Lucy pulled the shade down on the plane window, blocking out the early November sun. She could hardly wait to see Quinn and roam around her favourite city with him for the weekend and was counting the minutes until they landed.

She sat back to close her eyes for a moment; she'd been up early that day. She began to drift slightly, somewhere in the space between awake and dreaming. The light danced before her closed eyelids and she saw flashes of something; a glint of shattered glass. A memory came to her unbidden, something she'd tried to block out for years. My shittiest birthday.

Dark memories surfaced. Instead of stuffing them down or ignoring them, she let them come.

It happened during the last dying days of her relationship with Trent. She tried to remember the exact point where contempt had settled in. Looking back with clear eyes, she saw that once he lost respect for her, it was all over. But she didn't know it then. She didn't know much of anything when it came to bad relationships, including the fact that she was smack in the middle of one.

She should have realized it was over the moment he started looking at her with scorn in his eyes. Probably around the same time he started banging his administrative assistant.

He'd been in a particularly foul mood that week. She tried to raise the subject of her birthday several times, but he shut her down each time. Finally, it was the night before. After a wordless supper, she was cleaning the kitchen when he came up behind her and gave her a stiff hug.

"Babe, it totally slipped my mind, but I have to go to New York tomorrow. Potential new clients, you know how it is." Babe. He'd taken to calling her that just recently, but he only said it when he wanted something. She hated it.

"Great! I love New York," she said, turning around. The expression on his face was pure panic for a brief flash, replaced by a smile she would later remember as distinctly crocodilian. "Not this time. Just the senior partners, sorry." He turned to go.

"But I'm the senior marketing director! If it's a new client meeting, I should at least be introduced; see what they're looking for in terms of brand recognition, ROI..." Besides, tomorrow's my birthday... it was something she thought but didn't say.

He put his hands in the air and shook his head. "Next time, Babe. It's not my call."

She crossed her arms in a rare display of temper. "Trent, I was perfectly happy as the marketing lead for the hospital. I was thriving there! You were the one who convinced me to join your company so we could be closer. You said you couldn't stand wondering what I was doing all day, who I was with. I see less of you now than I ever did! What's the sense of working together if we never see each other? And I never thought in a million years I'd end up reporting to you!"

Tears stung her eyes as her own truth hit home. Working with Trent was supposed to be a dream come true, but it had quickly turned sour. It was not what she expected at all. He chased and chased her, couldn't get enough of her in the beginning and wanted her all to himself. She found that kind of intensity impossible to resist. But something had changed once he got his way, and she felt him pulling away. And she didn't know why. Did things become too boring once they moved in together? They certainly weren't having fun anymore and hadn't for quite a while.

His face and tone changed in a snap. "This is so typical. Do you ever give a moment's thought to me and the pressure I'm under? It's always about you, Lucy. Did you ever notice that? You're the most selfish person I ever met!"

That knocked her back. Am I selfish?

"I'm not—"

"I'm finally starting to make some headway in my career, and you want to sabotage me," he snarled. "You never have my back. How about just once, you put me first? You give absolutely no thought to my needs, ever." He banged his fist on the counter, knocking a glass off the edge. It shattered on the floor, and she jumped.

"Now look what you made me do." He glared at her before stomping out of the kitchen.

She was reeling from the accusations. She felt confused; blindsided. Was she really letting him down so badly? All she wanted was to be with him, how was that selfish? Suddenly, the argument was not about a simple request for a birthday get-away, or even her offer to help him with his business meeting. Somehow, Trent turned it all around, and made her feel like a complete piece of shit.

She looked at the floor, tears spilling from her eyes. She began cleaning up the broken glass, vowing not to mention the trip or her birthday again. She cut herself on a piece, her tears mixing with blood on the shards; an image seared into her memory.

She found out later he'd taken his assistant on that trip, which was why he was so defensive and angry. She also found out from her twin sister Faye the meaning of the word 'gaslight.' Once she looked it up, she realized that Trent had been doing it to her for years. Every time she brought up a reasonable concern he exploded, causing a huge fight about something she did. It made her feel crazy and off-balance, all the time. Eventually, she ended up agreeing to everything he wanted, just to keep the peace. Which was pretty much his plan all along.

