Chapter 1
one
CAMILLA
It had been six years since I left my hometown. If you asked me then, I would have said it was my shitty luck that landed me in the town’s only bookstore that day, but I didn’t know it would change everything.
Willow’s Cove is a small beach town you’d need a microscope to find on any map of California. It was named after the founding family whose last name is, you guessed it—Willow. It’s most known for the small cove it harbors, which happens to be the most notorious hang out spot in town. With a population of one thousand four hundred, it was easy to feel small.
I was eighteen when I left, and that summer, I was nearing my twenty-fifth birthday, but it was as if time stood still in my absence. As I drove into town, I was immediately greeted by the familiar scent of salt air. It filled my nostrils and seeped into my bones like I craved it. People in their bathing suits flooded the sidewalks on the walk down to the pier, and cars passed by with surfboards strapped to the top so they could head to the cove at a moment’s notice. It was practically summer all year round, but during the months of May through August, the weather was exceptionally perfect. I was happy to see the bakery owned by Mr. and Mrs. Wilson still in business, and I could almost taste the freshly baked blueberry scones they’d give me every time I left the library. While it all looked familiar, after living in New York for six years, I felt out of place where I’d spent my entire life.
I was hit with a wave of nostalgia when I walked across the threshold of the bookstore. Between the pages of books is the only place I truly felt peace, so I was there almost every day, and I considered it my second home. Despite the previous owner retiring, the new owner kept up its aesthetic of earth tones and vintage posters covering the walls. The woody scent was just as comforting as it was when I was a kid, and the shelves held dust-covered books no one bothered to touch.
Out the window was a perfect view of the cove’s rigid cliffs I once jumped from on a dare. I traced the scar on my right hand, remembering the version of myself who did things on a whim, but she was long gone.
“Cami.” A familiar voice called after me, and I walked to the display of a blown-up photo of myself alongside the stack of my books on the table. My debut novel, The Story of Us , published a year earlier and shot up to the New York Times Best-Seller list shortly after. Between the book tour, interviews, and countless meetings keeping me busy, I hadn’t had much time to digest how the book’s success was all I’d ever dreamed of since I was a kid. I still found it hard to wrap my head around, and sometimes, I even wondered if I was worthy of it.
“I love that headshot of you.” Elena’s stiletto heels tapped against the wooden floor, and I looked up to see her ginger wisps of hair that framed her blue eyes. She made me feel under-dressed in her pink floral Roberto Cavalli dress, but whether it was a book event, a coffee shop date, or New York Fashion Week, it was all the same to her. She was the poster child of a fashionista—I called her a red-haired version of Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and The City when I met her in college, but underneath the designer clothes and handbags, she was a girl who shows up at your doorstep at two in the morning with a pint of ice cream and a box of tissues if you need a good cry. She’d also show up with matches and a bottle of wine if you wanted to burn someone’s stuff. She’s chaotic in the best ways and has the biggest heart, which sometimes ends up in the hands of the wrong people, but that’s a different story.
Someone like her who majored in fashion and business, and me, who majored in English literature, weren’t supposed to click, but somehow we did. I never went anywhere without her—not just because she was my newly appointed assistant, but because she was one of the only people who could keep me centered, both feet on the ground, when I felt overwhelmed by my new life.
“I’m still mad at you,” I mumbled as she pulled me towards the chair designated for me. After failing to tell me she had added Willow’s Cove as a stop on my book tour, I was trying to give her the silent treatment, but considering she was my only friend, it didn’t last long.
“Can you be mad and sign books at the same time? We’re starting soon.” She brushed her almond-shaped acrylics through my hair.
“What if no one shows up?” I’d never felt unsettled before a book signing, but the thing with small towns is, it’s impossible not to know everyone, especially in Willow’s Cove, and I dreaded being minutes away from seeing people who hadn’t seen me since I was eighteen.
She placed her hands on my shoulders. “I need you to snap out of it and remember you’re Camilla Vega. How many other best-selling authors do we know?”
