Millionaires of New York BOX SET - Sandi Lynn

Millionaires of New York Boxed Set

One Night In London A Beautiful Sight His Proposed Deal Something About Lorelei

Sandi Lynn



Millionaires of New York Boxed Set One Night In London, A Beautiful Sight, His Proposed Deal, and Something About Lorelei Copyright © 2017 Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC All novels in this boxed set used by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used factitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Millionaires of New York Photo & Cover Design by Sara Eirew Model: Alex Boivin One Night in London: Photo & Cover Design by: Sara Eirew @ Sara Eirew Photography Models: Matthieu Grondin & Pamela Brisson One Night in London copyright 2016 Sandi Lynn A Beautiful Sight: Photo & Cover Design by: Sara Eirew @ Sara Eirew Photography Models: Tanner Chidester & Tiffany Marie A Beautiful Sight copyright © 2016 Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC His Proposed Deal: Cover Design by Cassy Roop @ Pink Ink Designs Photography by Sara Eirew @ Sara Eirew Photography Models: Michel Giroux Fashion & Fitness Model and Tanya His Proposed Deal Copyright © 2015 Sandi Lynn Something about Lorelei: Photo & Cover Design by: Sara Eirew @ Sara Eirew Photography Models: Vincent Moreau & Marie-Lise Therrien Something About Lorelei: Copyright © 2015 Sandi Lynn Editing by B.Z. Hercules



Millionaires of New York One Night In London A Beautiful Sight His Proposed Deal Something About Lorelei Books by Sandi Lynn About the Author



One Night In London

Sandi Lynn



Table of Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42

Chapter 43 Chapter 44

Prologue

I nervously rummaged through my closet, trying to find my Louboutin black stiletto heels— shoes that were half off and then another seventy-five percent off the half-off price. They were a freaking steal and the only pair that was left happened to be my size. I stumbled upon them by accident, earlier in the week, when I was looking at the clearance rack, trying to find the perfect pair of shoes for my date tonight with Corey. He was taking me to my favorite restaurant because he had something he needed to discuss with me. It was no surprise, though. I already had my suspicions. He was going to ask me to move in with him. Corey and I had been dating for almost nine months. We met when he and his mom came into the art gallery where I worked, looking for a painting for her bedroom. We got to talking, and he asked me out for coffee the next day. At first, I didn’t think he was really my type, but then again, I never really knew what my type was. We had so much in common that it wasn’t hard to fall for him. Corey, by far, had been the longest relationship I’d ever been in and he was a really nice guy. The only thing that bothered me was that he wasn’t very sexual. Once every other week was more than enough for him and it was usually over with before it started. But I overlooked that problem because we always had so much fun when we were together. We loved the same movies, the same music, and he loved art almost as much as I did. We were perfect for each other and I knew the time was right to move in together. Although we never talked about it, I sensed it was what he planned to ask me. You’re probably sitting there thinking that he’s going to propose. That was off the table because neither one of us wanted to get married until we were at least a couple years older. Being twenty-four, we both felt we needed to be completely established in our careers before making a lifelong commitment. I stood in front of my full-length mirror as I slipped into my heels and ran my hands down the sides of my short black dress with the V-neckline and three-quarter-length sleeves, which I also picked up on sale. Running my fingers through my long blonde hair, I lightly sprayed the curled ends, grabbed my purse, and headed to Sur in West Hollywood. When I arrived, Corey was already seated and waiting for me. Butterflies fluttered around my belly at the thought of us moving in together. As I approached the table, Corey stood up and kissed my cheek. He was always such a gentleman. “Hey. You look beautiful. I love that dress. Is it new?” “Yeah. I bought it earlier this week along with these babies.” I smiled as I stuck my foot out. “Are those Louboutins?” His eyes widened.

“Yes! And they were half off and then an extra seventy-five percent off of that!” “Wow. What an awesome deal. They look good on you.” He smiled. We started off with a glass of Chardonnay while we waited for our dinner. My mind was in overdrive with excitement and I couldn’t wait for him to ask me. His apartment was much bigger than mine and had way more closet space. As I stared at him from across the table, I could tell he was nervous because his eye was twitching. “So what did you want to discuss with me?” I asked with a grin. He reached across the table and took hold of my hand. “You know I love you, right?” “Yes. Of course I do.” My heart started to race. “You’re my best friend and we are so good together.” “I know we are.” I smiled, waiting patiently for him to spit it out. As his blue eyes intently stared into mine, he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “Chloe, friends are all we can ever be.” “What?” I cocked my head in confusion. “I don’t understand, Corey.” He took in a long, deep breath. “What I’m trying to tell you is that I’m gay, Chloe.” I couldn’t help the laughter that escaped me. “Yeah, right. Come on, Corey. You wanted to talk about moving in together. You don’t have to be so nervous about it. In fact, I’ll make it easy for you. Yes, I would love to move in with you.” “Chloe, didn’t you hear what I said. I’m serious. I’m gay. I’m sorry.” Tears filled my eyes as I silently shook inside. I pulled my hand away from his as I looked up at the ceiling to avoid the embarrassment of the tears that were about to fall in front of a restaurant filled with people. “Chloe, talk to me. Please don’t cry,” he begged. After a few moments of silence, an anger tore through me like a hurricane traveling over the ocean making its way to destroy whatever was in its path. “How could you do this to me?” I asked through gritted teeth. “Why now? Why didn’t you tell me this nine months ago? Why did you stay in a relationship with me if your sexuality was in question?” I spoke

in a loud voice and the couple sitting at the table next to us glanced over. “Will you keep your voice down?” he spoke calmly. “I didn’t tell you this to hurt you. I’m being honest with you before things go any further.” “Any further?” I angrily spoke. “You had nine months to tell me. Why now, Corey?” He looked down and slowly closed his eyes. “Oh my God! You’ve met someone. Haven’t you?” I barked at him across the table, and suddenly, all eyes in the restaurant were on us. “Not here, Chloe.” His attempt to silence me to avoid causing him any further embarrassment pissed me off even more. I threw my napkin on the table and stood up. “Not here? Really, Corey? How did you think I’d react to this news? Did you think if you told me in a public place that I would graciously accept it with a smile and walk away quietly? I gave you nine months of my life. I gave you my heart and you took it.” The tears started rolling down my face. “You took my heart, knowing that you could never give me yours. I do believe that is the cruelest thing anyone has ever done to me. I guess the joke is on me. Have a nice life, Corey.” I turned on my heels and stomped out of the restaurant. I was shaking so bad that I couldn’t walk down the street to my car, so I took a seat on a bench outside the restaurant. As I sat there with tears streaming down my face, trying to make sense of the last nine months of my life, Corey sat down beside me. “I’m so sorry, Chloe. I never meant to hurt you.” “Go away, Corey.” I wiped my eyes. “I love you. You have to believe me. We are so good together as friends and I don’t want to lose you.” Even though I was hurt and angry as hell, there was a sincerity in his voice that calmed me. “What’s his name?” I asked. “Travis.” “I hate that name.” Corey chuckled. “How long have you known?”

“Pretty much my whole life. I just kept trying to deny it and, every day, I became more miserable.” “Thanks.” I shot him a look as I sniffled. He hooked his arm around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. “Don’t take it like that, Chloe. You make me happy but not in a romantic relationship way. Does that make sense?” I nodded my head. “I guess.” “You’re a beautiful, smart, and fun woman, and you deserve someone who is not gay and who will love you like you deserve to be loved. I wanted to tell you now, not for my own sake, but for yours. With you leaving for London in a couple of weeks, I wanted you to be free in case you met someone.” “That was kind of you,” I spoke in a sarcastic tone. “Hey. I know it hurts, babe. It hurts me too. This is the last thing I wanted to tell you. But I had no choice. I couldn’t live like this anymore.” “I get that. I really do.” I lifted my head. “But I’m so hurt right now and I need a couple of days to process all of this.” “I understand.” He looked at me as sadness filled his eyes. I got up from the bench, and as I started to walk away, Corey reached out and grabbed my hand. “I don’t want to lose our friendship. You’re too important to me, Chloe.” I pursed my lips together and slowly gave him a nod before heading home and collapsing into my bed.

Chapter 1 Two Weeks Later

“Cheer up, Chloe,” Sienna, my best friend, pouted as we sat and sipped coffee in the airport. “I am cheery. See?” I displayed a fake smile. “Did you bring your list?” she asked as she held out her hand. I sighed as I pulled it out of my purse and handed it to her. She took a pen from her purse and wrote something on it. “What are you doing?” I asked. “There.” She turned the paper around. Narrowing my eyes at her, I spoke, “Have sex with a stranger in a foreign country? Are you crazy?” “No. I’m not crazy. This is a list of things we planned to do and see in London. Take a risk, Chloe. Do something spontaneous. Haven’t you ever fantasized about having sex with a total stranger?” “Umm. No!” “Well, I have, and you should too.” “You do have sex with strangers. How is that fantasizing? Half the time, you don’t even bother to get their name first.” “That may be and that’s because names are never important. But I’ve never had sex with a stranger in a foreign country.” “That’s because you’ve never been to another country.” “True. Just think about it for a minute. Sex with a man who is a mystery. No names, no getting to know each other first, not one bit of personal information. Just a couple of hours of pure pleasure and then you leave and never see him again. It’s simple.” She smirked. Of course it was simple for Sienna. She was the queen of one-night stands. It was something she’d made a career out of. I’ve told her that she was a nymphomaniac. She laughed and said she wasn’t and that she was just a woman who loved having sex with different men. With her five-foot-eight stature, hourglass-shaped figure, long black hair, and bright blue eyes, guys drooled whenever she walked past

them. “You make it sound like prostitution.” I frowned. Rolling her eyes, she spoke, “It’s not prostitution, Chloe, and believe me, you could use some mindblowing sex. I know for a fact you’ve never experienced it. Remember Johnathan?” Her brow arched. “The one who could only finish off with his hand whether you had an orgasm or not? Oh, and that guy named Kirk. Remember him? The freak who hated foreplay and just always crammed his dick inside you, missionary style, may I add, without making sure you were ready. Remember how sore you always were and walked like you had a stick up your ass for a few days? He was only out to satisfy himself. I know I don’t need to mention sex with Corey. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t get into it with you. And you know why? Because he was gay and preferred ass over vagina.” I sat there, shaking my head at her in disgust. “Oh and let’s not forget Alfie. The guy who could never stay hard because every time you’d try to have sex, he thought of his mother and lost his boner.” She laughed uncontrollably. “Hey. Alfie was a nice guy. He just had some mommy issues that he needed to work out. And besides, we had sex once.” I brought my coffee cup to my lips. “One time, Chloe. One time in the six months you dated.” She held up her index finger. “See; that’s my point. You need to let go of the notion that you need to know a guy before you fuck him. It’s much better if you don’t know anything about him, like two strangers connecting for a brief moment in time who will never see each other again. It’s all about the thrill. Keep calm and fuck a stranger.” The smile on her face grew wide. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Sienna. You are a sex addict.” “I am not. I just like sex.” “I like sex too.” “You don’t even know what real sex is, Chloe.” “YES I DO! How can you say that to me?” “I’m entitled because I’m your best friend. And as your best friend, it’s my job to make sure your lady parts are screaming with pleasure by a total stranger. So the next time you have sex, it will be with a mystery man in London.” I rolled my eyes as they called our flight for boarding. This was our last layover and now we were heading straight to London. Sitting on the plane, Sienna looked over at the cute guy that was sitting across

the aisle from her and elbowed me. I looked at her as she tilted her head towards him. “What?” “He’s hot and he’s going to London. Maybe you can hook up with him.” “Stop it! I’m not hooking up with anyone.” “He keeps looking over at you. He’s trying to be sly about it, but he’s miserably failing.” “He’s looking at you, not me.” Suddenly, she did the unthinkable. “Excuse me. Could you please settle a debate between me and my best friend?” “Sure,” the guy replied. “Are you staring at her or at me?” I took in a deep breath and tried to hold it as long as I could with the hopes of passing out to avoid this embarrassing situation. “I think you’re both beautiful women.” He smiled. “Why, thank you. I’m Sienna, and this is Chloe.” She extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Sienna.” He reached over and extended his arm across Sienna. “Nice to meet you, Chloe.” He flashed a big smile and spoke in his English accent, “I’m Sam.” I gulped over his accent. I wasn’t expecting that. “You’re from England?” Sienna flirted and gave her “I want to fuck you” smile. “Yes, and you’re from?” “We’re both from New York, but Chloe lives in Los Angeles now.” “Ah. I see. So the two of you met up for a fancy vacation in England?” “Yes. It’s a place we’ve always wanted to visit and for good reason,” she spoke. The two of them carried on a conversation before and after we took off. About an hour into the flight, Sienna slipped her eye mask over her eyes and went to sleep. She claimed she was tired, but it was no doubt due to the four whiskey sours she drank; two before we took off and two right after we took off. We had been planning this trip for over a year. Being an assistant art curator, I didn’t make very much money and living in Los Angeles was expensive, but I made sacrifices and saved almost every penny I made,

including the money my parents sent to me for my birthday. The highlight of this trip for Sienna was bedding an Englishman, which I was sure she was already planning with Sam. The highlight for me was visiting the art galleries and museums to see the paintings that I’d only read about in books. I could care less about the men there or any man, period. After this last break-up, it became clearer than ever that I had bad luck when it came to men, so I made a vow to concentrate on my career, advancing to an art curator and enjoying life on my terms and my terms only. Fuck men and relationships. The minute I stepped off this plane and my feet hit the concrete of London, England, I was going to become a new woman. Possibly a woman who was going to have sex with a stranger in a foreign country.

Chapter 2 Six nights and seven days in London were coming to an end and it made me sad. We spent hours in the museums and galleries, shopped, took in all the beautiful sights London had to offer, and ate at some pretty amazing restaurants. “Since tonight is our last night here, and I have unsuccessfully gotten you laid, we’re going to dress in our finest and head down to the hotel bar for a while,” Sienna spoke as she threw herself back on her bed. I rolled my eyes. “What time is Sam meeting you down there?” “What?” she asked as she propped herself up on her elbows. “How did you know?” “I overheard your phone conversation in the bathroom this morning.” “Oh. I thought you were sleeping.” “I was until I heard you referring to his dick as an exploding cannon.” “Well, tonight’s the night I will cross off on my list ‘sex with a stranger in a foreign country.’” “And why did it take you so long? We’ve been here a week. Where has he been all this time?” “He’s been busy with work and he lives an hour outside London. But tonight he’s free and he’s getting himself a room.” “You mean he’s getting the two of you a room.” I glared at her. “Whatever. We’ll still be in the hotel, so if you need me, just call.” “So what am I supposed to do tonight?” “You’re hanging out in the bar with us. Then, when we go back to his room, you can either stay down and tell the bartender what a man hater you are, pick up some hot guy, or come back up to the room and watch a movie.” “I like the man hater idea.” I smiled. She rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at me. I slipped into my off-the-shoulder, cream-colored, short chiffon lace dress, then stepped into my matching heels and stood outside the bathroom door.

“Well, how do I look?” I asked Sienna, who was in the middle of applying her fake eyelashes. “Adorable. Did you make sure to shave down there in case you meet a man tonight?” I sighed. “Yes, Mother.” “Good girl.” She looked down at her phone. “Shit, Sam is already waiting at the bar. He said he got us a table.” “Then you better hurry up. You don’t want to keep your prince waiting. Oh, and by the way, Sam isn’t a stranger, so you can’t cross that off your list. You already broke your rule about knowing his name.” “He’s a semi-stranger. I only know that he’s twenty-eight and his name is Sam. I don’t know anything else about him, so in a way, that counts.” I sighed as I sprayed some of my Victoria Secret perfume across my body. About fifteen minutes after Sienna received Sam’s text message, we headed down to the bar. As soon as we stepped inside the door, Sam stood up and waved us over to the table where he was sitting. “Damn, he looks incredibly delicious,” Sienna spoke with a grin. “I can’t wait to taste him.” “Ugh.” I shook my head. After receiving a kiss on both cheeks, I took a seat across from Sam while Sienna practically sat in his lap. While I was sipping on my wine and watching the people come and go, I nearly choked to death when I spotted a man walk in and take a seat at the bar. Not just any ordinary man, but a man who was devastatingly handsome and the sexiest looking man my green eyes ever laid eyes on. He was tall, a little over six feet. His brown hair, which was styled with a matte spiked look, accented his almond-shaped eyes (too far away to see the exact color, but I was almost positive they were chocolate brown). The standard stubble he sported on his masculine jawline was pure perfection, as were his high cheekbones and perfectly straight nose. His skin was tanned and his tailored clothes left his body to the unimaginable. I bit down on my bottom lip as I stared at his back from the table. Sienna caught me and immediately took my attention. “What are you staring at?” “Nothing.” I looked at her as I sipped my wine. “I was just watching the people come and go.” Her right eye narrowed at me and she could tell I was lying. She looked around the area but didn’t seem to notice him. “Well, we’re going to go up to Sam’s room now. Are you heading back to our room?”

“No. I think I’ll stay down here for a while and have another glass of wine. I don’t want to go up just yet.” Her eye narrowed at me again. “You’re more than welcome to come up to my room with us.” Sam smiled. “Believe me, I wouldn’t object.” Douchebag. “Thanks for the offer, Sam, but I’m fine right where I am.” “Okay, sweetie. Enjoy the rest of your night and don’t leave the hotel.” “Yes, Mother.” I smiled. She hooked her arm in Sam’s and the two of them left. My eyes diverted back to the mystery man sitting at the bar. My mind pondered the thought of whether or not I should go and sit next to him. As I finished the last sip of wine and started to be brave to do the unthinkable, he got up from the bar stool and left. Fuck. With a pout, I grabbed my wine glass and purse and sat down in the seat that was next to his. “Refill, please.” I pushed the glass towards the bartender. “What’s wrong? Your friends ditch you?” he asked in his sexy accent. I sighed. “Pretty much. You know what? Forget the wine. Give me an orgasm.” The bartender smiled at me. “One orgasm coming right up, pretty lady.” He winked. “Did I just hear him right?” the devastatingly handsome man asked with his American accent as he sat down next to me. My heart picked up its beat and my body started to sweat. He was even sexier up close. And his eyes; I was right. They were a dreamy chocolate brown that made me melt. “Yes, you heard right,” I nervously replied. “Ah. You’re American.” “Full blooded and all.” I smiled like an idiot. Why the hell did I just say that? He ordered a bourbon and pulled out his phone. Glancing over at his left hand, I saw that there was no sign that a ring had ever been worn on that well-manicured finger of his.

“One orgasm for the beautiful American girl.” The bartender grinned as he set down my drink in front of me. “Her orgasm is on me,” the man sitting next to me spoke. “Put it on my tab.” “Oh no. You don’t have to buy my drink,” I spoke in embarrassment. “If there’s one thing I’m excellent at giving, it’s an orgasm. So enjoy.” He smiled and my panties soaked themselves. Shit. Why would he say that? He was definitely flirting. This could be my chance. I gulped. Sex with him would be intense. I could tell. The way he carried himself with such confidence told me he excelled at anything he did. “I bet you do.” I grinned as I held up my glass. His eyes raked over me as the corners of his mouth curved into a cunning smile. “Are you here with anyone?” he asked. “Perhaps a boyfriend?” “Nope.” I took a sip of my drink. “That’s a beautiful dress you’re wearing.” “Thank you.” “What’s your name?” Don’t tell him, Chloe. No names. No personal information. Nothing. It’s all about the thrill. The mystery man. Keep him a stranger. “My name isn’t important and neither is yours,” I spoke in a seductive voice. He cocked his head to the side with a beautiful grin across his face as he stared into my eyes. Placing his hand on my thigh, which caused my body to spasm, he spoke, “Are you staying at this hotel?” “Yes.” I looked down at his hand. “Me too.” He leaned close to my ear as his hot breath swept across my skin. “How about we take our drinks up to my room? Perhaps you’d like an orgasm or two in private.” His hand made its way up my dress and stopped when he reached the fabric of my panties. I gasped as it felt like my heart went into cardiac arrest. “Sounds fun.” I smiled. I couldn’t believe I just used the word “fun.”

Chapter 3

He placed his hand on the small of my back as we entered the elevator and took it to the top floor. Nerves flooded every fiber of my body and I couldn’t believe I was actually going to go through with this. I needed to maintain composure and behave like a woman who had done this sort of thing before. But I hadn’t and that was the problem. What if I totally sucked and disappointed him? Did it really matter, though? I was doing this for me, not him, and I’d never see him again anyway, so who cared, right? Right, I silently thought to myself. Upon entering his suite, I was enthralled at how beautiful it was. My room was just standard and blah. “I had no idea they had rooms like this here,” I spoke as I set my purse down on the black leather couch. “It’s their finest suite.” He smiled as he took the glass from my hand and set it down. I walked over to the window and looked out over the city of London. Suddenly, I felt his hand push my hair to the side and the trail of his sweltering breath grazed my neck. “You are a very beautiful woman.” His lips delicately pressed against my skin, making my body quiver in ecstasy. “Thank you.” I smiled as I tilted my head, giving him easier access. His hands roamed up and down the sides of my body before turning me around to face him. “I want your name.” His lips brushed gently against mine. “No names and no personal information about each other. Tonight is my last night here.” He arched his brow as a small smile crossed his perfectly shaped lips. “Mine too.” “So names aren’t important.” “I suppose you’re right.” His mouth smashed into mine. The way he kissed me was not natural. Or maybe it was and I’d just been kissed the wrong way all these years. His tongue parted my lips and entered my mouth, leaving me breathless, dazed, and confused. I had forgotten I was a girl from L.A. who had just been dumped by her gay boyfriend. Tonight, I was a sexy woman, having a one-night stand with an incredibly gorgeous man in another country. A man who

made me feel something I had never felt before. “Take off your dress and let me see that gorgeous body of yours,” he spoke in a low voice as he broke our kiss. He took a step back and watched as I kicked off my shoes and stripped out of my dress. A growl escaped him as I stood there in my cream-colored lace panties and matching strapless bra. He walked over to me with a hunger in his eyes. Placing his hands firmly on my hips, he turned me around so I was facing the window. “Don’t worry. Nobody can see anything up here,” he spoke as he unhooked my bra and slid his tongue along my spine while his hands firmly grasped my breasts. My body trembled beneath his fingers as my heart pounded in my chest. A pool of warmth engulfed me down below and the throbbing became fierce. After exploring my ass cheeks with his mouth, he turned me around so I was facing him. He was on his knees and his eyes met the top of my panties. “Fuck, you are so sexy,” he moaned while his fingers gently took them down. His tongue licked up my inner thigh while his fingers drifted across my opening. “You are so wet and so beautiful,” he whispered as his tongue slid up and down my most sensitive spot. I no longer cared about anything in the world. I only cared about how good he made me feel and how I’d probably never recover after being fucked by him. My hands ran through his hair as he dipped his finger inside me while his tongue circled my clit. I could feel myself swelling against him. My breath hitched as an explosion of pleasure erupted and I felt like I was going to collapse. He stood up and, in one swoop, I was in his arms as he carried me over to the bed. Gently laying me down, his eyes never left mine as he stripped out of his clothes. His body. My eyes couldn’t tear themselves away from his toned and muscular form. From his biceps to his chest, his washboard abs and his perfectly sculpted V-line sent my body into hyper drive. When he pulled down his underwear, I gulped at the sight of him. He was perfectly shaven and his cock stood tall, thick, and proud. He walked towards the bed and climbed on top of me, taking my hardened nipple into his mouth, sucking and nipping before moving over to the other one. His fingers dipped inside me once again, moving easily in and out, causing the wetness to pour out of me. His tongue slid down my abdomen and stopped at my belly button as it made circles around it, causing spasms so severe I thought I was going to die. Words weren’t spoken. We were both caught up in the heat of the moment, a heat that radiated from the both of us. His mouth made his way down to my pussy as he took hold of my legs and spread them wide. I threw my head back in appreciation at how this man made me feel. “You taste so fucking good, and as much as I would love to sit here and devour you all night, I have to

fuck you.” He stood up and reached inside his wallet, pulling out a condom. Tearing the corner with his mouth, he removed it from the wrapper and gracefully slid it over his throbbing cock. Nothing had ever turned me on as watching him do that did. He climbed on top of me and kissed me before thrusting himself inside me, inch by inch. We both let out a moan as he buried himself deep within me. “God, you’re tight. Ah. You feel so good.” He thrusted in and out of me. “Do you like the way my cock feels inside you?” “Yes,” I wailed as his thrusting became rapid. Our mouths met once again and our tongues tangled with passion as low moans escaped us. He rolled over on his back, pulling me on top of him effortlessly. “Sit up and fuck me,” he commanded. “I want to see that beautiful body ride me.” I sat up like he asked, my hands firmly planted on his chest as he grabbed hold of my breasts, kneading them and fingering my nipples while my hips ground into him. “So beautiful,” he moaned. Our eyes locked onto each other as I moved back and forth. “That’s it, baby. Fuck me nice and hard.” He grabbed the back of my head and pulled me down as he passionately kissed me. Breaking our kiss, I sat up and circled my hips as my body went into an orgasmic state and I let go, giving into another orgasm. He quickly flipped me over and took me from behind, pounding into me with long, deep strokes as his hands firmly grasped my ass. A hiss escaped him as he halted and then slowly moved inside of me as he came. He collapsed on top of me and softly kissed my shoulder as we both tried to regain our breath. My world had just been rocked by this one man. A stranger whom I’d just met a little over an hour ago. A stranger that I’d never see again but who had done something to me that I couldn’t explain. He climbed off and threw the condom in the trash. “You can get under the covers,” he spoke as I lay there, unable to move. “Yeah, but I can’t move.” “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked as he ran his hand down my back.

“No. You didn’t hurt me at all. I just feel paralyzed at the moment.” He chuckled as he took hold of my hand and helped me up and under the sheets. I turned on my side, facing the other way. I wasn’t sure why I did. I just couldn’t bring myself to face him after what we had just done. Maybe it was the fact that if I looked at him, I would cry with happiness at the experience he gave me. Or maybe if I looked at him, I would become emotionally attached. As I lay there, his arms wrapped around me. “Good night, beautiful strange girl.” He softly kissed my shoulder. “Good night, handsome strange guy.” Tomorrow morning was going to be awkward and I needed to make sure I escaped before he woke up.

