Chapter 1

The woman wearing the white robe I'd packed for my anniversary trip was lying across my side of the bed.

Leah Mason looked up from the itinerary in her hands. Her overnight bag sat open beside my suitcase.

"Erin." She pulled the robe closed over her knees. "Jason said you wouldn't be here until dinner."

My husband stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hands on a towel.

"I can explain," he said.

"Start with why she's wearing my robe."

Leah glanced down. "I spilled coffee on my blouse. Jason said you wouldn't mind."

"He was wrong."

Jason dropped the towel on a chair. "She had a terrible morning. Daniel ended their engagement over the phone."

"So you brought her on our anniversary trip?"

"I couldn't leave her alone."

I'd booked the suite four months earlier. I chose it for the lake-view balcony and the small chapel where Jason and I planned to renew our vows.

Leah traced one finger down the page.

"Jason told me about the private dinner," she said. "I offered to eat downstairs by myself, but he said that would be cruel after everything I've been through."

Jason gave me a tired look. "She'll come to dinner, then sleep on the sofa. We still have the bedroom."

"You invited another woman into our anniversary suite and decided I should be grateful she isn't taking the bed?"

"Don't say it like that."

"How should I say it?"

Leah placed the itinerary on the blanket. "This is my fault. I told him you'd be upset."

Her apology might have sounded sincere if she hadn't been wearing my robe while she made it.

"Take that off," I said.

Jason stepped toward me. "Erin."

"I packed it for tonight."

"She's covered. Let her change when her blouse dries."

Leah lowered her eyes, though the corner of her mouth lifted.

"Jason promised he wouldn't leave me alone tonight," she said softly. "I get anxious after a breakup. You understand."

I looked at my husband. "You promised her the entire evening?"

"I promised to make sure she was okay."

"During the evening we planned for our fifteenth anniversary."

"We have the whole weekend."

"Apparently, so does Leah."

Jason rubbed his forehead. "Can we get through one hour without turning this into a fight?"

The question hurt more than his anger would have. I had driven three hours through sleet with his favorite cake on the passenger seat.

That morning, Jason had insisted on driving ahead to arrange a surprise. He had opened our suite to another woman and decided my reaction was the problem.

Leah climbed off the bed. "I'll leave if Erin wants me gone."

"The road is getting worse," Jason said. "You're staying."

His answer came before he looked at me.

I took my suitcase from the luggage rack.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Giving you the anniversary you arranged."

"Put the suitcase down."

"You chose who needed you tonight."

"Erin, she was dumped this morning."

"And I was replaced this afternoon."

Leah folded her arms across my robe. "That is dramatic."

I faced her. "You're in my room, wearing my clothes, holding plans I made for my husband. You don't get to tell me how this feels."

Jason moved between us. "Enough. Leah is already hurt."

I waited for him to mention my hurt.

He didn't.

I pulled the suitcase into the hall.

The elevator doors opened on a crowded lobby. Wet coats hung from every chair, and guests gathered around the front desk while ice struck the windows.

A resort employee raised her voice. "The county is closing the lower pass at ten. Anyone planning to leave tonight needs to be on the road within forty minutes."

Jason caught up with me near the fireplace.

"Come upstairs. We'll talk after dinner."

"You already decided how tonight would go."

He reached for my suitcase. I pulled it away.

Across the lobby, a tall man in a dark green jacket looked up at the sound of my name.

"Erin?"

I knew Callum Hayes before the rest of his face came back to me. We had grown up three streets apart, shared rides through college, and lost touch after my wedding.

"Callum?"

"I thought that was you." His gaze moved to Jason, then to my suitcase. "Are you all right?"

"Are you staying here?"

"I was. The storm changed my plans, so I'm heading down now."

Jason tightened his hand around my arm. "Erin, don't."

I slipped free and looked at Callum's car keys.

"Is your passenger seat still empty?"