Mom and Dad dropped the idea of moving north . A total fresh start . I'd always been obsessed with snow and real winters , so I was all in . After we wrapped everything up , we relocated to a smaller beach town up north . My days became stupid simple - long walks on the beach , soaking up sun , ocean breeze in my hair . That was it . Between my parents ' retirement savings and the cash I'd been hoarding for a wedding that never happened , I could afford to do absolutely nothing for at least a year or two . Mom kept telling me , " Find a job when you're ready . We're not in a rush . " Being surrounded by strangers was honestly perfect . Surface - level friendly , no messy history . Exactly what I needed . Then one day , I bumped into Liam William at a coffee shop . College friend . Hadn't seen him in years . And he was clearly recovering from a train wreck of a blind date . I tried ducking behind my coffee . Too late . " Haven . Seriously ? You watched that whole disaster and now you're gonna pretend you didn't see me ? " I laughed , awkward as hell . " Okay , fine . Crazy running into you here . This place makes killer coffee , by the way . " He smirked . " Can I join you ? " I nodded . Old classmates always have something to talk about , and we were no exception . ' Hold up - you're doing blind dates now ? " I couldn't help myself . " You were like Mr. Popular back in school . I figured women would be throwing themselves at you . " Liam had been a big deal in college - student body president , debate team MVP , the golden boy everyone wanted to be or be with . Smart , driven , but never a dick about it . Everyone loved him . From the look of his tailored suit and expensive watch , he was crushing it career - wise too . But blind dates at twenty - six ? Damn . He laughed it off . " My parents are panicking because I'm still single . They're convinced something's wrong with me . So here I am , meeting random strangers to get them off my back . " I burst out laughing . " God , it feels like we just graduated yesterday . Now we're getting pushed into marriage like it's some kind of expiration date . It's insane . " He took a long sip of his black coffee , his voice dropping . " Yeah . Everything's different now . But some things - some people - never 73.0 Chapter 7 really change . " That line gutted me . My mind went straight to Sienna . To all those wild , stupid , fearless years when I actually believed we'd be friends forever . People change , " I said , quieter now . " No one stays the same . It's just how life works . " forced myself to smile . " But you ? You're still the same , Solid , confident . You'll be fine . " lis eyes stayed locked on mine - bright , sharp , like he'd never let the world dim his fire . Ve swapped numbers after that . I'd deleted most of my old college contacts ages ago . Felt weirdly good to reconnect Looks like we live pretty close . We should grab coffee again . Hit the beach or something, huh , Miss Haven ? " he way he said my name made something stir in my chest . Something I hadn't felt in a long time . grabbed my bag and smiled . " Yeah . I'd like that . " Chapter 8 After Landon and Sienna got married , work swallowed him whole . Sienna stayed home with the pregnancy , basically a shut in . That's when the prenatal anxiety hit . Hard . A sad commercial would send her into hysterics . She was paranoid , fragile , falling apart . andon tried everything to fix it . Nothing helped . He looked like a ghost walking around . One night , he woke up to her sobbing . She was hunched over this huge photo album , tears pouring down her face . He reached for it . Big mistake . Don't touch it ! These are my pictures with Haven! You don't get to take them ! " Okay , okay . I won't . Babe , please - you need to sleep . This isn't good for the baby . " she wouldn't stop . Just kept stroking the photos , two girls frozen in time , smiling like nothing could ever go wrong . ' I need Haven . When I couldn't sleep , she'd sing to me . She was awful tit but it was the only thing that worked- Her voice shattered . " She hates me . She's gone . Just vanished . I'll never see her again- " Full breakdown . Sobbing uncontrollably . Landon sat there , rubbing his face , looking ten years older than he did a month ago . This wasn't the life he'd pictured . He thought being with Sienna , having a kid - it'd be everything . Instead , he couldn't stop thinking about me . My laugh . My face . The version of his life where he didn't screw everything up . Would it have been different if he'd just been honest ? Typical . You always want what you can't have . He'd won . And now they were both drowning . Sienna looked at him , voice dead . " Do you regret picking me ? " ' No. Stop thinking like that . " ' I do , " she whispered . " I wish I'd never traded Haven for you . God , why didn't I see it sooner ? " Silence . Sienna stared at the ceiling until the sun came up , completely empty inside . Landon smoked through a pack of cigarettes by the window . By morning , he looked ancient . Chapter 8 Three months of doing absolutely nothing , and I finally got a job . Met the owner of this cute local coffee shop . We clicked instantly . She offered to train me , so I became a barista . The place was pretty popular - three floors , lots of books , cozy corners for working or zoning out . Most days were dead . I'd spend the downtime reading or practicing latte art . Then there was Liam . Same time . Every day . Same seat by the window . Always found some excuse to talk to me . Never weird about it , just ... consistent . Eventually , it was painfully obvious he was into me . I'm too old for this dance . So I just asked . " Liam . Are you hitting on me ? " He didn't even blink . " Does that bother you ? " " Not really . Just - why me ? " The women his family tried setting him up with were leagues ahead of me . He had options . What he said next floored me . " That blind date ? Total setup . I hired one of my employees to play along . The whole thing was just an excuse to bump into you without looking like a creep . " So he'd been plotting this the whole time . I exhaled slowly . " I'm not ready for something new yet . " He smirked . " You done with guys completely ? " ' No. " " Then I'll take my chances . " His smile softened . " No pressure , Haven . We'll take it slow . " Slow . God , that sounded perfect . Four months in , and we hit our first real winter up north as a family . The house was decked out for Christmas - twinkling lights , the smell of Mom's cooking , Dad cracking terrible jokes . They were thriving . And honestly ? So was I. After we stuffed ourselves with dinner , I spotted a package I'd been avoiding in the corner . I already knew what it was . A red scarf . Hand - knit . From Sienna .