“I’ll see Wink again,” Christina said bravely. “It’s only right that she’s with her mother.”

She looked around her darling shop. It was rather chaotic. She needed to organize the toys. But for a moment, she allowed herself to admit that she missed Wink. Maybe someday she’d have a daughter of her own…

She was getting moody. She considered texting Andy or even calling him just to hear his voice, but she knew she needed to sit down, eat lunch, and drink some coffee if she was going to make it through the rest of the day. So she picked up her handsome briefcase, which held only her wallet, her phone, a bottle of water, and a humble peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She stepped outside, locked her door, and looked up at the sky. Not a cloud. Too bad. It was cold enough to snow. It must be way below freezing, she thought. She’d ask Jacob. He’d know.

She set off down the wharf toward Mimi’s shed, feeling quite fabulous in her red coat and knee-high red leather boots. She wished Andy could see her now!

And there, about thirty steps away, was Andy! He wore his black wool coat with a red and white striped muffler around his throat. He waved at her with gloved hands.

“Andy!” she called, waving back, and only then did she notice the woman next to him.

She was a very noticeable woman, over six feet tall in her knee-high black patent leather boots, a black suede coat with fur trim at the cuffs and hem, and an enormous Cossack fur hat. Her green eyes glittered over swooping cheekbones, and her mouth was a plump bow.

Anastasiya Belousova.

Andy’s ex-girlfriend. Obviously not so ex.

Christina’s heart sank right to her toes. She forced herself to keep smiling, she wouldn’t let herself seem hurt that Anastasiya was there, but—

With a crack and a roar, the world exploded. In an instant, the bricks beneath Christina’s feet split apart as a powerful geyser blasted upward, drenching her with icy water and knocking her to the ground.

“AAAAH!” she screamed as her back hit the bricks and her feet flew into the air, shoved upward by the powerful fountain.

“Look, Mommy, that lady fell down,” a little boy said. “Maybe a whale is spouting under her.”

“Don’t go near her, Georgie, you might get wet.”

“But I want to see!”

“Hold my hand and we’ll stand over here.”

“It’s a broken water main,” a man yelled. “Call the DPW!”

Harriet popped out of her shop. “Christina!” she called. “Are you all right?”