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How could she try to read romance into that?
    And, after all, helping people was what she did best.
    Behind her back, she crossed her fingers and hoped she wasn’t making a really bad mistake. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘I’ll come for Roy’s sake.’
    As soon as Jake left, Mattie spread out her art things and started on another illustration for her book. This was to be a double-page spread and she wanted to create a scene with Molly at her bedroom window, looking out at the city at night.
    She would show Molly and her cat silhouetted against the yellow light of the bedroom window. There would be houses dotted through the night, all with brightly lit windows. Through the windows, she would show glimpses of people who needed Molly’s help. A sick child, a lonely old woman, a lost kitten.
    In her head, Mattie knew exactly how this illustration should look, but tonight something wasn’t gelling. She couldn’t slip into the ‘zone’—into the happy, creative space that usually cocooned her from the rest of the world while she lost herself in her work.
    Tonight Jake Devlin-size thoughts kept intruding. She couldn’t stop thinking about him, kept seeing the way he’d looked at her when she’d innocently fiddled with her hair. She was sure she’d never forget the heart-in-mouth connection she’d felt, as if they were suddenly, perfectly in tune.
    She was sure that if she’d been any other girl Jake wouldhave kissed her then, but of course he hadn’t. Instead, the astonishing vibe that passed between them had remained unacknowledged. And there wasn’t much point in trying to read anything into it. Even if there had been a momentary spark with Jake, Mattie had learned not to trust such feelings.
    For years she’d wondered if she would ever fall in love. There’d been a high school crush, but that had only lasted one term before she’d been unceremoniously ‘dropped’. She’d taken a long time to get over that blow to her self-esteem and, in the years that followed, she’d dated the occasional local boy but there’d been no one special.
    Then, three and a half years ago, a hot-looking stranger had arrived in Willowbank.
    Pete from Perth had a cute smile and he’d ambled into her parents’ hardware store and set his cap at Mattie and swept her completely off her feet. She’d been crazy about him and when he’d returned to Western Australia she’d taken the long flight over there to stay with him. She had done this every month for seven months and Pete had helped to pay for her fare. She’d felt very worldly and sophisticated. And needed.
    Pete had promised her the world…well, a diamond ring and a white wedding, a house in the suburbs plus two children…which was everything that Mattie had wanted. But then the day had come when Pete had rung from Perth and Mattie had heard the difference in his voice.
    Something had happened.
    When he’d suggested that the air fares to Perth were too expensive for her to keep flying over, it had been dead easy to start putting two and two together. But she’d been too scared to ask the crucial questions. She hadn’t wanted to hear the answers.
    Finally, however, Pete had sent her a text message:
     
    Sorry, I need to check out of this wedding. It’s not you, baby, it’s me.
     
    She’d rung back in a blind panic and heard the truth she’d desperately feared. Yes, he’d found someone else and could she return the engagement ring by registered mail?
    That had been nearly three years ago.
    Mattie’s heart hadn’t just broken, it had shattered and bled. And she’d felt such a loser. So ashamed. Ashamed that she’d fallen for a guy so cowardly he’d called off his wedding via a text message.
    And she was ashamed that everyone—yes, literally everyone in Willowbank—had known about her wedding plans. From the mayor down to the butcher’s apprentice, the whole town knew she’d been dumped. Not only had her pride been hurt, however. She’d lost faith—in men,