The woman narrowed her eyes at Serena, “Ain’t you the girl that’s banging Freddie?”

  Serena paused and turned to face the woman whose smile was now more of a snarl. Enough is enough, she thought. She couldn’t help it. She held up her ring hand and wiggled her finger, causing the giant diamonds to glint in the sunlight. “We’re engaged.”

  The woman stepped back like she had been slapped, then grinned an evil yellow smile. “Ha. Good luck with that,” she said. “Wait, I’ve got something for you.” She turned and reached into her car. “These are your fiance’s; he left them in my bedroom.” She handed Serena a pair of sunglasses. The same sunglasses Freddie had worn to the premiere. “You’re not so special, sweetheart.”

  Serena’s mouth gaped open. She couldn’t believe that Freddie had been with this woman. “W-when did he forget these in your… your…” she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

  “Bedroom? Is that the word your pretty little head is looking for? Oh, just a couple of days ago.”

  Serena felt like all the air had just been sucked from her lungs. In Charlotte’s story, Freddie’s womanizing ways were in his past, not staring her right in the face.

  “Thanks,” she muttered and accepted the sunglasses.

  She was only two blocks away from Freddie’s house, but instead of running into his arms, she walked down the alley and tossed the breakfast sandwiches into the dumpster.

  She crouched, her back against the brick wall and cried silently into her hands. He knew the ramifications for breaking the contract. How could he? If he were caught with someone else, they would lose their deal with Sidney’s and potentially be sued. And the idea of Freddie being with that woman made her want to retch. Was Serena the laughing stock of the town, a joke?

  She wiped away the tears and marched back to Bristlecombe, still in shock that her fake boyfriend had cheated on her. Her anger grew until fury was pulsing through her veins. She burst into Freddie’s house, slamming the door open, the knob denting the drywall. Freddie and Logan were standing in the kitchen and both snapped their heads toward the commotion.

  “Hi, Sweetheart,” Logan said.

  “Hey,” she snapped.

  She brushed by the brothers and locked herself in the bedroom. She grabbed the pillow from the bed and buried her face into it, letting the sobs escape into the feathers. They came quick and hard before the anger returned. She paced the bedroom, waiting for Logan to leave so she could confront Freddie.

  The sliding doors opened and closed. She heard Logan and Freddie’s muffled voices from the back deck and it sounded like they were arguing. She tiptoed into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. The bathroom window was open a crack and from there, she could hear their entire hushed conversation.

  She sat down on the closed toilet seat, leaned her head on the window frame, and held her breath as she strained to hear what they were talking about.

  “I can’t believe you’re being so stupid,” the deeper voice, Logan’s, said.

  “I love her,” Freddie replied.

  What a liar. She thought to herself. No wonder she fell for his façade. Even now, he sounded genuine.

  “Why?” Logan said and Serena heard the disgust in his tone. “You have nothing in common.” Serena had to agree with this point. “She’s pretty but as smart as that rock over there. Looks fade. Trust me.”

  Serena screwed up her face. She wanted to burst out onto the back deck and slap Logan. How dare he say that she was dumb. He hadn’t even given her a chance or said more than two words to her. He was the brute hockey player.

  “She’s more than looks.” Serena’s heart jumped a half a beat. Freddie was defending her. “She’s actually really smart.”

  Logan grunted loudly. “You could’ve fooled me. She only cares about what her life looks like on that damn screen. She’s vacuous Freddie.”

  “Vacuous?” Serena hated Logan but was secretly impressed by his vocabulary. Her body was tense as she waited for Freddie’s rebuttal.

  “Maybe she is. But do you want me to be with someone like Stacy?”

  “She’d be better for you.”

  Freddie didn’t respond.

  That was enough. Serena grabbed her toiletry bag, marched into the bedroom, and tossed her clothes into her suitcase. Rage surged through her body as she zipped up the bulging luggage. As she trundled out of the house, she glanced to sliding glass doors and could see Freddie gesturing wildly with his hands. She grabbed her car keys, took off her engagement ring since they were going to have to give it back anyway and tossed it onto the kitchen counter.

