Page 2

Two Weeks Later

Sydney Marlowe pushed her Chanel sunglasses onto the top of her head to get a better look at her house. She’d bought it having only seen it in pictures and a video online, but she’d had a good feeling about it from the start, and she trusted her instincts. They’d never let her down yet.

The Realtor she’d used, a woman by the name of Pandora, had been exceptionally helpful. She’d answered every question Sydney had and made her feel like she knew every inch of the house.

She readjusted Mackie, her smallish tan dog, shifting him a bit higher in her arms and facing him toward the house. “What do think, Mackster? This is our new home. There’s a yard for you and everything.”

She sighed in sheer happiness. Yes, there had been a lot of changes in her life recently but all of them, well, most of them, good. But this one, moving, was a biggie. It would all work out. She believed that.

This was where she was meant to be. New York City, and the life that represented, that was not for her. Not anymore. She wanted simpler. More down-to-earth. Less focused on things, more focused on actually living a life that mattered.

More than anything, she wanted normal and safe. Her parents were divorced, so not much there to model her life after, but her sister, Dakota, had it all. A great husband, twin boys, a picture-perfect life.

That was what Sydney wanted, too.

Adopting Mackie had been one of her first steps toward that life. She’d always wanted a dog, but traveling had made that impossible. Now, her life was her own. She smiled and kissed the top of Mackie’s head.

“Let’s go have a look before the movers arrive. See if it’s really as pretty as it was in pictures. Of course, we know how those can be manipulated, don’t we?” Although she didn’t believe for a moment that Pandora had been anything but truthful.

Keeping a positive attitude, she set Mackie down and, with a firm hand on his leash, she dug the key from her Gucci bag and headed for the front door.

She studied the porch a moment before unlocking the door. It needed some chairs. Or maybe a bench. And pots of flowers, for sure. And a welcome mat. She had so much to do. She smiled. She couldn’t wait to get started.

She unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The living area greeted her, a wide expanse of white walls that fed into a dining room and then the kitchen.

They’d been a creamy beige before, but she’d hired a painter to come in and change all of that.

Now there was soft blue, sandstone, and bright white.

The common area of the house was a big, open floor plan, except for where the kitchen was separated from the rest by a large island.

The sparkling white quartz countertop, ink-blue cabinets, and gleaming stainless-steel appliances made Sydney smile even harder. “Look at it, Mackie. It’s beautiful. Just like the photos!”

Pandora had sent the measurements for each of the rooms along with the pictures, and Sydney was happy to see that the woman had told the truth about everything. There’d be no issue with her furniture fitting.

Mackie, who was busy sniffing everything, wagged his tail at the sound of his name.

She unhooked his leash from his collar, although when the movers arrived with her things, she planned to secure him in one of the rooms. Or maybe in the backyard. She was especially happy about that space.

She’d always loved nature. There was something so calming about big trees and green spaces, not something she got a lot of in the city. Already she felt a sense of peace in this neighborhood, with its big trees and wide lawns.

The backyard would be great for Mackie, too. He had been to a few parks in the city, and she knew from those experiences that he was going to love having his own backyard. While he continued sniffing around, she explored the rest of the house.

The master bedroom, with its lovely big bathroom and equally large closet, looked gorgeous in the soft, rose-gold paint she’d chosen for the walls.

The accent wall was wallpapered in a massive floral print of cabbage roses accented with touches of metallic gold, something else the painter had done for her.

She couldn’t wait to decorate and really turn the room into her sanctuary. She heard a truck and went back out to see if it was the movers. It was, and they were backing into the driveway.

She’d gone with a small, family-owned moving company because they’d not only had great rates but excellent reviews.

She bent and picked Mackie up. “Let’s find you a safe space, buddy. How about the backyard, huh? That should be all right so long as there’s shade. I’ll bring you a water bowl, too.”

Thankfully, all of the dog’s important things had traveled in the car with them.

She carried him to the back door, through the screened porch, and across the deck.

“Oh, look at this. It’s so nice.” An expanse of green stretched out before them.

At the back of the yard, a good-size tree sat in each corner.

There was another gorgeous tree about ten feet from the house, and it offered a nice amount of shade.

She could already imagine the space with some flowerbeds, maybe a bench under the closest tree, or even a swing. Wouldn’t that be something? A real swing. She bit her lip, the idea of being able to put her personal mark on this property almost as thrilling as being surrounded by so much nature.

Could she string lights in that tree? That would take power, and that wasn’t something she knew anything about, but it was worth a call to an electrician to ask some questions. And how pretty would that be?

