I’d been drawn to Easton because he was self-confident, easygoing, and rarely flustered. He enjoyed life and didn’t worry much about his future. I was the opposite. I’d vowed to make something of myself. I’d show my parents. They told me I’d never be anything but a failure and would end up barefoot and pregnant by the time I was eighteen. How prophetic.

I had ended up pregnant and neither parent had been the least bit supportive. My father told me to get an abortion, and my mother booted me out of the house. She didn’t want any screaming brats underfoot. I was on my own, except for Mark. He stepped up and married me, rescuing me from a fate I’d sworn never to succumb to.

Mark loved the kids, probably more than me. He didn’t bat an eye when we found out I was having twins. The prospect excited him. His parents were hugely supportive, unlike mine, who to this day had never shown any interest in meeting their grandchildren.

Those early days had been wonderful. I’d loved Mark, not with the white-hot passion I’d had with Easton, but with an easy, secure love. We’d been happy together. I adored his parents. They’d been supportive and loving toward the twins. I saw them as role models of good parenting.

The last couple years hadn’t been bad, but looking back, I’d been complacent and in a rut. I gave up my dreams and busted my ass trying to be the good little wife and measuring up to my own high expectations. I was a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. That alone was a huge strike against me in my opinion, not that Mark or his parents cared one damn bit, but I did. Being that girl had always defined me and driven me to be the best, whether it was student, mother, or wife.

“Hey, penny for your thoughts?”

I blinked a few times, focusing on Easton. He held out a copper penny. I shrugged. No way in hell was I discussing my innermost secrets with him.

“You were so deep in thought, you didn’t hear a thing I said.”

“I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“Let’s see how things go for the next few months, then we’ll decide on a permanent agreement.”

“I like that idea.” The skeptic in me wondered what his angle was. Throughout my life, the people who were supposed to love me used me for their own selfish gain. I hadn’t gone to college because Mark had asked me to wait until the kids were in school. I hadn’t paid attention to finances because Mark insisted on taking care of everything. I hadn’t done anything for me because of an underlying belief I wasn’t good enough.

I refused to play the victim though. I’d learned my lessons. This time no one would manipulate me or guilt me into doing things that didn’t benefit my life or my children’s lives, even if that person was Easton.