Chapter 1
Genevieve
“Do you need a ride home from the airport?” I ask Kit, already closing the car door like it personally offended me. No caffeine equals zero patience, and Bean Me Up is my only hope right now.
“No, I’m good,” Kit responds, her words slow and drawn out. “I have a driver coming to pick me up. Let me go and pack. I’ll call when I get home.”
“Sounds good, Mrs. Matthews,” I tease, and hang up before she can respond.
Kit and her fiancé, Scott, went to Vegas to elope, only to have the slimeball leave her at the altar. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not. He’s been stringing her along for years, and as awful as I feel for my sister, I’m happy it happened.
I know, I know, that sounds horrible, but you have to know the idiot to understand.
With Scott, it was always about ‘Me, Myself and I’, and Kit is the type of person who will stop what she’s doing to help you. She escaped a lifetime of mediocrity.
“Mrs. Matthews,” I snort out loud. My sister’s life just went from predictable and somewhat boring to very entertaining, because apparently, she ended up married anyway.
To her high school nemesis, Beau Matthews.
Katy Blake’s, Starhaven’s notorious town gossip, news from three weeks ago finally makes sense.
Beau purchased Mrs. Maples’ house a few months ago.
It’s around the corner from Kit.
This is going to be fun.
My phone dings, and my smile falls.
“The answer is no. There is no way I’m helping,” I grumble to my phone without opening the text. I know what he wants. “No, no, and no. No to infinity. Not even if— ”
A cough has me realizing I’m not alone. Glancing up, I lock eyes with a couple sitting a few feet away, their faces a mix of amusement and secondhand embarrassment. Heat rushes to my cheeks as I realize they heard every word of my rant.
I force a smile. “Hi there.”
The couple nods at me, their eyes sparkling and tiny smirks lining their lips. Another rush of heat explodes across my face, and I’m positive I’m beet red.
Just another reason to curse Luke Nichols. He always affected my emotions, but it’s annoying to know he can still affect me after all this time.
The smell of roasted coffee beans and the hum of the grinder meet me as I make my way into Bean Me Up.
This is text number five in two days, but who’s counting? Obviously not me.
It’s unlike me to say no to people who need help. But Luke isn’t just anyone.
His arms stiffen around me as a deep voice calls his name, and the muscles under my hands tense. “One second, Dad.”
Dad? My brows pull together, and I know the confusion I feel is reflected in my eyes when he stiffly nods his head.
I’ve never seen Luke look like this. Like the weight of his dad’s voice just crushed something inside him.
“I’m sorry, Gen.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, like he’s always done, but this time his hand trembles and his thumb lingers on my cheek. “I didn’t think he’d be here—”
“Luke.” His dad’s tone is clipped, and Luke blows out a sigh.
“I have to go. I’ll call you later.”
Except later never came, and his sister Claire couldn’t even explain to me what happened.
“Gen, did you hear me?” Hadley, one of the baristas at Bean Me Up, asks.
“I’m sorry.” I run a hand through my hair. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you were getting your usual,” she says, a small smirk on her face. “But I think you need something a bit cozier today.”
“You know me so well, Hads.” My phone buzzes, and it takes everything in me to hold the smile on my face, but I can tell from Hadley’s furrowed brows that I’m not doing such a good job. “Why don’t you surprise me?”
“I got you, girl,” she beams at me as I hand over my debit card. “I’ll bring it to you when it’s done.”
“Thanks,” I say, as she slides my card across the counter, putting it away. I pull my phone out and see that it wasn’t Luke who reached out, but his sister Claire.
Claire was my college roommate, and I met Luke. We’ve kept in touch over the years, and I still consider her one of my closest friends, but the timing of this text is a little too coincidental.
“Here you go!” Hadley pushes a drink toward me, and I take a sip. The combination of honey and lavender, mixed with warm milk and espresso, wraps around my insides like a cozy blanket.
