him, Chelsea was making far too many poor choices. And as the big brother—whether he wanted to be or not—it was going to be his job to help her make good ones. Or keep her too busy to make anything but.
When Gwen Henderson had dreamed of her triumphant return to Cedar Springs after years of hard work and sacrifice, she’d dreamed of driving an expensive convertible down Main Street, her dark hair floating in the breeze as all the men’s heads turned to see the beautiful and famous celebrity she’d turned out to be as they kicked themselves for not dating her when they had their chance.
Yes, in her fantasies, it was perfect. In reality, however, she had not imagined that on the eve of her summer visit to Cedar Springs, her secondhand Mustang would have some random, and likely expensive, engine problem that would require her taking the bus into town. And she most certainly did not expect that the one man who’d not only turned her down as a teenager, but had publicly humiliated her ten years earlier at the Summer Equinox Festival, would be there when she got off the bus.
Ian McCormick.
He didn’t even live in Cedar Springs. What were the odds the one man who still haunted—no, not haunted…visited—her dreams would not only be standing there when she got off the stupid, humiliating bus, but would also look her square in the eye and not even recognize her?
If she was honest with herself, and she’d made that a habit over the last few years, that was the part that hurt the most. Ian McCormick had been her biggest teenage crush. No, her only teenage crush. Every summer for four years, she had lusted after him. Practically threw herself at him that final summer. But he’d barely even noticed her and when she thought she’d finally had a date with him at the festival, he’d stood her up. Left her there all alone. She knew now he’d only said yes to the date out of pity. After all, it didn’t make sense for someone as handsome and smart as Ian McCormick to go out with fat, pimple-faced, four-eyed, frizzy-haired Giant Gigi. At the time, she’d been heartbroken—totally destroyed, really. But time and distance had taught her social order. The other thing time and distance had taught her was the impact that health, fitness, contacts, clear skin, a new hair-do, and a name change could do for social order.
It had been five years since she’d dropped the stupid childhood nickname, adopted a fitness regime and lost seventy-five pounds, finding herself and a new career in the process. Early on in her transformation, Gwen decided to document everything on social media, using a blog and then a Facebook and Instagram account to chronicle her progress. The result was not only a whole new body, but also a very loyal following, commercial and marketing deals, and the potential for a book and maybe even a reality television show. She was a very different person than the sad, overweight teenager she’d been on her summer visits to see her grandma in Cedar Springs. Very different. And with women looking up to her and men lining up to date her, she no longer needed Ian McCormick to validate her worth.
But if that was true, why had her heart done a stupid little flip when he’d grabbed her bag at the bus stop? And why had her pulse raced out of control when he looked at her? How was it even possible that he could still have that effect on her after all these years?
“Gwen!”
Deanna Gordon shot out of the building across the street and without even looking, raced across the street and pulled her into a hug. “Oh my goodness, you look amazing.” Deanna held her out at arm’s length for a fraction of a second before she pulled her back into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re finally here. I was going to meet you at the bus stop—that’s crazy that your car broke down—but I got caught up with a patient and—”
“It’s okay.” Gwen finally cut her off with a laugh. “I literally only walked half a block. Don’t worry about it.”
Deanna bent down and scooped up her bag. “Is this all you have? One duffel bag? I don’t think I could travel that light if I tried.”
Gwen laughed again. “Are you kidding? The rest of my bags are coming later. I may have sweet-talked the guy at the depot