I rolled my eyes. “None, but?—”
“Exactly.” She interrupted. “They’ll come. Besides, I don’t exactly see anything else going on around here.” I chuckled. Nothing remotely exciting ever happened, so people jumped at any opportunity.
The store owner’s long, dark hair swayed with every step as she approached us with a smile. “Ladies, I’ll give you a few more minutes until we open the doors.”
“Thanks Lauren,”
Elena looked at me, a gleam in her blue eyes. “I’ll go take a peek at the turnout. Don’t go sneaking out the back while I’m gone.” I didn’t tell her it crossed my mind once or twice since I’d walked in. I had done plenty of signings before without breaking a sweat, including one back in New York for over two hundred people, but Willow’s Cove was different. There were reasons I stayed away all those years, and I feared one in particular was going to walk through the door. A pit in my stomach grew as I traced my fingers along the title of my book, but I couldn’t dwell on it long before Elena strode back with a wide smile on her face, which faded once she approached me. “Why are you so pouty? You love signings.”
“I’m not pouty.” My face split into the grin I’d practiced in the mirror for hours.
“I know when you’re fake smiling, but I’ll take it. We have a line wrapped around the building.” She nodded at the bookstore owner, who opened the doors and let people trickle in one after the other. My chest started to constrict at the sight of so many familiar faces, but I told myself the faster I got through it, the faster Willow’s Cove would be behind me once again.
I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.
* * *
Very few people left my hometown, much less left and came back, so every face in the line had a string of questions for me, and with each one, the walls started to close in tighter. How’s the city? Is New York everything people say it is? Why didn’t you ever come back to visit? How long before we see you again?
It made me appreciate how, in New York, everyone I walked past was a stranger, but in Willow’s Cove, everyone either watched me grow up or grew up with me.
“It was good to see you, Camilla. I can’t wait to make your book my class’ reading assignment for the semester.” I let out my first genuine smile when my English teacher from senior year appeared in line. “Thank you for coming, Mrs. Hope. There wouldn’t even be a book if it wasn’t for you.” Without her letter of recommendation, I’m not sure I would have gotten into NYU and later got the courage to publish.
“As someone who graded your essays, I’m sure there would have.” She winked before turning away, leaving me and Elena in an empty bookstore. “Holy shit. That was amazing. I think we sold out.” I only half-listened as my heart leaped while reading the text waiting for me.
Just left the meeting with my Dad. You might be looking at the new CEO sooner than we thought. Call me later to tell me how the book signing went. I love you
Greyson Carter was considered one of the most well-known heirs in New York. His dad owned a renowned advertising agency in the city, and if he had it his way, he would be next in line to take over. His status seemed to work on almost every girl at NYU when we met our freshman year, but I wasn’t so easily wooed. I thought he was just a rich kid there to pass the time, but it didn’t take long for me to realize how off I was. He was kind, someone who always went the extra mile to prove he deserved to be in any room because of his hard work and not his last name.
Despite him pining over me for four years, we decided to stay friends, and by we, I meant me. I thought I would never see him any other way, but one night after college graduation while we were eating takeout in my apartment, it just clicked. He’d always been there—from reading to me when I could no longer keep my eyes open to study, to walking me home from my late shifts at the school library, to helping me move furniture into my first apartment, and so many other pivotal moments of my early twenties. Not long after we started dating, my stuff was moved to his penthouse perfectly overlooking lower Manhattan. It might’ve been a little hasty, but one thing about Greyson was, if he wanted something, he stopped at nothing to get it.
As I typed a message to send back, I froze at the sudden change in the air when the bell above the entrance rang. I didn’t have to look up to see who walked in; somehow, I just knew.
I could hear his jagged breaths, as if he just ran like his life depended on it. “Did I miss it? Are there any books left?” Some things were impossible to forget, no matter how much time passed—the sound of your dad’s footsteps when he came home from work, your favorite song growing up, your best friend’s laughter. For me, it was the sound of Julian Perez’s deep voice.
I couldn’t look up at him, so instead, my eyes stayed glued to the floor. Elena must’ve seen how uneasy I was because she spoke for me. “We sold out, but I think I might have one more left in the car.” She was gone before I could tell her not to go through the trouble. I usually appreciated how she could always make a book sale, but I wished she would’ve let it go just that one time.
