. He gripped me tightly under the elbows and held me. “It’s okay, Cami. She’s hurting too. I can take it because you’re both hurting.”

I leaned forward and pressed my tear-stained face against his chest. “I thought I could do this,” I cried. “I thought I could be strong.”

“You are strong,” Garrett soothed. “You’ll make it through this.”

I nodded and gave myself an extra minute before I slowly stood. Garrett told me he was going to get the flowers and pastries out of the car, which left me staring straight into the angry eyes of my sister.

“If you want to be mad at me, fine,” I said firmly, “but don’t talk shit about Garrett. If you want to have late-night heart-to-hearts with Palmer, that’s your business. But I needed time to think through what I heard yesterday morning. If you have a problem with it, too bad.”

I brushed past her into the house and headed straight to the kitchen. I braced myself against the counter and focused all my attention on the calm waters of the bay. There were so many plans that had to be made now, and I didn’t need Valerie angry with me. Behind me, I could hear the sounds of Garrett coming into the house. I turned and helped him with the armful that he was carrying. I took the flowers from him and went to work cutting the ends and then searched the kitchen cupboards for a vase large enough to hold all of them.

“Dominic’s home,” Valerie said plainly. Garrett and I looked up to see her standing in the doorway, her face now stained with tears. “He’s been home for almost three months.”

“What?” I was confused. “How is that even possible?”

“He didn’t want me to find out.”

“Why not? I mean, you’re engaged!”

She shook her head as she swiped at the traces of tears. “No, we’re not. He ended it.”

Despite the ugly words she’d spewed at me in the driveway, I went to her. She had lashed out at Garrett and me because she was hurt and angry. I wrapped my arms around her, and for the first time in our entire lives, it felt like our roles were reversed. She was the frightened younger sister who needed protection and comfort.

“I’m so sorry, Val. You should have called.”

“No, you’re right. You needed time to process. I know it wasn’t easy to hear what the doctor said.”

“It wasn’t, but I still want to be here for you.” I glanced up to see Garrett watching us with curiosity. He smiled sympathetically and then nodded, like he understood some unspoken request, before heading out to the backyard. “God, Dominic is such an asshole,” I finally said. “That was an amazingly shitty thing to do!”

Valerie and I broke apart. I spotted the pink pastry box on the counter and reached for it, pulling toward us. Slipping a finger inside, I broke the taped seal and flipped the lid opened. We needed the comfort of these French confections.

“Oh, God,” Valerie moaned. “You brought me back éclairs?” Her fingers wiggled and danced as she reached into the box for one before bringing it up to her mouth and taking a bite. The look of pure delight on her face followed by a groan of satisfaction assured me that our conflict was over.

“And flowers,” I said, biting into a heavenly macaron. Valerie’s eyes landed on the fragrant bouquet on the counter behind me.

“Thank you, Cami. I’m sorry that I was such a horrific bitch.”

“I knew you would be mad. I am sorry that I just left and didn’t call. I hope you weren’t worried.”

“Truthfully, I knew you were okay, and it’s probably better that you weren’t here anyway. I drowned my sorrows in a bottle of cheap wine,” she said before taking another bite of her éclair. “Palmer found me wandering the beach.”

“Why was he here?” Palmer was on my shit list for what he said about Garrett. Everyone assumed we would end up together because we’d grown up together and our families were so close. It wasn’t hard to miss the looks he gave me and how they were often filled with unrequited desire. Well, there was no chance in hell anything was going to happen between us.

“Why else? He was looking for you.”

“Did anything happen between the two of you?” I asked with a hint of skepticism.

Valerie looked at me with disgust. “Ugh. No. We both got drunk out on the dock. I was angry, and he was jealous.”

“He can shove his jealousy right up his ass,” I replied the moment Garrett decided to return.

“I thought it might be safe to come back,” he said, but from his expression, he had heard what I’d just told Valerie. “Who’s shoving their jealousy up their ass?”

“Palmer,” Valerie and I answered in unison.

“I’ll talk to him tonight.” He walked into the kitchen, picked up a pastry from the box, and devoured it in two bites. Valerie and I watched him in amazement. “Cami, I have to go, but I’ll call you tonight to check on you.”

Garrett planted a firm, searing kiss on my lips before he left, leaving me a little hot and bothered.

“I’m going to take a shower,” I announced. “And then we can go see Dad.”

Valerie’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “After a kiss like that, I would need a shower too.”