Chapter 4 Him She refused to tell me her name. Normally, I wouldn’t care. But something inside me needed to know who she was. She was stunningly beautiful and a name would complete her. It didn’t matter anyway. In the morning, I’d be gone before she woke up and I’d never see her again. It was probably for the best anyway. I would hurt her and she would ultimately hate me. It’s what I did. It’s all I knew. This feeling inside me as I held her scared me. I didn’t know this girl at all and yet, I felt compelled to. I got the feeling she had never done this before, not with a total stranger. She was nervous. That much I could tell. She still was nervous. I closed my eyes and I could still see her. The way her body trembled with the mere touch of my hand excited me. Her blonde hair with the curled ends that draped over her shoulders looked like silk and her green eyes that looked like jade stared into mine as I fucked her. Her body: slender, toned, yet fragile. She was the perfect height at five foot seven and even more perfect in those sexy stiletto heels she wore. Her scent infiltrated my senses. She smelled liked roses, a scent that would always remind me of this night. The next morning, I quietly climbed out of bed and put on my clothes. If I showered, it would wake her and I needed to leave before she awoke. My suitcase was already packed and ready to go. As I grabbed my watch from the nightstand, I stared at her. She looked like an angel, sound asleep and exhausted from last night when we fucked again. I wanted to kiss her goodbye, but for fear of waking her, I didn’t. I grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and jotted down a few words. “Good bye, beautiful stranger,” I whispered as I grabbed my suitcase and quietly walked out the door.

Chapter 5 Chloe My eyes flew open and, for a second, I couldn’t remember where I was. I looked over to the other side of the bed; it was empty. I sat up and looked around. There didn’t appear to be any sign of him. Climbing out of bed, I slipped on the robe that was hanging on the back of the bedroom door and quietly walked into the living area of the suite. He wasn’t anywhere. I noticed when I walked back into the bedroom that the suitcase I saw sitting in the corner last night was gone. He had left. Glancing over at the dresser, I saw a note. Picking it up, I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Thank you for a beautiful night. Have a safe trip home.” I took in a deep breath and let it out. I picked my clothes up off the floor, grabbed my purse, and headed back to my room. Just as I inserted the card key, I heard Sienna coming down the hall. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Oh, nothing.” I opened the door and stepped inside. “Why are you wearing that robe and why are you carrying your—Holy shit on a cracker, you had sex last night!” she yelled. “Shh.” I held my finger to my lips. “Don’t you tell me to shush. You better tell me who, what, when, where, and why, right now!” “I will. Can I make a cup of this pathetic shit they call coffee?” “Hell no! Fuck the coffee. You are telling me exactly what happened right now!” Sitting down on the bed, I cupped my face in my hands. “Chloe, he didn’t hurt you, did he?” Shaking my head, I looked up at her. “No. Just the opposite. I can’t explain how he made me feel.” With a small smile, Sienna sat down on the bed and hooked her arm around me. “It was that good, huh?”

“Mind-blowing. Superb. Breathtaking. Fantastic.” “Okay. Okay. I get it. Now tell me who this mind-blowing man was.” “The most incredible and perfect-looking man I’ve ever seen in my life,” I spoke as I looked at her. “Name?” “I didn’t get his name. No names, remember?” I cocked my head. “Shit. I didn’t teach you right. If he’s that incredibly good-looking, it’s always good to put a name with the body.” Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “We didn’t exchange names. We just exchanged passion and, oh my God, Sienna, he was—I’d never felt—the orgasms were—” “Wow. I have never seen you like this before. What the fuck did he do to you?” I got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom to start the shower. She followed behind. “He was gentle and sweet and he said things to me no other man ever had.” “You made sure he used a condom, right?” “Yes. He used a condom.” “How many orgasms?” She smiled. “I lost count.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “So how did you leave it with him this morning?” she asked, leaning up against the sink. “I woke up and he was gone. I found this note on the dresser.” I pulled the note from my robe pocket and handed it to her. After reading it, she looked at me and clasped my shoulders. “Congratulations, Chloe, on becoming a full-fledged woman.” “Get out of here,” I lightly smacked her hand. “Don’t be too long. We have to pack and head to the airport.” Stepping into the shower, I realized I had forgotten to ask her about Sam. “How was Sam last night?” I yelled. “Nothing like I expected. A bit disappointing. He’s rather sloppy in bed. I had to take control and I

wasn’t happy about it.” I laughed as I shampooed my hair. There was nothing sloppy about the man I was with last night. He was perfect and always in control. **** Landing in Boston, Sienna and I hugged good bye. She had a flight to catch back to New York and I had a flight back to L.A. “I hate leaving you.” She pouted. “I know.” My eyes began to tear. “I wish I could move back to New York.” “Then do it! Besides me, your parents would be thrilled.” “There aren’t any jobs available. I’ve been looking.” “Then maybe you need to switch careers.” “You know I can’t and won’t. I love art too much.” She looked at her watch and gave me another hug. “I’m boarding in five minutes. I’ll skype you later tonight.” “Bye, Sienna. Have a safe flight.” “Bye, sweets. You too.” Dragging my carry-on behind me, I headed to my gate. My flight didn’t board for another hour, so I stopped and grabbed a coffee. I moved to Los Angeles a year ago when I landed a job at an art gallery as an assistant art curator. I had just graduated with my master’s degree, and the owner of the art gallery that I interned for in New York offered me the job at his L.A. gallery. I really didn’t have a choice. There was no position for me in New York and I needed a job. Leaving Sienna and my parents behind was the hardest thing I had ever done, but being on my own in L.A. was a great experience. I had always been independent and I adapted quickly and made a few new friends. But Sienna and I would be best friends for life. She was like my sister. We shared everything and we skyped every single night or facetimed. That was what calls were: facetime. We very rarely did regular phone calls. Stepping off the plane at LAX, I headed to baggage claim and saw Corey standing there holding up a sign with my name on it. “You dork.” I smiled as I hugged him. “How was London?”

“Fabulous. We had the best time, and the galleries and museums over there are to die for. You would have loved it.” “I’m sure I would have,” he spoke as he grabbed my suitcase from the belt. “So did you meet any hot Englishmen over there?” I shrugged. “A couple but—” I smiled. Corey looked over at me with a small grin. “But?” “I met an American man. A really hot and sexy American man.” “Oh. His name, please.” “I didn’t get his name. We just had wild and amazing sex and the next morning, he was gone.” I continued walking and then stopped when I noticed Corey was no longer next to me. Turning around, I spoke, “What? Why did you stop?” “You, Chloe Kane, had sex with a man and didn’t get his name first? What’s the matter with you? Who are you?” He smiled. “It was on my list.” “What was on your list?” he asked as we continued walking. “Sex with a stranger in a foreign country.” He slowly shook his head. “You’re weird. He could have been dangerous, Chloe.” “Oh, he was deliciously dangerous.” I grinned. **** It felt good to be back home. After I showered, I made a cup of tea and curled up on the couch, still thinking about the man from last night. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get him out of my head or the feel of him on my body. Every time I touched my lips, I could still feel them trembling from his kiss. As I was fantasizing about him, my phone rang with a facetime call from Sienna. “Hello, lovely.” I smiled. “Look at you, all cozy in your jammies already.” “As much fun as I had in London, I’m happy to be home.” “Me too. Sam keeps texting me. He said he misses me already and wants to plan a trip to New York to

come and visit.” She rolled her eyes. “Are you going to let him?” I asked as I sipped my tea. “I don’t know. Even though sex with him was utterly boring, I kind of like his company. How are you doing? After that wild night of sex, you must still be thinking about that hot man.” “No, I’m not. He’s a distant memory now.” “You’re lying. I know you, Chloe, and you get involved, even though I clearly try to teach you differently.” I sighed. “Okay. So what? I am still thinking about him and I can’t help it. I just wish I would have gotten his name.” “Tsk tsk.” She waved her finger. “Goes against the stranger rule. Besides, even if you did get his name, what were you going to do? Stalk him? Google him? Find a thousand guys with the same name in the US and then call them one by one, asking if they were the sexy guy who made you orgasm multiple times in London?” “Why do you have to be like that?” I rolled my eyes. “You love me and you know it. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and make sure you made it home safe. I have to go shower because I need to be at work bright and early tomorrow morning. I have a big client coming in and his demands for the perfect ad are annoying, so I have to be on top of my game.” “Have a good night and we’ll talk tomorrow. Good luck with your meeting.” “Thanks, love. Ta ta.”

Chapter 6 Two Months Later

Arriving at work, I set my bag down as Silas called over to me. “Chloe, Mr. Black is here and wants to talk to you.” “Really? I didn’t know he was coming.” “We didn’t either. He was here before us.” Walking into the back office, I smiled when I saw him sitting behind the desk. “Good morning, Connor. Welcome back to L.A. Silas said you wanted to see me.” “Good morning, Chloe. Have a seat.” He smiled. Taking a seat across from his desk, I was a little nervous as to why he was here and why he wanted to talk to me. I didn’t think I was in trouble for anything because my work was impeccable. Oh God, maybe he was laying me off. A thousand reasons were swimming around in my mind and it started to worry me. “You’ve been working here for a little over a year now, correct?” he asked. “Yes.” “Do you like it here, Chloe?” I thought that was a strange question to ask and he caught me off guard. “Yes. Very much.” “More than New York?” “Well, my friends and family are in New York and I miss them, but so far, L.A. is working for me.” I smiled. “Have you made friends here?” “Some.” “Are you currently seeing anyone?” Okay, now this was getting weird as far as I was concerned.

“No,” I replied in confusion. He chuckled. “Okay, I’ll get right to the point. I can see you’re getting a little irritated with all my questions. How would you like to move back to New York?” I was stunned by his question. “Are you serious?” I asked with a hint of excitement. “Yes. I’m opening up a new art gallery. Much bigger than the one you interned at and way bigger than this one. The reason I offered you this position here is because I didn’t want to let you go, but at the time, I didn’t have anything available in New York. You’re an excellent employee, Chloe, and Ellery and I would love for you to manage the new gallery. Your passion for art and history is exactly what this new gallery needs. You did such a great job when you interned for us and, to be honest, Ellery was quite pissed at me for not creating a position for you in New York. I thought it would be best for you to work here for a while. You passed the test. You’ve done an outstanding job helping out, but you aren’t developing your full potential being an assistant.” I sat there in shock as I listened to his praise. Words wouldn’t escape my lips. I felt like I was dreaming and any moment I’d wake up in my bed. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” He smiled. “I would be honored to run your gallery back in New York. I’m sorry, Connor, but this is such a shock to me. I wasn’t expecting this.” “A good shock, I hope.” “Of course. New York is my home and I’d love to move back there.” “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. Ellery will be extremely pleased. How soon can you move back?” “I don’t know. I still have my lease here for another three months on my apartment.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “Don’t worry about your lease. I’ll take care of it. I would like you back in New York as soon as possible. Even as early as next week. I will hire a moving company to move your belongings, so you don’t have to worry about that. You’ll be on a salary with health benefits, vacation time, sick time, and a 401k plan.” “Wow. I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Connor. Something like this has always been my dream.” “You’re welcome, Chloe. I have the gallery scheduled to open in a couple of months. That should give you plenty of time to get settled and get everything set up. I want the opening of this gallery to be the biggest and best, so the work involved is going to be quite intense.” “I know, and I promise you that I can handle it.”

“I know you can.” He smiled. “That’s why I offered you the job. Also, I’m going to have my realtor get in touch with you. He’s one of the best and he can help you find an apartment. In fact, I’ll text him your phone number now.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and grinned. “I received a text message from Ellery asking if you took the job.” “You can tell her that I fully accept and I can’t wait to get back to New York.” “I certainly will.” “Connor, I have one question.” “What is it?” he asked as he turned around before walking out the door. “Why are you opening up another gallery in New York?” “For Ellery, of course.” He winked. As soon as he left, I did a happy dance and silently screamed as I jumped up and down. I couldn’t believe that I was moving back to New York. My parents and Sienna were going to be so happy. **** Saying goodbye to Corey was hard, but he promised to come to New York and visit. This was a new start for me. It felt like the beginning of a new life. My parents were beyond thrilled that I was moving back and staying with them until I found an apartment. They told me just to live with them and they promised to give me my privacy. As much as I loved my parents more than anything in the world, living with them permanently wasn’t an option. They were, how do I say it, a little different from your average parents. They were modern hippies. Throwbacks from the sixties living in today’s modern world. Being the free-spirits they were, growing up was a lot of fun, but also embarrassing at times. When I called and told them about Corey, they were happy for him, that he finally re-birthed himself and accepted who he really was. I agreed, but the way they said it was as if I shouldn’t have been hurt or upset by it. I spent nine months with him in a relationship. As happy as I was now for him, it did hurt a lot when he told me. As soon as the plane landed at JFK, I stepped off and took in the New York City air. It was good to be back home. “There’s our baby girl,” my mom shouted as she ran to me. My dad followed behind. “Hi, Mom. Dad.” I hugged them both. “Do you have any idea how happy we are to have you home?” She hugged me tightly again. “Yeah. Actually, I do.” I tried to breathe.

My dad grabbed my two suitcases and we hailed a taxi back to their apartment. Stepping into my childhood bedroom, I smiled. I’d forgotten how much I’d missed this room when I was in L.A. As I started to unpack, I heard a knock on the door and a voice that was music to my ears. Running out of my room, I ran to Sienna and threw my arms around her. “Thank God you’re home for good. I’m sorry I couldn’t be at the airport. That damn meeting I was in ran late.” “Don’t worry about it.” I smiled. “Hi, Sienna,” my mom spoke. “You’re just in time for dinner. I’ve made a vegetarian macaroni and cheese.” Sienna made a face at me. She wasn’t fond of my mother’s cooking, but being the sometimes polite woman she was, she graciously smiled and took a seat at the table. “So tell us how work is going, Sienna,” my mom asked as she scooped some macaroni and cheese onto her plate. “Oh, the usual. My coworkers are backstabbing bitches, my boss won’t stop hitting on me, and one of my clients hated the advertising campaign that took me two months to develop. But overall, it’s going well.” She smiled. “Are you seeing anyone?” my father asked. “No. Not really. I did meet this guy on the plane on our way to London. He lives there. He’s supposed to come to New York to visit next month.” “He is?” I looked at her in shock. “You didn’t tell me that.” “Oh. Guess what? Sam is coming to visit next month. Too bad you don’t know where Mr. Sexy lives. You could have invited him and we could have double dated.” “Who’s Mr. Sexy?” my mom asked. “The guy she met in London. Didn’t she tell you?” Sienna opened her big mouth. “No,” my dad replied. “Tell us about Mr. Sexy, Chloe.” I shot Sienna a look and she gave me the “oops” face. “I’m sorry. I thought you told them. You tell them everything.” She was right. I did tell my parents everything. We always had an open relationship and no subject was ever off limits. Hell, my mom was so sexually open that for my sixteenth birthday she bought me a

vibrator. But I didn’t mention what happened in London to them. “He’s just a guy I met at the hotel bar on our last night there. That’s all.” “What’s his name?” my mom asked. “I didn’t get his name.” “Why wouldn’t you get his name?” my dad asked. “Don’t people who meet usually introduce themselves?” my mom chimed in. “We had sex. I didn’t want to know his name, and I didn’t want to know anything about him. It was on my list.” I took a bite of macaroni and cheese. “What was on your list?” My mom cocked her head. “To have sex with a stranger in a foreign country. We did. He was beyond amazing, and when I woke up the next morning, he was gone. So now you know. Can we please talk about something else?” There it was. The reason I didn’t tell my parents about him. The truth was not a day went by since that night that I hadn’t thought about him. No matter how hard I tried to push him out of my mind, I couldn’t. Even though I planned on leaving him before he woke up, it bothered me that he left first. Having sex with him affected me more emotionally than I thought it ever would have. After dinner, I hugged Sienna goodbye and went to my room. My mom followed me and sat down on the edge of my bed while I hung up some clothes in my closet. “Are you okay, Chloe? I can sense something is going on with you. Your chakras are all out of whack.” I sighed. “I’m fine, Mom. It’s just ever since that night, that total stranger is all I seem to think about. Why can’t I forget about him?” I sat down next to her, clutching a sweater in my hand. “It’s been two months.” “Well, you said you had amazing sex, right?” “Yeah.” I smiled. “Totally like nothing I’d ever experienced with a man before.” “It sounds to me like the two of you had a connection. More than just physical.” She kissed the side of my head. “Try not to think about him anymore and don’t let your experience deter you from finding the right man. There are others out there. What’s to be fated, will be. You know that. I’m teaching yoga tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. Why don’t you come and clear your mind?” “I can’t. I’m meeting the realtor tomorrow morning and then I have to get to the gallery.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Don’t deviate from your spiritual well-being. You know how important it is.” I gave her a small smile as she walked out of the room.

Chapter 7 “Well, what do you think?” Jason, my realtor, asked as we walked around the apartment. “The best part is that it’s within walking distance to the art gallery you’ll be working at.” “I like it. I like that it’s a brownstone, the apartment is on the second floor, and that it was built in the 1900s. The architecture is so beautiful. Oh, and I like that it’s in my price range.” “Excellent. Would you like to fill out the renter’s application?” He smiled. “Yes. When would the apartment be ready to move into?” “Next week. The owners are anxious because they’re leaving for Italy for six months, so they want this taken care of before they leave.” “A week is perfect.” I smiled. The apartment was definitely a lot smaller than my place back in L.A., but this was New York and the spaces were small. When I stepped inside, I instantly felt at home. It was the kind of place where I could envision myself relaxing after a long day at the gallery. Jason handed me the rental application and I filled it out on the spot and handed it to him. “Perfect.” He grinned. “I’ll get this processed right away and let you know tomorrow. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kane.” “Thank you, Jason. The pleasure was all mine.” As I stepped out onto West 82nd Street, I looked down at the tree-lined street. Pulling my phone from my purse, I facetimed Sienna. Her stressed face appeared on the screen. “What’s wrong?” I laughed. “This client is driving me bat shit crazy. He’ll be lucky if I don’t go to his house and murder him in his sleep. Where are you?” “This is West 82nd Street, where I found an apartment. Look at the brownstone.” I held the phone up. “Hey, I know that place. A girl that I work with used to live there. So when are you moving in?” “The realtor is processing the application today and he’ll let me know tomorrow. If everything is approved, I can move in next week.”

“Woohoo. I’ll help you and we can have a decorating party.” She smiled. “Sounds good. Listen, I’m going to head to the gallery now. I’ll talk to you later.” “Bye, lover.” She kissed the screen. Laughing, I blew her a kiss and ended the call. When I reached the gallery, I stepped inside and smiled when I saw Ellery. The place was crawling with construction workers. Noise infiltrated the place as hammers banged against the walls and saws were going off every second. “You’re here!” she exclaimed as she walked over and hugged me. “Welcome home, Chloe.” “Thanks, Ellery. It’s good to see you and it’s great to be back in New York.” I took hold of both her hands. “I can’t thank you and Connor enough for giving me this opportunity.” “Don’t mention it. You are an excellent worker with an incredible eye for art. You remind me of me when I was your age.” She winked. “Come on, I’ll show you around.” After walking around half of the 5,000-square-foot space, Ellery took me up the wrought-iron stairs that led to the second level. “Up here is where your office is, the bathroom, and a kitchen area. What do you think?” “I love it. It’s perfect up here.” “Come and see your office.” She took my hand and led me to a space that consisted of glass walls and a large glass door. “Wow. This is beautiful,” I spoke as I sat down behind the large L-shaped glass desk with the Apple computer sitting proudly on top. “You should have everything you need. The file cabinets are being delivered tomorrow, so you can place those wherever you see fit. Also, I’ve ordered some couches, tables, and chairs to go in the space out there. You’re going to love them. I went way over Connor’s budget, but he doesn’t need to know that.” She smiled. “I promise I won’t tell him.” **** Settling into my new apartment was a piece of cake compared to the hustle and bustle of trying to get the art gallery ready for its grand opening reception tomorrow night. Everything was in place and ready to be seen. My main focus the last month was getting the gallery ready, leaving very little time for anything else, including a personal life. The good thing that came out of immersing myself in my work was the fact

that I hadn’t given one thought about the man from London. He had now become a distant memory in my mind. An incredible one-night stand that I had let affect me for too long was now buried and locked away. After changing out of my work clothes and into something more casual, I grabbed my purse and headed to Bellini’s, where I was meeting Sienna for dinner. As the cab pulled up to drop me off, I reached into my purse to pay the cab fare. Just as I was about to open the door and climb out, I froze. “Ma’am, is everything okay?” the cab driver asked. I gulped as my eyes stared at the handsome stranger from London. My heart began to race and the butterflies that had lain dormant awoke, causing a stir in my belly. “Just give me a second,” I spoke as I pulled up the hood to my jacket and took my sunglasses out of my purse, putting them on to hide myself from him. Opening the door, I climbed out and kept my head down, but as I passed the two gentlemen standing and talking on the sidewalk, I slightly lifted my head so I could get a glimpse of his sultry chocolate eyes. Both men looked at me, probably wondering why the hell I was wearing sunglasses when it was almost dark out. He was just as gorgeous as I remembered him to be. As I made my way into the restaurant, Sienna was standing there waiting for me. “Hey.” I tapped her shoulder. “It’s me.” She turned around and looked me up and down with an odd look on her face. “What the hell are you doing? Why are you wearing that hat and sunglasses?” Looking behind me and out the door, I saw he was gone. “I saw him!” I whispered. “Saw who?” “Him! The stranger from London.” I removed my sunglasses and hat. “What? Where?” She looked over my shoulder. “He was standing outside the restaurant talking to some guy. I had to hide myself so he didn’t recognize me.” She placed her hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure it was him?” “Positive. Do you think I’d ever forget him?” The hostess walked up and told us our table was ready. After being seated, I told the hostess to tell our

waitress that I needed a double shot of tequila ASAP. “Why are you so nervous?” Sienna asked. “It’s a miracle that he’s here in New York and you saw him again. I have no clue why you hid yourself from him. You should have walked up and said, ‘Hey, remember me? The girl from London who you had a night of wild sex with and then escaped the next morning without as so much as a goodbye?’” Sinking back into the booth, I sighed. “Don’t you get it? I can never see him again after that night.” “Why? It’s not like you’re entering a relationship with him. It was one night, Chloe. One satisfying night. If the two of you do run into each other, all you have to do is say hi and move along. And I don’t mean to be rude, but he may not even remember you. He’s a guy and he had random sex with a random girl. If he did it with you, I can guarantee he makes a habit of it. Do you think I remember half of the guys I fuck?” She smiled. “Maybe you’re right. He probably wouldn’t remember me anyway.” “Finally, you get it. Now stop this neurotic behavior and let’s enjoy dinner.”

Chapter 8 I walked around the gallery, making sure everything was in order. The caterers had arrived and the bar was being set up. Nerves filtered through me, as this was one of the biggest nights of my life and I had to pull it off to perfection. Failure wasn’t an option. As I took in a deep breath, Connor and Ellery walked over to me. “You seem to be nervous.” Connor smiled. “I am. This is a big night and I’m worried.” “Do you think you did a good job?” Ellery asked. “I think so.” “Then you have nothing to be nervous or worried about.” Connor winked. “Relax, Chloe. This is going to be a fabulous night and a huge success. Have a drink.” Ellery pulled a glass of champagne off the tray as one of the waiters walked by. One by one, the people started to enter the gallery. I watched the expressions on their faces as they moved from one area to another, looking at the vast collection of art. As I was talking to one of the artists, Sienna walked up and stood next to me. “I am so proud of you.” She smiled. “This place looks phenomenal.” “Thanks. It was a lot of work but well worth it.” “Are your mom and dad coming?” she asked as she grabbed an hors d’oeuvre from the tray. “Yes. They should be here shortly.” As I brought my glass of champagne to my lips and took a small sip, it sprayed out of my mouth as my eyes looked over and saw him standing there with a beautiful tall brunette, looking at the Impressionist art collection. “Chloe, are you all right?” Sienna asked with concern. “NO. It’s him.” “Where?” Her head turned in every direction.

“Right over there.” I pointed. “Holy shit. The hot guy with the brunette?” “Yes.” My belly fluttered at the sight of him but turned sick when I looked at her. “What the fuck is he doing here?” I asked as I ducked behind a large sculpture. “He obviously likes art. Go talk to him. Maybe you can tell the fake brunette about your little rendezvous in London.” “NO! I need to go to my office for something. I’ll be right back.” “Chloe. You aren’t being cool right now.” I ran up the stairs to the second floor and tried to collect myself. This had to be the worst time for me to see him. Once I calmed down and took in a few deep breaths, I came to the realization that there was no way he’d remember me and I was acting like an anxiety-ridden child. Perhaps he didn’t have a girlfriend when we hooked up. I mean, it had been four months and a man like that wouldn’t be single for long. Or maybe that was his wife and he was in London on business and cheated on her with me. Maybe it was something he did when he was away from home. Now, in my mind, he was a total douchebag. I was acting ridiculous and if by some chance we did run into each other, I would pretend I didn’t remember him. Taking in a deep breath, I slowly walked down the stairs with my head held high. This was my night and I wasn’t going to let the likes of the stranger from London ruin it for me. I saw Sienna and my parents standing over by the portable bar. Walking over, I hugged my mom and dad and thanked them for coming. “Are you okay now?” Sienna asked. “Yes. I am perfectly fine.” I smiled. “Good girl.” She winked. “Now if you’ll excuse us, your mom and dad have some art they would like to see.” “We’ll talk to you later, sweetie, when you aren’t so busy.” My mom smiled as she touched my cheek. I carefully scanned the gallery and didn’t see him. Maybe he got bored and left. One could only hope. “Do you have any Chardonnay?” I asked the cute bartender. “I sure do. Would you like a glass?”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked.” I smiled. As he poured the wine into a glass and handed it to me, Connor walked up from behind. “Chloe, I would like you to meet someone.” Turning around, I gulped and my eyes widened as they locked with the sultry brown eyes of the man from London. “Chloe, this is Sebastian Bennett. Sebastian, this is Chloe Kane, the talented woman responsible for putting this all together for me.” The corners of his mouth curved upwards as he held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe Kane.” Carefully extending my hand to his, the moment our skin touched, I felt a jolt of electricity course throughout my body. A jolt so electrifying that it left me breathless. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Mr. Bennett.” I was barely able to get the words out. “Please, call me Sebastian. You did a wonderful job. I was giving all the credit to Connor and he told me that you were the one who put this all together. I’m highly impressed.” He smiled. “Thank you.” Suddenly, the brunette appeared by his side. “Sebastian, you must come and see this painting over here. It would look perfect in your home.” My heart was racing a mile a minute, for I knew he remembered me. I could tell by the expression on his face. “Like I said, it was nice to meet you, Chloe,” he spoke with a sly smile. He placed his hand on the brunette’s back and they turned and walked away. The air slowly started to return to my lungs as I made my way to the bathroom. Sebastian Bennett. After all these months of wondering his name, I now knew, and what a sexy name it was. When the brunette walked up to him, I quickly scanned her finger and saw there was no ring. As I was in the bathroom, I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Sienna. “You need to come to the bathroom now! He remembered me and his name is Sebastian Bennett.” “WTF! You met him? I’m on my way.” A few moments later, the bathroom door opened and Sienna walked in.

