“I don’t give a damn about being the best. I don’t care if Scholar Central is good or bad or stupid beyond all belief. What I care about is the money!”

  “What are you going to do with your millions?”

  “Get the hell out of Chicago, for starters,” she snapped. “I’ll go to Europe. Monaco, maybe. I want beaches. A fast boat. Fashion. Parties. A real life.”

  “What about kids?”

  “Kids?” Caught off guard, her face wrinkled in disgust before she remembered herself a second too late. “Kids can come to Monaco,” she said hurriedly. “Ben and I deserve to be happy, whether or not we have children.”

  “Whether or not?” He turned to Ben, hating himself for betraying his friend’s confidence, even if his intentions were good. “I was under the impression there was a child on the way already.”

  Chloe’s cheeks suffused with color, something that didn’t happen often. She turned on Ben. “I told you not to tell anyone.”

  “So you are pregnant? When are you due?” Sam caught her gaze again and held it. Two pink spots of color bloomed high on her cheeks. As soon as she looked away, he knew he was right. She was lying.

  “I might have spoken too soon,” she stammered. “Ben… I… I got my period. I was late, so I got excited, but I was wrong…”

  “So you’re not pregnant,” Sam said mercilessly. If Chloe had wanted a child and lost it, she would have let everyone know how devastated she was. This pregnancy had been a fabrication from the start, pure and simple. “And you’re not buying a house in the suburbs of Chicago. In fact, you’re not going to live in Chicago at all. Is that the way you want to spend your life?” he asked Ben. “Parties and cruises in Monaco?”

  Ben came out of his reverie looking so wretched, Sam almost regretted doing any of this. “You’re not pregnant?” he asked Chloe.

  “No, I’m not. But so what? I can always get pregnant some other time,” she snapped. “What’s the damn hurry?” When Ben didn’t answer, she scowled at both of them. “You know what? I didn’t come here to discuss the terms of my marriage or to add some new idiotic feature to our curriculum. I’m here to get our ducks in a row so we can sell Scholar Central and all be rich. Why is that so hard?”

  “Ben?” Sam asked. “Chloe isn’t a partner in this business. It’s for you and me to decide what we should do with our company next. Do we want to hold on to our curriculum and expand it, or sell it to the highest bidder?”

  “I don’t know.” Ben’s voice was husky as he stared at Chloe.

  “Of course you know,” Chloe said. “We’re going to sell. We talked about it. That’s what’s best for us—for you and me. I’m the one you’re marrying, Benjamin. Not him.” She pointed at Sam. “And I’m not marrying any man who chooses his friend over me.”

  When Ben’s gaze dropped to the carpet, Sam swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and fought down a sense of suffocation. Ben used to look just like this when he was a kid living with his dad: shoulders hunched, head bowed, eyes on the ground.

  Suddenly Sam needed to get out of this room. Wanted to drag Ben with him away from Chloe, but Chloe moved to place her hand on her fiancé’s shoulder, and Ben didn’t shrug it off.

  He still wanted her. Wanted Chloe so badly he’d put up with anything.

  But Sam didn’t have to.

  “Guess we’re at a stalemate,” he said.

  And walked out the door.

  When the knock came on her door, Ava’s heart leaped, but she instantly crushed the surge of happiness that swooped through her. Even if it was Sam, and somehow she knew it was, that meant nothing. They’d discussed all the reasons she couldn’t be with him, and she hadn’t changed her mind.

  After they’d parted at the coffee shop, it had been all she could do to drive home, climb the stairs to her apartment and stagger out onto her deck, where she sat on one of her chairs and cried so hard she ended up with a headache. Her eyes were puffy, her throat sore. She knew she’d made the right decision, but it felt so wrong. Without Sam, the sunshine was dimmer. The sparkle of the ocean flat.

  She’d questioned her decision—to the extent she’d actually pulled out her phone and looked to see if there was a school like the Seahaven Outdoor Adventure Academy where she could teach in Chicago. There wasn’t, and even if there was she would have hated to leave her home. The Blue House felt as comfortable as a warm hug. Seahaven was the community she’d always longed for. If she allowed her life to be uprooted again, she knew she’d never find this level of contentment again.

