Chapter 1
Raffo parked the car in front of the garage and cut the engine, silencing the music sheād been belting along to. She inhaled deeply and examined the house in front of her. Connor wasnāt the kind of person who understated thingsāquite the oppositeābut thatās exactly what her best friend had done with this property. It looked vast and luxurious from the outside, more like a year-round home than a weekend getaway place.
She got out of the car and stretched her limbs. Raffo hadnāt stopped on the road from Los Angeles to Big Bear Lake. It was only a two-hour drive and she just wanted to go-go-go. Away from LA and Mia and their open relationship that had failed so spectacularly, it might be funny if it didnāt hurt so damn much. The temperature dropped several degrees at this elevation, a welcome relief from LAās smoggy summer heat.
Raffo grabbed her backpack from the car. Sheād fetch her suitcases and painting materials after sheād explored the inside of this swanky house sheād be occupying for a while. It was up in the air exactly how longāas long as it took, she guessedābut Connor had told her she could stay as long as she wanted. The property belonged to his mother who was on a spiritual āEat-Pray-Love journeyāāConnorās wordsāthrough Europe and she wouldnāt be using it this summer.
Raffo walked to the front door and put the key in the lock. As soon as she opened the door, her gaze was drawn to the massive windows overlooking the lake. Oh yes, this would do nicely. Raffo might have to go on her very own spiritual journey to get her groove back, but she didnāt have to travel all the way to Europe for it. A two-hour drive might be all it took.
When she was able to look away from the magnificent view, she scanned the living area. There was a half-full glass of water on the coffee table and the couch cushions were propped together at one side, as though someone had recently rested their head on them. And was that a used coffee cup on the kitchen counter?
āHello?ā Raffo shouted. Was Connor playing a prank on her? He was supposed to be on the way to New York to visit his long-distance boyfriend, but maybe it had just been a ruse. But why would Connor want to stay here with her when Raffo had been sleeping in his spare room for the past month?
No answer came. Still, it was becoming glaringly obvious that someone was staying here. Maybe there had been a mix-up. Maybe Connorās mother had rented the place out for the summer while she was in Europe. Surely Connor had checked with her whether Raffo could stay here?
Raffo advanced farther into the house.
āAnyone here?ā she yelled, a little louder this time.
She headed toward the stairs and listened carefully for any noise coming from the second floor. She thought she heard something, but couldnāt quite make out what. Or maybe she was just imagining sounds now. She ascended the stairs, trying to make as much noise as possible, continuing to announce herself until her repeated hellos felt too silly and awkward.
She cast her gaze around the landing. The door to the bathroom was open. So was the door to the master bedroom. Raffoās eyes were drawn to a shape on the bed. She froze. Her heart hammered in her chest. She definitely wasnāt alone. She felt like an intruderāshe was an intruder. What should she do? Call Connor or approach the stranger? Raffo wasnāt someone who scared easily and her curiosity quickly got the better of her. She peered into the bedroom. Oh, damn. Raffo withdrew. Not only was that person a naked woman with the sheets thrown off her chest, but that was also Connorās mother. What the hell was going on? Raffo did panic now. Because why wasnāt Connorās mother responding to her calls?
Raffo tried to remember her name, but it escaped her. Sheād only met Connorās mother a few times at the gallery. Was she really sleeping so soundly that she hadnāt heard Raffoās many hellos?
Raffo didnāt want to, but she looked a little closer. She did her utmost to ignore her best friendās motherās bare breasts and focus on her ears to check for ear plugs, but they were covered with her tousled, honey-blond hair.
Raffo stopped thinking and shot into action mode. She knocked on the half-open door while trying to remember if, perhaps, Connorās mother was hearing-impaired.
All of a sudden, two bright blue eyes stared right back at her. Connorās mother inhaled sharply as she sat up, covering herself. Then she removed a pair of stark-white AirPods from her ears.
āRaffo?ā she said, her face a mask of confusion. āIs that you?ā
āMrs., um, Hart.ā Raffo still didnāt know where to look, even though Connorās mom had wrapped as much of the sheet around her chest as possible.
She shook her head. āHart is Connorās fatherās last name. Iām Dylan French.ā Somehow, she managed to send Raffo a zestful smile. Maybe sheād just had an ultra-rejuvenating nap. Or what sheād been listening to through those AirPods was something extra special.
āIām so sorry, Mrs. French,ā Raffo mumbled. āDid you not know I was coming here? Did Connor not tell you?ā
Connorās mom expelled a deep sigh. āItās complicated,ā she said. āAnd please call me Dylan.ā
āWhy donāt I wait for you downstairs?ā Raffo needed to get her bearings as well, and she was sure Dylan could do with some time to regroupāand put some clothes on.
Dylan nodded. āPour us a glass of that chablis in the fridge, will you?ā
