Chapter 1
The sound of a ringtone pulled Adeline from the progress she was making on her painting. She’d been immersed in her work all day and had almost forgotten the thing.
Blinking, she turned, scanning the living room for the source of the noise. Seeing that it was Serenity, her business partner and best friend, she answered the phone. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Just checking on you. Making sure you made it to the cabin safely.” Serenity was using her mom voice now.
She grinned slightly as she sat on one of the leather couches of the lake cabin’s living room. It was cushy, and with the rain pattering against the tin roof, she knew she could likely fall asleep with little effort. “I’m only about forty minutes away from you.” She hadn’t even left the state of Florida. But getting away like this was already therapeutic.
Adeline and Serenity had shut down the grooming side of their co-owned pet studio for a week since it was a quieter time of year for them. Christmas was a few weeks away, and while they kept the front portion of the shop open to sell dog treats and other pet accessories, both of them needed a break from the actual grooming part.
“I know, but you’re there all alone.”
Adeline appreciated that her friend cared enough to check on her—she loved having friends who actually cared. Not surface friendships, but the real deal.
Both of them had been through hell not long ago. Adeline had been kidnapped earlier in the year, though it felt like it’d been a decade ago. As if that part of her life was a far distant chapter in her past. Not that it was; she still occasionally had nightmares, still woke up covered in sweat at least once a week. “It’s gorgeous here. Quiet, though it’s been raining a lot today.” She’d been hoping to get in some walks around the lake and to maybe test out the canoe in the boathouse, but instead had been holed up with the fire going and painting…almost all day, she realized when she saw the time. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. And coffee didn’t exactly count.
“I’m glad you’re getting some downtime.”
“How’s your downtime?” Adeline wasn’t sure Serenity actually got any. Her friend was a busy mom who seemed to have a hard time saying no to people.
“Harper gets out of school next week so I’m catching up with Christmas shopping, wrapping presents I’ve hidden, and all sorts of other things now that I have free time.”
“I hope you’re sneaking in extra alone time with that sexy man of yours?” Serenity’s fiancé Lucas—soon-to-be husband—owned a local construction company and was just as busy.
Serenity snickered at that. “Maybe.”
“Good. You guys deserve it.” And lord knew Adeline wasn’t getting any lately. It had been so long for her that she didn’t even want to think about the actual time frame, much less say it out loud. So she hoped her friend was making up for her lack of a sex life.
“Tell me exactly how glorious it is being all alone,” Serenity said, a slight note of wistfulness in her voice. “I love my family, but I’m kind of jealous.”
“Well, I’m about to take a hot bath, pour some wine, and curl up by the fire with a book. So bring on the jealousy.”
Serenity groaned slightly and then there were voices in the background, very likely Harper and Lucas. “I’ve got to go. I just really wanted to make sure you were doing okay. Keep the phone lines open—don’t completely hole up this week.”
“Okay.”
After they disconnected, she sat there for a long moment. She knew Serenity worried about her, but for the most part she was handling the aftereffects of her kidnapping okay. Except when she glanced down at the faded burn marks on her left arm, a reminder that she had almost died. Again. Though Serenity didn’t know about the time before. Didn’t know about her other scars.
No one in Verona Bay did.
Her gaze strayed back to her painting and she stared at the almost-finished canvas for a long moment. She hadn’t even meant to paint her mother, but once she’d started, there had been no stopping her. She’d been consumed with thoughts of the past, and now…looking into the dark eyes of her deceased mom, she wondered what her mom would think of her. Would she be proud? Sighing at herself, she grabbed her paintbrushes and took them to the kitchen sink to wash everything out.
A friend from Verona Bay had let her use this cabin for the week, saying that since it wasn’t rental season, she was just glad the place was getting some use. The woman wasn’t charging Adeline rent or anything, though Adeline was going to give her something to cover the stay.
The cabin was on a fairly large lake, but not so large she couldn’t see the other side. Though there were no direct neighbors, she still had a view of the huge homes dotted around the lake. And she had phone and internet access out here. But it was nice not to have to deal with other humans close by. Sort of a way to decompress.
After pouring herself a glass of wine, she did exactly as she said she would: started a hot bath and pinned her hair up on top of her head before sinking into the water.
This was her vacation and she was going to take full advantage of it.
* * *
Mac frowned as he pulled into the driveway. Fresh tire tracks led to the closed garage. Derek had told him he could use this lake house to get away for a few days. God knew he needed it.
His brother Joe had invited his girlfriend over for the last few nights, and while he’d never minded living with his two younger brothers, lately Mac was starting to crave some space. To carve out something just for himself. But he didn’t want to kick them out or anything. After their parents had died, Mac had finished raising Joe and Dylan. They all still lived in the house they’d grown up in. He couldn’t very well tell his brother he couldn’t bring his girlfriend around. It was just weird having an outsider in his space so often.
And if he was being honest, seeing them together reminded Mac that he’d somehow blown his shot with Adeline Rodriguez. He wasn’t sure how, but at one point there had definitely been a spark of attraction between them. Hell, more than a spark. The simmering heat between them had been electric.
But the moment he’d asked her out, she’d pulled back as if he’d asked her to make an animal sacrifice with him. And for the last two months she’d basically been avoiding him.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get her out of his head. It was because he knew he hadn’t imagined the spark between them, the pull. She’d felt it too, and he knew she was single. But something was keeping her away from him.
Sighing at himself, he grabbed his duffel, and, bracing for the deluge of rain, hurried out into the weather. He raced for the front door, then, using the key Derek had given him, let himself in.
He froze for a moment, carefully setting the bag on the floor as water dripped down his face and arms. He was not alone.
Music drifted from somewhere inside and he heard definite movements above the rain pattering against the roof. He knew Derek rented this place out in the summer, but not the fall and winter. Derek had also told him the alarm would be active but… Mac glanced at the panel by the front door. Nope, it was disarmed.
He stepped cautiously through the foyer, his muscles tensing as he prepared to deal with an intruder.