  She’d asked herself if that meant she really didn’t care that much for Sam, but that wasn’t true, either. She did care for him—a lot. Every time she thought about his arms around her, or about making love to him, a new wave of pain crashed over her.

  She’d been telling herself she’d get over him in time and there’d be someone else for her, since she couldn’t be with Sam, but she didn’t believe it. No man she’d ever met felt so right.

  Which made saying goodbye almost impossible. She’d done it once. Could she do it again?

  “Hi,” Sam said when she finally opened the door. “Can I come in?”

  Ava wanted to throw herself into his arms, but instead she stepped back. “Of course.” She led him to the deck, where he took a seat across from her.

  She couldn’t stop drinking in the sight of him, storing up memories she could replay when he was gone for good. She wished she could take his hand. If he kissed her, she’d—

  No. She wouldn’t say yes to moving to Chicago to be with him.

  But god, she wanted to.

  “I know I shouldn’t have come here,” Sam said. He ran a hand through his thick dark hair, and she thought it wasn’t the first time he’d done that. Something had riled him up. Was it their conversation? “I didn’t know where else to go,” he went on. “I was going to call my sisters, but I could guess what they’d say. Chitra would tell me Ben and Chloe weren’t worth my time. Priya would tell me I had to keep them happy, at least until we launch our product and get some kind of return on our investment. Leena would tell me to ask the universe for a sign.”

  “A sign about what?” Ava wished she could meet Sam’s sisters. She thought she’d like them, which made her sad all over again.

  “What to do about Scholar Central,” he said.

  Ava couldn’t keep up. “Scholar Central? What happened?”

  “Ben demanded we make Chloe an equal partner, and she’s already throwing her weight around.”

  “You can handle her, can’t you?”

  “I don’t think Ben can.” He braced his elbows on his knees and rested his face in the palms of his hands.

  Something was bothering him. Something he hadn’t admitted yet. “Why do you say that?”

  “We all have hurt places, right?” He looked up again. “Vulnerable points in our armor, I guess you could say. Chloe’s found his, and she’s taking advantage of it.”

  “She bullies people,” Ava said. She’d seen it every day Chloe had spent at her house.

  Sam stared at her. Nodded slowly. “It’s not always the bigger guy who wins the fight,” he said.

  Ava wanted to ask him more questions, but she wasn’t sure if it was her place to pry or if she was in too emotional a place to be much help. Every time she looked at Sam, her longing for him overrode everything else. The longer they were alone together, the less chance she had of sticking to her resolution. “Would you take a walk with me?” she asked him. “A short walk.”

  He straightened up and looked around, as if just taking in where he was.

  “Sure.”

  She led the way through her apartment and took him down to the street level, evading him when he reached for her hand. If she touched him, she would be lost. Out on the sidewalk they passed Brightview, then veered through the gate in the white picket fence to the Cliff Garden.

  “It’s a nice night,” Sam said, taking in the ocean, but his heart wasn’t in it. That was okay; they weren’t here for the view. Ava led him to the Trouble Bench, a scarred, old wooden bench that faced the water.

  She decided she wouldn’t even tell him that people came here from all over the neighborhood to find answers to their problems. Instead, she sat down and patted the bench beside her. “Take a load off. Sometimes looking at the horizon gives you a new perspective on problems.”

  “We were looking at the horizon from your place.” He was watching her with that way he had of seeming like he could peer into her soul. “Ava, we should talk more about us, too.”

  “One problem at a time. Sit for a minute. Take a couple of deep breaths,” she added to buy a little time. She sat back on the seat and demonstrated what she meant. Sam settled in with a sigh beside her.

  They hadn’t been contemplating the ocean long before Emma showed up with a covered plate and two glasses of water, just as Ava had hoped she would. Emma was in charge of the Trouble Bench and kept an eye on it when she was at home. She had a knack for sensing when someone needed comforting.

