Chapter 1

My work-slacking buddy and I were hiding in the break room, scrolling on our phones, when she showed me an Instagram post her boyfriend had just sent her.

“Hey, isn’t Mr. Bennett supposed to be in New York on business? Since when does New York have beaches like that?”

When I opened Instagram to check, I discovered he’d hidden the post from me.

And his childhood sweetheart had just posted the same photos.

I clung to the hope that it was all a misunderstanding.

Until his childhood sweetheart used Ethan Bennett’s phone to show other people my intimate photos.

Ethan’s trembling voice came from above me.

“Chloe, let me explain—”

“I’ll only be gone for two days. I’ll be back before you know it. Take care of yourself while I’m away.”

Ethan had been lingering by our front door for over ten minutes. He looked even more reluctant to leave than I felt.

I nodded absently and nudged him toward the door.

“I know. You’ve told me a dozen times since last night.”

“Get going. At this rate, you’ll miss your flight.”

Ethan kissed my forehead. “When I get back, I’ll take you to Miami. You’ve always wanted to go.”

That had been my birthday wish five years ago. He’d promised to take me when he had time.

I’d waited and waited. Somehow, five years had passed.

I’d practically forgotten about it. I never imagined he still remembered.

Delighted, I rose onto my toes, cupped his face, and kissed him.

“Okay. But you’d better keep your promise. I’ll be waiting.”

Whenever Ethan left on a business trip, everyone on the executive support team could finally relax.

He was a total workaholic who took his job seriously.

If someone made a mistake, the rest of us silently prayed for them.

Being his girlfriend didn’t spare me, either. If I deserved a lecture, I got one.

A coworker I was close to tapped my cubicle wall and tipped her chin toward the break room.

“Water break?”

That was our code for slacking off.

I saved the spreadsheet I was working on, grabbed my water bottle, and followed her.

We hid in the break room’s supply closet and scrolled through our phones.

Suddenly, she nudged me with her elbow and held up her screen.

“Hey, isn’t Mr. Bennett supposed to be in New York on business? Since when does New York have beaches like that?”

I leaned closer.

It was an Instagram post Ethan had uploaded an hour earlier, with nine photos.

I’d never been to Miami, but I’d researched it obsessively back when I was looking forward to going with him.

One look at those photos, and I knew where they’d been taken.

But I hadn’t seen that post in my feed.

Thinking I’d missed it, I opened Instagram to check again.

The first thing I saw was a post Natalie Hayes had uploaded half an hour earlier.

She’d posted nine photos too. I opened the one in the middle several times, making sure I wasn’t imagining things.

My coworker leaned over and gasped. “Isn’t that Mr. Bennett…?”

Yes. It was Ethan and Natalie on the beach together, both wearing swimsuits.

And Ethan really had hidden his post from me.

My coworker glanced at my darkening expression and stumbled through an attempt to comfort me.

“Everyone knows Natalie and Mr. Bennett grew up together. It’s probably normal for them to take trips together.”

I stared at that painful photo. “Is it?”

They could have gone anywhere. Why did it have to be Miami?

Natalie might not have known what that meant to me.

But Ethan did.