“I love this place.” She breathed out the words as she set Mackie down. “Do you want to stay on the deck or go out into the yard?”

At the word “out,” his tail started wagging, and he let out a short little bark. She laughed. “Okay, out it is.”

She unclipped his leash, and he took off down the steps. She leaned over the deck railing, glancing around to be sure the fence was in good condition. Wouldn’t do to have Mackie escape because he’d squeezed under it or through a broken board, but it looked fine.

She went back inside and straight to the front door to deal with the movers. It was going to be a long day but a good one.

She greeted the two men, who introduced themselves as father and son, Chuck and George. She let them know Mackie was in the backyard, and they got to work.

She carried all of her and Mackie’s things in from the car, getting his water bowl out immediately. She’d cleaned it before putting it in his bag, but she rinsed it again anyway, then filled it up and took it out to him.

He was rolling around in the grass and looking very much like he was having the time of his life.

“You’re loving this, aren’t you, boy?” She put the bowl in a shaded spot on the patio that extended from the deck at ground level. Chairs out here would be great. Maybe a big dining table. She wanted to live in this yard.

Once she made some friends, she could have them over. Visions of her new life filled her head, bringing her all kinds of happiness.

She went back in to see how things were progressing. Boxes were already stacked in the living room, as was some of her art.

She stayed out of the movers’ way, a bit at loose ends. Fortunately, all the boxes were clearly marked with the room they belonged in, so as soon as a few were dropped off in the kitchen, she dug into the unpacking.

Setting up the kitchen was nice. It made the place feel more like a home right away. She had big plans for this kitchen. Mostly, she was going to teach herself to cook. That was also part of her new life.

She couldn’t imagine a man being interested in a woman who didn’t at least know the basics of how to put a meal together.

Her sister, Dakota, was a great cook. And their grandmother had always told them that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach and that it was a good way to keep him happy, too.

Sydney had no issues with that, even if some might believe it was an old-fashioned way of thinking.

Old-fashioned was back, and Sydney’s new plan for her life had nothing to do with photo shoots, walking a runaway, or creating the right look to sell a product. Her new life was all about landing the right guy, getting married, and having a family.

She wanted a nice home, a great husband, and, as soon as possible, kids. She lifted out a set of mixing bowls from one of the boxes. None of her friends understood. They all thought she was crazy for giving up her fast-paced, high-fashion, well-paying life.

But she didn’t care. None of that, her cosmetics company included, brought her real happiness. That was why she’d given it all up and sold her business.

Of course, the offer from a major label to take over her company hadn’t hurt. In fact, it had made all of this possible.

But the reason she’d made this move was because there was something inside her that, despite the success she’d had, remained unfulfilled.

It was an ache for something more. The kind of happiness she’d seen in her grandmother and now her sister.

She stared out the window over the sink, wondering if that sort of life was really possible for her.

She was twenty-eight. Not the youngest woman out there. She didn’t want to come off as desperate, but her biological clock was ticking. Loudly.

Looking for love never worked. It just didn’t. Not from what she’d experienced. But there had to be a man out there who wanted the same things from life that she did, didn’t there?

With a sigh, she threw herself back into unpacking, putting some tunes on and opening another box.

The men worked fast, but about an hour in, as they were coming down the stairs, she heard a crash, followed by some loud thumping and a cry of pain.

With a gasp, she ran out from the kitchen to see what had happened. “Oh, no!”

One of the men, George, she thought it was, lay at the bottom of the stairs, grabbing at his left ankle, which already seemed to be swelling up. He groaned. “I think it’s broken.”

Grimacing, she nodded and went to his side. “It doesn’t look good. I’m calling an ambulance. Did you hit your head? Anything else hurt?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

The other mover, Chuck, came down the steps. “George, what happened?”

“I missed a step, and my foot slipped. I think I broke it, Dad.”

Sydney raced back to the kitchen, grabbed her phone and dialed 911.

Within minutes, an ambulance arrived. George was quickly loaded onto a stretcher and put in the back.

“You should go with him,” Sydney said to Chuck. “Help him fill out paperwork or whatever.”

He glanced at the house. “There’s still a lot left to do.”

“It’s okay. Someone should go with him. I can work on unpacking what you’ve already brought in. I don’t mind at all. Not when your kid needs you.”

“You’re sure?” Chuck looked conflicted.

“Yes. Go ,” Sydney said.

Without another word, Chuck climbed into the back of the ambulance with his son.

Sydney watched them go. She said a little prayer that George would be all right.

She stared into the back of the moving truck, still filled with so many boxes. This was not how she’d imagined things going, but she’d deal with it.

Somehow.