“What the hell happened and where was I?” “Right after you left to go look at some art, Connor walked up with him and introduced us.” “Are you sure he remembered you?” “Yes, he remembered me! It was obvious by the look on his face.” “So what did he say?” “That it was nice to meet me and he was impressed.” “Impressed by what? Was he talking about that night?” “NO! He was impressed about the gallery.” “Oh. Did you let on that you remembered him?” “No, but I’m sure the expression on my face did.” She shrugged. “Relax. If he seeks you out again, pretend you don’t know him and that night in London never happened. After tonight, you’ll probably never see him again.” “Really? How can you stand there and say that? You’re the one who said that he probably wouldn’t remember me in the first place.” “Okay. So I was wrong. Now it’s your turn. Pretend you don’t remember a thing. Act like he’s a stranger.” “He is a stranger!” I squealed. “Not anymore. Now you know his name.” Rolling my eyes, I went back out to the crowded area and mingled with the patrons. Finally, the last guest left and I was exhausted. The opening was a huge success and I couldn’t have been more pleased. “You look exhausted,” Ellery spoke as she walked over to me. “I am. It was an amazing night.” “It sure was.” Connor smiled. “You did an outstanding job. You should be very proud of yourself.” “Thank you. But I couldn’t have done it without the help of the staff.” “Go home and get some rest. We’ll see you on Monday for the public opening.” I gave them both a hug, grabbed my purse from my office, and stepped outside.

“Excuse me, Miss Kane,” I heard a man’s voice speak. “Yes.” “I have been instructed to give you a ride home.” He stood in front of the opened door of a black limousine. “Thank you, but I don’t accept rides from strangers.” I turned around and began walking down the street. “I would hardly call myself a stranger.” I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly turned my head, only to see Sebastian sticking his head out of the limo. “I’m sorry, Mr.—” I cocked my head. “Sebastian. Have you forgotten my name already?” This was my chance. My chance to play it up as if I didn’t remember him or that night. “I’m sorry, but I’ve met so many people tonight.” He stepped out of the limo and stood a few feet in front of me with his hands tucked in his pockets. The way the light of the moon shined down on him made him even sexier than he already was. My body quivered just by looking at him and my knees buckled at his smile. He slowly walked over and stood in front of me. Removing his hand from his pocket, he lightly ran his finger along my jawline, sending me into a trance. “Tonight wasn’t the first time we met and you know it. You remember me and exactly what happened that night in London.” “I’m sorry, but I—” “You do. There’s no use in denying it, Chloe. Now, get in my limo and I will take you home. It’s the least I can do to thank you for such a beautiful night together.” “Shit. Shit. Shit,” my mouth spewed out. “Excuse me?” His brow arched. Shaking my head, I broke from the trance he had me in. “What happened between us back in London stays in London. We were never supposed to see each other again. This is very awkward, Sebastian.” I began hurrying down the street to escape him and this

embarrassing moment. “Chloe, wait.” He chased after me. “Why is this awkward? I don’t think it’s awkward at all. And for God sakes, will you slow down?” “Of course you don’t think it’s awkward. You’re a guy and you’re used to doing that sort of thing, but I’m not. I don’t sleep with strange men. I never had until you,” I nervously spoke as I hurried along and around the corner. He kept up with me and I wished he wouldn’t have. “I know you never had. I could tell. But don’t think that I think any less of you. Damn it, Chloe! Stop!” I stopped and looked at him. “What do you want, Sebastian?” “I want to take you home.” I looked over at the brownstone. “I am home.” I pointed. “Oh. Are you lying?” “Lying about what?” “Living here? Are you just saying that so I’ll leave?” “No. I live here. In apartment 8B.” Shit. Why did I just tell him that? Not that he couldn’t find out anyway. All he had to do was look at the names on the doorbell. He brought his hand up to my cheek. “You’re so beautiful, Chloe Kane, and I would like a repeat of what happened in London. You’re trembling and I know you want it too.” I tried to find the words, but I couldn’t speak. His touch paralyzed me. “I—I—I don’t think that will be possible.” “Why?” He smiled. “Because you’re seeing someone. The woman you were with at the gallery wouldn’t appreciate you talking to me this way.” “I see a lot of women. She isn’t anyone I see on a regular basis. I like to keep my options open for instances like this one.” I swallowed hard. “Well, I’m seeing someone.” “I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care if you believe me. I am.” He glared at me for a moment, almost as if he knew I was lying. “Well then, he’s a very lucky man. Have a good night, Miss Kane.” “You too, Sebastian.” I nodded and walked to the door, inserted my key, and headed up the stairs. As soon as I entered my apartment, I ran to the window and looked out as he walked down the street.

Chapter 9 Sebastian As I climbed into the limo, Eli glanced at me. “She’s the one who’s had you in such a bad state since you returned from London?” I sighed. “Yes, she’s the one. She claims she’s seeing someone, but I don’t believe her. I’m not worried. I’ll have her in my bed again. It may take some time, but she will give herself to me. Just like she did in London.” “I have no doubt you’re right.” He smiled. After arriving home, I poured some bourbon in a glass and pulled out my phone, pulling up the picture I took of her. I sat down in the wing-backed chair and stared at her. Her smile captivated me just like it did back in London. It was a smile that drew me to her. I couldn’t believe that after all these months, I saw her again. Since that night, she had occupied my mind. It didn’t matter who I was with, I always saw her. I dreamt about her and every time the scent of roses crossed my path, I was instantly reminded of her. This one woman, who was a stranger that I’d fucked on my last night in London, affected me in ways that no woman ever had before, and that posed a problem for me. I sighed as I finished off my bourbon and headed to bed. Chloe Kane was a beautiful woman with a beautiful name. Now she was complete and I was going to stop at nothing to get her back into my bed. But I needed to be careful. I didn’t want her to see me for who I really was. A monster with no emotion and no feeling. A man who couldn’t cry and a man who thrived on control. ****

Chloe “What do you mean, you turned him down?” Sienna yelled at me over facetime. “I can’t and I won’t. Do you know who he is?” I continued walking down the street to Whole Foods. “What do you mean? I know he’s an extremely sexy man who wants you.” “He’s a millionaire. No, make that a billionaire. Self-made when he was just twenty-one years old.” “And that’s a problem how?” She twisted her face. “And most importantly, why?”

“Because we come from two different worlds. You know how those millionaires are.” “No. Actually, I don’t. I’ve never known one.” Walking into Whole Foods, I grabbed a basket and propped my phone against my purse. “Why would someone like him be interested in someone like me?” “Maybe because you’re beautiful and an incredibly sweet person and he sees that.” “How could he see that? We didn’t talk. We just had sex,” I spoke a little too loudly as the woman looking over the apples glanced up at me and shot me a look. “Listen, Chloe, you’re reading way too much into this guy. You don’t even really know him.” “Just by him saying he wanted a repeat of London told me enough. All he’s after is sex and from what I saw on the internet, he’s a manwhore. Not to mention the fact that he basically admitted it to me. I’ve been through the ringer with guys in the past and there’s no way in hell I’m getting involved with someone like that.” She sighed as she rolled her eyes. “No one said you have to get involved with him. Just have some fun and see what happens. If he’s a total douchebag, don’t see him anymore.” “I told him I was seeing someone, so he probably won’t try to contact me.” “Of course you did, you silly girl.” “Okay. I’m hanging up now. I need to finish shopping because my parents are coming over.” “Have fun. I’ll talk to you later.” As I opened the security door to my building, Mrs. Cooper came out of her apartment. “Chloe, you had a delivery. Hold on.” She went back inside. A moment later, she walked out with a tall glass vase filled with yellow roses wrapped in clear plastic covering. “Is it your birthday?” she asked. “No. It isn’t.” “Well, someone thinks you’re pretty special. Here, let me take these up for you since your hands are full.” “Thank you, Mrs. Cooper.”

Walking into my apartment, I set the bags on the kitchen counter while Mrs. Cooper set the flowers down on the table. “Thanks again for your help.” “You’re welcome, dear. Enjoy the flowers.” She gave a friendly smile. “I will.” I walked her to the door. After removing the wrapping, I pulled the small white envelope from the flowers and drew out the card. Congratulations on a successful opening night. You should be very proud. I think a celebratory dinner is in order. Sebastian A small smile crossed my lips as I read the card, but a flutter in my belly also emerged. I expected this from Connor and Ellery, not Sebastian. He obviously didn’t care that I said I was seeing someone unless he knew I was lying. Ugh. I set down the card and took the flowers over to the coffee table. As I was preparing dinner, the doorbell rang. Looking at the time, I saw that my parents were early. Walking over to the door, I pushed the buzzer and let them in. “You’re ear—” I stopped mid-word as I opened the door and saw Sebastian standing there with a smile on his face. “I’m early?” He grinned. “Sebastian. What are you doing here?” “Did you get the flowers I sent you?” “Yes. Thank you.” “Well, I thought we could do dinner tonight. But from the sounds of it, it seems you’re expecting someone.” Suddenly, my parents came up the stairs and my mom flashed a smile when she saw Sebastian. “Oh. Hello.” She looked him up and down before extending her hand. “I’m Ophelia and this is my husband, Larry. We’re Chloe’s parents.” Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Hello. Sebastian Bennett. It’s nice to meet both of you.” He lightly shook their hands. “Are you joining us for dinner?” my mom asked as she made her way into my apartment. “Uh, no. Actually, I just dropped by to say hi to Chloe and congratulate her on the success of last night’s gallery opening.” “Oh. I knew you looked familiar. Please, join us.” “Yeah. Come on in.” My dad smiled. Could this be any more awkward? “I’m sure Sebastian has plans tonight.” I looked at him and narrowed my eye. “Actually, I did have plans, but they recently got cancelled.” He smiled. “Then you must join us.” My mom hooked her arm around his and led him into my apartment. “My, you’re very muscular, Mr. Bennett.” “Please, just call me Sebastian.” Jesus, my parents and he do not mix. What the fuck was I going to do now? “It smells delicious in here, Chloe. I’ll set the table for you,” my mom spoke. “And I’ll kick back on the couch with a beer. You have beer, right?” my dad asked. “In the refrigerator, Dad.” I sighed. As my mom set the table, Sebastian came up from behind and placed his hands on my hips as I was standing in front of the stove. I froze. “It does smell delicious.” His hot breath swept over my skin. “What are you cooking?” “Rigatoni with sautéed eggplant and tomatoes. My parents are vegetarians.” “Oh.” “You could have said no and walked away,” I spoke through gritted teeth. “I didn’t want to.” He let go of my hips and made his way to the couch. “So how do you know Chloe? Do you work together?” my mom asked. A nervousness settled inside me. Please don’t say London. Please don’t say London.

“No. We don’t work together. Actually, we met in London. It was pure coincidence that we ran into each other here in New York.” The spoon I was using hit the floor and my mom came into the kitchen, lightly grabbing my arm. “Chloe, is he…?” “Yes,” I whispered. “I don’t want to talk about it.” “Oh my God. Talk about the universe working in mysterious ways.” She smiled. “You must be ‘Mr. Sexy,’” my dad spoke. I literally just died at that very moment. “Excuse me?” Sebastian said. “Dinner’s ready.” I interrupted them and set the pasta on the table. As I walked back into the kitchen, Sebastian followed behind. “You told them we had sex?” he whispered. “I tell them everything and how the hell did I know that you’d be having dinner with us?” “Now this is awkward. How can I face them during dinner?” “They’re very sexual and open people. Believe me when I tell you that they aren’t giving it a second thought.” “Is everything okay in there?” my mom asked. “Yep. I’m just giving Sebastian some glasses.” I handed him four glasses.

Chapter 10 Sebastian I took the glasses from her and set them on the table. Taking a seat across from her parents, I gave them a small, embarrassed smile. “So, what kind of work do you do?” her dad asked. “I run my own company called Bennett Industries. I buy and sell real estate and failing businesses, turn them around, and sell them.” “Interesting. Chloe didn’t tell us you were a corporate man,” my dad spoke. “That’s because she didn’t know. We just ran into each other last night for the first time since London and haven’t really had a chance to talk.” “Ah, that’s right. The two of you only had sex.” Her dad nodded his head. “Larry, you’ve embarrassed the poor man. Let’s not bring that up again,” my mom spoke. I looked over at Chloe as she sat there with a smile on her face. “There’s no need for him to be embarrassed. Sex is a very open topic in our family.” Her dad grinned at me. “Can we eat now and stop talking about sex?” Chloe asked. “Sorry.” She looked over at me. “It’s fine.” I sighed. “You look awful young to own a corporation. How old are you?” her mother asked. It was a fair enough question. I wanted to put their minds at ease that I wasn’t a pervy old man who sought out young women. “I’m thirty. I started my company when I was twenty-one years old with the help of a friend of mine.” After we finished eating, Chloe’s mother decided it was time for them to go, which pleased me. I couldn’t escape their company fast enough. They were different, but nice. Still, knowing that they knew we had sex in London without even knowing each other bothered me. “Your father and I have to get going.”

“Mom, you don’t have to leave already,” Chloe spoke. “We do. Thank you for dinner, sweetheart. We’ll talk soon.” She kissed her goodbye. “It was nice meeting you, Sebastian.” “Likewise.” I smiled. “Behave yourself.” Her father winked at me. “Or don’t.” He held up his fist for a fist bump. Shaking her head, Chloe closed the door and looked at me. “And that was Ophelia and Larry. The people I call my parents.” She lowered her head. The only thing I wanted to do at that moment was take her to the bedroom, rip off all her clothes, and bury my cock deep inside her. The ache to feel her again was unbearable. “They’re a little odd, but nice.” I smiled as I grabbed hold of her hand. She lifted her head and her green eyes stared into mine. She pulled her hand away. “I’m sure you’re busy tonight, so you don’t have to stay.” She walked into the kitchen. “You’re right. I should get going. Can I use your bathroom before I leave?” “Of course. It’s the first door on the left.” Once I finished using the bathroom, I walked to the kitchen where she was standing over the sink, washing a pan. Placing my hands on hers in the soapy water, I whispered in her ear, “Thank you for dinner. I enjoyed it.” I felt her tremble and my cock immediately started to get hard. “You’re welcome,” she spoke as her hands stilled in the water. “Are you sure you want me to leave?” My lips kissed her ear. “Yes,” she spoke in a mere whisper. “I don’t want to.” My lips traveled down the side of her neck. “You have to.” She tilted her head to the side. “But I don’t.” Lifting my hands out of the water, I slid them up her shirt and grabbed hold of her breasts. She moaned as I pulled the cups of her bra down, and my fingers played with her nipples. “I bet your sweet pussy is dripping wet right now.”

“No. It’s not,” she moaned as my hands kneaded her breasts and my tongue slid across her shoulder. “I guess I’ll have to see for myself.” Removing one hand from her breast, I slid it down the front of the black leggings she was wearing until I reached her wet opening. “Ah. I was right,” I whispered in her ear as I dipped my finger inside her and she threw her head back with a light moan. “I want to fuck you, Chloe Kane. Right here, right now. Do you want me to fuck you?” “Yes,” she panted as my finger explored her. I turned her around, and our lips met and our tongues were reunited. Taking down her leggings and panties, I broke our kiss and lifted off her shirt so she stood there in nothing but her bra. Sliding my tongue down her chest to her taut torso, I lowered myself to my knees and slowly devoured her. Her fingers tangled through my hair as she thrust her hips forward, moaning in ecstasy. Her legs started to shake as her body gave way to her first orgasm of the night. “Oh. My. God,” she panted. Licking my way up her, I smashed my mouth against hers as I picked her up and set her on the edge of the counter. “I’m fucking you right here first.” I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a condom. “Okay,” she spoke with bated breath as she lifted off my shirt. With the edge of the condom wrapper in my mouth, I hurried and took down my pants, undid her bra, and threw it across the kitchen. Ripping open the wrapper, I removed the condom and slid it over my throbbing cock. Grabbing her hips and pulling her closer to the edge, I thrust inside her while her legs wrapped themselves tightly around my waist. Seizing her mouth with my lips, I kissed her hard, almost as hard as my cock was thrusting in and out of her. High-pitched moans escaped both of us as she reached down and placed both her hands firmly on my ass, pushing me in deeper until my entire length was buried inside her. “Fuck, Chloe,” I breathlessly spoke. I lifted her from the counter, still buried inside her, and carried her over to the couch. “Turn around and get on your knees,” I commanded as I pulled out of her. She did and grasped the back of the couch as I took her from behind, moving in and out of her with swift, long strokes.

“Do you like it this way?” “Yes.” “How much?” “Very much.” “How about when I do this?” I reached in front of her and pressed my fingers against her clit. “YES,” she squealed. Grabbing hold of her hair, I pulled her head back. “Give me those beautiful lips of yours.” She turned her head and our mouths met. When I nipped at her bottom lip, her moans became louder. “Are you going to come for me, baby?” “Yes. Yes.” “Good, because I’m ready to come with you.” I could feel her pussy swell around my cock as she was about to come. The pleasure was pure and raw and I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Sebastian,” she yelled out. One last deep thrust and I exploded. She lowered her head as she tried to regain her breath and I held tightly onto her hips as I pressed my lips against her back. Pulling out of her, I disposed of the condom, picked up the blanket she had sitting in the corner, and wrapped it around us as I sat down next to her, pulling her into me. “That was some reunion.” “It sure was,” she spoke as her finger ran across my chest. “Tell me more about you.” “What do you want to know?” She looked up at me. “Everything. How are you going to tell the guy you’re seeing that you fucked another man?” She laughed. “You know damn well I’m not seeing anyone.” “I know. I just wanted to hear you say it. Why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

She got up from the couch. “I’ll be right back.” A few moments later, she returned, wearing a black satin short robe. “I’m going to grab us some wine before I get into that story.” She smiled. Getting up from the couch, I pulled on my underwear and my pants. When she emerged from the kitchen, she handed me a glass of wine and took a seat next to me. “When I arrived in London, my boyfriend back in California and I had been broken up for two weeks. We had dated for nine months. He took me to a fancy restaurant, where I was sure he was going to ask me to move in with him, but instead, he told me he was gay.” “Are you serious?” I asked in shock. “Yep. One hundred percent. But we’re really close friends now. He’s a great guy and besides Sienna, he’s one of my best friends.” “Well, that’s good that you remained friends with him. I didn’t know you lived in California.” “Yeah. I actually just moved back here a couple of months ago. I worked at the other gallery that Connor and Ellery own in Los Angeles. I started out here as an intern for them and he moved me there as an assistant curator. Then, he moved me back here when he offered me the managing job at the new gallery.” “Remind me to thank him the next time I see him.” “How about you? Your parents must be very proud of your accomplishments.” I took in a sharp breath. Discussing my past wasn’t an option. Not even with her. “Of course they are. Listen, I better get going. I have to fly out to Minneapolis tomorrow for a meeting.” “On a Sunday?” she asked as she looked up at me. Reaching down, my lips gently brushed against hers. “Yes, on a Sunday. Unfortunately, my work is seven days a week.” She sat up and took a sip of her wine as I got up from the couch and finished getting dressed. “Can I have your phone number?” I asked with a smile. “Sure.” She grinned as she rattled it off to me. “Can I have yours?” She stood up. Running the back of my hand down her cheek, I spoke, “You’ll have it when I either call you or text

you.” “Oh, okay.” She frowned. After I kissed her lips one last time, she walked me to the door. “Have a safe trip to Minneapolis.” “I will. I’ll see you soon.” Climbing into the limo, I shut the door and stared at the brownstone as Eli drove away. “How did it go?” he asked as he looked at me through the rearview mirror. “It went good, really good.” I continued to stare out the window. Meeting her parents was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d never met a woman’s parents before. That was totally unexpected and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I could sense trouble where Chloe Kane was concerned; trouble for me. I could tell she was very family oriented and that didn’t sit well with me.

Chapter 11 Chloe “Morning.” Sienna kissed my cheek as she strutted into my apartment. “I brought bagels.” “Morning. I tried calling you last night and you didn’t answer.” I frowned. “Sorry. I was a bit tied up.” She winked. Rolling my eyes, I poured us each a cup of coffee. “Who tied you up this time?” “Billy James.” She grinned. Shaking my head, I grabbed a plate for the bagels and set it on the table. “I thought you weren’t seeing him anymore.” “We aren’t. We ran into each other at Starbucks last night and we got to talking, reminiscing about the great sex we used to have, and one thing led to another,” she spoke as she took the bagels from the brown bag and walked over to the trashcan. “What the fuck, Chloe?!” she exclaimed as she held up the condom from last night. “Put that down! You’re nasty.” “You have five seconds to tell me what happened here last night and with whom. And you better not say it was with Sebastian because you specifically told me that you wouldn’t and couldn’t.” As I cut into my bagel, I sat there with a smile on my face. “Five…four…three…two…” “Okay. Sebastian just happened to show up here right before my parents did and my mom invited him to stay for dinner. They left. He stayed and we had sex.” Her jaw dropped as she took the seat across from me. “But—” “I couldn’t help it. He was so charming, sexy, and irresistible. It’s those damn brown eyes.” She sighed as she bit into her bagel. “So now what?” “I don’t know. I like him. I know that much.”

“Where is he? Didn’t he stay the night or was he gone again before you woke up?” “He left last night. He had to fly to Minneapolis this morning for a meeting.” “Hmm. So he got what he wanted and left? Sounds like me and that’s not a good thing.” I shrugged. “He asked for my phone number, so I’m sure he’ll call me later.” “Did you get his?” “He said that I’ll have it when he calls or texts me.” “And you don’t think that’s strange?” “Whatever. If he wants to play games, he can. You know how I am about playing games.” “Good girl. Keep your head held high. I have a strange feeling about Mr. Bennett.” “What do you mean? You haven’t even met him yet.” “I know I haven’t, but something tells me he’s a very complicated man.” “He can be complicated all he wants. This girl won’t get tangled in his web.” I smiled as I finished off my bagel. **** Climbing out of bed, I made a cup of coffee and took it into the bathroom to start getting ready for work. Today was the official opening day of the gallery. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I checked it to see if maybe Sebastian had sent me a text message last night. He didn’t and a small part of me was disappointed. It had been a week since our last encounter. Shrugging it off, I finished getting ready and headed out the door. It was a busy week and one that I welcomed. New art pieces were delivered and displays were set up. As I was sitting at my desk researching some new ideas, my assistant, Gregory, stepped inside. “Chloe, there’s someone here who would like to speak to you. He’s an artist.” “Send him in.” I smiled. Looking for new artists was the most exciting part of my job. As much as I loved historic art and artists, I also loved discovering the talents of individuals looking to break into the art world. If I could make that happen for someone, it made me happy. As I got up from my desk, a young man, probably early twenties with short spikey black hair and piercings, walked in with a large black binder.

“This is Caden Rice,” Gregory spoke before walking out and shutting the door. Extending my hand to Mr. Rice, I spoke, “It’s nice to meet you, Caden. I’m Chloe Kane. Please have a seat.” “Thank you, Miss Kane. It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for seeing me.” “No problem and please call me Chloe. Now how can I help you?” I spoke as I took a seat behind my desk. “I was wondering if you’d be interested in seeing some of my art? I would love to know your thoughts.” “Of course. Is that your art portfolio there?” I pointed. “Yes.” He set the black binder down in front of me. “I took a walk through the gallery and looked at all the art you have on display. But I did notice something you don’t have, which I feel would be a great asset to this gallery.” “Oh? And what is that?” “Open up my portfolio and you’ll see.” He smiled. As I opened his portfolio and saw the first piece of art, I looked up at him with a grin. “Contemporary Eroticism.” “Yes.” He nodded. “These are beautiful, Caden. Oh my.” I smiled as I turned to the page with the photographs of provocative sculptures. “You sculpt as well?” “Yes. All the ones you see there have been done in the last six months.” “Beautiful. I would love to have a display like this in the gallery. The human body and intimacy is a natural and beautiful thing.” “Exactly. The problem is I can’t seem to find a gallery that will even look at my work.” “Why’s that?” I cocked my head. “Because the few galleries around that already have contemporary eroticism displayed aren’t accepting anything new.” “Well, I think your work is something that should be shown, but, because of the nature, I’ll have to talk to the owners first. I don’t want to cross any lines. The other galleries Mr. Black owns don’t have

anything like this. If he’s on board, we can set up a showing.” “Thank you, Chloe. Wow. I can’t believe this.” He placed his hands on his head. Handing him a piece of paper and a pen, I asked for his phone number. “I’ll give Mr. Black a call and set up a meeting and then we’ll go from there.” I got up from my chair and extended my hand. “I’ll be in touch, Caden.” “Thank you again, Chloe. Have a great day.” “You too.” I smiled as I walked him out of my office. Pulling my phone from my purse, I was stunned when I saw a text message from Sebastian. “Dinner tonight. I will pick you up at seven o’clock.” What? He doesn’t contact me for a week and then says we’re having dinner? As much as I wanted to see him again, I wasn’t going to let him do that to me. “Nice to hear from you, Sebastian. Unfortunately, I have plans tonight so I won’t be able to join you for dinner. Maybe another time.” After replying to his text message, I started to dial Connor when I heard his voice coming up the stairs. “I was just about to call you.” I smiled as he walked into my office with Gregory. “Looks like I beat you to it. I had some business to do over here, so I thought I’d drop by and check on things. Did you need something?” “I would like to talk to you about setting up a new display. I think Ellery should be in on the meeting as well.” “Okay. What kind of display?” “Contemporary Eroticism.” His brow arched as he stared at me. “Oh. Interesting. Are there specific paintings you had in mind?” “I spoke with an artist just a bit ago and he showed me his portfolio. His work is beautiful. I was going to go look at some of the galleries around and view their displays to see if there’s any uniqueness.” “I see. Let’s set up a meeting then.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “How about tomorrow around noon? Call the artist and have him meet us here. I’ll have Ellery drop by and we’ll discuss it.” “Noon is good. Thank you, Connor.”

Chapter 12 Sebastian I leaned back in my chair as I read Chloe’s text message and got the impression there was a hint of anger in her words. Maybe not so much anger, but definitely an attitude. Did she really have plans tonight? Or was she just pissed off because I hadn’t been in contact with her since our night together last week? “Hello, Sebastian,” Eli answered. “I need you to follow Chloe after she leaves work and find out if she goes home or somewhere else. I want to know if she’s lying to me.” “Will do.” Placing my phone in my pocket, I walked out of my office. “I’m leaving the building, Mackenzie. I’ll be back later.” “Okay, Mr. Bennett.” Stepping inside the gallery, I looked around and saw Chloe standing over by the Impressionist art display, holding up a painting against the wall. She looked so beautiful in her black short skirt and gray fitted sweater, which showed off her hourglass figure with perfection. “Do you need help with that?” I asked as I walked up behind her. When she turned her head, her narrowing eyes locked with mine. Fuck, she was making my cock go wild. “No. What are you doing here, Sebastian?” she asked as she set the painting down. “I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d drop by and say hi, since you declined my dinner invitation.” “I’m sorry, but I have plans for tonight and I’m not cancelling because you want to have dinner. We’ll have dinner together when I’m available,” she spoke as she walked away. “And what if I’m not available when you’re available?” I followed her as she walked up the stairs. “Then we’ll have to get our calendars out and schedule a night we’re both available.”