“Mila.” The sound of my old nickname falling from his lips made me stop counting down the minutes until Elena returned. I swallowed the lump in my throat when I finally looked up at the face I tried to forget for six years. He was a man—so much different than the boy I fell in love with at sixteen, but in some ways, he was exactly the same. I never forgot the depth of his soft brown eyes, or how his dark, wavy hair complemented his tan skin. The stubble beard growing on his jaw, along with the new muscles strained against the fabric of his shirt gave him a rugged look he didn’t have before.
I had forbidden myself from speaking his name before then, so I had to force it out. “Julian.”
His eyes clung to mine, as if he was making sure I was real, and it brought me back to how lost they were the last time I looked into them. “It’s been a long time.” No kidding.
“Yeah. How long?” My voice hardened.
His hands slipped into the front pockets of his jeans. “I lost count.” Of course, I was the pathetic one who knew exactly how long it had been. Before I could continue the awkward small talk, Elena returned with a copy of my book in her hands. “I always keep one in my travel bag, just in case.” Lucky me. He was the last person I wanted it in the hands of.
“Do you mind signing it for me, Mila?” I flinched at the nickname and the memories it came with. I couldn’t exactly say no at my own book signing, so I plastered on a fake smile. His heated stare made my hands tremble as I scribbled my signature. “You still sign your name with a heart in the I?”
I stifled a smile. “Not since my senior research paper.” Our fingers grazed when I handed him the book, and his mouth curved into a devastating grin. The memories flooded back—of car rides full of our laughter, bonfires at the cove, late-night cliff dives into the ocean.
“Thanks. So, how long are you in town?” he asked.
“We fly back home tomorrow morning.” An odd twinge of guilt washed over me when his face fell. “So eager to leave?”
“I didn’t even want to come back in the first place.” My bitterness towards the place I grew up felt heavy on my tongue.
“Can we at least catch up before you go?” I could hear the desperation in his voice, but catching up meant possibly bringing up the past, and I didn’t wake up that morning ready for that conversation. I could never tell him no, not while looking into his brown eyes, so I forced myself to look away. “I can’t, Julian.”
He sighed. “Alright. I just thought you’d want to see what I did with the house.”
My brows furrowed. “What house?”
I only pictured one in my head, and I thought there was no way it was the same one until he gazed out of the window towards the rocky cliffs with a smirk. “The only one on the hill. I think you know it.”
I stuttered around to look for the words that fell out of my head. “You…you live in the old house by the cove?”
He nodded. “I bought it a year ago. It doesn’t look so rough anymore, but you could see for yourself.” There was a voice in my head saying to send him on his way, but I couldn’t help but wonder what he had done to the very house we’d had countless conversations about. “One look, and then I leave.”
His face lit up as he fought back a smile. “Great. I’ll meet you there. You remember the way.” He threw me a wink, and even after he left, I couldn’t bring myself to move until Elena came to stand at my side. “Now that he’s gone, are you going to fess up about who the hell he is?”
“What are you talking about?” I needed time to stall from her question, so I grabbed my purse and headed for the door, smiling over at the owner before walking out. “Thank you for hosting the event, Lauren.”
Elena followed on my heels back to the Range Rover Greyson had arranged as our rental. “I’ve had my fair share of exes, Cami, so I know that kind of tension when I see it. Spill.” Even if I did want to tell her, I wouldn’t know where to start.
I let out a heavy breath as I started up the car. “We just know each other from school.” Technically, it wasn’t a lie; I just left out the part about how we dated for nearly three years in high school.
She pursed her lips. “I call bullshit. You can’t lie to save your life, remember?” Unfortunately, she was right.
“Can we drop it, please?” She’d been my best friend since freshman year at NYU, so if anyone should’ve known about Julian, it was her, but after spending six years trying to forget Willow’s Cove, I could never bring myself to tell her. I guess I thought if I never spoke about my past, eventually, it’d be like it never existed.
