He now played in the NHL for the Boston Knightwings as their center.

Stepping off the platform and onto the sidewalk to wait for my ride, I shook the fake playboy out of my head. If there was one thing about my hometown that I hated—it was how much it reminded me of him.

Chapter 2

Paige

“Hey stranger,” Bells called from her Volkswagen.

I raced across the street just as her trunk popped open. I hurled my suitcase in, closed the trunk and folded my umbrella before sliding into the passenger’s seat.

“Hope your apartment isn’t as tiny as your car,” I criticized. I hadn’t visited once in the past year and I wasn’t the best at emotional reunions, so the comment felt appropriate.

“It’s smaller.” She threw back with a grin.

“Fabulous,” I breathed. And because it was hard to ignore her glare, a slow smile spread across my face and my eyes watered. “Hey Bells.”

“Hello friend.” She smiled back and reached over, holding me for as long as she knew I could handle—which was not very long at all. I wasn’t a touchy-feely person. Strangely, when she pulled away, I realized I could have used another minute or two.

“So we’ll go to my place first,” she offered.

“I should hope so, all my stuff is there.”

Bella waved a hand dismissively to the side and put on an accent resembling a character from Downton Abbey. “Not to worry dear, I had it all placed in a master guest suite overlooking the garden.”

“What?”

“What do you think? I live in a teeny one-bedroom Paige, the stuff you sent is clogging up my minuscule foyer.”

“Ooh sorry. I probably don’t need half of it, honestly. I’ll go through and get rid of a lot of it.”

“Well don’t do that on my account. You know you won’t be able to stay with me for very long. My landlord is super strict—I can barely have a cat, much less an entire human living with me.”

I inhaled and nodded quickly, my anxiety threatening in my chest. “I understand. I’m sorry to drop in on you like this. I had nowhere else to go.”

She glanced at me then refocused her attention to the wet road. “Wanna talk about it?”

“No. And yes. I’m afraid once I start, I won’t stop.”

Crying.

“I’m all ears. You know I was a skeptic about Evan from the start.”

“I don’t even know if I’m heartbroken anymore. I think I’m just…so mad at myself. Feeling wasteful and used, you know?”

She reached out and touched my hand. “You trusted someone who let you down. It happens. But hey, you had a great ride for a minute there, right?”