“You’re pissed off at me. I can tell.” “No, I’m not. Why would I be pissed?” she asked as we walked into her office. “Because I didn’t call or text you all week.” “Then you don’t know me very well, Mr. Bennett.” She smiled. “No. Actually, I don’t. The only real thing I know about you is how incredible you are to have sex with. That’s why I want to have dinner with you. To get to know you better.” I winked. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or not by that comment.” “Believe me, you should be.” Walking closer to her, I placed my hands on her hips and stared into her gorgeous green eyes. “I need to kiss you.” “You need to or you want to?” “Both. You look very sexy in that outfit.” My hand left her hip and roamed up her skirt, pushing the crotch of her panties to the side. “You’re wet.” My tongue swept over my lips. “Sebastian, please.” “Please what?” I whispered as my lips softly touched hers and my finger dipped inside her. “We can’t.” “I’m not going to fuck you, Chloe. I’m just going to give you an orgasm so you’ll think about me when you’re out tonight.” My finger moved in and out of her. “Oh God.” She threw her head back and moaned as I dipped another finger inside. My tongue trailed down the front of her neck, gliding across her soft skin. Pressing my thumb against her clit, I began to rub it in small circles, sending her body into a state of frenzy. “That’s right, baby. Come for me,” I whispered as my mouth met hers. I could feel the rapid beating of her heart against me and the soft subtle noises that escaped her as she orgasmed, satisfied my needs for now. Removing my fingers, I let go of her and placed one hand in my pocket. Before reaching the door, I turned and looked at her. “Enjoy your evening tonight, Miss Kane.” I winked as I walked out. ****

Chloe I needed to sit down in order to catch my breath, not to mention the fact that my wobbly knees were ready to give out on me. Taking a seat behind my desk, I could still feel his touch. “Are you okay, Chloe?” Gregory asked as he stepped inside my office. “Oh yeah. I’m—I’m good.” My lips gave way to a smile. “Here are the invoices from the last shipment.” “Thank you. If everything is under control here, I’m going to a couple of art galleries and then I’m heading home.” “Enjoy the rest of your day, Chloe.” He smiled. “We’ll call you if anything comes up.” Getting up from my seat, I grabbed my phone and purse and headed to a couple of local art galleries to check out their displays of contemporary eroticism. When I finished and made it home, I changed my clothes and hailed a cab to Porter House New York where I was meeting Sienna and Sam for dinner. “Well, hello there, beautiful.” Sam smiled as he stood up from his seat and gave me a hug. “Long time no see.” “How are you, Sam?” I gave a small grin. “I’m great now that I’m here with two of the most beautiful women in New York.” He winked. I looked down at Sienna, whose ass was firmly planted in the chair, only to catch her narrowing eyes looking up at me. She knew something happened today. Damn her. She always knew. “How was your day, Chloe?” she slyly asked. “Busy. Very busy.” My eyes directed themselves to Sam. “How was your flight?” I asked to distract myself from the stand I was going to be put on, having to solemnly swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That would have to wait, since I was not discussing the events of today in front of her English boy toy. “The flight was good. Slept most of it. Needed to make sure I got my rest in before tonight.” He winked at Sienna as she gave him a small smile. “And how long are you in New York?” “A week. But somehow, I think a week isn’t long enough with this beauty.” He took hold of Sienna’s hand and brought it up to his lips.

“Aw, aren’t you two just so freaking adorable.” I shrugged my shoulders and wrinkled my nose.

Chapter 13 Sebastian “I don’t know why you’re doing this, Sebastian,” Eli commented as he pulled in front of the Time Warner Center. “What do you mean? I’m meeting Damien for dinner.” “Of all the places in New York City, you have to dine at the same restaurant that Miss Kane is dining at?” “Pure coincidence, my friend.” I smiled as I climbed out and saw Damien waiting for me in front of the building. We took the stairs up to the third level, and when we reached the restaurant, my eyes did a quick scan for Chloe. “How many, Mr. Bennett?” the hostess asked as she smiled at me. “Dinner for two and I want that table right there.” I pointed. “Actually, that table is reserved for someone else.” “Well, un-reserve it.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill, handing it to her. She willingly took it from my hand and then looked down at her seating chart. “It’s been un-reserved. Follow me.” Shaking his head, Damien spoke, “What’s that all about?” “I like that table.” As we followed the small framed hostess to our table, I heard my name. “Sebastian?” I looked over and saw Chloe sitting down with a woman and a man. “Chloe? What are you doing here?” I pretended to act surprised. “Having dinner with my friends. Sebastian, this is my best friend, Sienna, and her friend, Sam.”

“‘Ello, mate.” Sam smiled as he stood up and extended his hand to me. “Nice to meet you, Sam. Sienna, it’s a pleasure. I’ve heard a lot about you.” “I’m sure you have.” She grinned. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I was beginning to think Chloe made you up.” “Chloe, this is my friend, Damien.” “Nice to meet you.” She flashed her beautiful smile. “Well, we better sit down. Enjoy your dinner. It was nice to meet both of you and it was a pleasure seeing you again, Chloe.” I smirked. Our table was right next to theirs and I made sure my seat faced Chloe. Every once in a while, I would glance over at her, only to find her observing me. As soon as our eyes met, she would look away. She didn’t lie about going out tonight. She already had dinner plans and it pleased me she told the truth. Damien leaned across the table and whispered, “Another one of your sex toys? Why haven’t I met her before?” “No. She’s the one I met in London.” Damien Walters was a good friend of mine who also happened to be the vice president of my acquisitions department. We met five years ago when the company he worked for went under and I purchased it. I was highly impressed by his credentials, and being a Harvard graduate, he had a keen sense for business. “Oh. She’s sexy as fuck,” he whispered. I shot him a look and he leaned back in his chair. “Normally, that doesn’t bother you. What’s going on?” “I’m not sure yet,” I replied as I took a sip of my bourbon. ****

Chloe I could feel his stare, even if he wasn’t looking at me, and my body fluttered at the thought of what happened in my office earlier this afternoon. I hadn’t stopped thinking about him since he left and to see him here tonight was bliss. Sienna knew something was up because she got up and announced to Sam that we were going to the restroom.

As we stepped inside, she lightly grabbed my arm. “Okay. What happened to you today? And don’t say nothing because you’ve been glowing like a firefly on a hot summer’s night since you walked in here.” Setting my purse on the counter, I dug for my lipstick. “He came into the gallery today and —” “You had sex with him in the gallery?!” she shrieked. I looked under the stalls to make sure nobody else overheard her mouth. “Keep it down. No. Not really.” I smiled. “What do you mean ‘not really’?” “He just made me orgasm and then he left.” The shocked expression that overtook her face made me laugh. “What do you mean he made you orgasm? You said you didn’t have sex.” I held up my index finger. “Oh,” she let out in a long drawl with wide eyes. “He texted me and asked me to dinner. I declined because I was meeting you and Sam, so he came to the gallery and told me he wanted to give me something so I would think about him tonight.” “Fuck! That is so hot! I need a man like that.” She pouted. “You have Sam for the next week.” She rolled her eyes. “I know. Somehow, I don’t think he’ll be a Sebastian.” “You’ll survive.” I smiled as I put my lipstick in my purse. “I have to pee. I’ll meet you back at the table.” After washing my hands, I dried them off, and when I opened the bathroom door, I found Sebastian leaning up against the wall with his hands pushed in his pockets. “Hi.” I smiled. “Is anyone else in there?” he asked. “Umm. No. It was just me.”

Next thing I knew, his mouth was on mine as he pushed me back into the bathroom, his hands planted firmly on each side of my face. “Are you going straight home after here?” he asked as he broke our kiss. “Yes.” “Good. I’ll be over after I finish dinner. We have some unfinished business from this afternoon.” His eyes stared into mine as he kissed my lips one last time before leaving the bathroom. I stood there frozen as I tried to process what just happened, my heart beating rapidly and an ache down below that was screaming with desire. When I arrived home, I kicked off my shoes and went to the bedroom to strip out of my clothes and put on my satin robe. When he got here, there would be no time wasted, but somehow, I had a feeling it was going to be a fuck and leave, something I didn’t want. I wanted to fall asleep with his strong arms wrapped tightly around me while my head lay on his muscular chest. The door buzzer rang and I let him up. I stood in the doorway in my robe, and he smiled as he brushed his lips against mine and kicked the door shut with his foot. He wasted no time untying my robe and sliding it off my shoulders. “Fuck, Chloe,” he growled as his eyes raked over my naked body. Taking off his suit coat, he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it to the ground, along with his shoes and pants. Grabbing my arms, he pushed me up against the bare wall that sat opposite of the kitchen. His urgency to fuck me could no longer be contained and his determination to take me against the wall heightened my arousal. His lips caressed my neck as his fingers plunged inside me. I gasped and a low moan escaped deep within his chest. “Are you on birth control?” “Yes,” I replied breathlessly. “What kind?” “The pill. Why?” “I don’t want to wear a condom tonight.” His pleading brown eyes locked on mine. Our mouths met and a sensation of warmth engulfed me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and placed my hand on the back of his neck while he thrust inside me with deep, long strokes as his arms held me up effortlessly. I panted as he moved in and out of me, digging my nails into the back of his neck as the wave of an orgasm came in and swept me away. He moaned as sweat dripped from his forehead.

“Turn around, baby, and face the wall,” he commanded as he unwrapped my legs from his waist. I did as he asked; his hands latched onto my breasts and his tongue slid up and down my spine before he thrust into me from behind. Letting go of my breasts, he placed his hands against the wall and rapidly moved in and out of me, letting soft whispers of ecstasy escape his lips. One last deep thrust and he slowed down, filling me up with his come. He placed one arm around my waist and gently lowered us to the ground. We lay there, his heart beating fiercely against my back as his lips pressed against my shoulder. My hand wrapped around his arm, never wanting him to let go. I could feel his cock soften and he pulled out of me. “How was your dinner?” he asked. I turned my head and looked at him. Smiling, I spoke, “It was good. How was yours?” “Perfection now that I’ve had my dessert.” He got up from the floor and held his hand out to me. After helping me up, he picked my robe up from the floor and slipped it over my shoulders as he kissed my lips. “I have to get going. I have an early meeting tomorrow morning.” Disappointment shot through me, killing my extremely good mood. “I want you to stay the night.” “And I want to, but I can’t. You understand, right?” He cupped my chin in his hand. “Yeah. I understand.” “Good. I knew you would.” I watched him as he got dressed and then I walked him to the door. “I’ll be in touch. Thank you for a beautiful evening.” He smiled as he kissed my forehead and then my lips. Shutting the door, I stood there and stared at it as thoughts escalated in my head. Thoughts of Sebastian, the mind-blowing sex we had, and the way he always left after. The only night he stayed was in London and that was because it was his hotel room, but he was sure as shit gone the next morning. Concerns filled my mind at the possibility of him using me for his own sexual pleasure. It was too late for me. My attachment to him wasn’t only physical, for now the emotional attachment settled in, leaving me feeling rejected and used.

Chapter 14 Chloe After taking a shower, I climbed into bed and facetimed Sienna. I knew she probably wouldn’t answer because she was with Sam, but it was worth a shot. I desperately needed to talk to her. “Hello, gorgeous.” Her smiling face appeared on the screen. She was covered in a sheet, lying in bed. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” “Not at the moment. What’s up?” I sighed. “Sebastian came over and, once again, it was a wham bam, thank you ma’am.” “What was his excuse this time?” She rolled her eyes. “He has an early meeting in the morning.” “He is a corporate hot shot and I’m sure he does. The least he could have done was bring an extra pair of clothes with him. What’s that look for?” “What look?” “Please don’t tell me you’ve become emotionally attached.” “Who’s emotionally attached?” I heard Sam say as Sienna turned her phone and his naked body appeared on the screen as he walked by. “Gah. Stop that!” “Doesn’t he have the cutest little ass?” Sienna smiled. “Anyway, back to your emotional attachment. Don’t let him use you like that. You’re one of the strongest women I know. Don’t let his good looks and great sex take advantage of you. The next time he wants sex, you ask him if he’s hitting the road after. If he says yes, kick him out the door.” “Good advice, S. Hey, Chloe.” Sam waved. “Hey, Sam.” “We’ll talk more about this tomorrow. Get some sleep and try not to think about him, okay?”

“Okay.” Well, she was no help. As I pulled the covers over me and sank into my bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I knew nothing about Sebastian Bennett. All I knew was that he owned his own multi-billiondollar company. He didn’t seem to want to share anything about himself, or maybe because the opportunity wasn’t there. Every time we were together, it consisted of nothing but sex, and then he left. My one night with a stranger in a foreign country turned out to be many nights with a stranger in America, and that was exactly what he was: a stranger. Just because I knew his name, job, and age didn’t mean I really knew him at all. The next morning, I stumbled out of bed, showered, and headed to the gallery. After a busy morning, I glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. “I’m going to head up to my office,” I spoke to Gregory and Micha. “Connor, Ellery, and Caden should be here shortly.” As I sat down at my desk, I picked up my phone to see if I had any messages. None. Zero. Zilch. Somewhere in the back of my dumb head, the thought that Sebastian might have sent me a text message to at least say “hi” came forth. As I set my phone down, I saw Connor and Ellery walk in. “Good afternoon.” Ellery smiled as she walked over and gave me a hug. “Is he here yet? I’m dying to see his work.” Her grin widened. “Not yet.” “Why don’t we go out there and wait for him?” Connor spoke as he walked over to the couch and took a seat. I could hear Gregory’s voice coming up the stairs. Looking over, I saw Caden. “Connor, Ellery, this is Caden. Caden, these are the owners of the gallery, Connor and Ellery Black.” “Nice to meet you.” Ellery smiled as she extended her hand. After hellos were said, we all took seats in the area outside my office and Caden opened up his portfolio. I studied Ellery’s face as she previewed the artist’s work. I could tell she loved it. Then I looked over at Connor as he cleared his throat. “Well, I must say these are—” He took in a sharp breath. “Very artistic.” I couldn’t help but let out a light laugh. “Ellery?” he asked.

“I love it and I think it’s a great idea to hold a month-long exhibition. This gallery is perfect the way it is, but adding a little sex to it would make it even better.” I watched Connor as he swallowed hard. “Chloe?” He glanced at me. “I think it’s beautiful work and we should go with it.” “I’ve added some framed black and white photographs towards the end. Not only do people like the realism of my paintings, but they like the still photography I do as well.” “Beautiful,” Ellery and I spoke at the same time as we stared at the photos. “Indeed it is.” Connor smiled. Ellery glared at him and lightly smacked his arm. “What? They are beautiful photographs. I’m agreeing with you. Caden, this gallery would love to exhibit your artwork. Chloe will handle everything and go over with you how we handle commissions and sales.” Caden’s face lit up as he thanked Connor and Ellery. We said our goodbyes and I took Caden into my office. “We’ll set up the exhibition in two weeks. That’ll give us enough time to advertise, invite, and get your work in here.” I reached in my desk drawer and pulled out a contract. “Here is the contract for your art. Read it over, and if you agree with everything, sign it and return it to me when you deliver your paintings. Also, I want to set up a few sculptures, so make sure you send them as well.” “I can’t even believe this. Thank you so much, Chloe. I owe you big time.” “You’re welcome and you don’t owe me anything. I’m just doing my job.” I smiled. I walked him out of the gallery and turned my attention to Gregory. “I need you to run an ad for the exhibition and send out some invites.” “Where are we going to put the display?” he asked. “Second level. We have all that space up there on the other side of my office. We’re going to need some more display cubes and a sign to put down here indicating that Contemporary Eroticism is upstairs. Have Micha take care of that.” “Will do, Chloe.” “Thanks. I’m heading out to lunch now, so I’ll be back.”

As I was walking out the gallery doors, Sebastian stopped me. “Going somewhere?” He smiled. “Lunch.” My belly fluttered at the sight of him. “Perfect timing. Me too.” He held out his arm. What the hell. I placed my arm in his and we walked down the street to a small but cozy Italian restaurant. ****

Sebastian I wasn’t going to see her today. In fact, I had planned on not calling her or seeing her for about a week. She consumed my mind every waking minute and I even found myself dreaming about her when I slept. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It never had with any other woman and this concerned me a great deal that it happened with her. No matter how hard I tried to put Chloe Kane out of my mind, she wouldn’t leave. “I had a wonderful time with you last night.” I smiled as I reached across the table and placed my hand on hers. “Me too. But it would have been better if you had stayed the night.” “I’m sorry about that, but I couldn’t. I told you I had an early meeting this morning.” “I know. I was just saying that it would have been better.” She took a sip from her wine glass. I was about to do something that I had never done before. “How would you like to go away with me for the weekend?” “Where?” She smiled. “Vegas. I have a business meeting. It won’t take long and then we can have the rest of the weekend together to do whatever you want.” “You mean we can actually sleep together in a bed?” She smirked. “That and many other things.” I winked. She bit down on her bottom lip. “When are you leaving?” “Tomorrow.”

“I have to work all day.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Connor. “Connor Black,” he answered. “Connor, it’s Sebastian.” “Hello, Sebastian. To what do I owe the pleasure?” “Would you mind if I stole Chloe Kane tomorrow?” “What do you mean?” “I’m flying to Vegas and I would like her to go with me, but she says she has to work.” “Oh. I didn’t know the two of you were seeing each other.” “That’s yet to be determined.” “Ah, I see. If she can swing the day off, it’s fine with me. She’s the manager and she knows if she can or can’t.” “Thank you, my friend. I’ll be in touch.” “Sebastian, wait. Chloe is a great woman and I know I don’t have to—” “I know and, no, you don’t.” “Okay. Have fun in Vegas.” “Thanks. We’ll talk soon.” Chloe sat across from me with wide eyes as she listened to me talk to her boss. I knew Connor wouldn’t mind, but I needed to put Chloe’s mind at ease. “I cannot believe you just called him.” “Why? We’re friends. He said that he doesn’t have a problem with you taking the day off as long as you feel you can. So can you?” “I don’t know. I have an exhibition coming up in a couple of weeks.” “Then you can work extra hard on Monday.” I smiled. “Fine. I’ll go to Vegas with you.” “Excellent. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at eight a.m.”

“What time does our flight leave?” “Whenever I want it to.” She narrowed her eye at me as if she didn’t understand. “I have my own private jet, Chloe.” “Really?” She smiled. “That is so cool.” I chuckled. “I’m happy you think it’s cool.” I looked at my watch. “If we’re finished here, I must get back to the office.” “And I must get back to the gallery.” I paid the bill and placed my hand on Chloe’s back as we exited the restaurant. Walking her back to the gallery, I softly kissed her lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” “Thank you for lunch.” “You’re welcome.” I pushed a strand of her beautiful blonde hair behind her ear. I climbed into the limo and sank back against the lush black leather. What the fuck was I doing?

Chapter 15 Chloe As I walked into the gallery, I was on cloud nine. “Gregory, Micha, I won’t be in tomorrow, so I’ll need you both to handle things while I’m gone.” I grinned. “No worries, Chloe.” I stood there with a twisted face, waiting for one of them to ask me why I was taking the day off. They didn’t. “Aren’t you going to ask why I won’t be here?” I placed my hands on my hips and cocked my head. They looked at each other. “It really isn’t our business why you take the day off,” Gregory spoke. “Well, I’m making it your business. Go ahead. Ask me.” “Why won’t you be in tomorrow?” Micha asked. “Because I’m going to Vegas for the weekend!” I exclaimed with excitement. “How fun!” Gregory spoke. “Who are you going with?” “Mr. Sebastian Bennett.” “Lucky girl,” Micha replied. “He’s dreamy.” “He sure is. If you’ll excuse me, I have some work I want to finish before I leave.” I couldn’t believe Sebastian asked me to go away with him. Two nights and three days of us having nothing but sex, sex, and more sex, not to mention the fact that I would be snuggled up against him all night long, feeling his warm naked body pressed against mine and his strong arms wrapped tightly around me. I needed to call Sienna. “Hello, friend.” Her face appeared on the screen as she sat at her desk. “Guess who’s leaving for Vegas tomorrow morning?”

“I don’t know. Your parents?” “No, silly girl. Me! Sebastian asked me to go with him and I said yes. So I will be unavailable starting tomorrow through Sunday.” “The man is wising up. I’m so happy for you.” “This could really be the start of something, Sienna. I’m totally crazy about him.” “Listen, Chloe, and don’t take this the wrong way. You know I love you, but for the love of God, don’t get yourself caught up in him. I don’t want you to get hurt. I have never seen you react like this to a guy before and, to be honest, it’s scaring me.” I rolled my eyes at her. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. You know it’s true. I’m just looking out for your well-being.” “And I appreciate that, but this is all your fault.” “How the hell is it my fault?” She frowned. “You’re the one who pushed me into having a one-night stand with a stranger in a foreign country. Had you never done that in that first place, I never would have thought about it and acted on it. Hence this being all your fault.” I smiled. “Oh my God! You’re so good.” She laughed. “I have to go, darling. Sam just walked in and we’re going to lunch. Say hi to Chloe.” She turned the phone so I could see him. “Hello there, gorgeous.” He smiled as he waved. “Hey, Sam. Enjoy lunch and I’ll talk to you later, Sienna.” “Have fun in Vegas and I want all the juicy details when you get back. Or feel free to face time me while you’re in bed. I’d love to see him naked.” She winked. After ending the call, I finished the work I was going to do tomorrow and headed home to pack a bag. **** When the bellhop unlocked the door to the suite, I gulped as I stepped inside of the Italian marble foyer. Sebastian walked past and then stopped and looked at me as I stood there frozen. “What’s wrong?” He chuckled. “This is so beautiful.” “Please step inside to the main area. If you think the foyer is beautiful, wait until you see the rest.” He

held out his hand. Placing my hand in his, he escorted me into the living room. “Wow. Seriously?” I smiled. “Seriously.” He winked. “How big is this suite?” “Approximately two thousand square feet.” I was surrounded by Italian marble, furnishings, and décor. The room was impeccably decorated and the artwork on the walls spoke for itself. “Would you like to see the bedroom?” Sebastian asked. “Of course. I’m sure it’s bigger than my apartment.” He narrowed his eye at me for a moment. “Yeah. I think it is.” In the bedroom, I crawled across the luxurious extra-large king-sized bed. “Oh my God, this is so comfortable. I’m going to sleep like a baby.” I sprawled out on my back. “Hate to break the news to you, sweetheart, but you won’t be getting very much sleep.” “Okay.” I grinned as I propped myself up on my elbows. He gave me a smile and then looked at his watch. Stepping towards the bed, he leaned over and kissed me. “As much as I want to fuck you in this bed, right now, I have that meeting to get to. I shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours. You can stay here in the room or go check out the hotel, but whatever you do, don’t leave. I don’t want you wandering around Vegas by yourself. Deal?” “Deal.” “There will be plenty of time for everything else over the next couple of days,” he growled. Standing up, he pulled a money clip from his pocket that held a ridiculous wad of cash. “Here. Take this in case you want to go down to the casino. They have some nice slot machines.” “You don’t have to give me money. I have my own.” “Take it, Chloe.” He arched his brow.

“If you insist.” I smiled as I took it from him. Kissing me one last time, he walked out and went to his meeting. I’d never been in such a luxurious place in my entire life. The entire suite was simply breathtaking. The marble bathroom had an ovalshaped jet tub and an enormous glass-encased separate shower. There was a media room off the living area, which featured a built in wall HD TV and a cream-colored sectional that surrounded the room. Holding the money that Sebastian gave me in my hand, I counted it. “Holy mother of pearl,” I said out load. He had given me a thousand dollars. Making my way down to the casino, I took a seat at the blackjack table. As I was sitting there with a crowd gathered around me, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned my head, I saw Sebastian standing there. “Hey. Is your meeting over already?” “Already? It’s been four hours. I sent you numerous text messages and you didn’t respond,” he spoke with a hint of anger. “Wow. Really? I’ve been sitting here for four hours?” I bit down on my bottom lip. “This is my last hand.” “What the hell, Chloe? How much did you win?” “I don’t know.” I shrugged as the dealer dealt the final card and I won. “Woohoo!” I held my hands up in the air. “Thanks, Chuck. It’s been fun, but I have to go.” “Congratulations, Chloe.” He smiled. I gathered up all my chips, put them in a large cup, and handed it to Sebastian. “Here you go.” I grinned. “What are you doing?” He looked down at the chips. “It’s yours. You can thank me later.” I patted his chest and started to walk away. “Hold on a second. If I’m seeing these chips right, there has to be over five thousand dollars here.” “Give or take a couple of hundred.” “How the hell did you win this?” “The sun is in Leo right now.” I smiled. “What?” He frowned.

“Forget it. I was just lucky tonight. That’s all.” After cashing in the chips, we went up to the suite. “Take this,” he spoke as he handed me the money. “No. It’s yours. You gave me money to play and I won. So I’m giving it back.” “Fine. I’ll take back the thousand dollars I gave you and you keep the rest.” “Seriously, Sebastian. Keep it. It was your money that won.”

Chapter 16 Sebastian I couldn’t believe I was standing there arguing with her over the money that she won. Most importantly, I couldn’t believe she was refusing to take four thousand dollars. Who the fuck does that? Not any woman I’d ever known. If I had chosen to give any of the women I had been with that kind of money, they’d snatch it from my hand and run to the nearest designer store. But Chloe was different from anyone I’d ever known and I couldn’t explain why. I had felt it the night I fucked her for the first time in London. The innocence that radiated from her was pure. “I’m not arguing with you about this. You are taking the money that you won. End of discussion. Go buy something nice with it. Maybe a painting you love and think of me every time you look at it.” I smiled as I ran my hand down her cheek. “Fine. If it’ll shut you up, I’ll keep it.” Arching my brow at her, I spoke, “If it’ll shut me up? I can think of something right now that will shut me up but make you scream.” “And what’s that?” The corners of her mouth curved up. “Oh, I think you know.” My hand slid up the short sundress she was wearing and cupped her. She let out a light moan. “But maybe we should eat first.” I removed my hand and walked away, grinning from ear to ear. “I—I don’t want to eat right now,” she muttered. “Then what do you want, Chloe?” I asked as I turned around and stood a few feet away from her. “You. We can eat later.” “So instead of eating dinner, you want me to fuck you?” My cock was already standing at full force. “Yes.” A small smile crossed her lips. “Is your pussy wet?” “Yes.”

