Chapter 1

Six years into a secret relationship with my childhood sweetheart, I got blindsided by a breakup I never saw coming.

A month later, my mom brought up some gossip about him — and couldn't resist taking a dig at me in the same breath.

"He's about to become a father, and you've never even held a man's hand."

"If I'd made you a little smarter, a little prettier, maybe he would've actually wanted you."

I scrolled through my work group chat and answered without looking up.

"I could never be in his league anyway."

I remembered that day — lying in a hospital bed with my ankle in a cast, firing off a breakup in a fit of anger. He hadn't tried to stop me. He'd just let out a quiet, amused laugh.

"Whatever. Every girl chasing me is better than you."

"Besides — if you leave me, where exactly would you go?"

...

Hearing my self-deprecating remark, Patricia Calloway — Jason's mother, a woman who'd been friends with my mom for decades — immediately lit up with a warm smile.

"Don't say that. I'd be thrilled if you two worked things out!"

"Jason's always been such a loner. I've never heard him mention a girlfriend." She leaned in closer, lowering her voice like she was sharing a secret. "Vivian, you know him better than anyone. Has he ever said anything to you about a girl he's seeing?"

I shook my head.

"We don't really keep in touch."

That was actually the truth. It had been a full month since the breakup, and Jason hadn't reached out once.

Patricia turned to my mom with a sigh. "Girls are so much easier. Sons are just a constant source of worry."

"If I hadn't been going through his phone photos and stumbled on that ultrasound printout, I wouldn't have known I was about to be a grandmother."

My mom set a small bowl of grapes in front of her.

"Jason's always been sharp and capable. He knows what he's doing — don't worry."

Patricia's face broke into a wide grin. "Just the other day someone tried to set him up with a girl whose father is getting a big government promotion. Thank goodness I didn't say yes — that would've been a mess now, wouldn't it?"

I stared at my phone for a long moment and completely forgot whose message I'd been about to reply to.

My mom suddenly nudged me with her foot.

"The doorbell's been ringing forever. You couldn't be bothered to get it?"

I shuffled over, still half in my own head.

Jason was standing at the door, eyes on his phone, the faintest smile at the corner of his mouth. The moment he locked the screen, I still caught a glimpse — a pink profile picture pinned to the top of his messages.

"Picking up my mom."

Not that he needed to explain. I already knew he wasn't here for me.

I bent down quietly to find him a pair of house slippers.

"I'm not coming in. Leaving in a second."

I looked up and met his flat, indifferent gaze.

For a moment, I felt completely lost.

So someone could whisper sweet nothings in your ear one month and turn stone-cold the next. Just like that.

I started to turn away, but he suddenly caught my hand — pressed a paper bag into it.

"The calcium in these absorbs well. Take them with Vitamin D."

Patricia's voice floated in from the hallway, and I quickly pulled my hand back.

"Don't you have a flight today? How'd you manage to come pick me up?"

He didn't miss a beat. "Got cancelled last minute. I had some free time, so."

My mom had followed along, chatting and laughing as she walked Patricia to the elevator.

Jason stood quietly to the side, waiting while they put on their shoes.

Patricia's eye caught something pinned to his bag — a small enamel badge. "Oh, that's lovely. Where did you get it?"

"An old classmate gave it to me."

"A girl?"

"Yeah. She's a flight attendant on a private airline. We ran into each other at the airport yesterday when she landed."

It clicked instantly. The pink profile picture pinned at the top of his phone — Natalie Sterling. High school's star beauty.

Over six years, I'd given Jason a watch, a wallet, a tie.

He'd never used any of them.

Every time I asked, he'd say he was saving them for a special occasion.

I knew the truth. He didn't want anyone knowing he had a girlfriend.

But Natalie's little badge was on his bag the very next day.

How desperate was he to announce his new relationship to the world?

Patricia exchanged a look with my mom.

"You should keep in touch with your classmates more! Have her over for tea sometime!"

Jason glanced at me, something like a challenge in his eyes.

"What do you think?"

I crossed my arms and forced a smile.

"Sounds great. She's beautiful. You two are a good match."

Something shifted in his expression. His eyes darkened.