Page 66 of Only Be Mine

Amy shook her head. “No. Now that I know what’s actually going on… I get it. I mean…” She hesitated. “I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

That almost made me laugh.

Amy had a husband she loved. Two kids. A life she never had to second-guess. She didn’t wake up wondering if Jim was somewhere out there, hurt or alone or just… gone. She knew where he was. She always had.

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the road.

“There is one thing,” I said finally, remembering something I had never told a single person.

Amy turned toward me. “What?”

“Trevor never wanted me to marry John.”

She blinked. “What?”

I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. The Lexus hummed beneath us, smooth and quiet and entirely too composed for how my chest felt.

And somewhere deep inside, the question I kept trying not to ask stirred again.

Did he love me because John was gone… or because John had been there first?

Chapter 23

Cate

March - Ten Years Ago

Isat in my car with the heat blasting, hands locked around the steering wheel, trying to summon the energy to open the door.

Snow came down in thick, angry sheets, the kind that erased edges and swallowed sound. The parking lot was nearly empty, wind carving pale lines across the pavement.

Whatever had possessed me to keep a wedding dress appointment in the middle of a blizzard was beyond me. I wasn’t even sure the shop would be open.

I shut off the engine and pulled my hood tight around my face. The cold hit me like a slap the second I stepped outside, stealing my breath as I hurried toward the building.

The door didn’t move.

I frowned and pulled harder. Still nothing.

Then I turned and nearly lost my footing.

“Cate.”

Trevor was right there. Close enough that I hadn’t heard him approach. His hand shot out, gripping my arm to steady me.

“Shit…” I sucked in a breath. “Trevor. You scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

I glanced around the lot, suddenly aware of how empty it was. Just two cars. Mine… and a small black sports car tucked near the edge.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He straightened his tie beneath his coat, a nervous habit I’d seen before. “I was hoping to talk to you.”

“Here?” I gestured helplessly at the snow. “Now?”

“Can we go somewhere warm?” he asked. “Just for a minute.”