Tessa worked with renewed vigor, the rhythmic clawing sound of the rake on the leaves somehow soothing her. She had prevented herself from falling in love with Max nine years ago. She'd told herself she could enjoy his friendship and move on, and she'd made it clear to him from the beginning she'd intended to move on. But had he fallen in love with her? And had she killed that love by leaving and following her dream? After Leslie told Tessa she and Max were dating, Tessa had tried to forget about Max. And she'd managed to do that pretty well most of the time. Not long after Leslie and Max married, Tessa thought she'd fallen in love. She'd been covering the war in the Mid East. So had Phil Evans. One eventful day, they'd both almost been killed by stray gunfire. Nothing had seemed more precious than life, and they'd turned to each other in the midst of chaos. But six weeks later, Phil had moved on—to another country, another war. He'd left her without looking back.
