Promised Chance (Promises, Promises #4)

Prologue

ATLAS

The last light entering Kither Springs turned green just as my car pulled up to it. I took it as a sign that I’d made the right choice.

In fact, the entire drive here from Christmas Falls had been smooth sailing.

Every red light I passed magically turned green right as I drove up to it, and without coming across any traffic, I was going to reach my destination a lot sooner than expected.

I’d get there in an hour instead of having to stay the night at a hotel, then finishing the travel in the morning as I’d originally planned.

The universe was definitely giving me a sign. It was telling me I was meant to be in Kither Springs. That I was supposed to be with Garrett.

It would be a lie to say I didn’t have any concerns about the move.

Even if I was moving from one small town to another, this would be my first time living anywhere but Christmas Falls and away from my aunt Polly, and the fact that I was moving here for my boyfriend, well, some might say it was foolish.

But seeing how things had worked out a little too well calmed my nerves just in time to see the sign welcoming me to Kither Springs town limits.

This was meant to be. It didn’t matter that Garrett and I had only been dating for less than a year.

Time was inconsequential when hearts were connected, and I was now more than certain that coming here was meant to be.

The lady on my phone’s GPS directed me to turn onto a smaller street that led to what I assumed was Kither Springs’ downtown area. It was a lot smaller than what I was used to back in Christmas Falls, with only a row of stores on one side of the street.

On the other side of the street was a scatter of buildings that were past their glory days. The building in the middle had a giant faded red sign that read “The Diner.” It was direct, to the point, and took the guess out of what the establishment was.

I’d heard about the place from Garrett, though he’d claimed he wouldn’t be caught dead inside such a “dingy” place. I glanced through the large windows to see faded red-and-white striped wallpaper and red booths that looked like they’d seen better days.

The interior was a little worn out and outdated, but I wouldn’t call the place dingy. It was charming in its own way, and it was clear the owner took care of it.

In that way, The Diner had a lot of similarities with The Snowflake Shack in my hometown. That place had history, much like the diner in front of me. It was a place for gathering, and that was the reason I’d been drawn to working there in the first place.

A tinge of homesickness washed over me. It hadn’t even been a full day since I’d left home, and I was already missing Christmas Falls. I shook off the feeling and focused on the slice of familiarity here in my new home.

My nerves were getting to me, that was all. But if I were going to let my worries stop me, I wouldn’t have moved here in the first place.

I was determined to make this work and start a new life here with my boyfriend.

Smiling, I gave The Diner one last glance before turning down the alley that led to the address my boyfriend gave me. My destination wasn’t too far away.

I didn’t text him that I’d arrived so I could surprise him. I could just imagine his face when he opened the door to find that I was here a day earlier than expected.

I was excited to finally see him in person instead of through the screen and excited to start our lives together instead of having to settle for short visits that ended too soon.

We didn’t have to say goodbye anymore. As soon as the door that separated us opened, we could be together every day.

Bubbling with excitement, I knocked. I didn’t have to wait long before I heard my boyfriend’s muffled voice. He laughed as he said something. There were other voices too, telling me he wasn’t alone.

I would have preferred our reunion to be private, but it didn’t really matter as long as we got to be together.

The door opened a crack, and I lifted my arms, getting ready to yell “surprise!” My cheeks hurt from how wide my lips were stretched, but that smile quickly fell when my boyfriend came into view…with a stranger clinging to him.

“Atlas? Weren’t you supposed to arrive tomorrow?”

Garrett couldn’t hide the shock on his face when he saw me. The arm he had wrapped around the unknown man’s waist quickly dropped as he tried to untangle himself, but the man didn’t let Garrett go.

“Who’s this, babe?” the man asked, still clinging on tightly to the man I’d been dating for the last year.

My heart dropped as heat flooded my face. I’d heard stories of people who found partners in other places while they already had someone back at home. I thought they were tales told for amusement, but I never imagined I’d be put in that exact situation. I never thought I’d be a mistress.

Or whatever the hell the male equivalent was.

Manstress?

