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A perfect girl like her would attract a perfect man, so she could have a long and happy marriage just like her parents.

She thought she'd found the perfect man in Gregory. At twenty-four, he was three years older than her and in his second year of medical school when they'd met during her junior year at Montana State. She swore sparks actually flew the first time she looked up from her pharmacology textbook to meet his eyes across the campus coffee shop where she was studying.

She watched longingly as he ordered his coffee and left. Even though she knew she would get more done in the quiet of the library, she'd gone back to the coffee shop every night for a month, hoping to get another glimpse of the mysterious cute coffee shop guy, as her roommate, Sarah, had dubbed him.

Finally, one night he came back. And just like before, when their gazes met, it was electric. But that night, instead of getting his coffee to go, he came over to her table where she pretended to be absorbed by her book.

"Ah, you're studying pharma. I found the chapter on neuropharmacology to be particularly helpful with insomnia," he said.

She smiled, put her book down and tried not to look as flustered as she felt. "You're familiar?"

"I'm a second-year med student," he said and introduced himself.

Heart pounding, Colleen told him her name and invited him to sit down. And nearly exploded in bundle of nervous energy when he did.

She didn't remember much of their conversation that night as she was too preoccupied making sure he didn't know how much her stomach was churning and her hands were shaking. But by the end of that night she knew that, in addition to being gorgeous, he was brilliant, driven, and could probably have any woman he set his sights on.

But, miraculously, he only seemed to want her.

She'd never believed in love at first sight until Gregory. And with the way he showered her with attention in the form of elaborate, thoughtful dates, passionate sex and even flowery love notes, she knew the feeling was mutual. They married right after they graduated—she from nursing school and he from med school. They moved to Boulder, where Gregory was doing his residency in orthopedic surgery and Colleen worked as a nurse in the ER at the University of Colorado Medical Center.

Even with Gregory's rigorous schedule as a resident, Colleen had what she considered to be as close to a perfect marriage as someone could get. Sure, they had their little arguments, and the lack of time together due to Gregory's schedule was a drain. But Colleen's married friends regularly told her they wished their marriages were more like hers and Gregory's, because they were still clearly so into each other even after several years.

And her single friends told her she and Gregory had the kind of marriage they aspired to one day.

She had it all, Colleen thought.

It was only when they moved to Billings three years ago, bought a house, and started trying for a baby that she realized that no matter how perfect they looked, how perfect her life looked on the outside, inside it was irreparably flawed. She was irreparably flawed.

So flawed, in fact, that her seemingly adoring, devoted husband had no qualms about chucking her, chucking their life, and moving on to greener pastures.

She wondered what JT would think if he ever learned how broken she was, in more ways than one.

Chapter 11

"Thanks," JT said as Colleen handed him a frosty bottle of locally brewed lager. "I need it this week." The weekly cocktail party was in full swing, and, as usual, JT and the rest of the family were making the rounds, shaking hands and chatting with the guests who had arrived over the weekend.

Even though JT had a smile on his face as he worked his way through the crowd on his way to the bar, she could see a certain tightness in his face, a tension in his jaw. She was pretty sure she knew the reason—JT's older brother, Cort, had arrived the day before, along with his wife and two kids.

"I love him, but he drives me nuts," JT had said two nights before as they lay in the darkness.

So Colleen had his favorite beer ready and waiting for him when he got to the front of the line.

"That bad already?" she asked.

"Not yet, but I'm not letting my guard down."

"Will I see you later?" she said in a low voice so only he could hear.

"Hell yes," he said softly.

"Good, because I have something special for you," she said with a cheeky grin.

His eyebrows shot up and his blue eyes glowed with heat. "I have half a mind to throw you over my shoulder, carry you out of here and make you show me right now."

"Patience," she said as she mixed a vodka tonic for another guest. "All good things come to those who wait."

He was quickly drawn into conversation with that guest, then another. But she didn't miss the way his gaze kept coming back to her, his eyes full of hot speculation.