She sighed. “When we get back home, we’re not leaving the coffee shop until I get every detail.” I barely registered her words as I started to recognize the suburban neighborhood we were driving through. I knew it by heart, and could even picture it with my eyes closed. I never realized how much I took the peace and quiet for granted until then. The only sound was laughter as children raced down the pavement—no blaring horns, no echoing voices of people speaking all at once, no sounds of the busy city.
“I lived in this neighborhood growing up,” I said as I stared vacantly at the houses. They all looked exactly the same—green grass, white picket fences with vibrant trees blossoming in the front yard. I pressed on the brakes as we passed the only one on the entire block that stood out. “This was my house.” I spent hours trying to convince my mom to paint it any color other than yellow, but she never liked fitting in. I grew to love that about her.
“It’s so cute,” Elena said softly. It held so many precious memories—being pushed on the swing my dad built when I was four, tea parties I hosted for my stuffed animals when I was seven, climbing out of my bedroom window in the middle of the night when I was seventeen. But it was also haunted by some of my worst moments, making the moment bittersweet.
“Do your parents still live there?” Elena pulled me back to the moment. The last I’d heard, it was sold to newcomers in town who had a newborn baby. I hoped they made better memories in it than we ever did. “No. We should get going.” Unlike the last time I saw it, I didn’t look in my rearview mirror when I drove away.
Willow’s Cove was so small, you could drive from one end to the other in fifteen minutes. On the way to Julian’s house on the edge of town, I noticed how the roads were still embedded in my mind as if I never left.
“Just one look, and then you leave, Cami,” I whispered to myself as we crept up the inclined hill, which led to the old white house that stood alone at the top. To some, it might’ve looked like just another abandoned house; the white paint was nearly peeling off, piles of wood thrown in the yard, the giant hole in the porch still sat untouched, but I always saw its potential. I couldn’t believe it was still standing, much less that it belonged to Julian.
Elena rushed out of the car and went straight to the ledge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. “You have to come see this view, Cami. It’s breathtaking!” she shouted. I’d seen it a thousand times, but I still went to join her.
The view of the widespread ocean was the same. It was comforting to know that no matter how much time had passed or how different I was the last time I was there, it was the only thing constant and never changing. The breeze blew through my hair in a way I knew all too well, and I could never forget the smell of salt water and seaweed. As I listened to the waves crashing against each other, I recognized a familiar flutter in my stomach like I was being greeted by an old friend. My mom said when I was fussy as a baby, she’d come to sit in front of the ocean, rocking me to sleep. Ever since then, I felt most at home near the ocean.
“Come on, let’s go feel the water.” She squeezed my hand and dragged me down the hill where the grass met the warm sand. Instead of being grainy like most beaches, the sand at the cove was almost cushioned.
“You had a view like this at your disposal and left it for the city? I mean, I’m thankful you did, because then we would’ve never met, but wow.” She let out a yelp of excitement before running down the empty beach, and I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her keep her stiletto heels above her head. There were beaches in New York, but we were guilty of not appreciating them the way we should’ve.
As if I felt his presence, I looked back toward the top of the hill where Julian’s broad silhouette stood. His olive skin glistened under the sun’s rays as he waved me up. “Come on, I’ll get you reacquainted with the place while your friend enjoys the view.” As much as I didn’t want to be alone with him, Elena had never smiled so hard, so I left her running barefoot in the sand.
“Just one look, then you leave Cami,” I whispered again on the steep walk back up.
“I see you still talk to yourself.” He startled me from behind when I got to the top. “I see you still sneak up on people, so I’m not the only one who hasn’t changed.”
He didn’t seem put off by my snarky remark. “Touché, Vega.” I forced myself to look away from the smile that touched his lips, and that’s when I saw the house up close for the first time in six years. The once-broken windows were replaced by panels with white trim, and the walkway wasn’t just a pile of rocks anymore; instead, it was pebbled and lined with flowers barely starting to bloom. The roof once covered in old tree vines was completely clear, and the patches of grass in the yard were growing back bright green. He was turning it into a home, which made me relieved it landed in his hands instead of anyone else’s.
“It needs a few more tweaks before it’s perfect,” he said as we admired it from afar. It always was in my eyes.
