Page 4 of I Loved You First

“Fi, where will you go?”

She shrugged, finding it impossible to stop crying. “To the airport. Then to DC. School starts next week.”

“Where will you stay?”

She jerked her shoulders again. “I’ll call Tara when I get on the bus. I’m sure I can stay with her. Her parents said I’m always welcome.” But she would stay in a damn shelter until the dorms opened if she had to. Because she wasn’t staying here.

Her cell phone stopped ringing and alerted her to a text. Short on patience, she huffed out a breath as she yanked it up, reading it.

Fi, please talk to me. Please let me explain.

Then Cam’s gorgeous, grinning face filled her screen when he called again.

Another wave of sorrow broke her as she selected his name in her contacts and blocked him. Instantly, the car was quiet, except for her shuddering breaths and sniffling.

She’d been the biggest of fools. Cam hadn’t texted her two days ago because he’d been missing her the way she’d been missing him. He hadn’t wanted to get back together like she had. Cam had wanted to tell her that he’d moved on and made a child with someone else.

Minutes later, Mom pulled into the bus station lot, parking close to the Boston-bound bus.

Fiona got out, eager to secure a ticket and be gone. Pulling her suitcase from the back, she shut the trunk.

Mom met her around back, cupping Fiona’s face in her hands. “I’m so sorry, baby girl.”

She started to cry again.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but you’re going to be okay.”

Fiona cried harder. “He doesn’t love me.”

Mom wiped away her tears. “You’re my strong, brave girl. You can do anything you set your mind to. Go make a life for yourself. Make all of your dreams come true the way your dad wanted you to. Call Simone and take the job in Seattle.”

Fiona nodded. “Okay.”

Mom wrapped her up in a tight hug. “Put your tickets on the emergency credit card. I’ll bring you your stuff next week before we both have to get back to the classroom.”

Fiona held on. “Thank you, Mom.”

Mom eased back. “I love you, sweet girl.”

She sniffled. “I love you, too.”

“Lift up that chin, and go get your ticket, baby.”

She nodded, swiping at her cheeks as she walked inside, heading for the ticket booth.

Buying her fare, she immediately headed for the bus that was due to depart in eleven minutes. As she took her seat and stared out at the outskirts of the town she’d grown up in, she promised herself she would take her mother’s advice and build a new life. And she would never look back.

two

Seattle, Washington

Six Years Later

Fiona didn’t bother turning on the living room light as she locked herself in her condo thirty-five stories above downtown Seattle. She didn’t have the energy to appreciate the twinkle and glow of the gorgeous skyline as she rolled her suitcase down the hallway in the dark. Her only goal was to sleep after the chaos in LA.

For almost a month, she’d been back and forth between Los Angeles and Seattle. Preparations for the latest event had kept her flying between the two cities, often multiple times a week. But it was the last seventy-two hours that had nearly been her undoing. For three days straight, she’d been putting out fires and being everything to everyone as she helped Gloss, Inc. launch their highly anticipated makeup line.

There had been parties and schmoozing before and after the main event. Celebrities and other influencers had been pampered and showered with numerous personalized gifts. The venues and details selected for each of the half dozen soirees had been perfectly chic and on point. And she’d been in charge of it all.