Chapter 1

My mom's voice message popped up just as Shawn Carter and I had finished being intimate. He rolled off me.

My mom said, "Annie, Ms. Zimmerman set you up with a blind date. His profile is really good. Want to see his photo?"

Before I could answer, Shawn scoffed beside me. He said, "Jeez, your mom's in a rush. Afraid you'll be left on the shelf?"

I shot him a look and answered, "Mom, I have a boyfriend."

Shawn grabbed the phone and said, "Mrs. Rowe, her boyfriend's right here. But..."

He dragged out the pause and then said, "I never said I'd marry her. At her age, she's not really my match."

My hand froze mid-air. I always thought he was joking before.

Shawn was still laughing. He said, "I can always find someone eighteen. If I marry, it'll be someone young and untouched, right?"

I stared at the face I was once obsessed with.

Fine, I took the phone back, saying, "Mom, I'll go."

*****

Shawn froze, asking, "What do you mean?"

I ignored him, slipped out of bed, and headed straight for the walk-in closet, dragging out the biggest suitcase I could find.

"What are you doing?" he followed me, asking.

I yanked open the wardrobe and started shoving all his limited-edition sneakers and designer clothes inside.

"Annie," he said, panicked. "I was just kidding."

"Get out," I said, not even looking up.

"Come on," he whined, trying to act cute. "Can't I just say I'm sorry?"

I stopped what I was doing and looked up at him. "You've got one hour to grab your crap and get out of my house."

Shawn looked stunned. "You're serious?"

"What else?" I sneered. "You think I'm saving you for something special?"

"Fine," he snapped, gritting his teeth. "Don't come crying to me later. Old lady, let's see who wants you after I'm gone."

He slammed the door behind him as he stormed out.

I kept packing, tossing all his gaming consoles, headphones, and watches into the suitcase, not even sparing his underwear.

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. It was the moving company.

I shoved the suitcase at them, saying, "Take this to my ex-boyfriend's place. I'll text you the address."

After I closed the door, I collapsed onto the couch, and my phone buzzed.

It was a voice message from Shawn, probably sent by accident.

He said, "Damn, that old lady dumped me, and she even canceled my credit card. Who's paying for drinks tonight?"

I laughed after listening, then tapped on his profile, deleted him, and blocked him in one go.

The next day at noon, I showed up at the restaurant right on time.

Andrew was already there, waiting for me.

He was dressed in a sharp suit, looking calm and composed.

"Ms. Rowe," he said, standing up. "I'm Andrew Cooper."

"Hi," I said as I sat down. "Are you Shawn's stepbrother?"

He nodded. "My family's been pushing me to settle down. I need someone to marry, and I heard you and Shawn just broke up."

"We broke up just yesterday," I said, taking a sip of water. "Does that bother you?"

"Not at all," he replied, meeting my gaze. "I looked into you. You're exactly what I'm looking for."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you did a background check on me?"

"Just a habit from my line of work," he said, sliding a file across the table. "Here's my background. Take a look if you want."

I didn't take it. "Mr. Cooper, I've got just one question."

"Go ahead," he said.

"If I ever have a problem with your brother, whose side are you taking?" Annie asked.

Andrew smiled, cool and confident. "My wife doesn't need to worry about silly stuff like that. Trust me, that's not gonna happen."

I stared at him for three seconds, then reached out my hand. "Deal."

After we finished eating, Andrew gave me a ride home.

Andrew said, "I'll pick you up tomorrow so you can meet my family."

"Okay," I replied.

When I got home, I spotted a helmet sitting by the door.

It was the personalized helmet I'd had made for Shawn's birthday, the one with his name etched right on it.

I frowned and dialed his number. The phone rang forever before he finally picked up.

There was a ton of noise in the background, and Shawn sounded totally drunk. He asked, "Hey, missing me already?"

"You left your helmet at my place," I said.

"Oh, that thing?" he scoffed. "I don't want it anymore. Consider it your breakup present."

"Alright," I said, ready to hang up.

"Wait," Shawn raised his voice. "Annie, you really think you can do better than me?"

I didn't say a word.

"Come to the Phantom Lounge," he said. "The guys all wanna see who's badass enough to kick me to the curb."

I laughed and replied, "Sure, just wait for me."

After hanging up, I carried the helmet downstairs.

I bumped into Andrew, who hadn't left yet.

"What's up?" he asked.

I gave the helmet a little shake and replied, "Just taking out the trash."

He glanced at the name engraved on the helmet and smiled. He said, "I'll come with you."