Maybe I can have him mail it.

  “Six it is.” Derek put the notepad away. “Well, it was great to see you, ladies, but I need to head back to work. Alyssa, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She nodded. “See you.”

  Alyssa waited until Derek had departed the shop completely to speak.

  “Mom.”

  “What?”

  “Derek. That’s what.”

  “Oh, Alyssa, come on. You don’t still hate him for what he did?”

  Alyssa huffed. “He broke up with me in front of, like, ten people. Both our groups of friends. The day before not only homecoming, but my birthday. I’m convinced he did it to make it as bad as possible for me.”

  “Honey, that was years ago. He seems so nice, now. He has a family. That changes a man.”

  “I don’t want to give him my yearbook,” Alyssa muttered.

  “Alyssa Cambridge. Why are you suddenly being so moody?”

  Alyssa pressed her lips together, forcing herself to shut it. Was she being moody? If so, it had to be the hormones—and the whole keeping her pregnancy from her fiancé thing.

  “Sorry, Mom. I might not be fully recovered from Costa Rica.”

  “You are traveling a lot.” Laurie finished her coffee. “Is work okay with that?”

  “Cripes,” Alyssa gasped and checked her phone. “I have to get back to the office. See you later.”

  “Come over for dinner soon,” her mother said. “And bring Lucy.”

  “I will,” Alyssa promised.

  Grabbing her bag, Alyssa tossed her scarf around her neck and fumbled with her coat buttons as she headed outside. She fell into step with the other people rushing down the sidewalk. Things were pretty relaxed at the nonprofit she worked for, but it was still her first year there, and she didn’t want to make a bad name for herself by showing up late.

  As she walked, she ran over the conversations at the coffee shop. Maybe her mother was right. People did change. Alyssa felt like she herself had changed a ton in the last six months.

  And yet, when she looked at Derek, she saw the boy he was over a decade ago. Not the man he had become. Because, in reality, she didn’t know who he was, now.

  So why not give him a chance to show her his true colors?

  CHAPTER 7

  ALYSSA

  “You look different.” Marnie, Ali’s private chef who came by several times a week, narrowed her eyes. “You’re…glowing.”

  “I worked out this morning,” Alyssa lied. “That must have been it.”

  Yeah, right. Worked out. As if Alyssa could walk more than five blocks without having to duck into the nearest café bathroom to throw up. She really hoped this morning sickness evaporated soon. She’d been sucking on ginger popsicles and drinking chamomile tea religiously, and so far, all those things had done was dampen the nausea.

  “It looks good on you,” Marnie said.

  “Thanks.” From her spot at the kitchen table, Alyssa munched on her sliced apple. She’d brought her laptop into the kitchen to catch up on the day’s emails while Marnie prepped meals for the next couple of days.

  “It's too bad Ali isn't here,” Marnie said as she diced vegetables faster than Alyssa had previously believed humanly possible. “I planned the couscous dish for him. He loves it.”

  “I like couscous, too,” Alyssa said. “What's in it?”

  “Nutmeg. Chicken. Raisins.”

  “Yum.”

  When Alyssa had moved into the apartment, she'd mentioned that she could take up the cooking. She was used to doing it, and she had the time. Ali had turned down the offer, though, and it soon became clear to Alyssa that—being raised as extended royalty—there were certain things he was used to. Things he couldn't let go of. And one of those things was a private chef.

  For Alyssa, though, having someone cook everything for her in her home felt weird. And so, they'd come to an agreement and met each other halfway. Marnie would keep coming by and doing her thing part-time, and Alyssa would cook when the mood struck.

  With the way she'd been feeling the last week, though, Alyssa was unbelievably grateful to have someone else preparing her meals.

  “And I'm making some shepherd’s pie for tomorrow,” Marnie said. “Or whenever you want it. It should be good in the fridge a few days. If you don't eat it by then, make sure you freeze it.”

  The thought of mashed potatoes—which Alyssa had never been particularly into—made her mouth water.

  “Mashed potatoes,” Alyssa breathed. “Yum.”