It was the last birthday she would ever spend with him. All that, and the motherfucker didn't even buy me a present.

Lucy sat up and shook her head, draining her mimosa. She knew one thing: No one would ever treat her that way again.

It was something she didn't have to worry about with Quinn. She could scarcely believe they'd been together for over a year now. He had his flaws like anyone (Lord knew, she had a bunch) but in addition to being a tall, impossibly handsome mountain of muscles, he was also loving, honest and kind. His sapphire eyes were warm and mischievous; no one ever looked at her the way that he did, like she was the only woman in the world. Underneath all of that, she just plain liked him, he was fun to be with. And the sex was incendiary.

She didn't know how, but she finally hit the jackpot — in life and in love.

At first, she was nervous to tie up her work life with her romantic life again, but the new business opportunity just made sense. Besides, there were four partners; not just her and Quinn. Each had their own role in the new brewpub, and they complimented each other well. She was proud of what they had accomplished in their first year and looked forward to reopening the restaurant in the spring.

And she liked working with Quinn — catching a wink from him on busy nights in the restaurant when she was literally running, watching him cook with skill and precision, how he mentored the staff with quiet authority. She loved sharing a glass of wine or cup of tea with him after a busy day on their feet; it was their ritual, ever since they first met.

But now that the restaurant was closed for four months, she was excited to focus on her business consultancy. In addition to managing front of house duties for the restaurant she had started a marketing business, advising clients on media relations. She called it Bossy Communications, taking the name from her doomed, first restaurant. She'd held a contest so the town could name the place, and the winning entry was Bossy Boots – her nickname when she first arrived in town after living in Toronto for years. The name stuck and she had to admit, she kind of liked it.

She still had good contacts in Toronto, so she reached out to all of them to see if they needed any freelance marketing or communications work done. Turned out, they did, and she'd been balancing marketing strategies and social media plans along with her restaurant duties for the past year. She loved to be busy and thrived when working with multiple files and clients at once – often in her pyjamas from her cottage, or the large, comfortable couch in Quinn's barn on a rainy Sunday, her bare feet propped up on his lap and covered with his large hand while he read. After everything that happened with her father, the more work and distraction, the better. But now the holidays were coming up and she was dreading the down time.

The flight attendant collected her glass, and Lucy put the tray up, preparing for landing. She fished out some gum from her purse and chewed quickly, hoping to avoid the earache she always got when the plane landed. Before long, they were on the ground. She unclipped her seatbelt and quickly retrieved her weekend bag from the overhead bin. She strapped on her cross-body purse and was down the aisle in a flash, cursing when the strap gave way. Goddamned Frauda. She had to admit, the bag that she loved was headed for the trash.

Lucy couldn't wait to see Quinn and go to the fancy gazillionaire party — an actual ball! She had the address of his hotel, it looked beautiful from the pictures online. The night before, she toyed with the idea of surprising him, before dismissing it. Best to let him know she was on her way, if only to give him a chance to turn her down. A small part of her feared he would respond with Trent-like hesitation. "Actually, Babe, it's kind of a bad time..."

But Quinn was nothing like Trent. Where Trent was an emotionally stunted man-baby, Quinn was all man. She smiled as she navigated the somewhat familiar airport.

She knew it was her own insecurities that made her doubt Quinn, and not anything he was actually doing. But he was so stressed about his restaurant, she did wonder if he'd text her back to say the timing wasn't right for her to come to New York, or he'd see her soon enough.

Feeling brave and taking a leap of faith that he'd have a good reaction, she went ahead and booked her flight. She missed him so much, she just couldn't wait to see him and hoped he felt the same. So, she texted him to let him know she was coming.

She put the phone down, assuming he was asleep and would text her back in the morning. Her phone buzzed right away.

How do you always know exactly what I need? Counting the minutes, xx

She fizzed with excitement as she jumped into a cab and gave the driver the address. She lived in Toronto for years; it was a much bigger place than where she grew up and she enjoyed living there. But she loved New York.

