Leonard was sitting back and drinking his wine, but he was also taking her measure. He nodded. “They’ll be in April—one in LA, one in New York, and the final show will be right here in Boston. I’ll get you and—Will, was it?—on the list.”

“We’d love that. We missed you in New York last month.” Had it only been last month? Everything had gone entirely wrong so quickly. The pact was gone, leaving their relationship fraying at the seams, even if their marriage was still legally binding. She swiped at her eyes, relieved to find them dry. Crying in front of Leonard Nulty was unacceptable.

“Your turn,” he said, repositioning himself on the couch. “I’m dying to hear how this pact played out.”

She wasn’t sure how much she would tell him. It would be easy to hit the highlights reel and move on. But as she started telling their story, it all spilled out. She walked him through Jonathan’s disapproval and their laundromat date, through to Madison and Boston, ending at the phone conversation he had partially overheard.

“I’m worried that maybe I broke him,” she said. “I promised myself when we got married that I’d be so careful with his heart, and I wasn’t careful at all.” She looked up at Leonard, who had been listening intently to the whole story. “What if I broke us?”

“Maybe you did. Maybe you both did. Love and careful rarely go together.” He glanced around the room, but it was only them. The photography crew had long since left, and Leonard hadn’t arrived with an entourage. “Six years ago, things with Veronica and I were the worst they’d ever been. We’d moved to a new part of town after Lollipop Dreams broke through to the mainstream. She’d made some really great friends, had a life and a career—traveling with the band on a smelly tour bus wasn’t appealing anymore. I came home less often, and she flew out to fewer shows. One night after too many drinks and too many unanswered calls, there was this groupie—I hate to use that term—there was a woman, and I cheated on my wife.”

Wow. Hannah sucked in a breath. She hadn’t been expecting any of this. Leonard Nulty stuck to the music in a very dry and rigid way despite that his entire discography was autobiographical.

“I told Veronica right away, and I thought that was the end of things,” he said without pausing, barely noticing Hannah’s strife. “Could I have forgiven her for the same thing? I’m still not sure to this day. But my wife is a warrior and a goddess. It took a while—a lot of screaming and truth-telling and hard conversations. Our half-truths and omissions had led to resentment we didn’t even know was building. But we worked it out. We had Alicia.”

Hannah knew the time he spoke of—fans called it “the Blackout.” Leonard had gone silent—no tours, no music, nothing for nearly a year. Then Alicia appeared on his social media accounts—a small, squished-up version of her father—and they’d thought it all made sense. They’d been wrong. Hearing the story from Leonard colored all the music that came after. The album that followed the Blackout had been one of his best. It had left behind the mainstream sound of Lollipop Dreams and returned to his punk and emo roots. It had felt like a love letter to the fans. It was a memoir.

“Who we are now together is so much stronger than who we were all those years before,” he said. “Sometimes the way you fit back together after you’ve been broken is better than the way it used to be. Maybe that’s how it will be for you and Will too.”

“I hope so.” Hannah laid her pen down on top of her notebook. “Do

you want that off the record?”

A small smile played across his face. “Riley was right about you.”

Chapter 52Hannah

The Final Love Act: A Deafening Silence Exclusive with Wilderness Weekend’s Leonard Nulty by Hannah Abbott-Thorne.

Hannah reread the headline. Her eyes stopped on what she hoped would still be her name after this was all over. Hannah Abbott-Thorne. It was a suitable byline for Leonard Nulty’s goodbye and one of the few ways she had of letting Will know she wasn’t going anywhere.

She scanned the article, already edited and partially laid out. Leonard had agreed to a second round of photos with his family. Once those were in, the layout would be adjusted, and in a few more weeks, this baby would go live, setting off a whirlwind of response in Boston and hopefully throughout his fanbase. Hannah could use a bit of fame by association. It had been a while since she’d had a story this big.

Riley sniffled from across the room. Hannah nudged her with her foot.

“Hannah, this is amazing. It’s the perfect big headline piece we need to kick off Boston. When Leo told me he wanted to give us an exclusive, I never expected this. He gave me no warning. How did you keep it together? How did you get so much out of him?”  

How indeed. Hannah hadn’t told Riley that he’d agreed to swap one of his truths for hers. It wasn’t that she had revealed anything scandalous, but it had been ingrained in Hannah since high school that reporters shouldn’t insert themselves into the narrative. They were the storytellers, not the story. Riley would understand. Hannah had been around for the Robbie Cooper and Riley Anderson show. It had ended with Robbie in rehab and Riley engaged to Danny. Okay, maybe the rehab had been a few years later, but Riley had had a personal hand in launching Robbie’s career with her in-depth interviews—in-depth because she’d had insights from the bedroom.

“We just talked,” Hannah said. “He knew I was a fan, so that was an in. Plus, since this is his farewell, he wanted to get it all out there.”

Riley sniffled again. The printout she was reading crinkled in her grip.

“Riles, why are you crying?” Hannah placed her hand lightly on Riley’s knee.

