Now, he’s marrying someone who isn’t me, and I’m still stuck in Nowhereville, Georgia, running my dead mother’s bakery. Suddenly I begin to wonder how different things could have been if she’d never fallen sick. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it over the years, but now the what could’ve beens are as real as my broken heart.

“So? Will you do it?”

Realizing I haven’t been listening, I glance up from the wooden planks at my feet, meeting his hopeful blue eyes, and he offers me a knowing smirk. “Our wedding cake! Will you please make it?” He nudges me playfully with his elbow. “I know it’s late notice, but I always did love your cooking.”

So, not only has he flitted into town on a whim to tell me he’s marrying another woman, he also wants me to make his damn wedding cake? I … I … I can’t even. I swear, it takes everything I have not to give him a piece of my mind. But the longer I gape at him, finding nothing but innocence and sincerity within his eyes, the more I know I have no way of saying anything but yes to this boy. I’ve never been able to say no to him, and I can’t start now.

“Of course.” I smile with a nod. And then, because I need to get the hell away from him, I glance down at my watch, not even really paying attention to the time. “Actually, I have to get back to the store,” I say all flustered and pathetic. “A customer is coming by to pick up their order.”

“Okay.” Nash grins. “I have to head into Chelmer to pick Anna up from the airport.”

At the mention of her my stomach twists at just how real this whole situation is.

“We’re having a small get-together tomorrow night at the club.”

“The club?” I ask, quirking a brow.

“Harrington Country Club.” He nods. “That’s where we’re staying for the week to prepare for the wedding.”

My face scrunches up at the thought. Nash Harris at a country club. It doesn’t make sense. We used to make fun of the rich kids who came into town every summer to stay at Harrington’s. We’d sneak onto the golf course through the pine forest, steal their golf balls before they could get to them, and laugh at how long they would spend looking for them. Now, Nash is one of them, and I feel sick at the thought.

I’m suddenly brought back to the now by a pair of strong arms wrapping around me in an all-too-familiar embrace, and that unsettling feeling in my belly is immediately gone. I find myself smiling as I rest my cheek against his shoulder, closing my eyes and breathing him in. He smells like him, like he always has, like home.

“You’re my best friend, Murph.”

My eyes fly open as I remain in his hold. Best friend? Those two words are suddenly like a slap to my face. I slowly pull back, finding him looking at me with that same innocence he’s had his whole life and I sigh, forcing another smile onto my face as the realization comes crashing down upon me like a ton of bricks. I’ve lost the love of my life.