Past the skyscraper, we entered a stretch of rolling, wooded hills that eventually opened up to a view of a quaint town that looked straight out of one of the TV shows I’d loved as a teen. There was a river running through the main sprawl, a town center that was packed with cute shops and stores, and a gradual spread of residential houses radiating out from the town center.

Once I got over how pretty it all was, I felt my heart start pounding. This felt like game time. The week of the wedding was the part I’d really dreaded since the moment I knew my ruse with Dean was going to go public. My family was all going to be here, and the level of scrutiny on us was going to ramp up dramatically.

Worst case? My mom was going to disown me and write a New York Times Bestselling autobiography about how her daughter ruined her life. Granted, my mom could barely compose an email, but it was possible. Or maybe my dad would see straight through the lie and try to choke Dean out. My brother, Merrick, might forbid me from ever seeing his family or kids again. I’d ruin Lizzie’s wedding, and my family would remove me from the will. All twenty dollars worth of goods I was set to inherit? Gone.

Dean reached over and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. “Hey,” he said softly. “You’ve got this. I have your back, okay? Just stick by me and I’ll make sure we’re good.”

I felt a little of the anxiety drain out of me and once again marveled at how much calmer Dean helped me to feel. It was almost supernatural. Even my time in therapy had only given me methods that masked the anxiety. It never fully felt like it was gone–more like I could learn to ignore the panic bells going off in my mind. Something as simple as Dean’s touch and reassurance actually felt like a salve for it. I could feel the anxiety retreating because I really did trust him. I believed he’d make it okay, and I sure as hell was going to miss that when this was all over.

“Thanks,” I said softly.

He smiled and drove us up to a little place where we were going to be staying along with Lizzie, Jonas, and my family.

We headed down well-maintained roads until we were on Fairhope’s Main Street. Happy people were out and about with smiles on their faces. I saw a young mother with two kids heading into an old-style theater. There was a small squad of old men in old-fashioned clothes sitting in chairs outside a restaurant just shooting the shit, from the looks of it. Two women were cracking up about something while they stood with grocery bags in hand.

Quaint was definitely the word for it. Looking around made me feel transported back to a more wholesome time. It definitely wasn’t Manhattan, where everybody was clearly in their own world with their own things to do. The people here saw each other. It was a community. A pulse of warmth from deep in my chest washed over me as I looked out at the town through the window. It felt like home, even though I’d never been here before.