Chapter 1

Mia's POV

Rain came down in sheets.

I didn't move.

I only stood across the street, staring through the restaurant's glass wall at the two people who had pulled me out of the wreckage of my childhood.

They were holding each other tightly.

A beautiful woman, a handsome man, love moving openly between them.

They looked perfect together.

It was the kind of scene you almost felt guilty interrupting.

I had no umbrella, but I stayed on that street corner for a full fifteen minutes.

Only when the clock reached seven — the exact time we had agreed to meet — did I wipe the rain from my hair and walk briskly into the private dining room.

"Unbelievable. My ride broke down halfway here, and I couldn't get another one. I had to run through the rain. I'm freezing!"

Summer Reed immediately pulled off her expensive jacket and wrapped it around my wet hair.

"You idiot. Why didn't you call us? We would've come to get you. You just got over a cold!"

Ethan Hayes used to be the most attentive person I knew.

If I so much as scraped a finger, he would worry himself sick.

Tonight, he hesitated for several seconds before coming over.

When I was seventeen and my stepfather had thrown me out into a storm, Ethan had pulled my soaked body straight into his arms.

Now he stopped several feet away.

"I'm sorry, Mia. It's your birthday, and I didn't even come to campus to pick you up. I should've thought ahead. You shouldn't have had to come through this rain."

I was shivering, but I laughed as if none of it mattered.

"Come on. It's fine. I'm not made of glass."

Maybe my careless smile made him feel guilty.

At last, he stepped closer, took my freezing hands in his, and breathed warm air over my fingers.

Summer, who had been drying my hair, suddenly went still.

Something dimmed in her eyes.

Ethan noticed.

He released my hands almost immediately and put distance between us.

Then he turned toward the server.

"Could we get a hot ginger tea?"

He looked back at me with a smile that was trying too hard to look normal.

"Drink something warm. It'll help."

I pretended not to notice anything.

I dropped into my seat with my usual easy grin.

But I could still feel Ethan's burning gaze behind me.

It wasn't on me.

The ginger tea arrived quickly.

Summer cooled it carefully before handing it over.

I usually hated how sweet the stuff was.

Tonight it tasted bitter.

I drank every drop anyway.

Then I set down the cup and rubbed my stomach.

"I'm starving. Can we eat now?"

My birthdays used to be loud.

Summer and Ethan would fight over who got to dab frosting on my nose first, claiming it meant I'd have extra luck that year.

Then they'd compete over who got the first photo with me.

Half the time, I never knew which camera I was supposed to look at.

But the final picture was always the three of us together.

Ethan with an arm locked around me, looking at me as if I were something rare and precious.

Summer pressed against my shoulder, laughing with her eyes squeezed shut.

This year was different.

The cake was still beautiful.

They were still sitting on either side of me.

But the air between us had gone thick and heavy, and it clung to everything until it was hard to breathe.

Summer ate quietly.

Ethan barely seemed aware of what was on his plate.

I took a breath and forced some energy into my voice.

"Why are you two so quiet? Planning something evil? Don't tell me you're waiting until I look away so you can smash the whole cake in my face."

Summer managed a smile.

"What are you talking about? You spent the entire afternoon in the library. We figured you were starving, so we wanted you to eat first.

"All right. Main event."