She heard her phone's ringtone buried within her purse and fished it out, smiling. It was him.

"Hey, you," she said.

"You're on the ground, I take it." His voice was warm and sexy, like him. Just hearing it gave her a little chill. "I'm in a cab heading to you as we speak."

"Lucy, I'm sorry."

She felt a twinge of alarm. "What are you sorry for?"

"I meant to meet you there at the airport, but there's another crisis at the restaurant. I was supposed to just pop in for a bit but now I have to jump on the line and help out the cooks. The chef I hired for a trial is a no-show. Honestly, now that the core staff is gone, I can't wait to unload this thing."

"Oh Quinn, I'm sorry. It's OK, I never expected you to meet me at the airport."

His voice had an edge of irritation. "When Tonya and the rest were here, it ran itself. Now, it's crisis after crisis. It's the end of an era. My life is in Nova Scotia now. Time to cut the last tie."

She digested the information, quietly thrilled he was more committed than ever to staying in Port Ross and wondering what it meant for the two of them going forward. She was so lost in thought, she almost missed what he said next.

"...and I'd planned to spend the afternoon with you. I'm really pissed."

"It's alright," she said, touched by his concern. "Honestly, I have more than enough to do; I'm in freakin' New York! Speaking of which, I have to buy a fancy frock for your black-tie party, so I'm heading to Filene's Basement."

"Closed," the cab driver said.

"Excuse me?" She leaned forward.

"Filene's closed years ago," he said gruffly, glancing at her in the mirror.

"Oh. Shit." She sat back, disappointed. It had been a while since she'd been to New York. "Guess I have to find a new favourite outlet store."

"About that—now, don't be mad." He sounded sheepish. Oh God, what now?

"I'm listening," she said, cautiously.

"I bought you a present. I planned on bringing it with me to the airport but it's on the bed waiting for you. Go ahead and open it when you get to the hotel, I hope you like it."

She sighed in relief. "You awful man, how do I put up with you? That's really sweet, why would I be mad at you for getting me a present?"

"It's on the pricey side and I felt like spoiling you, so there's that. And there's something else," he said. "Since I invited you to this stupid, formal party, it's only fair I pay for your fancy frock. It's black tie, so it'll be expensive. Just go to Bloomingdale's — the flagship store in Midtown, not the outlet —and ask for Kurt. He's a personal shopper, he'll help you find the perfect dress."

He sounded so apprehensive in telling her, as if he had done something wrong. She felt overwhelmed and struggled for what to say.

"I know you always want to pay your own way, but I want you to let me treat you this one time. Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad," she said, touched beyond measure. "Are you sure though? I've gotten to be a pretty good bargain hunter over the years—"

His voice was quiet. "Please let me do this, Lucy. I want you to buy something to make you feel as beautiful as you are."

God, this man. In the distance, she saw the impossibly large Manhattan skyline and her heart swelled at the loving gesture, and the fun afternoon and evening ahead, thanks to him.

"I guess I'm going shopping." She laughed.

"That's the spirit!" His voice lifted immediately. "Apparently, there's a whole new shoe floor, you'll love it. I've got to run, but I'll see you in a few hours. The car is coming for us at 7." His voice dropped to a sexy rumble. "I'm hoping we'll have some time to get reacquainted before we have to go to the party."

Oh. Her mind raced with erotic possibilities. "We will definitely make time for that." She smiled, telling him she'd see him later.

The cab pulled up to the hotel. It was an unusually warm, late fall day and she raised her face to the sun, soaking in the moment.

She felt all the darkness of the past year melt away. Trent was now truly in the past; she would finally stop blaming herself for being stupid and staying with him for too long. What happened with her Dad was awful. It was going to take more time to heal from that, but she was working on it. She blinked, shading her eyes from the sun. She left Nova Scotia in a frigid blast of icy wind and snow, and now she didn't even need her coat.

The man of her dreams wanted her, and she was about to have the kind of evening she could only dream about as a kid from a small town. She wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve Quinn, or this new life she'd carved out for herself. She just prayed she wouldn't do anything to mess it up.