Chapter 1
After I go abroad, every woman Alexander Sinclair dates looks just like me.
In his circle, I am a legend, his unforgettable love. His friends always claim if I ever come back, he will dump anyone for me in a heartbeat.
Then he breaks his own pattern, dating a new starlet, a girl who shares none of my features, and for the first time, he calls her his girlfriend.
That is the year I book my sudden flight home.
The city buzzes, anticipating the drama: the heartbroken first love returning to reclaim her man.
Even Alexander tips me off with a velvet warning. "Charlotte Evans, you picked the wrong time to come back."
They're all watching the wrong story. I have no intention of taking Alexander back.
I'm simply here for my wedding.
*****
The moment I stepped out of the arrivals gate, Alexander Sinclair jumped out at me from the crowd.
With a sharper jawline, he was in a tailored overcoat, older in all the ways that made a man look mature.
Only his expression was impossible to read.
"I heard you were coming back," he said. "Didn't think it was true."
I paused with my luggage and kept my voice neutral. "Just here to handle some business."
He wordlessly took the handle of my suitcase from my grasp.
"Your dad asked me to pick you up. Don't read into it."
I just nodded and followed him to the parking garage.
On the way, my phone buzzed. A group chat that had been dead for years was suddenly blowing up.
[Holy shit, Mr. Sinclair actually went to get her? I mean, Charlotte Evans is really back?]
[Wait, what about his new girlfriend, that actress Olivia Bennett? Is he just gonna dump her?]
[Are you kidding? Why else would Charlie be back? She's here to claim her man.]
[Olivia who? She's a fling. Now that the queen is back, that starlet won't even get a second glance. Bet.]
[I've met Olivia. Don't underestimate her. Anyone who can handle Mr. Sinclair is no pushover.]
Alexander also noticed his phone buzzing nonstop.
He glanced at his messages and shot me a look. "This is a bad time for you to be here, Charlotte.
"I have a girlfriend now."
My hand, which had been reaching for the passenger-side door, froze.
I let it fall, pulling open the back door instead.
As I slid in, I offered, "Congrats."
He shut my door a little too hard.
It was only then I noticed the faint scent of tobacco clinging to him.
The Alexander I knew was the picture of self-control. He never touched cigarettes or alcohol, steering clear of the sordid nightlife.
But just during my years abroad, I had heard about at least a dozen girls he had been with.
His phone rang. A sweetly cloying voice purred from the speaker.
"Alex, I'm wiped from set. Can you come get me?"
"Text me the address," he replied.
"Love you! Mwah!" The sound of a kiss crackled through the phone.
He hung up, smiling as he met my eyes in the rearview mirror. "Mind if we make a detour? Gotta pick up my girlfriend."
"Not at all," I said, turning to face the window.
I should've taken a cab.
Alexander parked near the film set.
Amid the chaos of crew and equipment, Olivia was impossible to miss.
She was magnetic.
Even bundled in a coat and wearing a mask, she radiated a star quality that drew every eye.
When fans started snapping photos, she pulled her mask down just enough to flash a dazzling smile. "Thanks! My boyfriend's not in the industry, so could you please not photograph him?"
A fan shouted, "We heard your boyfriend's the heir of the Sinclair family! Is it true?"
Olivia didn't confirm or deny. She just pressed a perfectly manicured finger to her lips, gesturing a playful shh that said everything and nothing.
The second she slid into the passenger seat, she whipped off her sunglasses and kissed Alexander on the cheek.
"Babe, did I keep you waiting?"
Then her eyes landed on me. "And you are?"
"Charlotte Evans," I said with a polite smile. "An old friend of Alexander's."
Her smile brightened another watt. "Charlie, I've heard so much about you."
Alexander reached over and buckled her seat belt like he had done it a hundred times.
"Sit tight. We're rolling."
Olivia pouted playfully. "Look at me, I always forget. Good thing I have you to take care of me."
I fixed my gaze on the city lights blurring past my window, a welcome distraction from the cloying sweetness in the front seat.
We hadn't been driving long before Olivia turned slightly in her seat.
"So, Charlie," she began casually, "did you date anyone while you were away?"
"I did," I answered honestly.
She chirped. "I knew it! You're gorgeous, like a movie star yourself. I bet you had men lining up, right?
"Alex was the one who pursued me, you know. All his friends say I'm different. That I'm the one who really got under his skin.
"I guess they mean he has his unforgettable love, but I can't figure out who they're talking about. You grew up with him, so you must know who his first love is. Come on, spill."
She was watching me intently, her eyes probing.
Alexander frowned. "I don't have an unforgettable love. They're just running their mouths."
Olivia pouted, pulling out her phone and pointedly ignoring him.
Silence swallowed the rest of the ride.
When we pulled up to my place, Alexander didn't even kill the engine.
He rolled the window down. "My girlfriend's mad. I need to smooth it over. I won't come in. Say hi to your folks for me."
As I turned to leave, Olivia's voice stopped me.
"Charlie! Let's connect. Add me on Instagram."
I held out my phone. She shook her head, still smiling, "No, you follow me. That way you can't pretend you didn't see my request."