Chapter 2

I didn’t open the second recording in the ballroom.

There were six audio files on the memory card. The oldest had been created seven months ago. The newest was the one that had played during our ceremony.

I slipped the card into my purse and left the hotel with the vow book.

My sister, Tessa, gave me the guest room downstairs.

It had its own bathroom and a small desk. I had stayed there before, but I had never expected to arrive wearing a wedding dress I hadn’t even had time to change out of.

Grant appeared at the door at nine the next morning.

Tessa blocked the entrance. “Do you want me to send him away?”

“No.” I set down my coffee. “Give me ten minutes.”

Grant was still wearing the white shirt from the night before. The collar hung open, and one cuff had a faint brown stain on it.

Relief crossed his face when he saw me.

“You didn’t answer your phone. I’ve been worried sick.”

“How’s Brooke?”

The question caught him off guard.

“I knew you’d ask.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “She could barely breathe last night. I took her home and stayed until she calmed down.”

“So you ran out of our wedding after another woman and spent the next few hours with her.”

“We’ve been married for three years, Mara. Last night was a delayed ceremony, not our actual wedding.” He stepped closer. “I know it mattered, but Brooke was falling apart.”

I had heard some version of that explanation many times.

Brooke had just gone through a breakup. Brooke had fought with her mother. Brooke had heard a noise outside her apartment in the middle of the night.

Her problems always needed to be handled immediately. My disappointment could wait.

“What was that recording?” I asked.

Grant’s gaze dropped to my purse. “She wanted to record a message for us as a surprise. We made a few stupid jokes. The technician must have played the wrong file.”

“She asked whether you would go to her if I left. That was her idea of congratulating us?”

“You’re taking one joke too seriously.”

“The folder was created seven months ago.”

His hand fell from his neck. “I don’t know why. That card has been used before. The creation date doesn’t prove anything.”

The answer came too quickly.

Grant held out his hand. “Come home. We can put last night behind us. Brooke feels terrible. She cried all night.”

I looked at his open palm and kept my hands at my sides.

“I’ll come by today for my work equipment.”

“Your equipment?” His brow tightened. “You’re not coming home tonight?”

“No.”

“Mara, don’t push this past the point where we can fix it.”

I heard Tessa moving on the stairs behind me. Grant glanced up, then lowered his voice.

“We’ve been together for five years. You can’t end everything because someone played the wrong recording.”

“That depends on why the recording exists.”

I closed the door and left him outside.

At noon, I returned to our apartment.

Several boxes of wedding supplies still sat in the living room.

My recording studio was at the end of the hall. The door was unlocked, and the computer had been left in sleep mode.

I only meant to collect my work drives and the scripts I needed for the following week.

When I woke the computer, a notification appeared in the corner of the screen.

Six new files had finished syncing.

I opened the folder.

The names matched the files on the memory card. Their dates stretched back seven months.

Grant had not created them for the wedding technician. They were original recordings that had been synced from my home studio.

Grant and Brooke had recorded themselves in that room more than once.

I didn’t play any of them.

First, I copied all six files onto my personal drive. Then I removed Grant’s devices from the shared account.

Once the backup was complete, I closed the computer and began packing my equipment.

My phone vibrated on the desk.

Grant had sent me a message.

Delete those files before you misunderstand them.