Chapter1
Mustang Island, Texas – June 1999
Nicole Reyes had never worn a pair of high heels in her life until tonight.Her toes were pinched, her feet ached, and her dress clung too tightly around her ribs.But none of that mattered.Not really.
Because tonight, she was going to marry Dustin “Tripp” Masterson.
She glanced sideways at him, the boy she’d loved since she was sixteen.He was tall with dark hair and big brown eyes that glittered when he gazed at her.He looked too perfect in his navy blazer and khakis, like he belonged in a Ralph Lauren ad instead of this over-decorated country club on the edge of Mustang Island.
He turned toward her with a warm smile, the kind that always made her heart stumble.
“You okay?”he whispered.
“Yeah,” she breathed, even though she wasn’t.Not entirely.
Yesterday, they’d walked across their high school graduation stage.Everyone had cheered.Her mother had cried.His mother hadn’t even clapped.
Now here they were, two kids standing in the middle of a crowd full of expectations and champagne flutes, pretending to belong, when they both knew they didn’t.
Their time together was running out, and Tripp’s mother couldn’t be happier.
Tripp’s parents had made it crystal clear: end things with the poor girl from the wrong side of town, or lose your college money.
And even her parents, who had once smiled warmly when he visited their tiny home, had started pushing her toward the future.College.Independence.Forgetting Tripp.
But she couldn’t forget him.She didn’t want to.
She looked up into his golden brown eyes, fear bubbling up inside her.“Are you sure?”
He didn’t hesitate.“Yeah.Are you?”
She swallowed hard, her heart pounding.She loved him like she loved the air in her lungs.Like she loved the ocean.Like she loved the sunrise on Mustang Island when everything was quiet and full of promise.
“Yes,” she whispered.“But your parents…”
“They’ll be furious,” he admitted, his voice steady.“But what can they do?”
She blinked at him.“Disown you?”
“They’ve already threatened to.”
“They threatened to cut off your tuition if you didn’t go to Baylor.”
“I know.”
Nicole winced.“You told them you wanted to go to UT with me.That we were going to law school together.That we had plans?—”
“They didn’t care.What is more important?Money or being with you?I think you’re the most important person in my life, and hopefully they’ll come around.”
But what if they didn’t?Nicole couldn’t imagine not speaking to her family again.Even for Tripp, she’d have a hard time letting them go.
“Tripp…” Her voice broke slightly.This was such a drastic step, and yet, the thought of living without him was terrifying.
He reached for her hand and gave it a firm squeeze.“My mom wants to control everything.My dad...sometimes I think he lets her because it’s easier.But this is our life, Nic.Not theirs.We said we’d be together.We made a promise to one another.”
They had.A thousand promises whispered under moonlight and kissed into skin.They’d talked about opening their own firm one day.Masterson & Reyes, orReyes & Reyes, depending on who passed the bar first.
But those dreams felt fragile now, like paper boats in a storm.Beautiful, hopeful, and easily torn apart.She was used to being poor, but Tripp had grown up in luxury.If he were disinherited, could he take the pain of living without money?
