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Chapter 1, Unraveled

Chloe

There was a reason I hadn’t been back to my hometown in sixteen years.

Sixteen life-changing years. Yet as I approached the town limits of Dragonfly Lake on this brisk, drizzly March morning, there it was. That familiar feeling slid into my gut like an acid bath, sucking my self-confidence out of me and threatening to turn me back into an insecure girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

The ancient wooden sign that read “Welcome to Picturesque Dragonfly Lake, Population: More than a Couple Dozen”—hand-carved by Anna Delfico’s grandfather long before the population had grown to more than a few thousand on a good summer weekend—came into view. I sat up straighter and steeled myself.

I glanced down at my armor—high-dollar, designer-label, tailored black pants, silky cream-colored blouse, the trench coat that’d cost more than my monthly rent, and especially the red-soled, black ankle boots—and muttered out loud, “You’re not that girl anymore.”

My silver Lexus ES 350 was further proof, considering my ride out of Dragonfly Lake all those years ago had been in the passenger seat of my friend Holden Henry’s beat-up old puke-green Chevy Impala.

My boss, Angelica Marks, had summoned me to a construction site meeting with no concern for my Monday schedule or my to-do list that never seemed to get any shorter. I was fine with the to-do list and the schedule and was used to doing whatever Angelica required. It was part of my job as the executive vice president of development for Marks International Hotels, a job I mostly loved.

My relationship with Angelica was not so clear-cut. On the one hand, she was a difficult person. Demanding, a perfectionist, with a cold edge to her personality that didn’t encourage close personal ties. She expected the utmost from her employees, but I couldn’t fault her for that. Those expectations were why she led a billion-dollar boutique hotel development company with sixty-two exclusive properties around the globe. She’d built up Marks International from nothing, and despite her less-than-warm personality, she inspired loyalty and hard work from her minions. My assistant, Bethany, was holding down the fort for me in the Nashville office, as curious as I was about why Angelica needed to talk in person.

All that aside, I owed Angelica for everything I had. Which was why, when she’d texted me at six forty-nine a.m., asking me to make the hour-plus drive to the jobsite at Dragonfly Lake, I’d told her I’d be there by eight thirty.

Scanning the muddy lot, I located the trailer that had been Angelica’s temporary home office for the past several months, parked my car, headed up the three steps, and went inside.

I expected to find my boss rattling off orders to her assistant, Sabrina, or with a phone to her ear, giving someone a silent glare that somehow transmitted over the line. Instead, she sat at the desk, alone, staring off into the distance, rubbing her chin pensively with one hand.

Weird.

Angelica was a lot of things, but pensive wasn’t one of them. She was all about action. Getting shit done and done right. Yesterday.

“Good morning,” I said.

She jerked toward me, as if she hadn’t heard me come in. Also out of character.

“Good morning, Chloe. Have a seat.” She offered what I’d almost call a smile. It didn’t really reach her eyes, but still, usually she didn’t even try, and I tilted my head, thinking, What the hell is going on?

“No notes,” Angelica said, sounding… restrained. Serious. She was always serious as a heart attack, but today she was… morose.

“What’s going on?” I prompted when she didn’t immediately speak up.

She pivoted, the move efficient and precise. I heard her inhale, then she said, “On Friday, I was diagnosed with an aggressive type of brain cancer.”

My heart stopped. My brows shot up, and my mouth gaped open as that sank in. I tried to swallow my fear on her behalf and watched her, waiting for her to tell me it wasn’t so, but of course, if it wasn’t, those words would never have crossed her lips. She wasn’t one to joke around. Her face gave no hint of emotion.

“I’m… God, Angelica. I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“I’m taking this week to organize, and I’ll be out indefinitely starting next Monday.” I was still playing catch-up in my head when she continued, “I want you to take over the Dragonfly Lake project, effective as soon as you can get your team prepped to cover for you.”

“Of course,” I said on autopilot. Her wish, my command. Never mind that it was a giant honor to step in as the leader of this project—of any project—in her stead. I’d process that later, after the whole cancer bombshell took hold.

“I never thought I’d have to consider what to do with my life’s endeavor at age forty-eight,” Angelica continued. “I’ve always planned to work until I’m eighty.”

I nodded. I’d heard her say she had no intention of ever retiring. She thrived on her work, lived for it. Put everything she had into it. She was an inspiration to me, regardless of her less-than-warm personality.

“I spent the weekend thinking.” She let out another humorless laugh. “So much damn thinking, and none of it happy thoughts. Let me tell you, Chloe, it sucks to look at your own life from a new perspective and realize how much you’ve screwed up.”

“I don’t think you’ve screw—”

“I’ve lived my life all wrong,” she insisted in that tone that brooked no arguments. “I’ve put every last drop of my focus into this company. I’ve loved it more than any man in my life, nurtured it the way most women nurture a child, put all my hopes and dreams into it.”

“You know I’ve always admired your dedication,” I said.