  Marnie’s rapid-fire chopping stopped, and she squinted strangely at Alyssa.

  Heat flared across Alyssa’s cheeks and neck. Were mashed potatoes an obvious pregnancy craving or something? Marnie had three kids. Did she have some kind of feminine intuition that told her when women were pregnant?

  The doorbell rang, and Alyssa jumped to standing. “That's Derek,” she said.

  “The guy from high school?” Marnie asked.

  Alyssa closed her laptop. “Yeah, he needs our old yearbook for some work thing.”

  Crossing the kitchen, Alyssa went down the hallway and into the foyer. After hitting the buzzer, and making sure it was in fact Derek, Alyssa let him up.

  When a couple minutes passed and Derek still hadn't showed at the front, Alyssa opened the front door and peered into the hallway. There Derek was, standing halfway down the hall and writing something in his small notepad.

  At the sound of the door opening, he looked up and smiled at Alyssa.

  “Hey, Lyss,” he said, using his old nickname for her. “My wife just texted me something for the grocery list. Gotta jot it down before I forget, otherwise she’ll have my head.” Derek winked.

  “Come on in.” Alyssa opened the door wider for him.

  Derek glanced over his shoulder as he entered the apartment. “How many places are on this floor?”

  “Two,” Alyssa said, shutting the door behind them. The lady who lived down the hall was hardly ever around. Alyssa didn't know much about her, but Ali had mentioned she came from old money and he had heard she owned a couple of real Van Goghs.

  That last part had blown Alyssa’s mind. “So, we're living next door to a private museum?” she'd asked Ali.

  Alyssa checked a sigh. God, she missed him.

  “The yearbook is…” Alyssa reached toward the small table against the wall where Ali always left fresh flowers for her, but her fingers closed around air. The book wasn't there.

  “Shoot,” Alyssa muttered. “Sorry. I thought I put it out, but I guess I forgot. I'll go grab it.”

  Was this what they called pregnancy brain? Alyssa had been so sure she’d brought the yearbook out, but now that she thought of it, maybe she'd left it in the spare room after digging it out of a box in there.

  “It'll just take me a minute,” Alyssa explained. “Can I get you anything?”

  “Sure. I'll take some water.”

  Alyssa walked for the kitchen, and Derek followed. It wasn't until they crossed the doorway that Alyssa remembered Marnie was there.

  The cook looked up from peeling potatoes, her interested gaze hovering on Derek. “Hello.”

  “Marnie, this is Derek. I just wanted to grab him a glass of water. I left the yearbook somewhere around here, and I need to go find it.”

  Alyssa filled a glass with ice and water while she talked. Handing the drink over to Derek, she headed for the back part of the apartment.

  And Derek followed.

  Relax, Alyssa told herself. You're so annoyed by everything right now because you're hormonal.

  “It should be in here,” Alyssa said, taking a left and going into one of the spare rooms.

  The apartment had three bedrooms. Alyssa had never understood what had driven Ali to buy such a place for a bachelor pad. He'd already told her that, before her, he’d assumed he would never marry. And she knew he hadn't regularly had guests. So maybe it was just another one of those sheikh things. The guy couldn't feel comfortable without being surrounded by endless rooms.

  Though they kept the other rooms clear and clean for guests, the smallest bedroom was the exception.

  Alyssa rooted through the box on the bed. Paperback novels. Her high school diploma. Some art from elementary school. No yearbook.

  “It was right in here,” Alyssa said. “I must have pulled it out and set it somewhere in this room.”

  Alyssa kicked a cat toy—a plastic ball with a bell in it—across the room. The cats loved visitors they knew, like Lucy and Alyssa’s parents, but they always hid from strangers. They probably wouldn't come out until a couple hours after Derek was gone.

  “Aha! There it is.” Alyssa plucked the yearbook off the top of the wardrobe and turned to Derek, but he wasn't there.

  “Derek?” she called.

  No answer.

  Alyssa went into the hallway and looked up and down. Where had he gone? Right before she called for him again, the door to the guest bathroom opened and he stepped out.

