Chapter 1

The night before Valentine's Day, a group of friends organized a driving trip to the mountains around Aspen.

My husband, Lucas, suggested we draw lots for the passenger seat.

"Let Chloe pick first. She's a lot more delicate than Ava."

His personal assistant, Chloe Bennett, drew the passenger seat. No surprise there.

She said, perfectly at ease, "I'll ride up front with Lucas, then. Sorry Ava has to squeeze into the back."

Lucas gripped the wheel without turning his head.

"Nothing to be sorry about. Ava, we agreed on this beforehand—don't be a sore loser."

Chloe saw I wasn't saying anything and turned back with a pitiful look.

"Ava, maybe I should switch with you after all?"

Lucas cut her off immediately.

"She gets carsick—a little discomfort won't kill her. Your stomach's bad. You can't handle the bumps."

I clenched the pregnancy test results I'd just gotten and quietly curled into the corner of the back seat.

Until Chloe accidentally brushed the playback button on the dashcam.

A recording cut through the cabin, jarring and abrupt.

"Mark the slip so Chloe draws it first. She gets sick in the back—I have to look out for her."

Snow drifted outside the window.

I felt nauseous enough to be sick.

So his passenger seat had someone else's name written on it a long time ago.

...

I pulled open the car door and dragged my suitcase down with me.

The sound of it hitting the ground was mostly swallowed up by the snowstorm.

I dragged the case toward the service station lobby.

The snow was up to my ankles.

Behind me, a car door slammed shut.

"Ava."

Lucas's voice, tight with impatience.

He caught up in three long strides and grabbed the handle of my suitcase.

"What are you making a scene for. Get in the car."

I looked at his fingers wrapped around the handle.

"I'm not getting in."

He frowned.

"Everyone's watching. Can you not do this every single time?"

The rear window rolled down and Maggie leaned out.

"Ava, honey, it's freezing out there. Come on, get in. We can talk about it once we're at the lodge."

Chloe got out too, wrapped in a cashmere throw, standing in the snowstorm with red-rimmed eyes.

"Ava, is it because I took the front seat? I'll switch with you."

She took two steps toward the back.

Lucas immediately pressed a hand to her shoulder.

"Sit down. The wind out here is brutal. Your stomach's already a mess—don't push it."

The wind whipped snow crystals against my face.

My own stomach turned over.

The electronic sign at the service station scrolled a message:

I-70 CLOSED AHEAD DUE TO SEVERE SNOW.

Lucas saw it too, and his tone softened a fraction.

"Just get in. We'll deal with it at the lodge. Don't be stubborn."

I let go of the handle.

This snow wasn't going to give me a way out. Not yet.

I climbed back into the rear seat and pressed myself into the gap between the seat and the window.

Up front, Chloe rewrapped herself in her blanket and asked softly, "Is the AC a little cold? Want me to turn it up?"

"Adjust it however you like. Don't tough it out," Lucas said.

Warm air, mixed with the scent of the car's diffuser, poured into my nose.

I slid my hand into my coat pocket.

My fingertips brushed the lab report, folded and refolded.

Chloe laughed from the front seat.

"Lucas, you drive so smoothly."

"It's alright. If you feel sick, just lean back and sleep a while."

Another bump.

A short, sharp cramp seized my lower abdomen.

Cold sweat soaked through the back of my shirt in an instant.

I gripped the armrest, nails digging into my palm.

Lucas glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

"Sit still. Don't bang your head on the glass."

He seemed to have forgotten, or maybe he simply didn't care—

My stomach problems were serious too.

Two hours later, the car pulled up in front of a mountain lodge.

Lucas killed the engine, got out, and walked around to the passenger side to open Chloe's door.

"Careful. It's slippery."

He offered her a hand.

Meanwhile, my fingers had gone so stiff I couldn't get any strength into them. I tried twice and couldn't push the door open.

He didn't so much as glance my way.

Ethan climbed out of the other car.

Seeing I was still stuck inside, he came over and pulled the door open for me.

"Ava, you okay? You don't look great."

I shook my head and used the door to slowly pull myself up.

Black spots swam across my vision.

Lucas walked back over then, his brow slightly furrowed.

"What's the matter, you look terrible. Never mind, get inside where it's warm."

He reached to put an arm around my shoulders.

I stepped sideways.

"No thank you."

His hand hung in the air a moment before he pulled it back.

He turned and went to help Chloe with her bags.

Inside the lodge, we asked the owner about rooms.

The lodge owner rubbed his hands together as he explained—too many guests had been stranded by the snow that day, and vacancies were tight.

They had one king room with a private bath left.

Plus a few makeshift cots set up in storage rooms at the end of the hallway.

"If you take one of the extra cots, I can give you a discount. You'll have to work out among yourselves who gets the king," the owner said.

The friends all looked at Lucas.

They didn't really care, of course. The question was me and Chloe.

Which of the two of us should get the king room—only Lucas could decide.

He hesitated, his eyes flicking between me and Chloe.

Just before he spoke—

Chloe suddenly doubled over, clutching her stomach, beads of sweat on her forehead.

"I'm fine."

She waved a hand.

"Ava and Lucas should take the king room. I'll find somewhere to crash."

Everyone's eyes snapped to me at once.

Lucas frowned and steadied Chloe, then turned his head.

"Ava, give her this one. Her stomach's bad—she can't handle the cold."

"I'll make it up to you next time."

Next time. Again.

Over the years, there had been more "next times" than I could count.

I gave a small laugh.

I walked to the front desk and took a key labeled storage room off the counter.

Behind me, my friends laughed with audible relief.

And Lucas's voice, urging everyone else to make do as well.

The storage room was at the far end of the hallway.

I pushed the door open and a wave of damp mildew hit me.

No heat.

The pain in my stomach sharpened.

I set down my luggage, sat on the edge of the creaky cot, and pulled out my phone.

In my contacts, Lucas's name was still followed by the tag Husband.

I stared at it for a few seconds.

Then I changed it to his full name.

Lucas Whitmore.

I turned off the screen.

I closed my eyes in the dark.

Half an hour later, a knock came at the door.

First a sigh, weary.

"I know you're stubborn. But the only reason I rigged the draw for Chloe was because I knew you wouldn't agree otherwise."

Two more knocks on the door.

"Ava. Open up."

"I made some ginger tea. Drink it, warm yourself up."

I looked down at the wastebasket by the bed.

Inside was a wad of tissues stained a dark red.

The doctor had told me I couldn't get cold, or I'd risk a miscarriage.

Instinctively, I pressed a hand to my belly. The pain came in waves.

After a long silence, he knocked twice more.

His footsteps faded down the hall.