  She didn’t care about the fallout. She had to break up with her fake fiancé, for real.

  Twenty-One

  Freddie’s face was red, his blood pressure through the roof as he held his raging temper at bay. He wanted to yell at his brother, push him against the railing, and tell him that he was wrong about Serena. He knew that she was the one for him, even if they had only been pretending. Hell, he wanted to scream it from the rooftops.

  Freddie got it. All Logan saw was his brother jumping into something too fast. But from the moment he pulled Serena into the canoe, he knew that she was the one. If they had been dating for real, that would’ve been the exact moment he decided she needed to be his wife. They just had to get through the next month with all the scrutiny from their friends and family. Then the truth could come out and Logan could grow to accept Serena as his sister-in-law.

  “Under those pretty eyes and big tits, there’s nothing. The woman is empty inside.”

  “You need to leave,” Freddie said.

  “You’re picking her?” Logan replied and leaned against the wooden railing. “Over me?”

  Freddie sighed. “I’m not ‘picking’ anyone. I love Serena. She’s got a whole hell of a lot more going on than you know about. You just have to give her a chance.”

  “Just call it off and I’ll think about it.”

  “Call what off?” Freddie said, even though he knew exactly what Logan was talking about. But they couldn’t call the whole thing off without losing all the money.

  “The engagement. That’s the only way I’ll give that twit a chance. Otherwise, you don’t have my support. I won’t go to your bachelor party. I won’t go to your wedding. I’m not going to have anything to do with you until you get your head on straight, Freddie.”

  “Are you serious?” Freddie was shocked.

  “I know that the pickings here are slim, Fred. What about Megan’s sister? That Ariel girl. You two seemed cozy at the wedding.”

  “She was sweet, but she’s going to college in the fall.” And she’s not Serena.

  “So? Your fiancée lives hours away. You should do the long-distance thing with the college girl. That would be way more fun.” He smiled, his attempt to lighten the mood failing miserably.

  “I’m done with that kind of fun. Logan, if you can’t accept the fact that I’m in love with Serena and we’re engaged, then you need to leave and come back when you can.”

  Freddie didn’t want Logan to leave. He loved having him back in his life and hoped that he would call his bluff.

  “Fine. You’ve made your bed, brother.” Logan stormed into the kitchen.

  Freddie followed, hot on his heels. “I can’t believe you’re being like this.”

  Logan looked around the house. “Where is she? Is she listening?”

  Freddie glanced around the small house, noticing that it seemed eerily quiet. The stack of makeup containers and brushes that had cluttered up his sink were gone. He glanced to the bedroom and his heart sank. There were no clothes strewn across his bed.

  “Do you think she heard us?” Freddie ran to the front window. Sure enough, her little car was gone.

  “Looks like she did,” Logan said, holding something between his thick fingers.

  Freddie’s heart stopped as he realized that Logan was holding up the engagement ring. He took two steps toward his brother and snapped the heavy diamond ring from his hand. He pointed to the door, “You need to go. NOW.”

  Logan blanched.

  “I’m sorry, Freddie. I don’t know what to –”

  “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE,” Freddie yelled and pushed Logan squarely in the chest.

  Logan looked like he was going to protest but then turned and left, closing the door gently behind him.

  Freddie picked up his phone and dialed Serena. He was so confused. What the hell had just happened?

  Twenty-Two

  When Charlotte arrived, Freddie was on his back deck slumped in a lounge chair, his phone clutched in his hand.

  “Where’s Serena?” Charlotte asked.

  “Ask your boyfriend.” Freddie gripped the armrests on the chair and turned to face Charlotte. “And doesn’t anyone knock anymore?”

  “I did knock… loudly,” Charlotte said, and sat down on the chair beside him. “What’s Logan got to do with this?”

  “Serena’s gone,” Freddie said, and handed the engagement ring to Charlotte.

  “Gone?” Charlotte said, and leaned forward. She examined the ring between her fingers and then handed it back to Freddie. “So the venue tour is off?”

