Before Riley even knew how it happened, she had found herself totally relaxed and enjoying her time with Tyler. Neither of them had believed it when two hours had flown by and they hadn’t even talked shop yet.
So when Tyler had asked her for a favor, to be his plus-one to a fancy cocktail party one of his clients was hosting, she’d agreed to go without a second thought. They’d even laughed about how they could help each other out and be each other’s plus-ones when they had to attend these kinds of functions. That way they could avoid all those awkward questions about being single when they showed up alone.
And that’s how it had all started. She had never intended to actually date Tyler, and she was fairly sure he’d say the same thing about her, but pretty soon they were being photographed together at all the most exclusive parties and being dubbed one of Manhattan’s newest power couples.
She still laughed thinking about being part of any high-society power couple. She had gone from moving back in with her mom because she was flat broke, to living an opulent life in New York City, where power lunches, swanky cocktail parties, and elegant dinners were her new normal.
After Tyler had gotten promoted to partner at his law firm and upgraded to a penthouse apartment, she’d moved in with him, giving up her tiny studio and frugal lifestyle. At the time, her books had been selling better than ever, and Tyler had negotiated two Hollywood movie options for her, so she was making great money and living the life she thought she wanted.
Until it wasn’t.
She honestly couldn’t remember when things had taken a turn in their relationship. It hadn’t been one big thing that happened. They had rarely argued, in large part because, in reality, they rarely saw each other. Tyler would leave for the gym at five in the morning and often not get home from work until almost midnight because he was always taking one client or another to dinner and drinks.
She hadn’t minded. She’d understood that as an entertainment attorney a huge part of his job, with the kind of showbiz clients he had, was to entertain. At first, she’d gone to a lot of the dinners and parties with him. She’d had a blast living the kind of glamourous life she’d seen on reality TV shows. But when it had turned out the reality of her life had become very empty and superficial, Riley realized her perfect-on-paper relationship with Tyler was more like a business merger than a romantic relationship.
She’d also found her lavish lifestyle was impacting her writing. All the late-night parties meant she was sleeping in later, and her best time to write had always been the mornings. When she did finally carve out some time to write, it had felt forced and she hadn’t been able to find her rhythm. She had tried to tell herself she was being too hard on herself and that what she was writing was fine. But deep down, she knew something had been missing. When she’d turned in her next first draft to her editor and her editor had questioned—for the first time—where the love was, where the passion was, Riley had known it was time she made some big changes and fast.
Her life with Tyler had run its course.
It had been an amazing ride. With Tyler, she had been accepted into the illusive and exclusive world of Manhattan’s elite. It had opened a whole new world up to her, but with that world came at a price she was no longer willing to pay.
So she’d broken up with Tyler and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, a place where she could reboot and refocus. She had gone there with Brendan once, on their way to a hiking trip in the Grand Canyon, and she had found Scottsdale to be incredibly peaceful. It was just what she’d needed at the time.
She’d actually been surprised by how much Tyler had resisted her decision at first. She’d figured he was already on the same page and that this breakup would be similar to the one with Brendan, but she’d been wrong. Tyler had argued, using all his lawyer skills, that they had a lifestyle most people would die for and that they were so compatible he couldn’t imagine finding anyone else who would be such a great fit.
When she’d told him they both deserved more than just a great fit he still didn’t get it. He’d been angry when she’d left for Arizona, and while he’d called several times trying to get her to reconsider, she’d known Tyler wasn’t what she needed.
Instead, she’d thrown herself into rewriting the novel her editor hadn’t been happy with at first and found new ways to add more heart into the story. Bu still, when Heart of Summer came out, it had bombed.
The readers who had written reviews were right. It was a love story that was missing the love, and for the first time she was scared, really scared, that she’d lost what had made her novels so special, and she didn’t know how to get it back.
Riley was really counting on this Christmas Camp being the beginning of her comeback. The last thing she needed was the complication and confusion of her three exes showing up.
“I can’t believe this is happening . . .” Riley didn’t realize she’d said the words out loud until Caylee quickly responded.
“Oh, it’s happening all right!” Caylee jumped in, not even trying to hide her enthusiasm. “So, of the three, there wasn’t one you loved the most?”
Riley walked over to the dresser and picked up one of the Santas, then put it back down to join the other two.
“I don’t know,” Riley answered honestly. “They were all so different. They all brought something unique to my life when I needed it. Colin made me feel safe and loved, and I really needed that
