Like the stalker who’d been hassling me with anonymous social media messages, disturbing videos, and had escalated to infiltrating my house. I still didn’t know who the person was, but that shouldn’t matter, since they’d surely never follow me halfway around the world—assuming they’d be able to locate me in the first place.

Not that the stalker was the reason I’d decided to return to Destiny Falls. They—and my friend, Gray—had just prompted me to look at my life, and I hadn’t liked what I’d seen. Beneath the glitz and glam, I wasn’t happy. Hadn’t been in a long time. Blair, Mina, Joel, and Jamie had all moved out, so for once, I’d been able to put myself first and come back to the place my heart had yearned for since the accident that changed everything.

Back to the man I’d never stopped loving.

I didn’t know anything about Liam’s life now. He could be married with kids. He might have moved away, although I highly doubted it. He’d always been so determined to stay in Destiny Falls. Even if he was single and still in town, he probably wouldn’t want anything to do with me. But I was no stranger to adversity. I’d raised my half-siblings when I wasn’t much more than a child myself. I wasn’t afraid of working hard for forgiveness and a second chance.

I pulled onto a side road and followed it for a couple of blocks until I arrived at the cottage I used to rent from Grace Smith, a woman a couple of years older than me. I scanned the outside. The weathered boards were the same shade of white they used to be, with no sign of wear and tear. Perhaps they’d been repainted over the years, or maybe Grace had simply maintained them in pristine condition. The door was a muted green with a metal flap for letters to be pushed through and an old-fashioned brass ringer. The tiled roof had the same cozy appeal that had once drawn me to it. In short, it looked like I’d never left.

Pocketing the keys, I got out of the car and headed for the main house. As far as I could tell, Grace still ran the operation here. I’d made my booking through an automated online system under a different name—partly because I was worried she’d cancel it if she knew who I really was and partly because it was just good sense to do that as a celebrity. Hopefully Grace wouldn’t be too angry about the deception. I paused for a moment to gather my courage, then pressed the doorbell. I could hear it ring through the house, and I gnawed on my lower lip, preparing for a hostile welcome.