For anyone who has ever wondered “What if?,” this engaging novel provides a sweet, funny look at friendship, romance, and second chances.  Every summer, four college friends hold a mini-reunion. They laugh, reminisce, and commiserate about their soul-sucking jobs. Maybe they should have listened to everyone who warned them to study something “practical.” Then an unexpected windfall arrives—one million dollars, to be exact—with the stipulation that they use it to jump-start their new careers. Almost overnight, a professor, a bartender, a copywriter, and an administrative assistant reinvent themselves as a novelist, an event planner, a pastry chef, and a bed-and-breakfast owner. But the changes in their professional roles create unexpected turbulence in their personal lives, and soon the secrets and scandals from their past start to resurface.   Five women formed lifelong friendships as lit majors at a small university in upstate New York. Now ten years after graduation, one of the quintet has died and left her friends an inheritance to pursue their true dreams. Brooke buys Henley House, the quaint off-campus dorm where they lived, to convert it to a bed and breakfast. Soon she’s joined by Jamie, who leaves L.A. to try her hand as a small-town event planner; Anna, who escapes marital and fertility issues to bake; and Cait, on hiatus from a dead-end professorship to write her novel. Even as each woman faces challenges from faulty wiring to encounters with ex-lovers to sabotaging townies, this homecoming helps put in perspective what matters most. Kendrick, author of The Pre-Nup (2008), detours from the chick-lit formula to present a touching and humorous look at love, loss, and literature. --Aleksandra Walker "A funny, charming story about the power of female friendship, and a must-read for all English majors, past and present."—Kim Gruenenfelder, author of Misery Loves Cabernet   "Smart and fun, this is my favorite book this year.  Beth Kendrick captures the hearts and lives of women perfectly." —Jane Porter, author of Easy on the Eyes Beth Kendrick is the author of four previous novels, including Nearlyweds and Fashionably Late. She also writes teen fiction as Beth Killian. She lives near Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband, son, and an assortment of badly behaved dogs. Chapter 1     "The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it." --Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth      We all should have gone to law school." Jamie Burton plopped down on a white rattan rocking chair, kicked off her flip-flops, and gazed out at the lake. "I'm telling you. Everyone who warned me about majoring in English was right. If I'd gone to law school,I wouldn't be flashing my decolletage for tips. If I'd gone to law school, all my student loans would be paid off, and I'd be swanning around in the trinity of Christians: Dior, Lacroix, and Louboutin. If I'd gone to law school, I'd be--"   "Careening down the slippery slope of insanity," said Arden Henley, who had a framed J.D. diploma from Georgetown and a plushly appointed office in a prestigious Manhattan law firm. She'd hosted a girls' weekend reunion here at her family's cottage inthe Adirondacks every Fourth of July weekend since they'd all graduated from college ten years ago. "You'd hate being an attorney. Trust me."    "You're probably right." Jamie stretched out her long, tanned legs and swatted away a mosquito. With her bleached blond hair, freckles, and disproportionately ample bustline, she wasn't classically beautiful, but she was so cocky and outspoken that beautywas beside the point. Jamie made it clear that she didn't care what anyone thought of her and so, paradoxically, most people fell all over themselves trying to earn her good opinion. "I'll admit that my brief foray into corporate America wasn't exactly a rousingsuccess. Just the thought of being stuck in a cubicle makes me break out in hives. But I'm sick of bartending and getting home from work at three a.m. and being ogled like some airhead model." She paused. "Okay, maybe that part's bearable. But the rest . .."   Brooke Asplind stopped painting her toenails long enough to strike a match and light the citronella candle next to the chaise longue on the porch. The sharp citrusy fragrance mingled with the scent of the pine trees surrounding the cottage. "You're burnedout, that's all. This little vacation is perfect timing. Stop talking about how the glass is half empty and grab a cold drink."   "Twist my arm." Jamie grinned. "What're we drinking? Microbrews? Wine?"   "Wine coolers." Arden rummaged through a large metal washtub filled with ice and extracted a bottle of peach-flavored booze with a pastel label.   Jamie wrinkled her nose. "Are you serious? I haven't had a wine cooler since . . . last summer, when you lowbrow degenerates peer-pressured me. We're not twenty-one anymore, ladies."   "No, we are not," Arden said. "We're more mature . . ."   ". . . more wor