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Chapter One

It had all been lies

From the e ended aBut that was all over now He was setting his world to rights, reclai on

And he was hoain

Evan stood in the arched living rooo horant with Christ, stockings along the fireplace and brilliant poinsettias brightening the corners of the rooh to handle all of Harper Newuests tomorrow

When thethe five friends had done was hborhood At the time, this home was a palace cohborhood they’d grown up in Now that millions had turned to billions, the Mavericks wanted to buy theer house But Susan and Bob insisted this was their dream home

Noould be the drea

No one had noticed Evan’s arrival yet as he hung back, watching his foster faht unit, going back to when they were kids out in the schoolyard None of their childhoods had been innocent, and they’d each had their fair share of scars—both physical and emotional—by the time they left Susan and Bob’s home and headed out to conquer the world

But only Evan hadwoman

Da thehi past time to move forward

God, he’d missed his family and friends All the people ere closer to hiht loved him

Harper and Will would be ht was the cusp of a new life for them No matter how badly his life had i

Harper was radiant in a burgundy dress thatabout her shine—Will’s eyes certainly followed her everywhere she hed Harper’s brother, Jeremy, circled like a satellite, his usual enthusiastic, joyful self

Sebastian Montgomery and his fiancée, Charlie Ballard, flanked herchair Francine’s lined face beamed with happiness—she and Charlie were a perfect addition to the Mavericks Sebastian’s hand stroked over Charlie’s red hair, and she leaned into his touch

Matt Tremont sat beside them, one hand on his son’s back, the other around the waist of his girlfriend, Ari Jones Evan’s chest tightened at the sight of little Noah, as almost six now, in Ari’s arroith every passing year for the miracle of a healthy baby Only to finally discover the horrible truth, a o, about why that had never come to be…

He put the brakes on the runaway locohts He’d deliberately left his raw, battered emotions behind after his European travels Fro full steam ahead into a neorld unmarked by his past

Evan Collins had started over more than once in his life

This tiht

Thankfully, his friends had already gotten it coht Will had found his perfectwith Charlie and was ecstatic that Noah now had a brand-new mother in Ari Not for one minute would Evan let his own loss tarnish this celebration

There had been sothe last month when he’d wanted to punch in Will’s number, or Susan’s, or Matt’s, or God help him, call all his friends at once To bare his soul To tell the And yet, in answer to all their queries after telling the Whitney, thefine

At least he’d sent thee, had reached out to him too

Whitney just told ht now Call me as soon as you’re up to it

But he hadn’t gotten to that point, not knohat to say or how to say it So he hadn’t replied at all, ignoring not only her texts, but her emails and phone calls as well

Evan’s gut clenched as he realized Paige was nowhere to be seen tonight, as though she no longer felt welcome now that Evan and her sister had split up As if she actually believed she was the “hanger-on” Whitney had always called her He’d never felt that way about Paige No one had

At the very least, thank God Whitney hadn’t shown up She’d been on the invitation they’d received before their e imploded, and he knew all too well howher own special brand of trouble at the wedding

At last, Daniel turned and spotted him Evan could easily read the emotions on his friend’s face—shock, concern, er In a split second, however, it all disappeared beneath Daniel’s smile of welcome

The Mavericks always accepted each other unconditionally They didn’t take crap, but at the sas out on his own And Evan swore that he had worked out all his emotions about Whitney Even if it had taken a brutally lonely lobe

Separating fro at one of Bob’s hilarious stories, Daniel headed his way “Glad you