“I’m glad I got to see it before I go back home.”
He winced. “How is New York?” I spoke carefully to make sure we didn’t fall into a conversation neither of us was ready for. “It’s everything I imagined it would be.” Was I was trying to convince him or myself?
He forced a tight-lipped smile and nodded. “I’m glad.” I could sense the unsaid words, the unanswered questions looming between us, but neither of us acknowledged them.
“Come on, I’ll show you inside.” He led me up the steps and around the gaping hole in the porch. I still remembered the first time he saved me from falling through it. “I swear it’s getting fixed this week.” I smiled.
When we stepped across the threshold, I let out a gasp. I’d never seen it during the day since the only light coming in was from the moon the last time I saw it. I was happy to notice cobwebs no longer filled every corner, and a new floor was put in to replace the rotted wood. Despite the lack of furniture, it was everything I imagined it would be.
“When did you start renovating?” I asked, his eyes followed me as I moved through the foyer.
“Six months ago. I couldn’t bring myself to touch it for a while after I bought it, but now, I work on it every day until it’s dark.” I traced my fingers over the design painted on the white walls. “Can I see the rest?” I should have gotten in my car and drove away, but curiosity ate at me.
A warm smile played at the corners of his lips. “I thought you’d never ask.” When he opened the door to the first room on the left of the long hallway, my attention went straight to the forest-green walls and then to the queen-sized bed occupying most of the space. “This is supposed to be a guest room, but I don’t get very many guests.”
“Green walls? You hate green.” Ironically, it was my favorite color. “Not anymore.” He said softly. I could feel the heat of his stare on my neck.
The air grew thick, so I rushed into the room right across, where a telescope adjusted perfectly to look out at the ocean stood by the window. “I use it to watch the dolphins at sunset.” He said as I walked over and caught how the sun’s rays glistened on the waves through the lens.
“Speaking of a sunset, we could watch one later, for old time’s sake if you want.” He kept his distance, but I felt the natural pull towards him.
You hadn’t experienced a sunset until you’d seen one from the top of the cliffs in Willow’s Cove. It was once my favorite view in the entire world, and coincidentally, the last one I saw was with the only other person in the room.
“There’re more rooms, right?” He got the memo—I wanted to change the subject. He led us into the next room, which was completely empty with bare walls. “What’s this one going to be?” I couldn’t help but think the arch by the window would be perfect for a reading space.
“It’s a secret project.” He slowly shut the door, his eyes searing into mine as he towered over me. The hallway suddenly felt cramped, but his brown eyes, my own personal kryptonite, made it impossible to move. His woodsy scent filled my nose as he inched closer, and I sucked in a breath when his fingers softly brushed against mine. “This way leads to my room.”
Where the hell was Elena when I needed her?
I followed him to the room at the end of the hall and immediately noticed how everything was spotless. The corners of his sheet were tucked in perfectly, the clothes hanging in his closet were sorted by color with no wrinkles in sight, and nothing seemed to be out of place. “More green walls?” I fought back a smile.
“What can I say? It grew on me.” His eyes followed me as I snooped, but he didn’t stop me. The photos perfectly lined up on his dresser caught my attention. I recognized the ones with his younger sister and friends from high school, but some faces weren’t familiar at all. There were also some with just him, in places I’d only seen in travel magazines. His smile lit up in every one, which made me realize in our time apart, he seemed to have lived a happy and full life.
“Hey, Mila,” his deep voice called out to me.
“Yeah?” We studied each other as our eyes met from across the room. I had sixteen-year-old Julian’s face learned by heart, so his new look was something to get used to, but there was nothing unfamiliar about how my senses spun anytime I was near him.“Nothing. I just wanted to look at you.” I turned away so he wouldn’t see the flush of my cheeks. He never lost his charm, that was for sure. “It’s good to see you too, Julian.” His name fell from my lips with ease that time.
Loud footsteps suddenly filled the hallway, and Elena was out of breath when she found us. “Bad news, Cami. The hotel canceled our reservation because they were overbooked. I don’t know how that’s possible when this is practically a ghost town.” She turned to Julian. “No offense.”
