LOGINEllie thought she had hit rock bottom. A mountain of debt. A mother's house slipping through her fingers. A future that looked hopeless. Then he walked into the diner where she worked. Liam. Quiet. Mysterious. A stranger who knew everything about her. He slid an envelope across the table and changed her life forever. The deed to her house. Free and clear. No strings attached. There was just one condition. Marry him for thirty days. She said yes out of desperation. She did not ask questions. She did not Google his name. She definitely did not expect to wake up in a penthouse overlooking the entire city. Because Liam is not just Liam. He is the richest man in the country. A reclusive billionaire who has never let anyone close. And now Ellie is his wife. But thirty days is a long time. Long enough to discover his secrets. Long enough to question her own. And long enough to break the only rule she made for herself. She promised she would not fall in love with him. The question is whether he will let her go when the thirty days are over.
View MoreJune melted into July. The heat was thick and heavy. The garden grew wild. The tomatoes burst on the vines. The peppers turned red and yellow and orange. Maple dug up three more plants before I gave up and let her have a corner of the garden for herself. She sat in her dirt patch like a queen.Liam fixed the porch step. Then the railing. Then the shutter that banged against the house every time the wind blew. He said the farmhouse was trying to fall apart. I said it was just old. He said old things needed more work. I said he was old. He threw a pillow at me.Anna sent a photograph from Oregon. Margaret was sitting up on her own. Her eyes were bright. Her smile was wide."She looks like you," Liam said."She looks like herself.""That is the same thing."I put the photograph on the mantel. Next to my mother. Next to David Chen. Next to all the faces that had come before.Victoria called from Chicago. The second bookstore
May arrived with soft rains and warm winds. The garden exploded with green. Catherine spent hours outside, talking to her plants, pulling weeds, chasing off rabbits. Doris sat on the porch and watched. She said Catherine was doing enough work for both of them.I sat on the swing. The oak tree was full of leaves. The branches stretched wide like arms waiting to hold someone.Liam came out with two glasses of lemonade."You are staring at the tree," he said."I am thinking.""About?""The future. What comes next."He sat next to me. Handed me a glass. "What does come next?""I do not know. That is the problem.""It is not a problem. It is an adventure."I leaned into him. "You are too optimistic.""Someone has to be."Maple ran across the yard. She had a stick in her mouth. She dropped it at Liam's feet."Throw it," I said."I am not throwing it.""She
January arrived with grey skies and bitter cold. The snow turned to ice. The roads were dangerous. No one left the farmhouse for days. Liam chopped wood. Catherine baked. Doris read by the fire. Maple slept. Marmalade stared out the window at birds he could not catch.I sat on the swing in the living room. The old wooden one that Liam had brought inside. The cushion was faded now. The wood creaked when I moved. I liked the sound."You are thinking again," Liam said."I am always thinking.""About?""The new year. What it will bring.""Babies," he said. "Weddings. More chaos.""Good chaos.""The best kind."He sat next to me. The swing creaked under our weight.Doris looked up from her book. "You two are going to break that thing.""It has held us so far," Liam said."There is a first time for everything."Catherine came in from the kitchen. She had flour on her apron.
December brought snow again. The first snowfall came on a Monday. I woke up to white fields and silent trees. Maple ran outside before I could stop her. She disappeared into the snow, her tail wagging like a flag above the white. Liam stood by the window. Coffee in hand. Hair messy. "She loves the snow," he said. "She loves everything." "That is why she is happy." I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and walked to the window. The snow was still falling. The sky was grey and soft. "Christmas is three weeks away," I said. "Everyone is coming." "The farmhouse will be full." "The farmhouse will be chaos." I leaned into him. "Good chaos." "The best kind." Doris came downstairs. She wore a sweater that was three sizes too big. Her hair was grey and wild. She had flour on her cheek. "Have you be
May arrived with soft rains and warm winds. The garden exploded with green. Catherine spent hours outside, talking to her plants, pulling weeds, chasing off rabbits. Doris sat on the porch and watched. She said Catherine was doing enough work for both of them.Liam built a new swing. Wooden. Sturdy
January arrived with grey skies and bitter cold. The snow turned to ice. The roads were dangerous. No one left the farmhouse for days. Liam chopped wood. Catherine baked. Doris read by the fire. Maple slept. Marmalade stared out the window at birds he could not catch. I sat on the swing in the li
September arrived with cooler winds and golden light. The leaves on the trees turned orange and red and yellow. The garden gave its last harvest. Tomatoes. Peppers. Herbs that Catherine dried and stored in glass jars. Liam said we had enough to last through winter. I said we would probably eat it
June arrived with heat and humidity. The kind of weather that made you want to sit still and do nothing. Catherine said the garden loved it. Doris said the garden was welcome to it. Maple dug a hole under the porch and refused to come out. Marmalade sat on the porch railing and watched the world wi












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