A sigh of contentment falls from my mouth. “You are the queen of coffee. This. Is. Perfection!”
“Yay,” she claps her hands together, and smiles joyfully. “Now go and take over the world.”
My cheeks pull up, and I give her a silent salute with my drink before I head toward the exit.
When I step out the door, a cool breeze blows, and I take a deep breath before calling Claire back.
“Hey—”
“No,” I say, cutting Claire off, only to have her laugh.
“Well, that’s rude, Genevieve, even for you.” I can hear her smile through the phone, but she’s right. That was rude.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions about why you’re calling,” I say, just as I get to my car and slide in the driver's seat, then take another sip of my latte. “Maybe you’re not reaching out for me to help your brother.”
Silence greets me, and I know I’m right. She is calling about Luke.
“Claire I—”
“Before you decide, Gen, just listen to me.”
Blowing out a heavy breath, I wrap my hands around my cup and squeeze.
“I know we haven’t talked about him much since …
everything,” Claire says, her voice hesitant, like she’s afraid of saying the wrong thing.
“But I wouldn’t ask this of you if it wasn’t important.
” The way she’s talking isn’t normal. Usually, Claire is easy-going and upbeat, but today her voice is wavering, and I hesitate to shut her down immediately.
“My brother is really struggling, Gen. He puts on a great front, but he's not okay. I don’t know what else to do.”
“And that’s my fault?” I snip, an unwanted dip in my stomach making the words sharper than I meant.
“It’s not. Not at all. You have every right to say no to what he’s asking.” Claire pauses for a moment before continuing. “There is a reason he did this.”
“Okay,” I say softly. “But a dog, Claire? Does that seem normal to you?”
“No.” She laughs. “None of this seems normal to me. A pet was his agent’s idea. Something to combat the nickname that’s been following my brother around.”
Golf’s Grim Reaper.
That one cover still gets me: him mid-swing at the Masters, jaw set, eyes cold as winter.
I used to love watching him swing. Yes, still calm and collected, but there was a joy to his game. Now? Nothing.
“Luke was the one who decided to get a husky.” Of course he was. He used to talk about how much he admired the breed, but I just never thought he would actually do it. “There was talk about a dog helping with … ”
Claire doesn’t finish her sentence, and my brows knit together. “Help with what?”
“I want to tell you, but it’s not mine to tell. I shouldn’t have even mentioned it,” Claire says, and I feel like I’ve been sucker punched. “Suffice it to say, he needs help. Would you do me a huge favor and please help him? I’ll beg if you want.”
“Claire.,” I groan, nausea gripping me. I’ve done everything to avoid Luke Nichols ever since he broke my heart. I don’t want to see him, forget about being around him, not even if having a client of his caliber could be a massive boost to my career.
“Gen, I know what I’m asking.”
“Do you?” I chew the inside of my lip.
“I do. I know what he meant to you, and how much he hurt you.”
This is the most that she’s said to me since Luke all but vanished. Is it really a break-up if someone doesn’t technically end things?
His stiff body as he walked away, the set of his shoulders. Everything’s coming back, and my head screams that this is a very bad idea, but…
“Genevieve, would you please do this for me? I know what I’m asking, and I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t know how much help my brother needs.”
My head is shaking, but there aren’t any words coming out.
“He doesn’t just need anyone to help him,” her voice is pleading. “He needs you.”
“Claiiire…” I drop my head on the steering wheel and growl. “You’re going to owe me for the rest of your life. You know that, right?”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Claire’s clapping hands come through the speaker, and my eyes roll. “You’re the best!”
“We’ll see if you still think that after I’m done.”
“There’s nothing you can do to make me think otherwise.” I quirk a brow, grateful she can’t read the thoughts running through my head. “You let me know what you want from me, and it’s yours. I owe you!”
“That’s an understatement,” I mumble, just as three beeps signal she disconnected the call.
Pulling up Luke’s texts, I blow out a heavy breath, my heart smacking against my ribcage, and send him a message.