He shrugged. “None taken.”
“What do we do?” Her question made my mind race. “We could drive to the next town over, or fly back home tonig?—”
Julian cut in. “How about you stay here? I have the extra rooms.” My head was spinning after being in the same room as him for ten minutes; there was no way I was staying in his house. It was insane to even consider it, but of course, Elena didn’t feel the same.
“Perfect. Thank you, stranger with the perfect hair. I’m Elena, by the way. If I’m staying in your house, you might as well know my name.” If she wasn’t my best friend, I would have considered firing her.
“I’m Julian.”
She turned and winked at me, but if her goal was to be subtle, she failed. “Could you excuse us?” I pulled her away so Julian wouldn’t overhear us. “What the hell, Lena? You can’t just accept his invitation without talking to me first.”
“What’s the big deal? It beats sitting on a plane for another six hours back home. Besides, you two obviously know each other pretty well, so it’s not like we’re staying in a stranger’s house.” I once knew everything about him, but after so much time, he practically was a stranger.
“I really don’t want to stay here, Lena.” I was just there to do my book signing and get out of town. I wasn’t supposed to have a run-in with Julian Perez, and especially sleep in his spare room, but I always had a talent for getting myself into deep shit.
“Who is he that he has you rattled like this?” I knew she was trying to get me to fess up, but no one in my new life knew about my old one in Willow’s Cove. I wanted a fresh start when I got to the city, so I kept my past buried where it was unable to hurt me anymore.
“Forget it, it’s fine. Just one night, and we fly back first thing tomorrow morning.” I said sternly.
“That’s the plan, babes.” She didn’t notice my look of distress, walking away, typing on her phone. I guess after years of fighting it, Willow’s Cove found a way to suck me back in.
I walked back over to Julian with a tight expression. “I guess it’s settled. We’re staying.”
The corner of his lips tugged up in a cocky smirk. “Looks like we’ll have time to catch up after all.” Great.
My phone’s blaring ringtone cut through the air and saved me from saying anything else. I looked down to see Greyson’s name across my screen. “I have to take this.” I tried to calm my spiraling thoughts as I picked a room and shut the door behind me, my phone continuing to ring in my hand. “Hey, Grey.” I greeted.
“Thank God. I was worried when I didn’t hear from you earlier. Are you okay?” I could hear the cabs honking in the background.
“I’m sorry. Our hotel reservation got canceled, so we had to rearrange some stuff.” I let my head sink into the pillows to soothe the pounding headache I felt coming on.
“My dad keeps his jet on standby. I could be there in a few hours and bring you home.” I smiled from ear to ear. One of the reasons I fell in love with Greyson Carter was his selflessness despite his family teaching him to be the opposite his entire life.
“Don’t go through the trouble. Elena and I will catch our flights back home tomorrow.”
“Damn, I was hoping you’d say yes so I’d see you sooner.” After nearly three years together, he still flirted like he pined after me, and I had the same butterflies for him as I felt in our early days of dating.
“Looks like you’ll have to wait a little longer, Mr. Carter.” I chuckled at his groan on the other end. He hated when I called him by the same name everyone called his dad.
“You’re lucky I’m in love with you, Cami.” My heart swelled when I pictured his wide smile. “So, tell me about the book signing. I heard you sold out the store.”
A smile crept onto my face. “It seemed like the whole town showed up. The owner said it was the best turn-out she’d seen.” I purposely left out the name of a certain person who showed up.
I knew he was home when a door shut on the other end, and I imagined being greeted with his forehead kisses. “I’m so proud of you. Did anything else exciting happen?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but was startled by a loud banging outside my window. I couldn’t help but let my eyes linger on Julian as he hammered down pieces of wood to cover the hole on the porch. In the two years we’d been together, I never hid anything from Greyson, but I couldn’t form the words to tell him I ran into an old boyfriend and was convinced to stay in his guest bedroom. It didn’t help that Julian wasn’t just any ex-boyfriend, but the ex-boyfriend.
“Nothing exciting ever happens in Willow’s Cove.”