Chapter 1He Thinks He's the Other Man

The day my mother decided to buy me gold jewelry, she insisted on telling the salesperson I was her daughter-in-law.

“You don’t get it,” she whispered to me, “It makes me look good! Generous!”

Sure enough, the woman browsing beside us immediately started gushing over Mom. The two of them struck up a happy conversation, cooing over trays of necklaces.

I was speechless. And then I turned my head and saw him. My ex-boyfriend, as of three days ago.

It turned out the woman currently singing my mother’s praises was his mom.

“Sweetheart, come over here!” she called out. “This lovely woman is picking out a necklace for her daughter-in-law. It’s got me thinking, I should start picking things out for your future wife, too.”

My ex—Liam—raised an eyebrow, his gaze flickering to me. “Ma’am,” he said, his voice dangerously smooth. “If you don’t mind my asking, when did your son get married?”

My mother, without missing a beat, beamed. “Last year.”

A dry, humorless laugh escaped Liam’s lips. He pulled out his phone, his thumbs flying across the screen. A second later, my phone buzzed.

[Liam]: So I was the other man for a year.

* * *

The breakup was fresh, so to console me, Mom’s brilliant idea was a gold necklace.

“Twenty grams, max,” she’d warned in the car. “You even look at something bigger and I’ll smack you.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Mom,” I’d said dutifully.

With the price of gold skyrocketing, who was I to complain about weight limits?

The second we got to the counter at Nordstrom, my mom leaned in conspiratorially to the sales associate. “I’m looking for a necklace for my daughter-in-law. Could you show us some of your popular styles?”

My face went blank. Mom nudged me, whispering from the side of her mouth.

“Trust me. It makes me sound like Mother-in-Law of the Year.”

And damn it, she was right. The woman who had been quietly looking at a pair of earrings immediately lit up.

“Oh, that is just so thoughtful of you! And my goodness, what a beautiful daughter-in-law. I can see why you adore her.”

I managed a polite, tight-lipped smile. My mother soaked up the compliment, turning to her new best friend.

“Are you shopping for one of your kids today, too?”

The woman sighed dramatically. “I’m not as lucky as you. My blockhead son is twenty-eight, been working for years, and still hasn’t brought a single girl home for me to meet.” She gestured vaguely at the jewelry case. “I’m just getting a head start. Building up a collection for my future daughter-in-law.” Then her face brightened. “Oh, honey! Over here!”

My mom and I both followed her gaze. Standing in the entrance was a handsome man, easily six-foot-one, with a jawline that could cut glass.

I snapped my eyes away first.

Because I knew that handsome man.

His name was Liam.

My ex-boyfriend. The one who had dumped me—or whom I had dumped, it was mutual and confusing—seventy-two hours ago.

My mother, blissfully unaware, was already critiquing him. “Oh, that’s your son? He’s very handsome! So well put-together.”

The woman waved a dismissive hand. “What good is handsome if he can’t bring home a girlfriend? Liam, get over here! This lady is buying a necklace for her daughter-in-law. I told you, I’m going to start buying things for your future wife. You’d better get a move on, or all this will be for nothing!”

The moment Liam walked into the department, I felt a prickling on the back of my neck. He moved with a lawyer’s deliberate pace, his eyes locking on me before shifting to my mother.

“Ma’am, hello,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “Forgive me for asking, but when exactly did your son get married?”

My mother, a professional in the art of the casual lie, answered instantly. “Last year.”

Which, to be fair, was true. My brother, Evan, did get married last year.

I thought I heard Liam scoff under his breath. He pulled out his phone and started typing. My own phone vibrated in my purse. It was the message from him.

[Liam]: So I was the other man for a year.