Then he said, “I knew this was a mistake. I met a woman, and she was perfect for me. Sunny personality, great family, famous for reasons that weren’t lurid. And best of all, she’d had a crush on me for years. She’d written me all these Christmas cards, and they were the highlight of my years—not the month, but the whole damn year. Her cards were what I looked forward to the most in life. So when I finally met my secret admirer, I should have been ecstatic.”

I stared at him, so confused. It sounded like he was talking about me. But the details were off…

“But am I back in Virginia with her. Romancing her like she deserves? No! For some reason, I decided to come up here to you and sabotage it. What was I thinking, betraying Shelby like that?”

Wait a minute. He wasn’t talking about me. He was talking about Shelby. Shelby Summers. My worst enemy.

But how? Why?

The answer dropped down on me like a boulder along with the memory of the note from Dante that Shelby, not he, had written.

Shelby Summers had somehow found out about my Christmas cards and claimed to be Josh’s secret admirer. Of course, she had. A woman like Shelby was the opposite of me. I was dark and small, the kind of timid creature who’d hide in the cave of my secret love for years. Meanwhile, she was blonde and golden as the sun.

Of course, she’d claim the Christmas cards I’d written as hers. She’d do anything to win.

Words vibrated in my throat, aching to get out. But the memory of something Josh had said stopped.

“She’s perfect for me,” he’d said.

And he was right. I couldn’t bear politicking outside of speechwriting, but Shelby would fit right into his political life. She’d look and act perfectly on the arm of a U.S. Senator. And having a celebrity for a girlfriend would be enough to flip his state seat—Josh wouldn’t even need me to write his speeches.

I wanted Josh to be happy. I wanted that even more than his love. And if he wanted to follow his father’s plan….

The truth, my only defense, crawled back down my throat and hid away, just like I had for years.

Josh stared at me for a moment, like he was expecting me to be brave—or at least try to explain my actions.

But after I just stood there saying nothing else in my defense, he gave me a disgusted look. Then he grabbed his suitcase and slammed out of the cabin.

And all that Roberta Flack music? It came to a dead stop.

Chapter Seven

Dearest Taneisha