  “I thought you could use refreshments,” she said.

  “Thanks. Refreshments always help.” Ava returned Emma’s smile gratefully but smoothed her expression before Sam noticed. Emma handed each of them their glass, then passed the plate to Ava. “Would you join us?” Ava asked her. “We’re trying to sort out a friend’s problem.” She hoped Emma’s presence would keep her from giving in to the lure of Sam’s offer.

  “Sure.” Emma sat down. She took one of the cookies from the plate when Ava offered it to her. Sam, too, took one absently, bit into it and moaned.

  “This is good.”

  “Everything Emma makes is phenomenal,” Ava said. “She’s creating online cooking classes and holds real-time ones at Brightview. We should go to one.” Too late she remembered Sam was disappearing from her life in a few days.

  “What’s wrong with your friend?” Emma asked him.

  Ava waited for Sam to explain, and after a long moment, he did. “He thinks his fiancée will leave him if he doesn’t let her call the shots,” he said shortly. “He needs to toughen up or she’ll control everything he does.”

  “Why do you think he doesn’t stick up for himself?”

  He hesitated again. “Ben’s early years were… rough.”

  Ava remembered what he’d told her about them and realized what Sam’s real fear was. “Do you think Chloe’s going to take his dad’s place?” she asked.

  “I don’t think she’ll beat him, if that’s what you mean,” Sam said heavily. “I don’t think she’ll have to.”

  Ava looked to Emma, who often had good advice when people needed it.

  “Here’s the thing,” Emma said gently. “You can’t control what Ben does, or what his fiancée does, either, and if you try you’ll end up on the outs with both of them.”

  “I’m pretty much there already.”

  “When you find yourself tied up in knots about someone else’s life, it’s a clear indication there’s something in your own life that needs tending,” Emma went on. “So what’s going wrong in your life?”

  Sam didn’t answer for a long time. He balanced his glass on his knee and stared at the ocean. Ava ate a cookie and drained her glass of water, grateful for the reprieve. Her emotions had gotten a workout over the past few days, and she had a feeling she wasn’t in the clear yet. He cast a glance her way, and Ava wondered if he’d bring up her refusal to follow him back to Chicago.

  Instead, he said, “I’m beginning to hate my job.”

  “Why?” Emma asked.

  “Because my business partner—Ben—isn’t treating me with respect. He hooked up with my ex-fiancée, and the two of them keep ganging up on me. Now they want to sell our company, when I thought we were building something we’d work on for a lifetime. I dread going to work. I’m not excited about my future anymore.”

  “So you’re worried that your friend’s fiancée isn’t treating him with respect, but you’ve been letting him disrespect you?” Emma summarized for him.

  Sam put down the cookie he’d picked up absently and stared at her.

  “Hell, Ava was right—you are good at this. I never thought about it that way. I gave him a chance today to take my side and keep our partnership an equal one. He chose to side with his fiancée. The woman I used to be engaged to. He’s never apologized for what he did, and he sees no issue with forcing me to accept Chloe as an equal partner. If he was setting out to try to humiliate me, he couldn’t do any better.”

  As his words hung in the air, Ava wondered how it had felt to say them out loud. Did he know how brave it was to admit Ben’s actions had hurt him? In her experience, men liked to pretend they were invincible.

  “We’re good at shifting our own problems onto other people. Not that Ben might not have problems to solve, too,” Emma added.

  “I need to leave Scholar Central,” Sam said and straightened, his shoulders relaxing for the first time since he arrived at Ava’s door. “I think I’ve known that for a long time but I didn’t want to admit it. I kept hoping somehow it would all go back to the way it was before Chloe came around.”

  “You love what you do,” Ava told him. “It’s clear when you talk about it. You’ve put heart and soul into your start-up. No wonder you don’t want to turn your back on it.”

  “I love how it used to be,” he corrected her. “Not what it’s become.”

  “Is there a way to extricate yourself from the company?” Emma asked.

  “I don’t know, but I guess it’s time to find out.”

