Chapter 1
ONE
My phone rings, and I feel a rush of relief. Someone remembered.
Trying to keep the tremor out of my voice, I swipe to answer. “Hi, Mom.”
“Katie! Oh, honey!”
A smile curls my lips. “What’s up?” I ask, like I don’t already know. She’s probably going to burst into song in a second, wishing me the happiest of happy birthdays as I celebrate my fortieth turn around the sun. It’s late afternoon, and I was starting to think that I’d go the whole day without a single person wishing me a happy birthday.
I spent this morning taking myself out for brunch, then I snuggled under a blanket on my couch to read a good book. It’s been a good day, but it’s been quiet. As the hours pass, I’m starting to feel like no one cares about me at all.
But Mom called. Of course she called! I may not have a partner, and I felt silly reminding friends and coworkers that my birthday is coming up, but my family will always remember.
Then my mother speaks. “Your sister…is engaged !”
Blinking at the weak sunlight filtering through the bare trees on Cove Boulevard, the main artery through town, I try to make sense of my mother’s words. I clear my throat. “W-what?”
“Your sister is getting married . Billy proposed to her this morning! Isn’t that wonderful?”
My grocery bag digs into my palm as I stand on the sidewalk, feeling the bite of the late winter wind through my jacket. “That’s…great, Mom. Congratulations.” My voice falters on the last word.
“Oh, come on, Katie. Just because your relationship didn’t work out doesn’t mean you have to be bitter about your sister finding happiness! We’ll finally have a wedding in the family!”
I jerk. It’s been two years since my last relationship ended, and my mother hasn’t let me forget it. But to throw it in my face like that is rude . Especially on my birthday! “I am happy for her, Mom,” I tell her, and it’s the truth. My sister Abby deserves all the happiness in the world.
But today, of all days? All I wanted was for someone to wish me a happy birthday.
“I can’t wait to go dress shopping with her. And Billy is such a dear! Are you free to come over so we can start talking details about the wedding? We’ll need you to help out. How much are you able to donate to her wedding fund?”
Donate? To her wedding fund? “What do you mean?”
“Well, we’re inviting the whole family. Abby and Billy are still on a shoestring budget. Don’t you want to help them out?”
“If they can’t afford a wedding, why don’t they wait and save up?”
“Katherine Gladys Redford! How selfish could you be? This is your sister’s wedding!”
I glance around the street to spot any hidden cameras, because I must be on a prank show. Seeing nothing, I return my attention to the call. “I’m out right now, Mom. We can talk about this later.”
“When will you be here? We need to start planning!”
“When? Today?”
“Of course, today! I’ve been preparing for this moment since you girls were born!”
The day I was born. Right. Also known as today’s date . My head spins. Is this some sort of joke? Has my own mother really forgotten the day she gave birth to me?
My mother huffs. “Come quick, and bring your Pinterest.”
She means my laptop. My mother doesn’t understand that Pinterest is an online platform that can be accessed from any device, so she’s convinced that “my Pinterest” is exclusively available on my laptop. This isn’t what’s confusing me.
What’s confusing me is that today is my fortieth birthday, and no one seems to have remembered. Not even my own mother.
Unless…
I stand up straighter, readjusting my grip on my grocery bag.
Maybe this is a ruse. Maybe my mother is trying to get me over there because she’s planned a surprise birthday party for me. After all, I may be forty years old, but today is only my tenth official birthday. I’m a leap-year baby, which makes my birthday easy to remember—or at least it should. February 29 th only comes around as often as the Olympics, after all.
Hope flutters in my chest, but I’m afraid to believe it. Has my family planned a surprise for this special birthday? Forty big ones— and I’m able to celebrate on the actual date on which I was born. It would be the perfect opportunity to throw a surprise party.
Trudging down the sidewalk, I turn the corner onto my street. I just have to drop my groceries off at home, and then I’ll grab my Pinterest Machine and head to my mother’s place. Maybe— maybe —this birthday will turn out to be a good one!
Excitement bubbles through me as I bustle up the path to my front door. I leave my grocery bag on the welcome mat and hunt through my purse for my keys. Holding the door open with my hip, I haul my groceries inside and let a smile curl over my lips for the first time all day.
First a leisurely brunch, then time with my book, a few errands, and potentially a surprise party at my parents’ place—not a bad birthday, after all!
I live in a split-story, three-bedroom house that I scrimped and saved to buy all on my own. This place was one of the reasons my last relationship ended. My ex couldn’t manage to save any money, and I realized that I’d be dragging him along behind me for the rest of my life if I stayed with him. We broke up, I bought the house, and I healed my broken heart by decorating it exactly how I wanted.
I’ve been happy here…if a bit lonely at times.
Up until a few minutes ago, I was feeling that loneliness acutely. But now, things are looking up.
After I’ve unpacked my groceries, I change into a cute forest-green sweater dress and thick tights. The color of the dress really brings out the hazel in my eyes and hugs my curves in the best possible way. I feel like a million bucks.
I might even fit in with all the stylish people milling around town! Heart’s Cove is a town in Northern California, filled with artists and eccentrics. I’m neither an artist nor an eccentric, but I’ve lived in this town all my life. It’s grown a lot in the past few years, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the new shops, cafes, and restaurants crop up all over town.
I’ve been able to make a living working as an administrator for a local contractor. I process the company’s payroll, manage permit submissions, and complete all the thousand and one things required to keep our documentation up to date. It’s not a glamorous job, but it pays the bills and allows me to save for retirement and spend what’s left on decor, good food, and overpriced skincare items.
I like my life. I love my life.
And today, as I slip my feet into knee-high suede boots and fit beautiful, dangling earrings into my ears, I feel pretty and special and full of hope.
Grabbing my leather jacket and my favorite cashmere scarf, I give my hair one last primp and head out the door.
I look fantastic—which will be great for any pictures people decide to take of my oh-so-surprised face when I open the door.
Smiling, I lock the door to my castle, and I head to my mother’s house.