  “No shit, Sherlock.” Freddie leaned back and closed his eyes.

  “Whoa, Freddie. You don’t get to talk to me like that,” Charlotte said, and stood up. “Unless you tell me what’s going on, I’m going to leave and only come back when you aren’t a complete and utter asshole.”

  Freddie exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry, Char. Ugh. You know I didn’t mean that.”

  “I do,” Charlotte said softly. “Now are you going to tell me what happened?”

  “I wish I knew,” Freddie said. “We were getting close, really close, but we both agreed to back off… to keep it a business arrangement. I thought that she was okay with that. I guess she wasn’t.” He sighed. “It’s crazy, Charlotte. I told her I wanted it to be business, but deep down, I don’t know, I… I’ve…” he paused, feeling ridiculous.

  “Fallen in love with her,” Charlotte finished his sentence.

  “Yeah,” Freddie sat up and stared at Charlotte. “How did you know?”

  Charlotte paused, longer than Freddie would have liked. “I had a feeling,” she said quietly.

  “I thought that she might, you know, feel the same way about me.”

  Charlotte nodded and Freddie continued. “She left to go get breakfast this morning and when she came back everything had changed.”

  “That’s weird,” Charlotte said. “I talked to her at the café. She said that we were still on for this afternoon.”

  “She did?” Freddie asked. “Because she came in back here in a rage.”

  “And what did she say? Something must’ve happened on her way home from the café.”

  “She didn’t have the chance to say anything. My brother, your boyfriend, was here telling me that I was making the worst mistake of my life and that she was a vacuumous twit.”

  Charlotte raised her eyebrows. “I think you mean vacuous. Did she hear?”

  “She must have. We were out here on the deck, but the bathroom window was open,” Freddie pointed to the small window. “And when we came back in, she was gone and the ring was on the counter.”

  “Oh, no,” Charlotte said. “What else did you guys say out there?”

  “I mean, Logan was being Logan.”

  Charlotte grunted and nodded. “Mmmhmmm.”

  “I defended her. I told him that if he couldn’t support our engagement—”

  “Your fake engagement,” Charlotte clarified.

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t know that,” Freddie replied. “I told him he wasn’t welcome here or in my life at all.”

  “Are you sure that’s all you said?” Charlotte asked. “Maybe she doesn’t want to come in between you and your brother.”

  “Maybe,” Freddie hadn’t thought of it that way. “But then why wouldn’t she wait and tell me? And why won’t she answer any of my calls?” He shook his cell phone. “I’ve been trying her since she left.”

  “Could she be in the pass? In the cell dead zone?”

  “I thought of that.” Freddie rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. “But she’d be on the other side of the mountains by now. And I can see that she’s read my messages.”

  “That’s really weird,” Charlotte agreed with Freddie. “If she left the ring, does that mean she wants out of the agreement? I mean, that’s kind of a shitty thing to do. You guys have come so far. To just walk away from that kind of money seems pretty crazy.”

  “I know. Especially, because of her dad.”

  “What about her dad?” Charlotte asked.

  Freddie told Charlotte all about the crash, how Serena’s dad was in a coma and she was using every cent she made from her job to pay for new treatments, and that the Sidney’s money was all going to his medical needs. He also told her about Serena’s drawings, her creative side. And how she dropped out of school to take care of her dad.

  “It sounds like you really respect this woman.”

  “I do.” A little laugh escaped from his lips, but trailed off into a sigh. “There’s a lot more to her. She’s not vacuous.”

  “You’re starting to sound like your brother.”

  “I had no idea what it meant until today. And Serena’s the opposite. She’s full of piss and vinegar.”

  “I don’t think that’s the opposite, but I get what you’re saying,” Charlotte smiled. “I had a conversation with her at the café. She’s really good at this marketing stuff. I would hire her.”

  “Good luck getting that girl out of the city,” Freddie said. “This is probably a good thing. I mean, better to be heartbroken now than when she decides this town is too small for her.”

