Fresh from two months of island hopping with Liam in the Caribbean, Andrew Carrington returned to the States for a reunion with Isabelle at her family’s Vermont country home, Heritage Hill. Andrew had enjoyed the sun and the sea, but he was glad to be back on solid ground, and especially glad — more, in fact, than he would have expected — to be back with Isabelle.

Andrew and Isabelle spent much of their first day together walking the wooded grounds of the 150-year-old estate. The fall colors were not yet at their peak, but the brilliant reds, golds and oranges were intoxicating to Andrew, coming off a visual diet of sun-bleached beiges and oceanic greens. And the smell! No salty tang, just the crisp scent of fall. Andrew paused for a moment, breathing it in.

After dinner, they built a bonfire in the yard and lay on a blanket beside it, keeping warm as they looked for shooting stars in the night sky. Andrew was refilling Isabelle’s wine glass when there was a low rumble in the distance. They listened to it grow louder, resolving into the unmistakable throaty roar of a motorbike just as Liam rode into a view on a gleaming new JD series Harley Davidson. Isabelle looked up at Andrew, a fleeting hint of disappointment in her face, then rose to greet the new arrival.