e from the recycled air she' d been breathing for weeks. Her boots crunched on the gravel driveway leadin

ch, wiping her hands on her apron. Her smile

e home

r into a tight hug.

sed yo

. Come on in, I ma

shake the feeling that something was off. Her mother' s usual cheerfulness was strained, a thin veil over a deep

everyth

her fork. The pretense fell awa

Ava. Something your father and I... w

ade Ava' s stomach tighten. She put

t is

tte said, her voice quiet. "A pro

through possibilities. Deb

ng," Charlotte continued, her gaze fixed on the tablecloth. "I

ion deepened.

, her eyes filled with a mi

Between you and h

what? An arranged marriage? Mom, this i

ic, so suffocating, i

was your father's partner. During a botched raid, your father saved his life. Took a bullet that

he foundation of her father' s le

. Jonathan... he's in failing health now, Ava. Hi

s legacy settle on her shoulders.

would only stand if, when the time came, you weren't seriously involved with s

er life was her music, her band, the road. There was no one.

ted family from New York," Charlotte

zed on the table. She glanced at t

It's Jonath

ly hear her mother' s side of the conversation

new urgency. "He's not doing well. He wants to

onor her father' s promise. Her father, who she respected above all

internal surrender. "I' ve heard things. He's a highly respected architect.

vorite meal now seeming like a distant memo

m. I'll m

gged with relief. "They w

. Two days. It wa

her phone, a professional headshot. "He seems li

a character in a story someo