I already knew she was wet. I felt the deliciousness through her panties. “Maybe you need to feel for yourself just to be sure.” As I stood there, I watched her as she took down the straps of her sundress, letting it fall to the ground. My God, she was perfect. Placing her hand down the front of her panties, she felt herself and my cock was already set to explode. Many women had touched themselves for me, but when she did it, it took my breath away. “I’m very wet.” She continued to play with herself. I swallowed hard because I couldn’t hold back. This wasn’t going to be nice and slow. It was going to be rough and hard because that was what she did to me. I quickly unbuttoned my shirt and took it off. As I unbuttoned my pants, I slowly walked towards her. She took down her panties and placed her fingers on her clit, sensually rubbing herself with a seductive look on her face. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?” I growled as I pulled down and stepped out of my pants. She didn’t say a word as she stared at me. Wrapping one arm around her, I took her down on the ground, moving her hand away so I could finish the job. Stimulating her was gratifying and I could do it all night. She lay on the floor, safe in my arms as my fingers moved in and out of her. As much as I wanted to kiss her soft lips, I resisted because I wanted to watch the expression on her face when she came. “Are you going to come?” I asked. “Yes. Oh God yes!” she moaned as her body tightened. Closing her eyes and with her lips parted, she let out a low groan as I felt the warmth pour from her. Her sounds were music to my ears. “I need you now!” I climbed on top of her and thrust deep inside. Wrapping her legs around me, her hips moved in sync. Her pussy was so hot that it was taking everything I had not to blow so soon. I needed to control myself, so I slowed down and took in the beautiful eyes that stared back at me as I slowly moved in and out of her. “Is this what you wanted?” I smiled as I pushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “Yes.” She smiled. “Now isn’t this much better than eating?” “It sure is, sweetheart.” I kissed her lips and picked up the pace. After a few hard thrusts, my cock, which was more than ready, exploded inside her.

****

Chloe As he lowered his body onto mine, we lay there in an embrace, my fingers deftly running up and down his back. I was more than satisfied, at least for the time being. “Shall we eat now?” I asked. He lifted his head and, with a smile, he spoke, “Yes. We shall. I’m starving.” He climbed off of me and helped me up. “Are we going out or staying in?” I asked. “Which do you prefer?” “It doesn’t matter. I’m good with either.” He walked into the bedroom and pulled a pair of sweatpants from his suitcase. I followed behind, grabbing the white robe from the closet. “How about we enjoy a nice evening in, and then we can spend the whole day tomorrow exploring Vegas?” he spoke. “I like that idea.” I pulled my phone from my purse. “Oh, look at that. Some guy named Sebastian sent me like ten text messages.” “You should have responded and then I wouldn’t have had to send so many.” He walked over to the desk and grabbed the in-room dining menu from it. He took it to the couch, and I followed and sat down next to him. “I didn’t hear my phone. I was too busy winning all that money.” I grinned. “I figured you were at the casino, but I was still worried.” Hearing him say he was worried struck something inside. “I can take care of myself.” “I’m sure you can. But still, you should check your phone every once in a while. And by the way, what exactly did you mean by ‘the sun is in Leo’?” “It’s an astrological thing. If you don’t follow it, you wouldn’t understand.” “You follow that stuff?” “Yep. In case you didn’t notice, my parents are throwbacks from the sixties. They are very spiritual,

astrological, open people. I was brought up on it.” He chuckled. “I bet they smoke weed too.” He looked at the menu. “They do,” I spoke with seriousness. “And hearing you say ‘weed’ just killed me.” “Why?” “Because you’re so proper and formal. I was expecting you to use another word, like cannabis.” He cocked his head as his eyes stared into mine. “Do they really smoke cannabis?” “Yes. So if you’re over at their house some time, don’t be offended when Larry pulls it out and starts smoking it. I’m just putting you on alert now.” I smiled. “Thanks for the heads up. Now, do you like filet? Because I noticed you aren’t a vegetarian.” “I love filet.” “Cooked how?” “Medium rare.” “Ah. A girl after my own heart. I don’t know too many women who eat their steak like that.” “I bet you know a lot of women,” I blurted out. “Yes. I do.” He smirked. “And I bet you’ve been with a lot of women.” My mouth wouldn’t stop. He glared at me for a moment. “Yes. I have.” His eye narrowed at me. “And you never found anyone special?” I cocked my head. “No. What’s with all the questions?” “Nothing. I’m just surprised someone as confident, sexy, and rich as you, hasn’t latched on to someone.” He got up from the couch and walked over to the phone. “First of all, I don’t latch on to anyone. Second of all, relationships are off the table.” Ouch. Double ouch. Triple ouch. I felt that knife stabbing my heart. “Why?” “Because. Now I have to call our order in. So please, no more questions.”

After he finished placing the order, he walked over to the bar and opened the bottle of Prosecco the hotel generously provided upon our arrival. “Thank you,” I spoke as he handed me a glass. His mood had suddenly changed. Apparently, the talk of relationships was taboo. Was saying that relationships were off the table a hint to me? Was he making himself clear that whatever it was we were doing was never going to amount to anything else? I was going to forget what he said for now and enjoy the rest of our time in Vegas.

Chapter 17 Sebastian I knew it wouldn’t be long before the questions were asked. What the hell was I thinking bringing her to Vegas? I knew it was a risk, but at the time, I didn’t care. As we lay in bed after another round of sex, Chloe decided she was going to take a bath. “Would you like to join me?” she asked. “No. You go ahead. I’m just going to go over some notes from the meeting.” “Okay.” She smiled as she kissed me. Watching her get out of bed and walk to the bathroom completely naked was heart-stopping. Her body was pure perfection and it was what I most desired. An unexplainable desire. Dinner was quiet. My mood had changed the minute she brought up other women, a topic that I was never going to discuss with her. As I was flipping through my notes, I heard her softly singing in the bathtub. I couldn’t help but smile at the distraction, so I climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom. “You have a beautiful singing voice.” I smiled as I stood next to the tub. “Thanks. Have you changed your mind about joining me?” I stood there for a moment and took in the beautiful sight in front of me. “Yeah. I have.” She sat up and moved towards the front while I climbed in behind her. As I wrapped my arms around her, she snuggled against me. “What does your father do for a living?” I asked. “He’s a street performer slash club singer.” “Huh?” I tilted my head. “By day, he plays his guitar and sings around the city and, by night, he performs in clubs.” “What kind of music does he play?”

“Folk mostly.” “And your mother?” “She’s a spiritual advisor and she teaches yoga.” “A what?” I asked in confusion. “A spiritual advisor.” She turned her head and looked at me. “Oh. Yeah. A spiritual advisor. I didn’t hear you correctly the first time.” To me, that was odd. “What about your parents?” she innocently asked. I knew what was at risk when I asked her about her parents. “My parents have been dead for many years, and I’ll be honest with you, Chloe, I don’t want to talk about them,” I spoke in an authoritative voice. “Okay. I’m sorry.” She removed my arms from her and climbed out of the tub. “Where are you going?” “I really don’t feel like taking a bath anymore. I’m tired and I think I’m just going to go to sleep. You wore me out, Mr. Bennett.” I hurt her feelings. Climbing out of the tub, I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked into the bedroom where Chloe was putting on her nightgown. Walking up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pressed my lips against her shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry if I sounded abrupt. It’s just a sensitive subject and it’s something I don’t like to talk about. I need you to respect that.” “It’s fine, Sebastian. I didn’t know.” “I know you didn’t,” I whispered. “Let’s go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow touring the city. I thought maybe you’d like to go see Cirque du Soleil tomorrow night.” “I’ve heard really good things about that show. Isn’t it sold out?” she asked as she turned around in my arms. Flashing her a smile, I spoke, “I have a couple of tickets.” “Sounds like fun. I would love to go see that.”

I kissed her forehead, and we climbed into bed. As we lay there, our bodies meshed tightly against one another and it reminded me of our one night in London. The night that I so freely held her while she slept. Another thing I didn’t understand. The overwhelming need to want to hold her. I never held the women I slept with. After fucking them, I either left or turned on my side to face the other way. The one thing I always stayed true to was that I would leave before they awoke. Now that we got the whole parents thing out of the way, hopefully, the questions about my past would stop. But somehow, I doubted it. I opened my eyes and smiled when I saw Chloe staring up at me. “Good morning.” I kissed the top of her head. “Good morning.” “How long have you been awake?” I asked. “Just a few minutes. I didn’t want to wake you, so I didn’t move.” I tightened my grip around her. “I’m happy you didn’t.” She wiggled out of my grip and sat up. “I’m starving. That last round of sex in the middle of the night ravaged me.” I chuckled. She was lying on her side with her back to me and when I woke up in the middle of the night, and I couldn’t help myself. We spent the day shopping, eating, going into a couple of art galleries, and then we decided to sit by the pool for a while and sip a few cocktails before getting ready to go to Cirque du Soleil. Seeing Chloe naked was one thing, but seeing her in the bikini she wore made my cock go crazy. Crazy enough that as soon as we got back to the room, we barely made it through the door before her bottoms were off and I was thrusting deep inside her. ****

Chloe As Sebastian and I were dressing for the show, my phone rang, and Sienna popped up on the screen. “Hi there,” I answered with a grin. “My, my. Look at you in that sexy red dress. Where are you off to?” “Cirque du Soleil.” “Lucky bitch. I’ve always wanted to see that. Is he around?”

“Yeah. He’s in the bedroom getting dressed.” “Oh? Turn the phone around so I can have a peek.” “No.” I laughed. Sebastian walked into the bathroom in just his dress pants and I thought Sienna was going to go into cardiac arrest. “Good God.” “Sebastian, say hi to Sienna.” “Hi, Sienna.” He smiled as he waved. “Hello there, Mr. Bennett,” she spoke in her seductive voice. Rolling my eyes, I took my phone to the living room. “Jesus, Chloe. That man is a god.” “You don’t have to tell me twice.” “Okay. Go have fun. I just wanted to tell you really quick that Sam has decided to stay another week.” “Really? Why?” I frowned. “Because he doesn’t want to leave me.” She winked. “But do you want him around for another week?” She shrugged. “He’s fun and—” She paused. “And what? My eye narrowed at her. “He’s fun. Ta ta, love. See you soon.” She ended the call before I could say something. Shaking my head, I set my phone down and walked into the bedroom to put on my shoes. “You look simply stunning,” Sebastian spoke as he ran his fingers across my shoulder and swept his lips over my neck. “Thank you, and so do you.” I smiled. Cirque du Soleil was beyond fantastic. After the show, Sebastian suggested we do some gambling. “How about we hit the casinos for a while?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “Why not? The sun is in Leo.” He smirked. “Actually, it’s not anymore. We’re at the start of the Venus retrograde. It’s not wise to gamble or invest in anything during this phase.” He looked at me like I was crazy. “And you believe all that?” he asked as he cocked his head. “Yes.” “Well, I’ll take my chances.” “Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll just watch.” We headed back to the Palazzo and straight into the casino. “I think I’ll hit the high roller room.” He smiled. “Oh. I wouldn’t do that. Why don’t you just stick to the normal piss poor people tables?” He chuckled. “Fine. I’ll start there and move to the high roller room later.” Sebastian took a seat at the blackjack table where Chuck from last night was the dealer. “Hey. Welcome back, Chloe.” He smiled. “Hi, Chuck.” “Aren’t you playing tonight?” “No.” I shook my head. “We’re in a Venus retrograde right now. Not a lucky night.” I winked. Sebastian turned his head and looked at me. “Do you really have to tell people that?” he asked in an irritated way. I didn’t respond. I just gave him a small smile. “Ah. I see,” Chuck spoke. After about ten hands, Sebastian was down a lot of money. After his last losing game, he decided it was time to get up from the blackjack table and head somewhere else. “Apparently, blackjack isn’t a good game to play tonight. I think I’ll try my luck at roulette.” “You’re going to play the Devil’s game?” I frowned.

He stopped walking and stared at me. “What do you mean?” “Hello. All the numbers on the wheel add up to 666. The Devil’s number.” “Don’t be ridiculous, Chloe.” He laughed. He wasn’t laughing anymore when he lost over and over again. He was starting to become irritated. I could see it in his face. We left the roulette table and walked into the elegant poker room that was designated for people of Sebastian’s status. “Fuck this,” he spoke in an irate voice as we walked out three hours later. “Told ya. Venus retrograde.” “Save it, Chloe.” He walked a couple steps in front of me. When we entered the room, he immediately took off his suit coat and threw it across the wing-backed chair in the living room. Pouring himself a drink, he stood in front of the window and stared out into the brightly lit, busy city. He was pissed he lost all that money, but I warned him. Now it was up to me to make him feel better and to forget about the money he lost. Placing my iPhone in the docking station, I pulled up my playlist and the song American Idiot by Green Day started to play. I danced over to where Sebastian was standing, moving all around him as he stood there and stared at me. Bringing my hands in the air, I shimmied my body around, dancing across the suite and singing as loud as I could. Finally, he cracked a smile as he stood there and shook his head. As the song was ending, there was a loud knock at the door. I turned the music off and Sebastian walked over to the door. “Excuse me, Mr. Bennett. I’m sorry to disturb you, but we had some complaints about music being played too loudly up here.” Sebastian sighed as he looked at me. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” “Very well, sir. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” “How are we supposed to enjoy our evening if we can’t play a little loud music,” I shouted from across the room. Sebastian shut the door and turned to me. “Now you’ve got us in trouble.” “Oh please.” I waved my hand. “By the way, don’t ever tell my parents I have that song on my playlist.

They would be so pissed.” He chuckled as he walked over to me and picked me up. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I stared into his mysterious brown eyes. “What are you doing?” “Taking you into the bedroom and fucking you. That little dance of yours seemed to have turned me on.” “Ah.” I grinned. “I can dance on the bed if you’d like.” “Only if you promise to do it naked.” A smile crossed his lips. “I think I can do that.” He carried me into the bedroom, where we made love for hours.

Chapter 18 Chloe Sebastian carried my bag for me to my apartment. “Home sweet home,” I spoke as I stepped inside. “You’ve only been gone a couple of days.” He laughed. “I know, but I like my apartment and it’s good to be back. Speaking of which, I have no clue where you even live.” I pressed my finger against his chest. “I live in a penthouse on Park Avenue.” “Of course you do.” I smiled as I took my bag from him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked as he followed me to the bedroom. “Nothing. You’re rich and rich people live in stuffy penthouses.” “It’s not stuffy. It happens to be very comfortable.” “I’m sure it is with your beige walls, dark trim, and dark hardwood floors.” He stood there and stared at me like he was going to say something but didn’t. Walking over to me, he placed his hands on my hips and kissed my forehead. “I have to go. I’ll have you over to my stuffy penthouse one day.” He smiled. “Okay.” “I’ll be in touch. Have a good week at work.” Standing there, I bit down on my bottom lip and frowned as he walked out the door. “Have a good week at work.” Was he planning not to contact me next week? I threw myself down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The weekend spent with him was probably the best couple of days I’d ever had in my life. The sex, the food, the fun; it was all like a dream, but I still didn’t know anything else about him except that his parents were deceased and relationships were off the table. Going back to that conversation, I played it over and over in my head. What could have made him think like that? Why would he think like that? As I was pondering my thoughts and already missing him, there was a knock at the door.

Jumping up from the bed, my heart started racing at the thought of seeing him again. “Mom. Dad.” I tried not to sound disappointed. “Oh good, you’re home. We were in the area and thought we’d drop by for a visit.” My mom smiled as she kissed my cheek. “Your mother wants the scoop on your romp in Vegas with that rich guy,” my dad spoke as he went into my refrigerator and pulled out a beer. “Shush up, Larry. So,” my mom placed her hand on my arm, “How did it go?” “It was wonderful.” I smiled brightly and then went into the kitchen to make some tea. “Are the two of you dating?” she asked. “Here’s the thing.” I turned and looked at her. “We had a slight conversation and he threw it out there that he doesn’t latch on to anyone and relationships are off the table.” “Oh. That’s strange. Did he say why?” “Nope. He changed the subject. When I asked about his parents, he told me that they died years ago and he didn’t want to talk about it.” “Poor man. It sounds like he has a tortured soul. Maybe he just needs some guidance.” She smiled. After pouring the hot water into the cups, I took them over with the teabags to the table. “I don’t know, Mom. On one hand, he has a kind and gentle soul, and on the other, I sense a darkness about him.” “You don’t think he’s dangerous, do you?” “No. Of course not. I get the feeling something happened in his past that he’s hiding. I don’t know. He’s just very closed off personally.” She reached her hand over and placed it on top of mine. “Well, maybe you’re just the girl he needs to bring light into his life. Maybe he needs a spiritual cleansing. Why don’t you have him come over to our apartment and I can help him with that?” “Somehow, I don’t think he’d go for that. He doesn’t believe in that stuff. He gambled last night.” She frowned. “Oh. We’re in a Venus retrograde. That wasn’t a good idea.” “I warned him, but he didn’t listen and lost thousands.”

After a long conversation and we finished our tea, she got up from her chair. “Larry, we need to get going.” “Coming,” my dad said as he got up from the couch. “It’s nice to have you back home, pumpkin.” He kissed my cheek. I walked them to the door and then went into the bathroom to take a nice long, relaxing bath. ****

Sebastian “How did it go?” Eli asked on our drive to the penthouse. “It went well. We had a great time. She asked about my parents again.” “What did you tell her?” “I told her they’ve been dead for years and I didn’t want to talk about it.” “I hate to break the news to you, Sebastian, but if you’re going to continue to see Chloe, you’re going to have to tell her about your childhood.” “Who says I’m going to continue to see her? I took her to Vegas on a whim. It meant nothing.” He looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Okay, but I think—” “Drop it, Eli. I don’t want to talk about Chloe Kane anymore.” Stepping inside the penthouse, I set my bag down, and Karina, my maid, immediately picked it up. “Welcome home, Mr. Bennett.” “Thank you. Did you pick up my dry cleaning?” “Yes, sir. Your suits are hanging in your closet.” “Good. I have an important meeting tomorrow. Also, make sure that you unpack my bag.” “Yes, sir.” Walking over to the bar, I poured myself a drink and took it out on the patio. I couldn’t shake the thoughts that were swimming around in my head about Chloe. This weekend was good, really good, and I enjoyed spending time with her. Feeling her naked body pressed against mine while we slept did wonders for me. I hadn’t slept that good in years, actually, not since London. I pulled my ringing phone from my

pocket and noticed it was the Palazzo Hotel calling. “Hello,” I answered. “Mr. Bennett, this is Cassandra at the Palazzo Hotel. I just wanted to inform you that your hotel bill was already paid, so we won’t be charging the credit card you have on file.” “What do you mean it’s already been paid? By whom?” “The woman that was staying in the room with you. She left cash in an envelope this morning at the front desk with a note stating that the room was to be paid for using that.” Shaking my head, I sighed. “Okay. Thank you for calling and letting me know.” That woman. I couldn’t believe she did that. I quickly typed out a text message but deleted it. I wanted her to hear the anger in my voice. “Hello,” she answered. “Chloe, it’s Sebastian. What the hell were you thinking?” I asked in a stern voice. “Hi, Sebastian. What are you talking about?” “I just received a call from the hotel we stayed at in Vegas. They kindly informed me that you paid the hotel bill with the cash you won.” “Oh. Yeah. It was their money anyway, so why not give it back? Why are you so mad about it?” I could feel the heat rising inside my veins. “Because that was your money!” I shouted. “I told you to go and buy something nice with it and you chose to pay the goddamn hotel bill instead.” “First of all, you need to calm down. Second of all, if you claim it was my money, then I can choose to spend it however I want to and I chose to pay the hotel bill.” I clenched my fist and slowly closed my eyes for a moment to keep from really losing my cool with her. “I am more than capable of paying the hotel bill!” I shouted. “Breathe, Sebastian.” “What?” “Take in a long deep breath. Do you meditate?”

“What? Meditate? No, I don’t meditate!” “Well, you should. Now I have to go. I’m in the middle of taking a relaxing bath and you so rudely interrupted me with this hotel nonsense.” I heard a click and pulled my phone from my ear. She hung up on me. Damn her. “It seems Miss Kane has you all worked up.” Eli smiled as he walked out on the patio. “Can you believe that she paid the hotel bill with the money she won in Vegas?” I threw back my drink. “That was nice of her.” “Nice of her? It was stupid. I told her to go buy something nice for herself. Then she said it was the hotel’s money anyway, so why not give it back. What kind of fucking reasoning is that?” “The reasoning of a woman who doesn’t believe in material things.” Rolling my eyes, I went back inside and poured another bourbon. “Yeah, well, whether she believes in them or not, she shouldn’t have done that. And another thing, do you know she won all that money because the sun was in Leo and I lost thousands last night because supposedly we’re in a Venus retrograde?” “Huh. She’s into astrology. Interesting.” He smirked. I shook my finger at him. “Do you know what she just asked me?” “What?” “She asked me if I meditate. She’s way out there, Eli. Her mother is a spiritual advisor and her dad is a musician on the streets of the New York.” He just stood there with a grin on his face. “Yeah. She’s way out there all right. Too good for you, may I add.” “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” “Nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow unless you need me to drive you somewhere tonight.” “No.” I waved my hand. “I’m in for the night. I have work to do.” He walked away and I finished off my drink. “Mr. Bennett,” Karina spoke. “Dinner will be ready shortly.” “Thank you, Karina.”

I went to my room and changed out of my clothes and into something a little more comfortable. Taking a seat at the dining table, I began to eat my dinner. For the first time in two and a half days, I was alone. Which was good, right? She annoyed me at times. Got under my skin and made me question why I even brought her to Vegas. I smiled at the thought of her. Shaking my head, I made all thoughts disappear. I needed to focus on other things, like business. I didn’t become what I was today by slacking on my work. The only way to get her completely off my mind was to avoid all contact with her for a while. I had a deal that was ready to go through and it was an important one. One that would make me millions.

Chapter 19 Chloe “You probably emasculated him,” Sienna said as she bit into her turkey avocado wrap. “No. Sebastian would never feel like that.” “Really? He’s a hot and sexy gazillionaire. Do you actually think some of the women he’s been with have ever paid his hotel bill? It’s what he does, Chloe. He’s rich, powerful, and from what I can tell, a control freak. You, my loving spirited friend, who tries to make everyone happy by doing the right thing, emasculated him.” “Ugh.” I took a sip of my water. After finishing our lunch, Sienna left the gallery and headed back to work. I couldn’t help but wonder if what she said was true. Oh well, I had too much work to do to get ready for Caden’s exhibition to worry about Sebastian feeling emasculated. As I was standing in front of the wall with a swatch of paint samples in my hand, I heard Connor and Ellery walk up the stairs. Turning around, Ellery gave me a hug. “I heard you were in Vegas with Sebastian. How did it go?” “It went great. We had a good time and a lot of fun.” She stared at me with a smirk on her face. A smirk that told me she wanted all the juicy details. “Have you decided on a color?” Connor asked. “Almost. It’s between these two.” I held the swatches up against the wall. “Both are great choices.” He smiled. “Have you contacted the painter?” “Yes, and he said just to let him know when I pick a color and he’ll be right over. He said it should only take a day to get it done.” “Good. So, things went well with Sebastian?” Connor asked in a weird way. “Yes.” I narrowed my eye at him. “Did you think they wouldn’t?” “Oh. No. Not at all. I was just asking.”

“What Connor means is that Sebastian has quite a reputation for being a ladies’ man and—” I put my hand up. “I know all about his reputation. It’s sweet that the two of you worry about me, but you don’t have to. I can take care of myself where Sebastian Bennett is concerned.” Ellery scrunched up her nose. “I know you can,” she spoke as she placed her hands on my shoulders. “I do have a question for you, Connor.” “What is it?” “Pretend you and Ellery weren’t married and you just started seeing each other and you took her on a trip with you. Would you have a problem if she paid the hotel bill?” “I would never let her, so it wouldn’t be a problem.” “Let’s say she threw some cash in an envelope and sneaked it down to the front desk without you knowing.” His eyebrow arched. “Well, if that was the case, I would have a problem with it. I invited her to go with me, so it would be my responsibility to pay the bill. Why? Did you pay the hotel bill?” He smirked. “Sebastian gave me some money before he left for his meeting in case I wanted to go down to the casino. I tried to refuse it, but he was very adamant that I took it. So I played a little blackjack and won a lot of money. After arguing when I tried to give him all the money since I won it with what he gave me, he took back the amount he gave and told me to keep the rest and buy something nice with it.” “How sweet.” Ellery smiled. Connor looked over at her with a frown. “I do that all the time.” She patted his arm. “I didn’t feel right keeping it, and Sebastian wouldn’t take it back, so I paid the hotel bill. After all, it was the casino’s money, so I was just giving it back to them. The hotel ended up calling Sebastian and telling him about it and he was a bit angry.” Connor scratched his head. “You gave the money back to the hotel?” “Technically, since it was their money I won.” “Aw, that was so nice of you to do that, sweetie.” Ellery smiled. “It wasn’t my money to keep anyway, but Sebastian can’t understand that.”

“I don’t blame him. I can’t understand it either,” Connor spoke. “Of course you don’t, Connor. You’re money hungry.” Ellery frowned. “You did a great thing, Chloe, and if Sebastian is angry over it, too bad.” “My friend Sienna said that he probably feels emasculated.” “I’m sure he does,” Connor spoke. “Well, he did lose a crap load of money the night before. I warned him not to gamble, since we were in the beginning of a Venus retrograde.” “Huh?” Connor cocked his head. Ellery stood there and shook her head at him. “Come on, Connor, you have a meeting to get to and I have some shopping to do with Peyton. We’ll talk later and see you tonight at dinner. Per Se at seven thirty.” “Looking forward to it.” I smiled. I was meeting Connor and Ellery for dinner. It wasn’t just any ordinary dinner. It was a celebratory dinner for the success of opening night at the gallery. Both had felt bad that they didn’t get a chance to do it sooner, but as far as I was concerned, they didn’t need to do it at all. After they left, I examined the swatches one last time and finally picked a color. ****

Sebastian I hadn’t contacted Chloe all week after our little discussion about the hotel bill. I was still pissed off that she would do that and not even tell me. As I was sitting at my desk, my phone rang. It was Serena. “Hello, Serena.” “Your voice is music to my ears, Sebastian. I haven’t heard from you in a while. How about dinner tonight?” Leaning back in my chair, I placed my hand on my forehead. “Sure. Why not? Where do you want to meet?” “How about Per Se at seven o’clock?” “Very good. I’ll see you at seven.” Serena was a woman whom I saw on occasion. She was the daughter of J.P Morgan of JP Morgan

Chase. She was classy, elegant, and sophisticated. She was exactly what I needed right now. “I just have to change my clothes,” I spoke to Eli as we entered the penthouse. “Are we picking Miss Kane up?” he asked. I stopped and looked at him. “I’m not seeing Chloe tonight. I’m having dinner with Serena.” “I see.” He frowned. After changing and dabbing on some more Armani cologne, Eli and I headed to the limo. “Have you spoken to Chloe since your little irate phone call to her?” “No. Why would I?” “You did take her on a trip, Sebastian.” “So what. Like I said before, it didn’t mean anything. You know me, Eli. I don’t attach myself to anyone.” “I know, but I thought this time—” “You thought wrong. So please, keep your opinions to yourself.” “I’ve known you for many years, Sebastian, and this woman has affected you like no other woman has in your lifetime.” “No she hasn’t, so don’t go assuming things you know nothing about.” He rolled his eyes and drove me to Per Se.

