Chapter 1

To give Cindy Barron a surprise, I caught the earliest flight and showed up at her place by seven.

I punched in the code and let myself in.

But Cindy, who loved to sleep in, was nowhere to be seen.

Over the sound of running water, a man's voice called out from the bathroom.

"The door's unlocked. Come in," he said.

That voice...

Why did that sound so much like my husband, Travis Dalton?

*****

I was startled by that sudden thought, then laughed at myself.

Voices always get distorted in the bathroom anyway, and Travis and Cindy never saw eye to eye.

No way those two would ever hang out together.

But was Cindy really pulling off something this wild behind my back?

I'd have to grill her when she got back.

While I was lost in thought, the sound of water in the bathroom abruptly stopped.

Someone started turning the doorknob.

I quickly spun around and shouted, "I'm not Cindy! I'm her friend, Evelyn!"

The person inside seemed stunned. The doorknob froze mid-turn, and it went completely silent.

I was dying of embarrassment.

That sneaky Cindy! She went and got herself a boyfriend without telling me, and I almost barged in on their intimacy.

I bolted for the door, but before I could get there, it swung open on its own.

Cindy was standing at the door with breakfast in hand, looking totally shocked. "Evelyn, why are you back so early?"

I winked at her. "Well, maybe it's because I figured out your little secret."

Cindy was about to say something, but she was interrupted by a man's voice coming from the bathroom. "Cindy, come here!"

This time, the voice didn't sound quite like the one before.

I thought I must have misheard earlier.

Cindy responded and walked over.

I couldn't help but glance over too.

A guy in a towel flashed by. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, the kind of body that screams "total hottie." Honestly, he looked a bit like Travis.

I didn't know what happened to me, but I kept thinking of Travis.

Was it just because I had been away on this trip for two months and I missed him like crazy?

Travis was always super clingy. Cindy always teased that he was basically my human keychain, stuck to me 24/7.

When I told him I was leaving for two months, his face dropped right away.

After we got married, we had never spent this much time apart.

But his company was going through a major crunch, so there was no way he could come with me.

I had to sweet-talk him for ages before he finally chilled out, but only after I promised we'd FaceTime every single day.

If he found out I came back early and went straight to Cindy's place, he'd totally get jealous again.

Back when Travis and I started dating, I introduced him to Cindy.

These two were like oil and water. They just couldn't stand each other.

Cindy complained that Travis was way too cold, not even remotely friendly.

Travis said Cindy was so chatty it gave him a headache, and hanging out with her felt like being stuck in a noisy street market.

It was so awkward being caught between the two of them.

Once they got used to each other, they started fighting for my attention, getting jealous and competitive. It cracked me up and drove me crazy at the same time.

But Cindy got a boyfriend, so maybe things would finally chill out.

Maybe the four of us could even hang out together.

I was happily plotting all the fun we could have together when, out of nowhere, a heated argument erupted from Cindy's bedroom.

My heart did a flip. I rushed over and banged on the door. "Cindy, what's going on?"

The shouting stopped, but even after I knocked till my hand was sore, the door still wouldn't open.

I was freaking out, worried something might've happened to Cindy.

Just as I was about to kick the door in, it finally swung open.

Cindy was standing there, her eyes rimmed with red.

I rushed in and held her. "What happened? Did you and your boyfriend get into a fight?"

I looked around, but the guy was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he? Come on, tell me what happened. I'll go set him straight!"

Cindy lowered her head, her voice soft. "Yeah... if only you'd come in a little sooner, maybe things wouldn't have ended up like this."

Suddenly, I heard a sharp beep. That was the electronic lock opening.

I was about to go see what was up, but Cindy grabbed my arm. "My boyfriend had to bail last minute. Something came up."

Turns out her bedroom actually had two doors.

Bet he slipped out the back just to dodge me.

I couldn't help but feel a little hurt. "Cindy, seriously? Am I just some outsider to you now? You got yourself a boyfriend and didn't even tell me. I almost barged in on you two! So, who is he? Do I know him?"

Cindy leaned against the window, the light casting shadows over her face so I couldn't read her expression. "It's just... because of his job, we can't go public with our relationship yet."

That just made me even more curious. "Because of his job? Wait, is he a celebrity? Don't tell me it's... Kaelin Walker or something!"

I put on my best fangirl face, and Cindy couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She lunged at me, clapping a hand over my mouth. "You gossip monster! Can't you ever stop with the questions?"

After some goofing around, Cindy was finally in a much better mood.

She said she needed to freshen up in the bathroom.

Just as I plopped down on the couch, I heard a knock at the door.

But before I could get up, the door swung open on its own.

"What's going on? Was the door unlocked?" The delivery guy sounded confused.

Did Cindy's boyfriend forget to close the door when he left?

I quickly got up and walked over.

I signed for the package on Cindy's behalf.

As I glanced at the shipping label, I caught sight of something. It was a men's sleeping bag.