  “Hey,” he said. “Sorry. I saw the bathroom there and figured I’d pop in.”

  “Yeah, that’s cool.” Alyssa handed him the yearbook. “I finally found it.”

  “Sweet. Thanks.” Derek held the book at arm’s length and looked at the cover with a slight smile on. “Man, those were the days. You know?”

  “Not really,” Alyssa honestly answered.

  Derek opened the book and flipped through some pages. “Ah. Here we go. I thought this was here.”

  “What?” Alyssa shuffled a little closer to him. She hadn’t looked at any of her yearbooks in ages.

  “Us.” Derek pointed.

  Sure enough, there they were. It was a photo taken during a class trip to the planetarium. Everyone stood on the street outside, and Derek had his arm around Alyssa’s shoulders. To her right, her friend Piper stuck her tongue out at the camera.

  “Nice bangs,” Alyssa commented, unable to resist the jab. His bangs—stick straight, compared to the rest of his wavy hair—were thick and fell all the way to his eyes in the photo.

  “Hey! They were in style, then.”

  “I know.” She laughed. “And apparently, so were ripped jeans.” She tapped herself in the picture.

  “We look happy,” Derek said.

  “We were kids,” Alyssa mused. “Months away from graduation. We thought we were going to rule the world.”

  “And you do,” Derek said.

  The statement was so surprising, Alyssa stepped back and stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, come on, Lyss. You’re marrying a sheikh. You live in this apartment that has to cost, what?” He gestured at the space around him. “Ten million?”

  Alyssa’s jaw tightened. She didn’t know how much the place had cost Ali. All she knew was that she was very grateful to have it.

  “I’d hardly call that ruling the world,” she told Derek.

  “But he does. Or part of it, anyway.”

  “He’s not a ruler,” Alyssa said, explaining the situation for what felt like the millionth time. “And he never will be.”

  “He lives like one, though.”

  When Alyssa didn’t answer, Derek put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Hey,” he said softly. “I’m not trying to put you on the spot. I only think it’s great that you’re happy. You’ve found yourself a nice man. You seem like you’re doing good, and I’m glad. Especially since, you know…”

  “Since what?” Alyssa asked.

  “I was such a jerk to you in high school.”

  Alyssa struggled to answer, but there were no words. Was Derek apologizing?

  “You were only really a jerk at the end,” Alyssa said once she’d found a thought.

  Derek laughed and looked down. “I assume you're referring to the break-up.”

  “What else?”

  “Yeah, that was…” Derek rubbed the back of his neck. “Not my best moment.”

  Without warning, a tenderness filled Alyssa's chest. She’d told herself the day before that she needed to give Derek the benefit of the doubt. When he showed up that evening, however, she had found it way too easy to revert to past resentments. Over a decade had gone by. Wouldn't it be crazy to think Derek was still the same person?

  Alyssa smiled. “Okay, full disclosure?”

  His eyes lit up. “Please.”

  “I’ve kind of held that against you.”

  “I don’t blame you.” Derek shook his head. “I was an ass.”

  “But why?” Alyssa asked. “Why did you break up with me in front of everyone?”

  “I guess I was just scared. I knew that with an audience, I wouldn’t have to explain myself properly.” Derek ran his fingers through his hair. “Lame, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Alyssa said. “Considerably so.”

  Derek gave her an uncertain look. “Do you forgive me?”

  “Depends. Are you apologizing?”

  “Absolutely,” Derek said without any hesitation. “Alyssa Cambridge, I am so sorry for being a—”

  “That’s enough,” Alyssa said with a laugh. “You don't have to get into calling yourself names.”

  “I don't?” Derek's lips quirked into a grin. “And how did you know I was planning on doing that?”

  Alyssa shrugged. “Just a guess.”

  “Hey, did I sign this thing?” Derek flipped forward to the front, and Alyssa kept quiet, allowing him to answer his own question.

  “Huh.” Leaving the front pages, Derek found his senior portrait on its class page. “I guess I didn’t.”

  “Nope.”

  “Loser,” Derek said. “I was a total loser.”