Chapter 20 Chloe Connor, Ellery, and I arrived at the restaurant at the same time. After promptly being seated, Connor ordered a bottle of wine. Once the glasses were filled, Connor held his up. “To a very successful opening night and to the woman who made it happen.” He smiled. “I second that.” Ellery held up her glass. “Thank you. But this wasn’t necessary. You already know that I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” “It was necessary and we appreciate everything you’ve done for us and the gallery.” Ellery smiled. After looking over our menus, we placed our dinner order and I looked around the restaurant. “This place is so—” I stopped midsentence and stared across the room. “What’s wrong?” Connor asked. “Umm.” My eyes wouldn’t leave the table where Sebastian and a woman were sitting. Connor and Ellery both turned around and then turned back and looked at me. “Damn him,” Connor spewed. “No. No. It’s fine. Trust me.” I gave a fake smile. “I was just a little surprised. I’m okay.” “We can leave. Right, Connor?” Ellery asked. “Of course.” “No. We’re staying and enjoying a wonderful dinner.” “Are you sure? Do you want me to claw his eyes out?” Ellery pouted. “Oh, God, Ellery. Please don’t make a scene.” Connor shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, Ellery, but I’m fine. It’s not like we were a couple or anything. He told me that relationships were off the table. So he can see anybody he wants.”

Hurt coursed through my body and when it reached my heart, it hurt pretty bad. I wanted to cry, but I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t shed a tear for a man who could do what he did. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom,” Connor spoke as he got up from the table. Ellery held up her hand and signaled our waiter. “Four shots of Jack Daniels, please.” “Coming right up, Mrs. Black.” “When you’re hurting, Jack is the one man you can count on that will always be there for you. He’ll listen and then he’ll make you feel oh so good.” She smiled. I couldn’t help but laugh. When I looked across the room, I saw Connor stop at Sebastian’s table before returning to ours. “Shit.” I looked down. “Connor stopped at their table.” “Of course he did, because he knew I would eventually make it over there.” Connor came back to the table, and when I looked across the room, Sebastian was staring at me. Like an idiot, I gave him a small smile and wave. “Did you just smile and wave at him?” Ellery whispered as she leaned across the table. “Yes.” “Good job.” She held up her hand for a high five. “What did you say to him?” I asked. “Nothing. I just told him it was nice to see him and that you were here with us celebrating the success of opening night. You should have seen the look on his face when he looked over and saw you sitting here.” “Yeah, because he got caught. The sorry son of a bitch,” Ellery spoke. “He didn’t get caught at anything. We aren’t dating. So let’s enjoy our dinner and talk about something else.” The waiter brought our shots of whiskey and set them in the middle of the table. “Are those what I think they are?” Connor asked Ellery. “Yes.” “Elle, this isn’t the kind of restaurant where you do shots.”

“Connor, sweetheart. As long as a place has a bar and serves alcohol, shots can be done anywhere.” He sighed and shifted in his chair. I laughed. After doing the first shot, I set the glass down and closed my eyes. The burn felt so good. Picking up the second glass, I brought it to my lips just as Sebastian approached our table. “Hello, Chloe. Ellery.” He nodded. “Hello, Sebastian.” I smiled and gulped at the same time. I needed to hold it together even though my heart was racing and my legs were shaking under the table. “I hope you’re enjoying your dinner.” “We are, Sebastian. How was Vegas?” Ellery grinned. I looked over at Connor and he placed his hand over his face. “Vegas was good.” Sebastian looked at me. “Good. Good to hear. Connor and I love Vegas. Where did you and Chloe stay? You know, in Vegas, together for an entire weekend?” “The Palazzo Hotel.” “Nice. We usually stay at the Bellagio.” “Well, I’ll let you get back to your dinner. It was nice seeing the three of you.” He gave me a small smile as he walked away. His lips might have been smiling, but his eyes told a different story. “Why did you bring up Vegas?” Connor asked as he glared at Ellery. “Why not? He’s wrong and he knows it. Someone had to call him out on his bullshit.” “But—” “No buts, Connor.” I simply sat there across from this adorable couple and smiled. After we finished eating, we said our goodbyes. “Call me if you want to talk.” Ellery hugged me. “I’m fine, Ellery. But I promise I will.” “I’ll be in touch, Chloe,” Connor spoke as he hugged me. “Have a good night. I’m sorry about what

happened.” “Don’t be. Maybe it’s the universe sending me a sign.” I smiled. ****

Sebastian Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I ran my hands through my hair as Serena and I exited the restaurant. “Let’s go back to my place,” Serena whispered in my ear. Yeah. That was what I needed. I needed to fuck her and release this tension that had been brewing inside me the last few days. “Let’s go.” I hooked my arm around her and we walked to the limo. As I slid in next to her, Eli shot me a look. I turned and looked out the passenger window to avoid any further eye contact with him. He didn’t know shit. When we stepped inside Serena’s apartment, she asked me to unzip her dress. Taking off my suit coat, my fingers deftly grasped her zipper and slowly pulled it down. My lips traveled to her shoulder as I slipped off her dress and let it fall to the ground. She turned to face me and our lips locked tightly together. She moaned. My hands cupped her bare breasts, kneading them and tugging at her hardened nipples. “God, I’ve missed this, Sebastian,” she moaned as my lips traveled to her neck. Thoughts of Chloe went off in my head like a slide show. Me fucking her. Her smile. Her laugh. Her incredibly sexy body and her beautiful green eyes. Eyes that could light up a dark room. Eyes that smiled at me every time I looked into them. Pulling away, I put my hand up. “I’m sorry, Serena. I can’t.” “What do you mean you can’t? Come on, baby.” She smiled as her lips brushed against mine. “I can’t.” I pulled away and paced around the room. “What the fuck is the matter with you?” she shouted rather loudly. “I have to go.” Grabbing my jacket, I left her apartment and climbed into the limo. “That sure as hell didn’t take very long,” Eli spoke. “That’s because nothing happened. Just drive.”

When I arrived home, I poured myself a drink and took it out on the patio. What the hell was happening to me? I needed to call her and make sure she was okay. Her phone rang and then went straight to voicemail. She ignored my call. Great. I sent her a text message. “Chloe, I think we need to talk about tonight.” I waited for a response and nothing. Slamming my glass down on the table, I flew out the door and hailed a cab to her apartment. As I was walking up the steps, a couple came walking out. I ran and held the door open for them and then headed up the stairs to Chloe’s apartment. I softly knocked and waited. No answer. I knocked again. No answer. Pulling out my phone, I sent her a text message. “Damn it, Chloe! Answer the fucking door!” As I hit the send button, I heard her voice down the hallway. “Sebastian? What are you doing here?” She cocked her head while holding a large brown bag in her hands. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is I don’t appreciate my calls or text messages being ignored,” I spoke in an abrupt tone. “Huh? I didn’t get any calls or text messages from you.” She handed me the large paper bag as she slid her key in the lock. “Don’t lie to me, Chloe.” I followed her inside. She pulled her phone from her purse. “It’s dead. That’s why I didn’t get anything from you. See for yourself.” She held up her phone. She took it into the kitchen and plugged the charger into it. Then, she turned and narrowed her eyes at me. “Just ignore that last text,” I said. “Why are you going to Whole Foods so late? Do you know how dangerous that is?” She started removing the groceries from the bag and set them on the counter. “I needed a few things and on my way home, I stopped and talked to Willie. We had a nice conversation and then I gave him some apples. Actually, I gave him all the apples I bought, so I guess I’ll have to go back tomorrow and get some more.” “Who the hell is Willie?” I stood there in confusion at the fact that she gave him apples. “The nice homeless man that resides on the next block. During the day, he camps out in front of Barnes

and Nobles, and at night, he moves to the alley. But he was still at Barnes and Noble when I walked by.” “May I ask why you talk to him?” “Why wouldn’t I talk to him? He’s an interesting person. He served in the military for thirty years and fought in two wars and received the Medal of Honor.” “Then why is he homeless?” “When his kids grew up, his wife left him. He started drinking heavily, lost his job, couldn’t afford his house, so the bank took it and now he’s on the street. It’s sad that he’s been living like that for five years.” “It’s his own fault. He could do something, but he chooses not to. So he has no one to blame but himself.” “Wow, Sebastian, that’s really cold-hearted.” “It’s the truth, Chloe. You know it, and the fact that you even talk to him.” She sighed. “He’s a human being just like you and me. Is there a reason you came over, because I’m really tired and would like to go to bed?” “I think we need to talk about tonight.” “What about it?” “I wanted to explain about Serena.” “I don’t care about her. You obviously had your reasons for going to dinner with her. It’s none of my business.” She placed her hands on the counter. “It was just dinner. If there were more, I wouldn’t be standing here in your apartment.” “Like I said, it’s none of my business.” Walking over to her, I placed my hand on her cheek. “Good night, Sebastian,” she spoke as she stared into my eyes. “Do you really want me to leave, Chloe?” “Yes.” She didn’t hesitate to answer. Removing my hand from her cheek, I lightly kissed her forehead. “I’ll be in touch,” I spoke as I began to walk away. “Please don’t,” she said in a low voice.

With my back turned to her, I stopped and looked down. Taking in a deep breath, I walked out of her apartment and hailed a cab back home. The pain I had buried so long ago was back. I felt it in my chest. I felt it when I looked at her. She claimed she didn’t care, but she did. Her eyes, which were always full of light, were now filled with sadness.

Chapter 21 Chloe Placing the last piece of art on the wall, I stood back and studied the display we all helped organize. “It’s truly a beautiful sight.” Gregory sighed. “It sure is.” “Everyone that we sent invites to has responded that they will be attending. This is going to be huge.” He smiled. “What about Mr. Bennett?” I asked as I looked at Gregory. “He responded with a no.” “That’s good. It’s probably for the best. I’m going to finish up some work and take the rest of the day off. I think I’ll go see my dad.” When I walked into my office, my phone rang. It was Sienna. “Hey.” I hit the answer button and set my phone on the metal stand on my desk. “So I have a bit of a problem.” “What’s wrong?” She rested her cheek in her hand. “I hate that Sam went back to England.” “Aw, Sienna. I can honestly say I’m shocked.” “I know, right? Me too. I miss the big goofball already and he’s only been gone a couple of hours.” “I think someone is in love.” I smiled. “Maybe. Who knows. He cried at the airport.” “He did?” “Yeah.” I could see her eyes start to fill with tears. “He told me that he loved me and if I loved him, he’d stay.”

“I’m assuming you didn’t tell him.” “I told him that I’d have to get back to him on that.” “OMG! Sienna.” “He freaked me out. I panicked. Listen, I have to go. My pain in the ass client is standing at the door looking at me.” “Okay. Call me later or come over. We can do a girls’ night and sit on the couch with our gallon of ice cream and watch depressing movies.” “Sounds like a plan.” Shaking my head, I cleaned up my desk, grabbed my purse, and headed out the door to see my dad. As I approached East 42nd Street, I saw him sitting on the ground Indian style with his guitar in his hand. “Hey, Dad.” I smiled as I sat down next to him. “Hey, pumpkin. You’re going to get your fancy pants all dirty.” “They can be washed. How’s business?” I asked, looking over at his guitar case, which was filled with green. “It’s a good day. You know why?” “Why?” “Because it’s a beautiful May day and everyone is in a good mood. Here.” He handed me his guitar. “Drum up some more business for your old man.” With a grin, I took the guitar from him. This was something we did on occasion. I began playing and singing Tomorrow Is a Long Time by Nickel Creek. Before long, people stopped to listen as they threw dollar bills into the guitar case. My heart started racing as I was singing and looked up to see Sebastian standing amongst the crowd of people staring at me. When I finished the song, He walked over with his hands tucked into his pockets. “Why, hello there, Sebastian.” My dad smiled. “Hello, Larry. Chloe.” He nodded. Handing my dad back his guitar, I gave him a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll talk to you later, Dad.” “Yeah. Okay. Enjoy the rest of your day, pumpkin.”

I began to walk away and Sebastian walked with me. “You were really good,” he spoke. “Thanks.” I stared straight ahead. “So how have you been?” I swallowed hard. “Fine. Busy. You?” “Okay. I guess. Busy as well.” “Good.” I turned the corner. “Chloe, listen. I want to see you.” “You’re seeing me.” He lightly grabbed hold of my arm and forced me to stop walking. “I want to see you. Let’s have dinner together tonight at my place.” As I stood there and stared into his pleading eyes, a part of me wanted to slap him. “I can’t. I’m sorry.” “You can’t or you won’t?” He cocked his head. “I can’t. Sienna is coming over tonight. Sam went back to England today and she’s really sad, so we’re going to have a girls’ night in.” “I see. How about tomorrow?” “Sorry. I have an exhibition tomorrow.” “That’s right. How about after the exhibition? We can have a late dinner.” “I don’t know.” I began walking. Why was the thought of possibly having dinner with him going through my head? “Just dinner. Nothing else. I promise.” “Dinner at your place and you expect me to believe you won’t try to have sex?” “I promise. I’ll be on my best behavior. Please, Chloe, just have dinner with me.” His begging was pathetic. I stopped. “Fine. I’ll have dinner with you after the exhibition. Gregory told me that you responded no on the

invite.” “Now that you’ve agreed to have dinner with me, I’ve changed my mind. I’ll be there.” The corners of his mouth curved upwards. “Were you going somewhere before you saw me with my dad?” “Oh shit. I was meeting Damien. I’ll see you tomorrow night at the gallery.” “Okay.” As I walked away, Sebastian called my name. “Chloe.” “Yeah?” I turned around. “Have a fun girls’ night tonight.” He smiled. “Thanks.” I was nothing but the poster child for being a glutton for punishment. ****

Sebastian I barely slept a wink all night. Not only was I thinking about Chloe, but also about this big deal I was signing today. This had been in the making for months, and it was one of the biggest deals I’d made in a long time. Sitting in the conference room alone, I had an unsettling feeling. I didn’t know where it came from or why, but something was really bothering me. Ed and John walked in and Damien followed behind. “Hello, Sebastian. Do you have your signing pen ready?” Ed smiled as he set the contracts in front of me. “You’ve made the right decision to become a capital investor in our company,” John spoke as he took a seat. Looking over the contracts, my unsettled feeling didn’t diminish. What the fuck was going on? “Gentlemen, excuse me for a moment.” Pulling my phone from my pocket, I sent a text message to Chloe. “Good morning. Are we still in that Venus thing?” “You mean a Venus retrograde? Yes. For about another four weeks. Why?”

“Just wondering. So now wouldn’t be a good time to make a major business investment?” “No. Not a good time at all.” “Thank you. I’ll see you later.” “You’re welcome. Do you want to tell me what all this is about?” “Later.” Walking back into the conference room, I took a seat across from Ed and John. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I’m not signing any contracts at this time.” “WHAT?!” Ed shouted. “Sebastian,” Damien spoke. “I’ll look this over again in about a month. Until then, I won’t be investing in your company. I’m sorry. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other work to do.” Getting up from my chair, I buttoned my suit coat and walked out. Fuck. I prayed to God that I made the right decision. Damien followed me into my office. “What the fuck, Sebastian? What the hell are you thinking? We worked months on that deal. Do you know how much money you just cost us?” Taking a seat at my desk, I arched my brow at him. “Us? This is my company and I make every damn decision about it. Don’t you ever forget that.” I pointed at him. “Right now isn’t the right time to invest in that company.” “And how do you know that?” “I’m going with my instincts. You need to trust me on this, Damien. Have I ever steered off course where this company is concerned?” He sat there shaking his head with a look of anger on his face. Getting up from his seat, he pointed at me before walking out the door. “You better hope your instincts are right. You’ve been off ever since that girl walked into your life.” Rolling my eyes, I leaned back in my chair. He was right where Chloe was concerned. I had been off. It seemed like my whole life had been turned upside down ever since that one night in London.

Chapter 22 Chloe I nervously walked around the gallery, watching, staring, and hearing the whispers of the people who came to the exhibition. Connor and Ellery were standing in front of the sculptures talking to Oliver and Liam Wyatt. There was no reason to be nervous, but I was. I think I was more nervous for Caden. Looking at my watch, I wondered where Sienna was. Suddenly, I felt two arms wrap around my waist from behind. “Hello, gorgeous.” Turning my head, I gasped when I saw Sam staring at me. “Oh my God. What are you doing here?” “When I landed in Boston, I couldn’t get on that next plane. I just couldn’t do it. I already missed her too much.” “Aw. Where is Sienna?” “She’s in the bathroom. She told me to come up and surprise you.” “Well, I’m glad you did.” I placed my hand on his chest. “SURPRISE!” Sienna smiled as she held out her arms. Hugging her tightly, I could tell she was happy that Sam was back. “This is a great surprise, right?” I whispered in her ear. “Yes. It sure is. I’ll fill you in on all the details later. For now, I’m going to check out that sexy artwork over there.” She hooked her arm in Sam’s and the two of them walked over to the display. “I thought he went back to England.” I heard Sebastian’s voice behind me. When I turned around, the butterflies awoke in my belly as if they were happy to see him. “He never made it out of Boston. He came back.” “I see. How are you?” He smiled.

“Nervous, but good.” Placing his hand on my shoulder, he spoke, “Don’t be nervous. It looks like everyone is enjoying the exhibition. I will admit that I am curious to see what the artist has done.” “Then follow me.” I smiled as I held out my arm to him and led him over to the display. “Well?” I asked. “It definitely is erotic, that’s for sure. “You like it, though, right?” “Yes. It’s very expressive.” “Exactly!” I smiled. “He does photography too?” Sebastian asked as he stared at the beautiful naked girl in the stiletto heels with the pouty mouth. “Yes.” I laughed. “Do you like her?” I nudged his shoulder. “Who me? She’s not my type.” He winked. I wanted to ask him what his type was, but I refrained for fear he’d get angry. “Hello, Sebastian.” Ellery smiled. “Hello, Ellery. You’re looking as lovely as ever.” He kissed her cheek. “Thank you. If you don’t mind, I’m going to steal Chloe away for a moment.” “I don’t mind at all.” When I walked away with Ellery, she led me downstairs. “Richard Borne is very interested in purchasing almost half the display. He wants a couple paintings, five photographs, and two sculptures.” “What’s he going to do with all that?” “Apparently, he has a,” she held her fingers up, “room that they would be perfect in.” “Ah. I bet it’s a very special room.” I smiled. “Ew!” she shrieked. “Him and that room. The thought.” She laughed. “Go ahead and talk to Mr. Borne and find out exactly which pieces he wants and put sold stickers on them.” “I’m on it. Caden will be very happy.”

“So will Connor.” Walking back up the stairs, I went into my office and pulled the sold stickers from my desk and found Mr. Borne. The exhibition was well received and Caden sold almost every piece of artwork. Standing there staring at the wall that was devoid of all but three paintings, I felt a hand softly touch my back. “The exhibition went well,” Sebastian spoke. “I told you that you had nothing to worry about.” “It did. Didn’t it? I’m really happy for Caden.” “If you’re ready, we can head to my penthouse for dinner.” “I’m more than ready. I’m starving. Just let me grab my purse.” Grabbing my purse from my office, I left the gallery in the hands of Gregory to close up and Sebastian and I headed to his penthouse. **** “Wow,” I spoke in awe as I looked around his forty-five-hundred-square-foot penthouse. The light beige walls and light oak flooring made the space look even bigger. “So what do you think of my stuffy penthouse?” The corners of his mouth curved upwards. “Okay. So I was wrong. It’s very light and airy. No dark wood floors, no dark trim, but I was right about the beige walls.” “Everyone has beige walls.” He chuckled. “Mr. Bennett, dinner is ready.” “Thank you, Karina.” It was apparent that Sebastian wasn’t going to introduce me to the hired help. So I introduced myself. “Hi.” I smiled as I held out my hand. “I’m Chloe.” “Nice to meet you. I’m Karina.” “Nice to meet you too, Karina.” I narrowed my eye at Sebastian. I followed him out onto the patio, where a table, next to an outdoor fireplace sat. “I thought it would be nice to dine out here. Of course, if you get cold, we can move inside.” “No. This is fine.” I smiled. We took our seats and Sebastian picked up the bottle of wine and poured some into our glasses.

“So, are you going to tell me what that text was about earlier today?” He sighed as he brought the glass up to his lips. “I was supposed to sign the contracts to become a capital investor in a company I had been dealing with for the past several months. It was a multi-million-dollar deal and I got to thinking about how much I lost in Vegas.” “Go on.” I smiled. “It’s not a big deal, Chloe. I just thought that maybe this deal wasn’t supposed to happen right now, so I didn’t sign the contracts. Needless to say, they were not happy.” “That’s too bad for them. You did the right thing.” I winked before sipping my wine. We talked mostly about the exhibition, my job, Sienna and Sam, and nothing personally about him. So I decided to turn it into a game. “I want to play a game.” “Oh.” His eyebrow arched. “What kind of game?” “A personal game. It’s a great way to get to know each other. I’ll start.” I could tell by the expression on his face that he was on the fence about it. “My favorite color is yellow.” I pointed at him. “Black.” “My favorite food is chicken.” I pointed at him. “Lobster. “My favorite kind of flower is the gerbera daisy.” I pointed at him. “You don’t like roses?” He cocked his head. “Yes. Answer the question.” “Orchids.” “Really?” I smiled. “If I had to pick one favorite flower, it would be them.” “I was sixteen when I lost my virginity.” I pointed at him.

“Fifteen.” He smiled. “With who?” I cocked my head. “Doesn’t matter.” “I was homeschooled until the age of ten.” I pointed at him. He didn’t say anything and got up from his seat. “That was fun, but I think we should go inside now.” “What’s wrong?” I asked as I grabbed my glass and followed him inside. “Nothing. I want to make something very clear to you. My past and childhood are off limits.” “I don’t understand.” I frowned. He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t talk about my past to anyone, including you.” “But why?” I asked in a soft voice as I stepped closer to him. “Because I don’t.” His voice was authoritative and harsh. “If you can’t respect that, then maybe you should leave.” “You can talk to me, Sebastian.” As I went to place my hand on his arm, he backed away. “No, Chloe, I can’t and I won’t.” “How am I supposed to get to know you if you won’t open up to me?” “You know enough. Leave it at that. It’s not like you need to know anymore.” “You’re right.” I looked down. “I know enough. You have so much hatred in your heart and I feel sorry for you. But I know somewhere in there you have more good. I’ve seen it and I’ve experienced it.” I grabbed my purse and as I was about to walk out the door, I turned and looked at him. “Life is lost without love, Sebastian, and I hope someday you find it.”

Chapter 23 Sebastian Standing there, I watched the door close. She was gone and, suddenly, my place felt empty, or was it my life? An empty feeling always resided in me from the time I could remember when I was a small child. Her words replayed over and over in my head. “Life is lost without love.” I didn’t know what love was. How could I? I’d never received it and I never gave it. I had once again hurt her. Just like I knew I would. I should’ve stayed away, but when I saw her on the street, playing the guitar, and her sweet voice sang that song, everything that I thought I had pushed away came rushing back. Just like it did the first time I saw her after our one night together. Two weeks had passed. I didn’t contact her and she didn’t try to contact me. Anger made itself a comfortable place inside me. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t think, and I certainly couldn’t have sex. I didn’t want to have sex with anyone but her. She somehow left her mark on me, like an imprint on my soul. Sitting at the bar with Eli, we kicked back some drinks. He was the only person in the world who truly knew me and that was because we had been friends since we were ten years old. “I think it’s time we had a talk, Sebastian.” “About what?” “These past couple of weeks, you’ve been different. Different than I’ve ever seen you before.” “How?” I shot him a look. “You haven’t been going into the office as much. You’ve been sleeping in later than you ever have. You don’t listen when people talk to you. It’s like you’re in another world and you’re way more of an asshole now than before. Damien told me that he asked you the other day what was wrong and you nearly castrated him.” I threw back my bourbon. “I’m tired of people asking me what the hell is wrong. Nothing is wrong!” “Chloe is what’s wrong. Man, come on. I know you’re thinking she could be the one and it scares the fuck out of you.” Rolling my eyes, I signaled the bartender for another drink. “I don’t believe in ‘the one.’”

“Really? Because you’ve dated countless women over the years and not one of them has ever gotten to you like Chloe has. If you want to see her again, you’re going to have to open up to her.” “I don’t have to do anything. I make my own rules about my life and you know it.” I pointed my finger at him. “I know, but maybe now it’s time to let the fucking rules go. Damnit, Sebastian, you’re thirty years old. Are you really going to live the rest of your life like this? Shit, even Maura is worried about you.” “You can tell Maura that I’m fine.” “You say you don’t believe in the one, yet you wouldn’t sign a multi-million-dollar deal because of some Venus thing, which, by the way, you got from Chloe. All I’m saying is that you need to let go of the past. You beat it. We beat it. The only reason I’m working for your dumb ass is because someone needs to look after you.” “You’re working for me because I pay you incredibly well.” “That too.” He smiled. “Listen, man, you’re happy when she’s around. Why can’t you, for once in your life, accept some happiness? Don’t you think it’s about time?” I glanced over at him for a moment and then looked straight ahead as I finished my drink. “She’s good for you.” “Really? And you know what’s good for me? She’s different and she lives in another world. Do you know that she talks to a homeless man and buys him food? She knows his damn life story.” “What’s wrong with that? She’s a friendly person who apparently doesn’t judge people. She doesn’t seem to be into materialistic things, so you know right there she wasn’t seeing you for your money.” “We’re from two different worlds, Eli.” “You might want to rethink that because it wasn’t that long ago you were pretty much homeless yourself. You’ve only been in “this” world for the past nine years. Maybe it’s you who lives in a different world, not her.” I clenched my jaw. “I’m done talking about her. It could never work and I would ultimately destroy her. She’d want things from me I could never give. Sure, I could give her all the riches of the world, but deep down, I could never give her what she truly needs or wants.” Eli sighed as he finished his drink. “Whatever, my friend. You really need to go talk to someone or you really need to get your head out of your ass. You’ve never tried giving anything of yourself to anyone, so you don’t know shit. Let’s go. I’m taking you home.”

