Page 1 of Snow Storm

Chapter 1

Harley

“So you thinkthe one-year anniversary of my father’s death—which is also fourteen days since learning that my fiancé has left me for our therapist—is the day I should do a book signing?”

Harley liked to think he was a reasonable man. Really? He was a calm guy who rarely ever said no to people when they asked him for something. But this felt over the line, and he wasn’t sure if he was being irrational or not.

Harley was nothing like his namesake—which, yes, itwasthe motorcycle, and no, he was not carefree or wild or rough. The name was more ironic than anything now. A testament to his mother’s fucked-up sense of humor and the kind of person he’d become. And right now, he did feel a bit like flying off the handle.

He hadn’t slept a full night since Darren had dropped the bombshell on him that he wasn’t calling off the wedding, he was just replacing the groom. With their couples therapist. The man who had convinced Darren and Harley to take separate vacations so they could find themselves and be in a better place for a marriage.

Harley had sequestered himself at home to work on a manuscript he was hoping to pitch to his publisher—it was anovel that was nothing like the ones that were currently selling. And granted, he was going against his therapist’s orders that the vacation not involve work, but writing was Harley’s idea of fun.

He knew that Darren was going off to some tropical beach for sun, relaxation, and access to a twenty-four-hour spa. He had promised to call every night—and he did. At first. But slowly, that tapered off to passive-aggressive texts that eventually broke Harley.

He confronted Darren the night before his return flight, and Darren hadn’t bothered beating around the bush.

“I met someone, and it made me realize that this separate vacation thing did work, just not in the way I expected.”

Harley sat in silence for what felt like an eternity but was probably only thirty seconds or so. Eventually, he swallowed through a thick, painful throat and said, “Who is he?”

“Does that matter?” Darren asked him.

Harley closed his eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe. Just…you owe me that, at least.”

“Fine, but I want you to know that this wasn’t supposed to happen. I did love you, babe.”

“Don’t,” Harley whispered, but Darren carried on like he didn’t care Harley was protesting.

“I think we’ve just been more friends and roommates for a long, long while, and it took doing this to see it. It took someone understanding me to make me realize things like love at first sight do exist. But it doesn’t exist for us.”

“Darren,” Harley said, his voice louder that time.

Darren gave a big, heavy sigh. “Fine, but don’t freak out.”

Harley was freaking out. “Who is he?”Don’t say Wes. Don’t say Wes.His brother was married, but considering they’d had a contentious relationship most of their lives and Wes didn’t like him very much, a small part of him thought it could be possible.

And his mother would have found it hilarious.

“It’s Jacob.”

It took Harley a little too long to realize who Darren was talking about. Jacob. Jacob Masters. Their couples therapist. The man responsible for this godforsaken separate vacation idea.

“How?” Harley whispered, and without any sort of care or shame, Darren told him the truth.

“He gave me the suggestion of Barbados, but I think he thought I was coming a different weekend because he already had his trip booked. We ran into each other on one of the sightseeing excursions. Then we had dinner and drinks, and I’m sorry, babe, but he made me feel heard for the first time in a long time. He and I both realized that this was it for us. And I need to respect my truth, okay? And my truth is that I’m in love with him.”

“You barely know him,” Harley whispered.

Darren sighed. “We’ve known him for a year now, babe?—”

“Please stop calling me that!”

“And he and I have more in common than you and I ever did. It just…is what it is. I don’t want to hurt you, but I have to follow what my heart wants, and my heart wants to marry him.”

And that’s when Harley realized what was happening. “You’re marrying him. You’re not going to cancel the wedding, are you?”

“It’s nothing personal. It just makes sense not to lose our deposits for everything and have to rebook. Jacob said he’d make sure to cut you a check for your half of what you spent, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

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