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Everywhere I turned were reminders of how much I had screwed up. I slid to the floor and let the tears fol

low.

I’d always wanted to tell Blake the truth. I’d always wanted him to know, but too much time had passed. And then he’d been drafted by the AFA. Now, he was famous—he was a millionaire. He didn’t need an ex-girlfriend showing up to confess her past sins.

I sobbed into my hands until I knew my face was red and blotchy.

What could he do about it now? What would he say? How would I ever explain what had happened?

I crawled toward the coffee table and grabbed a handful of tissues. I blew my nose, knowing it was pointless. The tears were going to come back tenfold.

Just seeing Blake again brought it all back. Every memory. Every moment we’d spent together. Every shred of glass that pierced my heart.

I’d spent my life putting it all behind me and now I couldn’t run anymore. It was all around me. The lies. The deceit. What I had given up. How weak I had been. I shook on the floor, letting the sobs wrack my shoulders harder with each wave of emotion.

Eight Years Ago

Emily tapped on the door. “Sierra, you’ve been in there forever. When are you coming out?”

I stared at the stick on the bathroom counter. I was huddled on the floor in shock. Maybe it was a dream or rather a nightmare.

“Are you ok?” my best friend called through the door.

I rose slowly, needing the reassurance of the tile under my feet. I unlocked the door and let Emily in.

“What is it? What does it say?”

I pointed to the countertop.

She covered her mouth. “Oh my God. You’re pregnant. You’re actually pregnant.”

I nodded in disbelief. It hadn’t registered yet. I held up the two lines and looked at them again. This couldn’t be happening.

I felt her arm circle me. “Are you ok?”

“I think so.” I turned toward her. “What’s Blake going to say?”

She squeezed me tightly. “He’s going to say that whatever you need is what he’s going to do. He loves you. He totally loves you.”

I bit my lip. “But a baby?” I could feel my stomach roll, but I didn’t know if it was from the nerves or from the morning sickness that had started plaguing me.

“He can handle anything.”

I nodded in agreement. It was true. We might be young, but I knew there wasn’t another guy in the world like him.

There were a lot of old families on Gull island. Families who had passed down family businesses from generation to generation. Sometimes it was fishing. Sometimes it was a local store, but for the Wyatts it was boat building. Blake had something in his family I didn’t have—roots.

Even though Aunt Lindy had told me the history of the house and about all of the years her father and uncles had served in the Coast Guard, I still didn’t know where I fit into that.

I picked up the stick and stuffed it in the paper bag from the store. Emily had driven with me off the island to buy the test. The last thing I needed was some nosey neighbor finding out I thought I was pregnant. Aunt Lindy and Blake’s dad would have heard about it before I even had the test results if we hadn’t moved the shopping trip off the island.

Emily had been brave enough to hand the cashier a wad of bills when I thought I’d pass out from the embarrassment.

“Where are you going?” she asked. “Are you ok? You’re looking a little pale.”

“I’m going to tell him.”

“Now?” Her eyes widened and her brunette curls bounced.