****

Chloe It had been three weeks since I’d heard from Sebastian. I tried my hardest not to think about him, but it was impossible. My feelings for him, even though he was a total douchebag, were strong, and I missed him. I threw myself into my work, attended my mother’s yoga classes at night, and meditated just about every day. I did anything and everything just to keep my mind off of him. Walking down the street on my way to the grocery store, I stopped when I saw Willie leaning up against the brick of Barnes and Noble. “Hey, Willie.” I smiled. “Chloe. Haven’t seen you in a while. Where you been?” “Around. How are you?” “Same.” He grinned. He patted the empty space next to him. “Sit down.” Sitting on the cement, Indian style, I began to play with a small stone that was in front of me. “What’s wrong? You seem sad. You’re never sad.” “Tomorrow’s my birthday and I was hoping to celebrate it with someone, but unfortunately, we aren’t seeing each other anymore. Not that we were really seeing each other, I guess. We were having a lot of sex.” “So then what’s the problem? If you were having a lot of sex, it had to be good.” I smiled. “It was, but he won’t tell me anything about his past. No matter how hard I try to get him to open up to me, he won’t. He wants to know everything about me, yet he refuses to tell me anything about himself.” “Where did you meet this guy?” “Now there’s a story.” I grinned. “We met at a hotel bar in London and we had sex. He was my sex with a stranger in a foreign country. We didn’t even know each other’s names. I was planning on sneaking out in the morning before he woke up, but he beat me to it. When I moved back to New York, we saw each other again. I didn’t know he lived here.” “Wow. That’s some crazy shit. What are the odds?” “I know, right?” I held the stone tightly in my hand. “We hooked up again and again and I thought maybe we had something. I guess I was wrong. He told me to accept the fact that he was never going to tell me

anything about him, and if I didn’t, I could leave. So I did and I haven’t spoken to him since.” “Wow. He just let you leave and never tried to contact you?” “Yep. That’s why I’m a little sad right now. But I’ll be okay.” “If you want my advice, darling, it’s his loss, not yours. You deserve better than that.” “Thanks, Willie.” I stood up. “I’m heading over to the store. Any requests?” “No. You’ve done enough for me already.” “Nah, don’t be silly. I’ll pick you up something good.” I smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

Chapter 24 Sebastian As I was walking down the street, doing some thinking, I happened to glance across and saw Chloe talking to that homeless man. Not only was she talking, but she was pulling things out of the bag she was carrying and giving them to him. I stood there and watched her. Seeing her made me smile, something I hadn’t done since the last time I saw her. I waited until she walked away and was out of sight before heading across the street. As I approached the homeless man, he looked up at me. “Hey, I saw that girl that was just here giving you some things. That was very nice of her.” “Her name is Chloe and she’s a wonderful girl. She has a heart of gold, that one. One of the kindest people I have ever met in my life.” Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “Here. I’m sure you could use this.” He looked at me for a moment and then waved his hand at me. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it, but I’m okay.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out another twenty. “Take it. Believe me when I say I don’t need it. It would make me feel better if you took it and bought yourself some food or something.” “You’re a kind man. Thank you. What’s your name?” “Sebastian.” I smiled. “Nice to meet you, Sebastian. I’m Willie. You married?” I cocked my head and spoke, “No. I’m not married.” “You would like Chloe. She’s not married either. Poor girl is suffering from a broken heart. Maybe you’d like to meet her one day.” “Yeah. Maybe. Have a nice day, Willie.” “You too, Sebastian. Thanks again.”

I gave him a small smile and walked away. It hurt me to know that I broke Chloe’s heart, but deep down inside, I already knew I had. Fuck. I ran my hand through my hair as I walked down the street and climbed into the limo that was waiting at the corner. “Did I just see you give that homeless man money?” Eli asked. “Yeah. That’s Willie. The man Chloe always talks to.” Eli turned his head and smiled at me but didn’t say a word as he pulled out into traffic and took me home. ****

Chloe Opening my eyes to the bright sun that was shining through the slits of my blinds, I rolled over and thought of Sebastian. Had we been seeing each other, I would have had morning birthday sex. Instead, I was lying here alone on my birthday, feeling like shit because I missed him so much. As I was feeling sorry for myself, my phone rang. When I picked it up from the nightstand, Sienna and Sam appeared on the screen. Did I mention that he quit his job and wanted to permanently move to New York so he could be close to Sienna? I didn’t know what he’d do if Sienna decided one day she was done playing with him and tossed him out. “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Chloe. Happy birthday to you!” they both sang. “Thank you. What a lovely duet.” I smiled. “How does it feel to be twenty-five?” Sienna asked. “Great. I feel like a certified adult now. I’m officially a quarter of a century year old.” I smiled. They both laughed and Sam blew me a kiss. After ending our call, I made some coffee and hopped in the shower. The big birthday plans for today included a nice dinner with my mom, dad, Sienna, and Sam, and then afterwards, the three of us were heading to a club where Sienna had planned a big birthday party for me with all of our friends. As I was sitting at the table sipping my coffee, the buzzer rang. Getting up to answer it, I asked who it was. “I have a flower delivery for a Miss Chloe Kane,” a man with a deep voice spoke. “I’ll buzz you up.”

Opening the door, I saw a man with a huge bouquet of flowers coming up the steps. “Oh my gosh. What beautiful flowers,” I spoke as he approached the door. “Happy birthday, baby.” When the man lowered the bouquet, I nearly squealed when I saw it was Corey. “OH MY GOD! What are you doing here?” I placed my hands over my mouth. “Just thought I’d drop by and wish you a happy birthday.” “All the way from California?” “Yeah. All the way from California.” He smiled. I took the flowers from him and wrapped my arm around his neck. “I’ve missed you.” I hugged him tightly. “I’ve missed you too. Cali isn’t the same without you.” “Come on in.” Taking the flowers to the kitchen, I filled a vase with water. “These are so beautiful. Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “I can’t believe you’re here.” I kissed his lips. “I’d been planning it for a while. Sienna knew, but I threatened to let secrets spill to that Sam guy she’s seeing if she told you.” I laughed. “So how long are you here for?” “My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon. I have to get back to work. I thought it was time to see you, and what better day than your birthday?” Corey and I talked on the phone at least twice a week, so he knew all about Sebastian. “Still no word from that rich asshole?” he asked. “No.” I lowered my head. “You deserve better than him, Chloe.” He placed his thumb on my chin and slightly lifted it so I was looking up at him.

“He can be a wonderful man. If only he’d open up about his past.” “There’s a reason he isn’t and you need to take that as a universal sign to drop him and run.” I poured him a cup of coffee and we snuggled on the couch, catching up on everything that had been going on in both our lives. ****

Sebastian I couldn’t help myself. I needed to see her. Maybe I was ready to tell her that I cared for her and tell her about my past. This gnawing feeling inside me wouldn’t stop until I saw her. Three weeks without her was long enough. I had to make her understand how much I liked her and I needed her to believe that she wasn’t just another girl. She was a girl who I wanted to be with all the time. Not talking to her or seeing her left me empty inside. I knew that now and I came to accept the fact that I had to tell her everything about me. She was worth it and I couldn’t fight my feelings and desire for her any longer. I had Eli park around the corner and down the street. Climbing out of the limo and turning the corner, I stopped when I saw her and some guy coming out of her building. She was wearing a short pale pink dress with rhinestone spaghetti straps and matching stiletto heels. She was all dressed up and on the arm of another man. Anger, rage, and jealousy grew inside me as they climbed into the cab that was waiting at the curb. Getting back into the limo, I instructed Eli to follow them. Waiting in the limo until they were inside Space Ibzia’s, I started to climb out when Eli stopped me. “Sebastian, don’t. Leave her alone. Obviously, she’s out to have fun tonight. You can talk to her tomorrow.” “NO! I want to know who the fuck that guy is she’s with. She’s mine, Eli, and I’m going to make sure she knows it.” “Good luck with that. She’s not yours. Just because you fucked her, doesn’t make her your property. If that was the case, you’d own half of New York City, other states, and countries.” I rolled my eyes. “She’s different and she belongs to me.” “You mean she belongs with you.” “Yeah. Whatever. Maybe I won’t say anything to her tonight. I just want to see what she’s doing. That’s all.” “Then I’m coming with you.”

I stared at him for a moment before agreeing. He parked the limo down the street and I slipped the bouncer a hundred-dollar bill to let us in. “No need, Mr. Bennett. I know who you are. You two can go on in.” Giving him a small smile, I placed the bill in his shirt pocket.

Chapter 25 Sebastian The club was filled with wall-to-wall people. When I paid off two patrons at the bar for their seats, they kindly moved so Eli and I could sit down. “Two bourbons. Make them doubles,” I yelled to the bartender. Looking around, I didn’t see Chloe and that guy anywhere. But who the hell could find anyone in this place. “Keep an eye out for them,” I spoke to Eli. It had been a little over an hour and still no sign of them. Suddenly, Eli, grabbed my arm and told me that we needed to leave. Glaring at him, I couldn’t help but notice his eyes staring at the dance floor. When I looked to where he was looking, I saw Chloe and that asshole dancing together. Her arms were in the air as she moved her hips back and forth. He was behind her, grinding up against her like some pig. The two of them moved around, back and forth with his hands planted on her hips. The rage that was already inside me intensified as I walked up behind them, grabbed the guy’s arm, and threw a punch at him, sending him into the crowd of people that surrounded them and to the ground. “Sebastian!” Chloe screamed. I wasn’t finished because I wanted to make sure this guy never laid his hands on her again. Grabbing his shirt, I punched him again until Eli grabbed my arm and pulled me away. ****

Chloe I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. As I screamed Sebastian’s name, he looked at me with rage in his eyes. “What are you doing?” “He had no right touching you like that!” he shouted. Suddenly, Sienna and Sam appeared and Sam got down on the ground to help Corey while Sienna

stepped in front of me. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Sebastian?” “Get out of the way, Sienna.” “Or what? Are you going to punch me too?” “Stop it! Both of you!” I screamed as I stepped away from Sienna. I shook my head at Sebastian and then bent down to look at Corey. His eye was already swollen and there was blood pouring from his nose and mouth. “You want him, Chloe? Did you fuck him?” Sebastian screamed as Eli held him back. Standing up, I stood in front of him. My blood boiling with hatred as I could feel the vein in my temple pulsating with rage. Placing my hands on his chest, I pushed him as hard as I could. He stumbled. “He’s my ex from California, asshole. He flew in to celebrate my birthday.” His eyes locked with mine and, suddenly, they filled with sadness. “I’m—” “Save it, Sebastian. You just can’t go around punching people. I never want to see you again.” I turned and pushed my way through the crowd of people who were standing there watching the scene. I needed air. Taking off my shoes and stepping out the door onto the street of New York City, I could barely catch my breath. My body was shaking and I felt disoriented. I fell to my knees on a patch of grass near the club and began crying. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Chloe, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.” Jerking away, I looked up at Sebastian with mascara-stained eyes. “Don’t you touch me!” I shouted as I got up and stumbled back. “Don’t touch me,” I whispered as I pointed my finger at him. “What part of ‘I never want to see you again’ did you not understand?” “I apologized to Corey. He’s going to be fine. I just—” “You’re a monster and you are to stay the hell away from me!” I walked away and back inside the club. “There you are!” Sienna pulled me into a hug. “Are you okay?” “Not really. Where’s Corey?”

“Over here.” Sienna led me to a small table where Corey and Sam were seated. “I’m so sorry this happened.” I cried as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Don’t cry, Chloe. He apologized.” “I don’t care. He never should have hit you.” “Listen, I’m fine. It’s not the first time I’ve had a bruised eye and a fat lip.” He smiled. “Come on; let’s get out of here and go back to your place for cake. We still have more celebrating to do.” **** “Are you sure you feel okay?” I pouted as I gently traced my finger around the bruise on Corey’s eye. “I’m fine. Stop worrying about me. Thanks for letting me crash at your place.” He smiled. “You’re welcome to crash at my place any time you come to visit.” “Take care, Chloe, and I’ll call you when I land.” “You better.” I winked. “Love you.” He kissed my forehead. “Love you back.” As the cab pulled up to my building, my heart started to race when I saw Sebastian’s limo parked at the curb. I swore to God, if he even attempted to talk to me, I would march right down to the police station and file a restraining order against him. After paying the cab driver, I saw Eli step out of the limo. I sat there for a moment while he walked over and opened the door for me. “Good afternoon, Chloe.” “Eli.” I nodded as I climbed out. “He better not be in there.” I pointed to the limo. “He’s not. It’s just me. In fact, if he knew I was here talking to you, he’d probably fire me.” “What can I do for you, Eli?” I asked as we walked to the door. “I was hoping to speak with you for a moment about Sebastian.” “I don’t want to talk about him.” Sliding the key into the lock, I opened the door and invited him in. “I know and I don’t blame you, but I need you to hear what I have to say.”

“I’m about to make some tea. Would you like some?” “Only if it’s green.” He smiled. “Yeah! My kind of man. Green tea it is.” Eli took a seat at the table while I prepared the tea. There was nothing he could say that would make me change my mind about Sebastian. But I owed him the courtesy of hearing him out. “Look, I’m not defending him at all, and what he did last night was totally crossing the line, but I know he deeply cares for you.” “He has a funny way of showing it.” I poured the water into the cups. “I’m going to tell you something about him. He’s had it rough since the day he was born. He had to fight for everything in his life. He was determined to climb out of the trenches and make something of himself.” “That’s no excuse for violence,” I spoke as I set his cup of tea down in front of him. “I agree. Sebastian is a good man and he has a good heart.” “Heart of stone.” I interrupted. “True, but only where women are concerned.” “Why? Did he have an ex-lover that cheated on him or something?” “No. If only it were that simple. He’s never allowed himself to get close to anyone. He’s allowed the scars of his past to keep him closed off from everything except his business.” “What happened to him?” “It’s not my place to tell you, but I’ve known him since we were young boys.” I sighed. “Eli, why are you here? To tell me that he couldn’t help punching Corey because of his past?” “No, Chloe. I’m here to tell you that he really cares for you and you need to reach out to him. I’ve never seen him like this with anyone before.” “You mean punching people out?” “No.” He smirked. “You’ve affected him in ways I never thought possible. He’s happy when you’re around. And that’s something I haven’t seen very much in his life.” I got up from the table and stood behind the kitchen counter. “Well, he’s the one who shut me out and then had the nerve to punch my ex-boyfriend—who’s gay, by the way—because we were dancing.”

Eli walked over to me and placed his hand on mine. “Just give it some thought, Chloe. He’s a broken man and I do believe you are the only person in this world who can put him back together. If I didn’t feel so strongly about that, I wouldn’t be here. Thanks for the tea.” He turned, and as he started to walk away, he looked back at me. “Please don’t ever tell him we had this conversation.” “I won’t. I promise.”

Chapter 26 Sebastian Her words kept playing over and over in my mind. “You’re a monster. I never want to see you again.” The truth was that she was right. I was a monster and I let my anger and jealousy get the best of me. I’d never lost control like that before, especially over a woman. I blew it. The best thing that had ever happened to me now hated me. Was she even capable of hate? Her eyes told me everything. That look of hurt, anger, and hatred would be forever etched into my memory. She deserved nothing more than to be happy and I needed to make sure she was. She’d get over what I’d done and she’d get over me. But I wasn’t so sure I’d ever get over her. I had ruined her birthday. Fuck, how did I not even know it was her birthday? I should have known. If only I would have opened up to her and told her everything about me, I would have known and things would have been different. A couple of weeks had passed since that night and every day became harder to deal with. I’d stop outside the window of the gallery and look in with the hopes of just seeing her and making sure she was okay. When she got off work, I’d make Eli follow her with me in the back, just so I knew she made it home and she was safe. Every night, she’d stop and talk to Willie. Sometimes for a few minutes, and sometimes longer. He wasn’t the only homeless man she talked to. There was a group of them that hung out in the alley. Almost as if they were a family and she was a part of it. Their faces lit up every time she’d stop and talk to them. ****

Chloe Sebastian followed me everywhere I went. I wasn’t stupid and I could feel his presence. I guess you could say it was the connection we had. Ever since Eli left my apartment that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he had said about Sebastian having to fight for everything and climb out of the trenches to make something of himself. My mom told me that Sebastian punching Corey was his way of fighting for me, even though it was wrong. It was Saturday and I decided to go to Central Park to think. Being outdoors and surrounded by nature always helped me to think more clearly. The work week was extremely busy. Between organizing another exhibition, having dinner with my parents, and visiting with Sienna and Sam, I just needed a day to myself. I felt out of balance, which I was attributing to a man named Sebastian.

I had the cab driver drop me off at the west entrance of the park and I made my way to Shakespeare Garden. It was my favorite spot in all of Central Park because it was quiet and the perfect place to meditate. Walking down the cobblestone path, I admired the beautiful flowers that were in bloom. When I found the perfect spot to settle, I laid out my blanket and set my picnic basket down. I took in a deep cleansing breath and closed my eyes. Taking in the beautiful sounds of nature, I heard something or someone. Opening my eyes, I looked around. Sighing, I closed my eyes and began to meditate. Once again, I heard something. “Sebastian, I know you’re here,” I spoke in a loud voice. “And I also know how you’ve been following me. So just come on out and stop being so damn stalkerish.” “How did you know?” he softly asked as he emerged from behind a tree. “I just knew. You know when someone is following you.” “I wasn’t stalking you, Chloe. I was just making sure you were safe and okay.” “Whatever, Sebastian. Since you followed me out here, you might as well sit down so you can see that I’m okay.” I patted the empty spot next to me. “Are you sure?” “Yes.” He sat down next to me and I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was so handsome but looked so lost. “What were you doing?” he asked. “Trying to meditate. You know, you really should try it some time. You could stand to gain some inner peace.” He gave me a frown and I couldn’t help but laugh. “So is that why you do it, to gain inner peace?” “That and other things. It makes you more grounded so you can live life more in the present.” “Oh. I’m sorry I interrupted you.” “It’s fine. Would you like some grapes?” I asked as I reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a small Ziploc bag. “No. I’m good.” “You don’t like grapes?” I cocked my head.

“I like grapes.” “Then why don’t you want any?” “Because I don’t.” His brow arched. “Why? There has to be a reason. Aren’t you hungry? Even if you weren’t hungry, a couple grapes won’t hurt you.” “Fine. I’ll have some grapes.” He smiled as he reached into the bag and took a couple. “I’m still mad at you,” I spoke as I popped a grape into my mouth. “Then you didn’t do enough meditating.” He grinned. Shaking my head, I bit down on my bottom lip. “Trust me, I meditate every day, but you punched my friend for no reason.” “I know and believe me, I will regret what I did until the day I die. I can’t apologize to you enough, Chloe. I’m sorry.” I could hear the sincerity in his voice and see the look of regret on his face. “Fine. Apology accepted.” I softly placed my hand on his. He looked down at our hands and then at me. “Thank you. It means a lot to me. Chloe, there’s something else I need to talk to you about.” “What is it?” I asked nervously. He looked away. “It can never work between us.” “Why do you say that?” My heart started to ache. “Because I could never give you what you need and deserve. You were right when you called me a monster. That’s exactly what I am.” “No, Sebastian. I was angry. I didn’t mean it.” “Whether you did or not, it’s what I am.” He removed his hand from mine. “I don’t want to make this harder than it already is.” He stood up and stared straight ahead. He couldn’t even look at me. Suddenly, I felt a rain drop hit my hand. “I better go. I’m sorry, Chloe. All I want is for you to be happy and being with me will make you more miserable.” He turned and began to walk away.

“Have you always been a coward?” I shouted as the rain started to come down. “Excuse me? It’s really raining now. We should go seek shelter.” “No. I’m staying right here. How many storms are you hiding from, Sebastian?” I asked as I stood up and stared at him. “What are you talking about? Chloe, it’s raining and we’re getting soaked. We can talk about this somewhere else.” “Have you ever heard the quote: Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain?” “For God sakes, Chloe,” he shouted. “If you wait for every storm to pass, you’ll waste time, and then you’ll have nothing to show for it, past or present. Your first reaction when it started raining was to run and hide from it. Why?” “Chloe, I’m serious. I have no clue what you’re talking about. All I know is that we’re both standing out here, soaking wet!” he yelled. “Tell me what you’re so afraid of, Sebastian! What happened to you?” “Nothing. This is how I am! I’m not capable of emotion. I don’t cry and I certainly can’t love you the way you deserve to be loved!” “Why? You saying you can’t isn’t good enough. There’s a reason you feel that way.” He ran his hands through his hair as I watched him struggle to find the words. “Tell me, Sebastian!” I yelled as loud as I could. “You want to know why?!” he shouted as he walked towards me. “Because I don’t know how to love! I have never been loved by anyone my entire life. How do you give love when you never received it?!” “What about your parents?” “I never knew my parents.” I nearly lost my breath hearing him speak those words. Everything began to make sense now. I walked closer to where he was standing. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hugged him tight. It took a few moments, but he finally wrapped his arms around me. Slowly, we both sank to the ground as the rain poured down on us. “I don’t want to lose you, Chloe. You’re the first person in my life that has meant something to me. But

it frightens me to be with you.” “I don’t want to lose you either and there’s no reason to be frightened.” He broke our embrace and his eyes stared into mine. “You deserve so much better.” “I think that’s up to me to decide.” I smiled. “I know what I need and what I need is you.” His mouth smashed into mine with such passion it sent me into another world. I’d missed him and his touch. “If we’re going to do this, you can’t keep things from me.” I placed my hand on his face. “I know and I will tell you everything. I promise.” Smiling, I spoke, “How about we go back to my place and get out of these wet clothes?” “I don’t have any dry clothes at your place.” “Who said you need clothes? Clothing is totally optional at my place.” I grinned as I pressed my forehead against his. “I think I like your place.” He smiled as he brushed his lips against mine. We stood up, grabbed the blanket and the picnic basket, and headed to his limo. After climbing in, Sebastian grabbed my hand. “How about we go to my place instead? I have plenty of t-shirts that would look adorable on you. Clothing is optional, of course. Plus, I have this huge bathtub that I think you’ll fall in love with.” “Is it big enough for two?” I asked. “It’s big enough for four.” I smiled. “I think I like your place.” I leaned over and kissed him. “Good. Because you’ll be spending a lot of time there.” “Promise?” He brought his thumb to my lips. “I promise.” Glancing up, Eli gave me a wink through the rearview mirror. This was the start of something good— hell, something great—but Sebastian was going to take a lot of work.

Chapter 27 Sebastian I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I still had to tell her everything, but that didn’t matter to me anymore. I wanted to tell her. I needed to tell her. Holding her hand, we stepped into the elevator and took it up to my penthouse. As much as I wanted to rip her clothes off and fuck her into oblivion, I had to take things slow. Telling her about my past was first priority as far as I was concerned. Stepping into the penthouse, I led her to my bedroom and grabbed a t-shirt from the drawer. “If you’ll give me your clothes, I’ll throw them in the dryer.” “So are you going to show me that big bathtub of yours?” she asked with a grin as she stripped out of her clothes. “It’s right through here.” I led the way. “Ah. It’s beautiful.” She reached over and started the water. “You’re taking a bath now?” “We are taking a bath. I need your naked body to warm me up.” “We should talk first, Chloe,” I spoke with seriousness. “And we will. In the bathtub.” “I don’t want to have sex until you know everything.” She frowned. “Who said anything about sex? I said a bath.” “But I won’t be able to control myself with your naked body against me. You know my cock won’t behave.” “I like it when your cock misbehaves. Now get out of those wet clothes and get in the tub.” Fuck. Staring at her naked body as she climbed into the tub sent my dick straight up in seconds without warning. I missed her and her sexy body. Stripping out of my clothes as fast as I could, I climbed in behind her and tightly wrapped her in my arms.

“I know this is hard for you, Sebastian, so I’ll start. How come you never knew your parents?” she asked as she ran her finger up and down my arm. “They left me on the steps of a church in Minneapolis when I was a week old with a note that said: ‘please take care of our son and find him a good home.’ A woman who worked at the church took me in and took care of me until I was three years old. She was older and died of a massive heart attack in her sleep. I then became the property of the State of Minnesota. I was in and out of numerous foster homes until I was ten years old, all of which were very bad situations. After the last foster home I was taken away from, I was put in a group home. That’s where I met Eli.” “I don’t understand? You were never adopted?” “No. The system was fucked up, Chloe. It’s not as bad now as it was all those years ago, but still. I had some problems and nobody wanted to adopt a kid that old who they considered trouble.” “What kind of problems?” I took in a deep breath. “I was a very angry child. I went into fits of rages, stole, drank, broke curfew, got arrested, and when I was sixteen, I was kicked out after smashing three of the windows in the house. They considered me an adult and sent me out into the world to live like one.” “My God, Sebastian. Did you go to school?” “Yeah. That was one area in life that I was really smart in. Even with everything I had been through, I always went to school and got good grades. When the group home kicked me out, I still went to school every day.” “Where did you live?” “In an abandoned house tucked away down a dirt road that nobody ever traveled on.” “How did you live? What did you do for money?” “I had some money working odd jobs while I was at the group home. Then, when I was kicked out, I worked for a man named Kurtis. He owned a small construction company. I worked for him every day after school and all day on Saturdays. He knew of my situation and he took a chance on me. He told me that if I screwed up, not only would he cut off my balls, but he’d make sure I never got another job in town. He was kind of scary.” I smiled. “I remember the first time he came to my house. He looked around and told me that I didn’t have to live like that. He said to use what skills he was teaching me and fix the place up. I asked him if he would help me and he told me no.” “Why? That was awfully rude of him.”

“He said that it was something I needed to do on my own.” “So did you?” “Yep. I worked on it after I did my homework at night and all day Sundays. I can’t even explain how I felt once it was finished.” “How long did it take you?” “Two years. I even redid the outside. I tore out bushes, chopped down a few trees, put up a white picket fence, and poured a new driveway.” “How on earth did you learn to do all that?” “I studied and did a lot of research. Plus, I knew a few people in the trade who gave me some tips.” “Remodeling a house is very expensive.” “Kurtis let me use a lot of the leftovers from the job sites and I would go to the scrap yard a lot and collect things. It kept me out of trouble.” “Kurtis must have been so proud of you. What did he say when he saw the house?” “He never saw the house. About six months before the house was finished, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was given a couple of months to live. He knew what he had but refused to go to the doctor. One day, he collapsed and ended up in the hospital. I remember standing at his bedside and him saying to me, “Son, you go get the deed to that house in your name. When it’s finished, sell it. You’ll make a killing off of it and all your hard work would have paid off. Take the money and get yourself settled somewhere. Make something of yourself. He gave me the name of his lawyer in case I had any trouble and then he passed away that night.” ****

Chloe I couldn’t stop the tears from filling my eyes as Sebastian told his story. What he had been through as a child was heartbreaking. Turning my body around so I was facing him, I ran my hand down his cheek. “I’m so sorry. That must have been very hard on you when he passed away.” “I couldn’t cry, Chloe. All I knew was that I was so angry at him for dying. I finished the house, graduated from high school, and sold it with the help of a realtor. I made a shitload of money.” “Now I’m sure that’s just nickel and dime to you.” I smiled.