She was shaking her head, still looking off into the distance. “It was all wrong. I was wrong. I should’ve made time for a family, should’ve let myself fall in love, get married, have children. Because as it stands, I have no heirs to leave my life’s work to. This is my legacy”—she spread her arms to encompass the portable office, but I knew she meant the whole company—“and… who cares?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to assure her that I cared, but she went on, picking up steam.

“I’m worth nearly a billion dollars, a billion fucking dollars, Chloe, and I’ve got no one to share that with. My company is worth even more, and I have no family to will it to. No children to carry on my endeavors. All these years, I knew what I was giving up. There were moments when I was lonely, when I would’ve liked to have someone there for me, with me, but instead I chose to give everything I have to this company. But guess what? This company won’t be there to hold my hand when my hair falls out. No flesh and blood of mine will be there to see that my life’s work goes anywhere. And all of a sudden, with that doctor’s words on Friday…” She shook her head, and her voice went quieter. “All of a sudden, that matters to me, Chloe.”

I sucked in a shaky breath, stunned by what she said and, I could admit, a little twitchy at the fact that I had a similar take on work. But this wasn’t about me, and I was only thirty-four anyway.

My boss shook her head and sat up straighter, finally looking directly at me, as if coming out of a fugue. “After deliberating for the past forty-eight hours, I’ve decided to leave Marks International to one of two people. Either Gloria or you. I’ll be straight with you, though, Chloe… I’m leaning hard toward Gloria.”

I bit down on my lip, literally to keep from saying the first thing that came to mind.

I tilted my head and waited for her to say more.

Angelica shot a half grin my way and said, “I can hear your thoughts, Ms. Abrams. You’re wondering why. What Gloria has that you don’t.”

Pretty much. I nodded succinctly.

“You’re my best worker,” she said. “There’s no question. You’re my workhorse, my go-to, my office mate on the weekends. But to give you this company would guarantee you’d continue to make the same mistakes I’ve made. All work, nothing else worthwhile in your life. And yes, you have the right to make those decisions for yourself, but I don’t have to be an accomplice anymore. I won’t be.”

“Gloria leaves by six o’clock every night,” I pointed out, beyond biting down on my lip now.

“To go home to her family. She has balance in her life, like you and I have never had. She works her butt off for ten hours a day and then she goes home to recharge.”

“You’re punishing me for being hardworking?”

“Not punishing. Trying to help you in my possibly misguided way. But I’m the boss. I can do that.” Her tone was closer to her usual pre-cancer-diagnosis one. “When was the last time you had a relationship with a man, Chloe?”

I didn’t bother to reply because she knew the answer. I didn’t do relationships. I did flings, hookups, and a lot of solo nights. By choice. But it was my choice, dammit, and it should be considered a positive attribute, not a weakness.

“When was the last time you even went on a date?”

Holden, my friend from childhood, came to mind, because two weeks ago, he’d taken me to his dad’s wedding as his plus-one. We were just friends, regardless of the fact that I’d had a thing for him since high school, but…

“The guy I went to the wedding with a couple of weeks ago? We’ve been… seeing each other.”

If you called texting back and forth like we always had seeing each other. But this wasn’t hurting anyone. In fact, Holden never needed to know. Probably. And if he did, well, I’d figure that out when I needed to, but he was a good guy, and he’d likely play along if necessary.

Angelica narrowed her eyes at me, and it made me want to squirm. Luckily I was also well versed in resisting the squirm urge.

“What’s the name of this man?”

“Holden Henry. He lives here in Dragonfly Lake. I’ve known him since grade school, and something just… clicked at the wedding.”

Not exactly a lie, if clicking could be one-sided and if you overlooked the fact that it’d been years since my initial one-sided “clicking” with Holden.

She studied me silently for several seconds that stretched out tautly. “Is it serious?”

“I’ve never felt like this about anyone else.” That was completely true, pathetic or not, but in this moment, it served me well.

Angelica brought her steepled hands to her face and pressed her index fingers to her lower lip thoughtfully. Assessing. My gaze didn’t waver.

“You can bring him to the anniversary dinner Friday night.” She frowned. “Likely my last. I’d like to meet this gentleman.”

Her tone didn’t give me an opening to argue or hedge.

Holden had said he owed me one for being his wedding date. I hadn’t taken him seriously at the time, but now… it looked like I might take him up on it. I just hoped he was free.

Telling him about my little mistruth to my boss would be embarrassing, but if I knew him, he’d laugh it off, give me a hard time, then play along if at all possible.

Please let it be possible.

Because as much as I’d wanted Holden over the years, I’d always wanted even more to one day take over for Angelica. I’d never once imagined it could be this soon, but I was capable and ready when needed; there wasn’t a doubt in my mind. Contrary to Angelica’s belief, I did care as much as any heir or offspring could. In fact, I cared more. Like she’d said, I lived exactly like her, giving this company my all.

And since it wasn’t hurting anyone, I would happily pretend Holden and I had a serious relationship if it gave me a better chance of being the one Angelica chose to take her life’s work into the future.

I just needed to find a way to break it to him.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "A sexy, funny, & touching story. I loved it from the very first page."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Steamy, brilliant writing, amazing storyline. Perfection!"