“Is that your pretty plaything, Garrett? He’s cute,” a male voice called from inside. My face flamed even more. I was just barely accepting the fact that I was unknowingly an affair partner, and now I was being called a plaything? I could only handle so much shock at once.

I caught a glimpse of Garrett’s living room, filled with people in various states of undress. The man who’d spoken sat on the large couch that directly faced the door, but I only caught a peek of his smirk before I turned away and sprinted the hell out of there.

I didn’t pause to wonder what was happening at Garrett’s place. Whether it was some kind of orgy or wild party where the dress code was your birthday suit, I wasn’t going to stay long enough to find out.

Thank god I’d left my suitcase in my car, so the only thing I had to think about was putting one foot in front of the other and not tripping as I ran down the creaky outdoor stairs as fast as I could.

Someone grabbed my hand just as I reached the ground floor. I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

“Wait, Atlas. You can’t just leave like that. At least let me explain, babe,” Garrett said, sounding too casual.

I physically recoiled at the term of endearment. It wasn’t unfamiliar coming from him, but now it was tainted from hearing that man calling Garrett that earlier.

I sucked in a deep breath and turned around to face him.

Garrett looked the same as in my memories.

He had the kind of face that exuded warmth.

One that made you want to smile when you saw it.

It was the first thing that’d caught my attention when I was playing around the online chat forum where you could video chat with strangers from all across the world.

One conversation with Garrett led to hundreds more until we met in person and were officially dating.

He’d become my comfort person through all the late-night chats where we’d shared our hopes and dreams for the future. I’d felt safe when I looked at him. Now, all I felt when peering at that familiar face was betrayal.

I pulled my hand from his and crossed my arms so that he couldn’t grab me again.

“And what exactly are you going to explain? That you already have a lover here and still led me around like a fool? Just how were you going to explain all this after tricking me here, Garrett?”

“Fuck, Atlas. I didn’t trick you here. You know just as well as I do that you were looking for an excuse to get out of that town.”

I opened my mouth to refute, but I couldn’t. Garrett must have taken that as a sign or something because he took a step forward and placed his hands on either side of my arms.

“And that guy isn’t my lover. We just like to have fun together. We all do. I was going to tell you, let you slowly get used to the idea, but you arrived without warning me.”

I stared at him incredulously. It wasn’t often that I got mad, but why did it sound like he was blaming me for all of this? If I hadn’t arrived early, then we wouldn’t be in this situation!

“Fuck you,” I gritted. “Is that how it all worked out in your head? That, as long as you got me here, I’d suddenly be okay joining your—what do you even call it—orgy parties?

You’re free to live your life however you want, but you should have been honest with me from the start.

You knew full well I wasn’t looking for an open relationship. ”

“It’s not an open relationship. We’d be exclusive, but we’d just have a little fun with others. Together. This can work for us, babe. You just have to be willing to try.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not your ‘babe.’ I’m not your anything anymore. Whatever you want to call what you’re doing, I don’t want to be a part of it.”

I shook him off and turned to walk away. I didn’t get far before his words stopped me.

“So what? You’re going to run back to Christmas Falls with your tail between your legs? After you told your entire town you were moving away? After you told your aunt? What would they say? Poor little Atlas got played and couldn’t even keep a man, so he had to run back home to auntie?”

My fists clenched at my side. I’d never been a violent person, but I itched to punch the smug tone right out of him. But I knew that would only make things worse. If anything, it would only give Garrett the satisfaction of knowing that he’d gotten to me.

Instead, I slowly turned around. “No. I’m not returning to Christmas Falls. I said I’m moving to Kither Springs, and that’s exactly what I plan to do. This town’s going to have one more resident. But do me a favor. If you see me around, don’t bother saying hi.”

With that, I hightailed it out of the alley.

By the time I made it back to the downtown area, the words I’d thrown out finally settled.

I counted my lucky stars that Garrett didn’t follow me, but that also meant I had to be alone with my proclamation: that I was moving to Kither Springs.

That I was going to live in the same small town as my ex-boyfriend when, other than him, I didn’t know a single soul here.