  A couple of weeks ago, the idea of leaving Scholar Central would have crushed him, but now all Sam felt was relief. No more struggling to maintain his vision against Chloe’s incursions against it. No more resentments seething inside him when Ben chose her side instead of his. It saddened him to see Ben fall for a woman who so clearly didn’t mind using or hurting him, but Ben was a grown-up now. It wasn’t his job to try to rescue someone who didn’t think he needed rescuing.

  Staying at Scholar Central had clearly become untenable. Leaving opened all kinds of possibilities.

  Maybe even a future that included Ava.

  “I think you two should come to Brightview for lunch.” Emma stood up before he had time to consider the notion fully. “Ashely and Andrew will be there, and Noah, of course. You need a break from all the angst. We’re cooking hamburgers, and I’ve got plenty to share.”

  “That sounds like a good idea.” Ava stood, too.

  “You sure?” Sam asked Emma. “I don’t want to crash your party.” Hamburgers sounded good, though. He’d been thinking over his problems for too long and suddenly wanted to be among people. Especially Ava. Maybe she’d relax if there was a crowd.

  “I’m sure. You can run the grill while Ava and I get the rest of the meal together.”

  A half hour later, Emma’s picnic table on her back deck was full of people. Her husband, Noah, was there when they arrived and welcomed Sam’s help. Emma’s sister, Ashley, and Ashley’s fiancé, Andrew, who was also Noah’s brother, came bearing chips and dip. Penelope came over, too. Now they were munching on burgers, laughing and chatting happily.

  When Andrew asked him what he did for a living, Sam explained he was about to be unemployed. “I’m thinking of starting something new,” he told them, feeling a rush of excitement for the first time in months. “I’m not sure what, though. It’ll have to be different from Scholar Central. I’m sure Ben and Chloe will demand a non-compete clause.”

  “You should help Ava get her science channel back up and running,” Penelope said. “Have you ever seen her videos? They’re awesome. As wonderful as it is that she’s going to teach locally, I think it’s a shame everyone else is going to lose out on her work. You should read the comments people leave on her videos. There are teachers saying how they used them in the classroom and students showing how they tried the experiments. You need a forum,” Penelope said to Ava. “It’s fine to load your videos on the big websites, but you need a site of your own where people can come and talk to each other about ways to use your information.”

  “That could be fun,” Sam mused.

  “It would be hard, considering you’re going to be in Chicago,” Ava said. Her tone was light, but he caught the undercurrent. She was reminding him that when push came to shove, he hadn’t budged an inch. He’d thought she should move to be with him, but he’d never considered moving to be with her.

  Why hadn’t he done so? Was Chicago a part of his identity?

  Was he afraid he couldn’t make a go of anything without Ben by his side?

  The idea floored him, and he set his burger down on his plate. He was the strong one, after all. The one who’d saved Ben from his abusive homelife. The one who’d connected him to other friends, showed him the ropes after they moved to a new school. The bolder, brasher, more popular one. The one with a supportive family and prospects for a bright future.

  Things had changed over the years, though, hadn’t they? Ben was the one who’d been brash lately, making his play for Chloe, even though he knew it would mean a break between him and his staunchest ally. Ben was a competent, employable adult, who was as much a part of Scholar Central as Sam was. Sam realized that for some time his vision and drive hadn’t been as important to Scholar Central as they were at the beginning of the project. Ben’s slow but steady work ethic and Chloe’s ability to make connections with potential clients were important, too. If he was honest with himself, ever since Chloe had hooked up with Ben, his performance had suffered.

  He was still passionate about education and helping children who deserved a better curriculum, but the time for big ideas was over. Now it was down to execution. Scholar Central would be just fine without him. So would Ben.

  The thought of leaving either behind left him feeling off-balance, though. Sam knew it was only a matter of time before he got a new job or created a new opportunity for himself. Losing Ben was a different matter. As a boy Ben had shadowed him. Now Sam realized he’d leaned on his friend in recent years. Ben backed him up. Steadied him. He’d never had to feel like he was facing a challenge alone.