  He saw Charlotte’s brow furrow. “You know, she did ask me a weird question about dressing up in a small town. Freddie, I wouldn’t let the whole city girl/country boy thing stop you from being with Serena. Look at me,” Charlotte smiled.

  “I just wish she would talk to me.”

  “Do you want me to try and get in touch with her?” Charlotte asked.

  “No. Thanks though, Charlotte,” he sighed. “I’m a big boy.”

  Charlotte stood up and smoothed out her dress. “I have to go cancel the showings. Freddie, if this is all a misunderstanding, you two will work it out. Trust me, if you’re meant to be together, you’ll be together.”

  “I wish I had your optimism.” Freddie stood up to walk Charlotte through the house and out the front door.

  “Keep me posted,” she said. As she stepped onto the front porch, they both heard a cracking sound, like glass. Charlotte bent down, “What’s this?” Freddie’s sunglass case was stuck under her stiletto heel. “Sunglasses?” she asked. “They’re ruined. I’m sorry Freddie.”

  Freddie’s mind started to race as the puzzle pieces started falling into place. “Oh no,” he said.

  “I’ll replace them,” Charlotte said. She pulled the glasses out of the case, the right lens was shattered. “Where did these come from?”

  “Oh, no,” Freddie repeated. This time a little louder. “I think I know what happened between here and the café.”

  Charlotte handed him the case. “What?”

  Freddie’s heart was in the pit of his stomach. She had a zeal for ruining people’s lives, and the last time he saw her, he had turned down her advances. Would she be jealous enough to try and ruin his life? He knew the answer. Yes.

  “Stacy. Stacy happened.”

  Twenty-Three

  Freddie spent the rest of Sunday polishing off a case of beer. The last message he sent to Serena before he blacked out into sleep simply read, Call me. I can explain.

  He felt like he had cotton balls in his mouth as he peeled his back from the leather sofa, his hangover in full force. He peered through the blinds. The sun had risen, but the skies were cloudy; a dreary Monday morning. He didn’t want to check his phone, worried that he’d have a bad response from Serena, or worse, no response. He shook his head and snatched his phone off the table. It was the latter.

  Now he was starting to get worried. What if she had crashed her car? She was angry as hell when she left. What if she was stuck in a crumpled heap of metal at the bottom of the canyon? He jumped into the shower and let the cool water wash the sweat off his body, but couldn’t get the mangled wreckage imagery out of his mind and quickly hopped out. He called Josh and asked if there had been any accidents reported between here and the valley. Although Josh hadn’t heard of any, Freddie pulled on his pants quickly intending on cruising the pass just to make sure. As he zipped his fly, his phone rang, startling him out of his catastrophic visions. He breathed out a sigh of relief. It was her.

  “Hello.”

  “Fred. It’s Serena.”

  “Oh, thank God. I was just about to head out and make sure you weren’t in a ditch somewhe…” Freddie trailed off when he realized he sounded way to eager.

  “Listen, Freddie. Charlotte went and took photos of all the wedding venues. I have more than enough content to last the next month. We don’t need to see each other ever again.”

  “But, what about business?”

  “What about it, Freddie?”

  “I thought that things were going okay. That we were going to keep doing this – as business partners.”

  She ignored him. “I was going to call it off before Charlotte stepped in with those extra photos. We can pawn that ring after I announce that we’ve decided to go our separate ways. Everyone wins. We get the money and we never have to see each other again.”

  “Wait, Serena. Listen, I can explain everything if you’ll let me.”

  “I don’t care, Freddie. You can go sleep with whomever you want now. Maybe you can find some non-vacuous Rapidian that your brother will like.”

  She had heard the conversation. “I don’t want anyone else.”

  “Actions speak louder than words, my friend. Goodbye.”

  The phone clicked off and Freddie stared at the black screen.

  He pushed on the button to return the call, but as it was ringing he realized that he didn’t want another long-distance relationship. When Serena picked up, she sounded more irritated than before. He held his thumb over the red hang-up icon on the screen.