  “I thought you weren’t gonna call yourself names,” Alyssa pointed out.

  Derek chuckled. “True.”

  “So, what’s this story you’re working on?” Alyssa asked. “The one you need the yearbook for.”

  Derek looked uncomfortable. “Well, it’s not fully realized yet. I’m just kicking it around as an idea. I want to look at my relationships in high school and compare them to the ones I have now. Kind of a memoir. A piece on self-exploration.”

  “That’s cool,” Alyssa said. “Where would you publish that?”

  “I don’t really know yet.” Derek looked away and nodded at a photograph on the wall. “Wow, your dad looks different.”

  Alyssa followed his gaze and found the family portrait that had been taken of her and her parents two years earlier. “You mean older,” she clarified.

  “Er…”

  “It’s okay,” Alyssa said with a laugh. “He’s always joking about what an old man he’s become in the last five years. His hair went gray practically overnight.”

  Derek touched his hair self-consciously. “I hope that doesn’t happen to me.”

  “You probably know how to use hair dye.” Alyssa chuckled. “My dad tried once, blackened his neck, and swore it off forever.”

  “I’m surprised he told you that.”

  “He didn’t. My mom did.”

  “Ah.” Derek nodded knowingly. “Good old Mrs. Cambridge.”

  A mew sounded from the front of the hall, and Ralph appeared in the doorway.

  “Cute cat,” Derek said.

  “He’s hungry,” Alyssa answered. “I’m surprised he came out, even though it is his dinner time. He’s usually afraid of people he doesn’t know.”

  Gambit, only a little over half Ralph’s size, appeared next to him. Tail up, he rubbed himself along the length of the older cat.

  “I should feed them,” Alyssa said. She paused, and then, because she didn’t want to push Derek away, added, “Want to come with?”

  “Sure.”

  In the kitchen, Marnie was busy cooking. Alyssa cracked open two cans of cat food, scraped the contents into the cats’ little dishes, and set the meals on the floor. The animals hurried forward right away.

  Alyssa glanced at Marnie. She felt bad about being so hot-headed with Derek before and she wanted to make it up to him, but she also didn’t want to have a personal conversation in front of someone else.

  “Want a tour of the place?” Alyssa asked.

  “Absolutely.” Derek gestured forward. “Lead on.”

  Taking him to the living room, she spread her arm wide. “Living room.”

  “Do you play?” Derek asked, nodding at the piano.

  “No, but Ali does some.”

  “Is he good?”

  “Yeah. He doesn’t play much, though. His parents made him take lessons when he was a kid, and now he just kind of fiddles around on it. He doesn’t like music to be structured, now.”

  “Makes sense.”

  Alyssa briefly showed him the bedrooms and the library.

  “That’s basically it,” she said, stopping in the library—the smallest room in the apartment, aside from the bathrooms. “There’s not really anything that exciting.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Derek lightly touched a faded book spine. “This is a first edition of The Catcher in the Rye.”

  “It’s one of Ali’s favorites.”

  “He seems well-rounded.”

  Alyssa took a seat in the cushioned window bench. “He was raised to be.”

  Derek settled into the wingback chair in the corner, and, with a start, Alyssa realized she was hanging out with her ex-boyfriend, a person who she had resented for years. She’d let go of the negativity she’d held about him for so long and—holy moly—it felt good.

  “What about you?” Alyssa asked, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

  “What about me? Am I well-rounded?”

  “I was just wondering about your life. You're married, now. You have a baby. What's that like?”

  Alyssa held her breath, extremely interested in his answer. It wouldn't be long before the whole marriage-and-baby package deal was hers.

  “Amazing,” Derek said. “My family is the best thing I ever started. Actually, speaking of it, we have a second one on the way.”

  “Really? Derek, that's great. When?”

  “In about six months.”

  Alyssa thought about the baby of her own just starting to grow inside of her, and a part of her wanted to share the good news with Derek, but she couldn't. So far, only Lucy knew. Until Ali found out, it wouldn't be right for Alyssa to tell anyone else.