Natalie rose the following morning and stared at her phone. She had another text from Mac asking if she wanted to meet for lunch. She knew he found out she asked Brad to work alone. Jillian had told her Mac had stopped by yesterday. Nat knew she couldn’t avoid him forever. The problem was she had no idea what to say. At this point, she wasn’t even sure why she was dodging him. Originally, she needed to gather her thoughts and fortify her defenses because Mac struck a chord in her she didn’t want strummed—the note that made her think of happily ever afters. But after meeting with Gail, she began to have a completely different set of doubts. The first time Natalie met with Gail, the woman had seemed lovely and friendly. This time, however, the friendliness had an undercurrent of cutthroat