“It’s just—you don’t understand! This story, your work here. It’s like watching my baby grow up. I mean, you were my first intern in New York, and now you led the upstart of the Boston edition. And with an exclusive like this! Nate’s already agreed to run it on the cover in both New York and LA.”

“Are you serious?” Hannah had had plenty of covers before, but none of them ran nationally. A coast-to-coast cover was a rare gem in a pile of costume jewelry.

“So serious that Nate wants you to run the Boston edition.”

Hannah sucked in a breath. Run the Boston edition—be Riley. Riley had given everything to the magazine. Hell, she was spending three days in Boston away from her three-month-old daughter. Hannah hadn’t understood why she was coming up, but she didn’t mind the company. She’d spent the whole last week working on her article, going to concerts, and worrying over Will—nothing more, nothing less. But then Riley’s decision to make the trip to Boston sans baby made sense. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that she got to offer to the intern she’d brought up through the ranks. Six months ago, Hannah wouldn’t even have hesitated. She would’ve left Brian, hugged Kate, and headed to Boston full-time. But life had taken an unexpected turn. Hannah Abbott-Thorne.

The last few weeks in Boston were everything she had ever dreamed of professionally. The assignment had taken everything she’d had. It had tested her abilities and proved to her that she deserved all the faith Riley had in her. But it had strained her relationships and pulled her away from the people who mattered. Hannah couldn’t give everything forever. She couldn’t be Riley. More importantly, she didn’t want to be.

Hannah wanted to go home. She wanted to kiss Will and work on her marriage. Talking to Leonard had given her perspective. As she told her and Will’s love story for the first time, she had realized exactly how she felt. She loved him forever. Maybe they had broken things—both of them in their own ways—but they could fix it if they were together.

“Did you hear me?” Riley asked, putting her hand on Hannah’s shoulder.

Hannah blinked, refocusing her gaze on her mentor. “Sorry. Yes, I heard you. And I’m honored. It means more than I can articulate at the moment that you and Nate trust me to do this, but—” Hannah paused, a part of her still unable to believe what she was about to say and what it would mean. “I’m going to have to pass.”

Riley smiled, tears gleaming in her eyes. She shook her head and pulled Hannah into a hug. “That’s what I told Nate you’d say.”

Chapter 53Will

Will placed their wedding picture down on the corner of his new desk. This was the third place he’d set it, but it didn’t seem right. He moved it to the other corner. That was better. His eyes would fall on it whenever he looked up. He’d officially joined Flannigan O’Hare Mahon as their new junior partner yesterday. The day had been full of meetings, paperwork, lunches, and drinks. If only all junior partners got this reception. He knew that his move to the firm felt like a coup, even though Will would never work a case against Wellington Thorne.

Brady had given him his first case that morning, and he couldn’t wait to dig in. For once, he wasn’t fighting to build a hotel that would displace the local flora and fauna. There’d be a learning curve, but he would master it. He was living the dream—he wouldn’t forget that. Next, he just needed Hannah to come home—come home and choose him. He still couldn’t believe he had dissolved the pact and given her an ultimatum. They hadn’t spoken much since then, both agreeing that it was best to ride out her time in Boston. It would give them each the chance to consider what they wanted and how ending the pact had changed things. Yes, they were still legally married, but that was probably the easiest thing to fix about their situation.

“Sir?”

Will looked up at his associate. They always looked so young. He didn’t remember looking that green out of law school. “What is it, Matt?”

“You have a visitor.” Will looked past his associate but couldn’t gather who was standing in the threshold beyond the fact that it was not Hannah.

“You don’t need to deliver guests to my office.”

The young man nodded. “I was coming to give you this, actually.” He handed Will an overstuffed file. “Everything on the Lancosta case.”

As Matt walked out, Jon walked in. Will stared up at his older brother incredulously. Had he really stepped foot in Flannigan O’Hare Mahon on Will’s second day?

Jon sat down in the chair across from him. After giving his brother a once-over, Will swallowed the anger roiling in his stomach. Dark circles underlined the dullness of Jon’s eyes, his skin was pallid, and the boisterous demeanor that defined his brother was absent.

“What are you doing here?” Will asked, leaning back in his chair.

Jon slid a file folder across the desk. “Dad tried to get rid of Hannah. He had me quietly get annulment papers together the moment your marriage license hit the public record. And then he asked me to set aside funds—he used them to invest in her magazine.”

So their father had known about their marriage all along. Will wasn’t surprised. Jonathan paid a great deal of money for information, monitoring the public record for anything that might tarnish the Thorne name. Will glanced at the paper, shaking his head at the number Jonathan had been willing to pay to break his son’s heart.

“Why are you telling me this?” For whatever reason, Jon was extending an olive branch, but Will wasn’t sure he wanted to take it.

“You deserved to know, and so does Hannah.” Jon looked up, his expression heavy with regret. “I didn’t know you really loved her.”

“More than anything,” Will said, dropping the folder back on his desk. There was more to this gesture than either of them would say aloud. Jonathan was stubborn. He wouldn’t want to let Will just go. But what Jon had handed Will was sizeable leverage should he need it.