“Yeah. It is.” He scrunched up his nose. “So then what happened?” I asked as I laid my head on his chest. “I bought another rundown house, fixed it up, sold it, and made a lot of money. I kept on doing that, and when I was twenty years old, I made my first million. When I was twenty-one, I made two million, and that’s when I moved here to New York and started Bennett Industries out the apartment I lived in.” “And you did that all by yourself?” “Yeah. With a little help from Eli. Like I said, we had met in the group home. He was taken away from his parents when he was ten years old because they were heavy drug users. He was the only friend I made and that’s because he was just as bad as I was. He was sent back to his parents when he was fifteen. They moved here to New York, but we still kept in touch almost every day.” “So that’s why you moved here? Because of Eli?” “Pretty much. I threw ideas at him and he encouraged me to make the move. Plus, the housing market here was on an upswing.” “How did he become your driver?” “He just wasn’t cut out for the business world and he knew it. But being my best friend, I had to do something. So I bought him a limo and hired him as my personal driver. I pay him very well and he’s happy. Once I started Bennett Industries and had a few more sold houses under my belt, I looked into businesses that were failing. I figured if I could do it with houses, I could do with businesses. I made connections with people, wined and dined them, and learned to play the game. I bought a company that was nearly bankrupt, brought in a team to help me get it back up and running, which cost me a lot of money, and then I sold it for more money than I ever imagined. And that’s what led me to be where I am today.” “You had to be happy about that?” I asked as I turned back around and snuggled against him. “About the company, yes. About the obscene amount of money, I made, yes. But I was still that angry boy whose parents abandoned him. I had no control over what happened to me back when I was a child, but when I was kicked out of the group home, I was free and I took control over my life and vowed never to let anyone try to control my life again.” I reached up and kissed his lips. “I have more questions, but we need to get out of this tub.” He chuckled. “Okay. Let me help you out.” Sebastian climbed out first and wrapped a towel around his waist. Holding out a towel for me, he

grabbed my hand and helped me, wrapping the towel around my body. “I think your cock bruised my back. All that hardness pushing against me.” His brow arched as he turned me around, lifted up the towel, and examined my back. “I don’t see any bruises. But maybe I should take a closer look just to be sure.” I shivered as he softly ran his tongue along my back, licking up and down my spine with long, smooth strokes. He placed his hand between my legs and cupped me down below. I swear I almost had an orgasm. When he dipped his finger inside me, I gasped. Fuck, he felt so good. My knees felt weak in anticipation for what was coming. He stood up, his finger exploring my insides as his hot breath trailed across my neck. “Does your back feel better?” he whispered. “Uh huh.” I let out a low moan. “I’ve missed you so much, and I’ve missed this.” “Me too,” I spoke breathlessly. I let the towel drop as he picked me up and set me on the bathroom counter, kissing me passionately. “I can’t wait any longer. I need to be inside you right now.” He pulled my hips forward and I wrapped my legs around him, forcing the towel off his hips. “I can’t wait either.” He thrust inside me and we both moaned. My insides were on fire with pleasure as he slowly moved in and out. Our eyes locked on each other’s as passion ignited within us. “You are so beautiful.” His lips trailed across my neck. “So are you.” My hands raked through his hair as I swelled around him. He gasped as he lifted me off the counter and carried me to the bed. Laying me down, his thrusting became faster as he hovered over me and his mouth explored my breasts. Moans between us grew louder as my body reached its peak and I fell into a cosmic orgasm. “Uh. Fuck, baby,” he moaned as his thrusting slowed and he exploded inside me. “Uh,” I moaned with him in pure ecstasy. Sebastian lowered his head and brushed his lips against mine before collapsing on top of me.

“Are you okay?” I lightly laughed. “I’m fine. I’m just paralyzed at the moment,” he mumbled against my neck. “Oh good. That makes two of us.”

Chapter 28 Chloe As I slipped into one of Sebastian’s t-shirts, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and we went down to the kitchen to grab something to eat. “Well, it doesn’t appear there’s much in here. How about we order in? What are you in the mood for?” he asked as he placed his hands on my hips and kissed my forehead. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever you’re in the mood for is fine.” “It doesn’t matter, Chloe. It’s up to you.” “Chinese?” “Sounds good. There’s a place that delivers a couple of blocks over.” After placing our order, Sebastian grabbed a bottle of wine while I took a seat at the island. “Thank you, Sebastian,” I spoke. “For what, baby?” he asked as he poured the wine. “For telling me about your past.” He gave me a small smile as he handed me the glass. “It felt good to tell you.” “I still have some more questions.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “What do you want to know?” “Why relationships were off the table for you?” He took in a sharp breath. “Because of the person I am, Chloe. What I experienced, how I grew up, everything. I want to be very honest with you.” His fingers brushed away some strands of hair from my forehead. “This. Us. It’s still very hard for me. What I’m doing is very new to me and I’m scared.” “What are you scared of?” “I’m scared of letting you down or not being good enough for you. I’m scared of not being there for you emotionally. It’s something I have to work on. I care about you, Chloe, and I don’t want to lose you.”

Standing up from the stool, I reached up and wrapped my arms around him. On the outside he was a confident man who stood tall and proud at what he’d accomplished, but on the inside, he was still a frightened, unloved little boy. “You have nothing to be scared of, Sebastian. When you care about someone, everything else comes naturally. You are more than good enough for me and I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. Okay?” The doorbell rang, so Sebastian kissed my head and went to answer it. Picking up my phone from the counter, I facetimed Sienna since I missed three calls from her and a text message saying: “You better be having great sex or dead.” “It’s about fucking time. Wait. Where are you? That’s not your apartment.” “I’m at Sebastian’s.” I smiled. “Why? Wait a minute. What are you wearing? Jesus, Chloe, did you two have sex?” “It’s a long story, but.” I smiled. “We are officially dating.” “As in a relationship?” “Yes. I have to go; he’s coming.” “I bet he is.” She grinned. “Shut up. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Sebastian walked into the kitchen with the bag of food and set it on the counter. “Did I hear you talking to someone?” he asked. “Yeah. I called Sienna since she called me three times and sent a text message.” “It seems like you two are glued at the hip.” He smiled. “We are. She’s more or less my sister. We share everything. So.” I got up from the stool and ran my finger down his chest. “If you date me, you’re getting her too.” “Ah. Does she do threesomes?” He winked. “Actually, she does.” His eyes widened. “I was kidding.” “I’m not.” I shrugged. “By the way, I want to thank you,” he spoke as he took the cartons of food to the table.

“For what?” “If I would have invested in that company, I would have lost millions. But thanks to you and Venus, I didn’t.” “What happened?” “Apparently, they had made a bad business decision they failed to tell me about when we were negotiating the contract.” “Oh. Idiots.” “Yes. Complete idiots.” “I’m glad I could help. If you ever have any more questions about the retrogrades, just let me know.” He chuckled. “I will.” After we ate, Sebastian grabbed the bottle of wine and our glasses and we went to the bedroom where we spent the rest of the night making love. ****

Sebastian What a beautiful way to start a Sunday morning. As I lay there, watching her sleep, my mind was reeling with ways to make up her birthday to her. I wanted to take her on another trip, but I wasn’t sure if she could get the time off work. I wanted to whisk her away somewhere beautiful and make a memory that neither one of us would ever forget. She stirred and opened her eyes. She lifted her head from my chest and looked at me with a smile. “Good morning,” she whispered. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?” “I did. And you?” She ran her finger across my lips. “Very well.” She laid her head back down on my chest as I tightened my arm around her. “Oh shit!” she exclaimed as she sat up quickly. “What?” “Today is my parents’ anniversary party. Would you like to come with me?” She grinned.

“How long have they been married?” I asked out of curiosity. “Oh, they aren’t married.” She cocked her head. “Huh?” I asked in confusion. “They never felt the need to validate their love by a piece of paper.” “I see. So this anniversary is what?” “Twenty-six years together. Say you’ll come.” I wasn’t very comfortable around a family setting, but I could tell that it meant a lot to her. So I agreed to go. “Thank you. You won’t regret it. Or you might. But it’ll be fun.” She leaned over and kissed my lips. Pulling her on top of me, I pushed my hard cock against her. “Feel that?” I asked. She flashed a beautiful smile. “It needs to be taken care of before we get out of this bed for the day.” I winked. “Oh really?” She reached her hand down and stroked me with her slender fingers. “Fuck, Chloe.” I shuddered. “Come on, big boy. Show me what you got.” Rolling her on her back, I hovered over her. She had just unleashed the beast inside me.

Chapter 29 Chloe “Hey, Eli.” I smiled as I walked into the kitchen. “Hello, Chloe. I was happy to get Sebastian’s call about driving you home. I take it the two of you are —” “Oh yeah.” I bit down on my bottom lip and smiled. “We certainly are.” He chuckled. “Where is he?” “In the shower. He told me everything last night.” “Good. I’m glad to hear that.” “Glad to hear what?” Sebastian asked as he walked into the kitchen. “Just that the two of you are together,” Eli replied. Sebastian placed his hands on my hips. “Eli is going to drive you home and then I’ll be by later to pick you up for your parents’ party. I have an errand to run.” “What kind of errand? I can go with you?” “No, no. You’d be bored. I’ll see you later.” He kissed my lips and walked out. “Huh. What’s he up to?” I narrowed my eye at Eli. He shrugged. “I have no idea, but I wouldn’t question him. Are you ready to go?” Stepping inside my apartment, I set down my purse and took a shower to start getting ready for the party. I was a little worried about what Sebastian would think of my parents’ friends. This wasn’t the type of party he was used to attending. There would be no fancy dresses, beautiful lighting, expensive champagne, fine food, or expensive table linens. Just a bunch of rowdy people who liked to party barefoot, listen to folk music, drink the cheapest beer money can buy, and smoke a little weed. I had just finished putting on my makeup and styling my hair when a text message from Sebastian came

through. “I’m downstairs. Buzz me in.” My heart fluttered. Even though it had only been a few hours, I already missed him. As he walked up the stairs, he whistled when he saw me standing at door. “You look so sexy.” He smiled as he kissed me. “Mhm. So do you.” I wrapped my arms around him. “Come on in. Did you get your errand done?” I asked as I headed to the bedroom. “I sure did.” He followed behind. “I have something for you.” “For me?” I smiled. “Why?” “Happy belated birthday, baby.” He handed me a small blue square box from Tiffany’s. “Sebastian.” I pouted. “You didn’t have to get me anything.” “Yes I did. Now don’t argue. Open it.” I untied the pretty blue bow and carefully removed the lid. “Oh, Sebastian.” Tears started to form in my eyes as I looked at the beautiful 18kt rose gold bracelet with a heart charm that displayed the letter “C” in diamonds. “This is gorgeous.” I took it out of the box and held it up. “Do you really like it?” “I love it. Wow. Thank you.” I brushed my lips against his. “You’re welcome. Let me help you put it on.” He took the bracelet from me and clasped it around my wrist. “It looks beautiful on you.” “You have excellent taste, Mr. Bennett. My wrist thanks you.” He let out a low growl as his lips traveled to my ear and his hand slipped up my short, silk robe. “Is that the only part of your body that thanks me? Because my hand seems to think otherwise.” I let out a gasp as his finger plunged inside me. “Every part of my body wants to thank you in every way possible, but we don’t have time right now.”

His lips hovered over mine. “Baby, all we need is a few minutes. Take your pick. The bed, the wall, the floor; it’s up to you.” He had me in a trance as his finger explored me and his hot breath swept over my face. His sultry eyes stared into mine with such passion that I couldn’t resist him. My hands reached down and undid his pants, sliding them off his hips while he untied my robe and pushed it off my shoulders. “The wall.” I smiled. “You have clearly read my mind.” He picked me up. As I wrapped my legs around his waist, he pushed my back up against the wall and pushed himself inside me, hard and deep. Moans escaped my lips as subtle grunts escaped his with each hard thrust. It didn’t take long for us to reach our peak and release ourselves to each other. **** When we stepped inside my parents’ apartment, they welcomed us with open arms. “Happy anniversary, parents.” I smiled as I hugged them. “Thank you, pumpkin.” My dad smiled and then turned his attention to Sebastian. “Nice to see you again, Sebastian.” He extended his hand. “Likewise, Larry. Happy anniversary.” My mom placed her hands on each side of Sebastian’s face. “Thank you for coming.” She smiled. “It’s my pleasure.” After introducing Sebastian to my parents’ friends, my dad strummed his guitar to get everyone’s attention. “I would like to say a few words. Twenty-six years ago today, I met the woman of my dreams. She was and still is the most beautiful woman in the world.” “Oh, Larry.” My mom smiled as she stood next to him. He turned to her and took hold of both her hands. “I love you, Ophelia, and these past twenty-six years have been incredible to share with you. The best part of all these years is the beautiful gift you gave me: our daughter, Chloe.” Tears sprang to my eyes as I sat there and listened to my dad. “I just want you to know that I can’t wait to spend another twenty-six years plus with you. You are my

shining star and I love you.” As I wiped a tear from my eye, Sebastian put his arm around me. My parents embraced each other tightly as everyone in the room cheered. “Chloe,” my dad spoke as he handed me his guitar, “the song we discussed.” With a smile, I got up, grabbed his guitar, and began to play “Only You” by Joshua Radin. Sebastian stood across the room and intently watched me as I sang with my father while the love my parents had for each other radiated throughout the room. After the party was over, I stayed back to help my mom clean up. “Chloe, I don’t want you to help. You go home with Sebastian. I’m sure the two of you are dying to have sex.” She smiled. “I’m good, Mom. We had sex all morning and right before we came.” Sebastian’s jaw dropped as he looked over at me. “Oh, Sebastian, don’t be embarrassed. I think it’s wonderful the two of you are together and having so much sex. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. The cohabitation between two people who love each other is a beautiful and nurturing thing.” Ah shit, she had to throw in the L word. I could tell by the look on Sebastian’s face that what she said bothered him, so I decided to listen to her and head home. As we were driving home, Sebastian made a comment that caught me off guard. “I think what your parents are doing is great.” “Which thing are you speaking of?” I asked. “The whole relationship thing without marriage. I mean, who needs that stupid piece of paper to be with someone for the rest of your life? If you’re happy with the way things are, why change it? Like they say, if it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it.” “I don’t know. I kind of disagree, but don’t tell them that.” “What do you mean you disagree?” “Marriage is the ultimate level of commitment. I think it’s too easy for people just to break up or walk away if they hit a bump in the road. It allows you to be fully committed to one person. I don’t know, Sebastian. I just believe in the whole concept of marriage.” “Your parents seem happy with the way things are.”

“Maybe they are, but I’m not. I’m still waiting for them to take it to the next level. But I know they never will, and in a way, I’m disappointed about it.” “Well, I think it’s great and I like the way they think,” he spoke. I was getting irritated and I wanted the subject dropped. He was trying to be subtle to let me know that marriage would never be an option. Was I okay with that? I wasn’t sure. It was too early in our relationship to even think that far ahead. I patted his arm. “I’m glad you like them.” He gave me a small smile and kissed my head.

Chapter 30 Sebastian Three Months Later… The past three months with Chloe had been the best three months of my entire life. I took her to Hawaii for a week to celebrate her birthday properly. It was just the two of us, sipping drinks, lying on the beach, having sinful amounts of sex, and exploring the beautiful sights Hawaii had to offer. We took turns staying at each other’s apartments. I had some of my things at her place and she had some of her things at mine. Life couldn’t be better. When she wasn’t around, I felt empty inside. I missed her every single minute of the day she wasn’t with me. While I was sitting in my office, Damien walked in. “Take a look at this and tell me if you think this would be a wise investment.” He handed me a manila folder and took a seat across from me. As I was reviewing the contents inside, Damien spoke, “Things seem to be going pretty good with you and Chloe.” “Yeah. They are.” I smiled as I looked up at him. “Have you told her that you love her yet?” I arched my brow at him, wondering why he was asking. “No. Why?” “Just wondering.” He shrugged. “Has she told you?” “Yeah. She’s said it a few times.” “And how do you respond?” “I give her a smile and say ‘me too.’” He rolled his eyes. “Come on, Sebastian. Really?” “I don’t need to say it. She knows I do.” “Obviously, you need a lesson in Romance 101. If you love someone, you want to tell her every day. I

tell Lina that I love her all the time. Women need to hear those words. It validates the relationship.” “That’s you. I’m just not comfortable saying it and our relationship doesn’t need validation.” “And how long do you think Chloe will accept that? What if something happened to her and you never told her you loved her?” I sighed. “Enough talk about me and Chloe, Damien. This company has potential, but I need more information.” I handed him back the file. He took it from me and got up from his seat. “Sorry, Sebastian. I just think Chloe is the best thing that’s happened to you and you need to make sure you hang on to her.” He walked out of my office. I did love her and she knew it, or at least I thought she did, but I found it hard to say the words. Not because I didn’t love her, but because I had never spoken those words to anyone before. Were they really necessary? Just like having a piece of paper to validate your relationship or commitment to each other? Picking up my phone, I sent her a text message. “Hi. I was just sitting here thinking about you.” “Hey, you. I’m thinking about you too. I miss you.” “I miss you more, baby. I’ll see you later.” “Can’t wait. I love you.” “Me too.” I sighed as I stared at the last words I sent her. Why was it so hard for me to tell her? ****

Chloe “Is that Loverboy?” Sienna asked as we sat and ate lunch. “Yes.” I grinned. “Has he said the big ‘L’ word yet?” “No. Whenever I tell him that I love him, he always replies with ‘me too.’ It’s really starting to bother me a little.” “Tell his dumb ass that.” She took a bite of her salad. Waving my hand in front of my face, I spoke, “Nah. I don’t want to start a fight or anything. He’ll

eventually come around and tell me.” “What? Did you just hear yourself? The two of you are in a hot and heavy relationship. He’s taken you on trips, given you expensive jewelry, and you have sex twice a day.” “Sometimes three.” I held up three fingers. “The point is, Chloe, he should have said it by now.” “He will.” I smiled. “When the time is right.” “You are too forgiving of a person.” After finishing lunch, Sienna went back to work and I headed to the art gallery. Climbing out of the cab, I saw Willie walking down the street. “Hey, Willie,” I yelled and gave him a wave. He stopped and waited for me. “Hey, Chloe.” He coughed. “Are you okay?” “Yeah. Just a little cold, nothing to worry about.” He coughed again. “Okay. You better take care of yourself. I’ll stop by and see you soon. I have to get back to work.” I smiled. I couldn’t stop thinking about Willie and how he didn’t look so good. After work, I ran to the drugstore and picked up some cough drops, a few bottles of water, and some cold medicine. “I bought you some medicine, Willie.” I held up the plastic bag as he sat up against the brick wall in the alley. “Chloe, you didn’t have to do that.” “Don’t be silly. You’re not feeling well and you need to take care of yourself. I also picked up your favorite candy bar.” “You’re too good to me. Thank you.” “You’re welcome. I have to go. Sebastian and I are going out and I have to get home and change.” “It makes me happy to see you so happy.” He smiled. “I am happy. See you later, Willie.” I waved.

As I walked up to my building, Eli pulled up and Sebastian climbed out of the limo. “Are you just getting home?” he asked as he gave me a kiss. “Yeah. I stopped by the drugstore after work and picked up some cold medicine for Willie. He’s not feeling well.” “Ah. That was nice of you.” “It won’t take me long to change. If you can behave yourself, I may even let you watch.” I grinned as I grabbed his tie and he followed behind. “Oh, I’m going to watch, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll behave. I can’t seem to do that when I’m around you.” After a nice dinner and a bottle of wine, we headed back to Sebastian’s penthouse. Lying in bed, his arms held me as my head lay on his muscular chest. This was where I belonged. “Hey, Sebastian,” I spoke as I stroked his chest. “Hmm?” he spoke. “I love you.” For a moment, there was silence and I thought for sure he was mustering up the courage to say it back. “Me too, baby.” He kissed the top of my head. “Now get some sleep.” A tiny piece of my heart broke when I heard him say that. Was I expecting too much from him too soon? Maybe I shouldn’t have been so free to tell him that I loved him when I did. I’d never forget the look on his face. We were in Hawaii and we were having dinner on the beach. The sun was setting and it was a magical moment; one of those moments that take your breath away. It was romantic and I got caught up in the scenery. But it was a moment that I would never regret. Telling him that I loved him made me incredibly happy. I wanted him to know because he had never been loved his whole life. But the more I said it, the deeper the cut in my soul became because he couldn’t bring himself to say it back. Closing my eyes, I tried to push it out of my mind. Tomorrow was a new day, and maybe, just maybe, it would be the day that he would tell me that he loved me too.

Chapter 31 Chloe Two Weeks Later I picked up the white stick that sat on the bathroom counter for the past five minutes. Holding it in my hand, tears started to fill my eyes as I stared at the blue plus sign displayed in the window. With a smile, I looked at my mom. “We’re having a baby!”

Chapter 32 Sebastian On the way to Chloe’s, I had Eli stop at the florist, where I picked up a dozen gerbera daisies in multiple colors. There was much celebrating to do tonight because I had just signed a deal that made my company millions of dollars. I wanted to take her out to celebrate, but she insisted on cooking me dinner. Which was fine. Just being with her was celebratory enough. When I stepped into her apartment, she greeted me with a hug and a passionate kiss, congratulating me on the deal. “Sebastian, you brought me daisies.” She smiled. “But I should be giving you something.” Following her into the kitchen, I spoke, “Trust me, baby, you will be giving me something after dinner.” I winked. She seemed to be in an exceptional mood. Don’t get me wrong, she was always in a good mood, but tonight, she seemed different. Opening the bottle of wine that was sitting on the counter, I poured some into two glasses and set them on the table. Halfway through dinner, I excused myself to the bathroom. While I was standing there taking a piss, my eyes happened to glance down at the small trashcan that sat next to the toilet. Reaching down, I pulled out the white stick that displayed a positive sign and my heart started racing out of control. Sweat formed on my forehead and I found it difficult to catch my breath. Pulling the box out of the trash, I read the words: EPT. Shock overtook my body as my hands started to shake. Throwing the box and the stick back in the trash, I shut the lid to the toilet and sat down, cupping my face in my hands. Chloe was pregnant and I didn’t know what to do. Was I happy about it? Hell no. I didn’t want kids. Not now, not ever. How the fuck did this happen? Chloe was on the pill. Did she do this on purpose? All kinds of crazy thoughts went through my head. Standing up, I took in a deep breath, grabbed my phone from my pocket, and calmly walked back to the table. “I’m sorry, Chloe, but I have to go.” “What? Why? What’s wrong?” she asked as she stood up. “I just got a call from Damien. Something about the deal and he needs me to come to the office. I’m sorry.”

“Okay. Will you be coming back?” “Probably not. I don’t know how long this is going to take and it could go really late. I’ll text you later.” I kissed her head and bolted out the door. Walking down the street, I called Eli. “Yes, Sebastian?” “Come get me. I’m around the block from Chloe’s apartment.” “What? Why?” “Just hurry up, Eli.” I ended the call. As I stood with my back up against the wall of Pizzapopolous, dazed and confused, I heard someone call my name. “Sebastian?” Connor smiled. “Oh. Hey, Connor. Ellery.” “What are you doing just standing here like this?” “Waiting for Eli.” “Where’s Chloe?” Ellery asked. “She’s at home. We were in the middle of eating dinner when I got a call from Damien. I have to go into the office,” I spoke nervously. “Ah. I hate those kinds of calls.” Connor smiled. “Well, good seeing you, my friend. Let’s have dinner one night; the four of us.” “Sure.” I gave him a nod. “You two have a good night.” Finally, Eli pulled up and I wasted no time climbing into the backseat. “What’s going on? Are you not feeling well? You look kind of pale.” “I don’t know.” I stared straight ahead. “Sebastian, what’s wrong? Did you and Chloe have a fight?” A fight. If only it were that simple. Taking in a deep breath, I looked at Eli. “Chloe’s pregnant.”

His eyes instantly darted to the rearview mirror. “What?” “I was going to the bathroom and I found the pregnancy test in the trash. It was positive.” “So she didn’t tell you?” “No. She didn’t get a chance. As soon as I saw it, I made up an excuse that Damien called and needed me at the office.” “You just ran out on her like that?” “I had to get out of there, Eli.” “What are you going to do?” “I don’t know. I haven’t even been able to tell her that I love her, let alone be a father to a kid.” “Be careful, Sebastian.” He slowly shook his head. “Careful is what I thought we were being. For fuck sake, she’s on the pill. How the fuck did this happen?” “I’m not surprised, with the way you two fuck like rabbits. Maybe she missed one or something. I’ve heard of it happening. People getting pregnant while on birth control.” “I can’t be something I’m not. I swear, if she did this on purpose…” “Oh come on, Sebastian. Chloe would never do something like that.” “I don’t know.” Eli pulled up to my building and followed me up to the penthouse. Pouring us a drink, I spoke, “I think I need to get out of town for a while and clear my head. I need to figure things out.” “And what are you going to tell Chloe?” “That I have an emergency business meeting.” “Lies are not good, Sebastian. They always come back to bite you in the ass. What you need to do is let her tell you that she’s pregnant and the two of you need to talk about it.” “I can’t. I’m in shock and I need to leave town for a while.” I threw back my drink and pulled out my phone, dialing my pilot. “Hello, Mr. Bennett.”

“Make sure the plane is ready tomorrow morning. I’m going to Seattle. I’ll be at the airport at eight a.m.” “Sure thing, Mr. Bennett.” Finishing the last sip of my drink, I set my glass down on the bar. “Be here tomorrow at seven o’clock,” I spoke to Eli. “I don’t think you’re doing the right thing.” “I don’t care what you think!” I shouted. “I need to clear my head.” He put his hands up. “It’s your life, Sebastian. It always has been. I’ll see you in the morning.” He walked out with an attitude. I waited a couple of hours before I sent Chloe a text message. “Hi. Listen, I need to fly out tomorrow morning for an emergency meeting in Seattle. I’ll be gone at least a week, maybe a little longer.” “Oh. Okay. I’ll miss you. There was something I wanted to tell you tonight, but it can wait until you get back.” “Okay. I’ll be in touch.” “I love you, Sebastian.” My heart sank as I read her last text message. I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. I grabbed the suitcase from my closet and began to pack. Once I was finished, I called Damien. “What’s up?” he answered. “I’m heading to Seattle tomorrow and I’ll be gone at least a week, if not longer. You are to oversee the company. This stays between us, Damien.” “Why are you going to Seattle?” “I just am and I don’t want to be bothered while I’m there unless it’s serious.” “Okay. Is Chloe going with you?” “No. I’m going alone and I don’t want to discuss it any further. Just do as I ask.” “Okay, Sebastian, but I will admit you have me a little worried.” “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be in touch.” I ended the call before he had a chance to say

anything.

Chapter 33 Chloe Two days had passed and I hadn’t heard a word from Sebastian. After sending him a few text messages with no response, I tried to call him, only for his phone to go straight to voicemail. Sitting at my desk and rereading his text messages from that night, a nervous feeling flooded my belly. When I told him that I loved him, he didn’t even respond with a “me too.” Nor did he tell me that he missed me. Something was off with him and it bothered me a great deal. When I dialed Sienna, she answered and held up her finger, telling me to hold on a sec. “What’s up, buttercup?” She smiled. “Can you come over tonight? I need to talk to you.” “Sure thing. Hey, are you okay?” She frowned. “I don’t really know. We’ll talk later.” “Okay. I’ll stop and pick us up a pizza on the way over.” I gave her a small smile. “Sounds good. I’ll have the wine or tequila waiting.” “Shit, Chloe. Tequila? Did something happen with Sebastian?” “I’m not sure. I have to go. I’ll see you later.” “Okay. Bye.” She pouted as she ended the call. Trying to keep as busy as possible, the work day finally ended and I headed home. Stepping into my apartment, I set my purse down and went into the bedroom to change. Sitting down on the bed, I glanced at the pile of change that sat upon it from Sebastian. I missed him and I couldn’t help this gnawing feeling inside me that something was wrong. After changing into my sweatpants and a tank top, I buzzed up Sienna and watched as she walked up the steps with a pizza box and a brown bag in her hand. “What did you bring?” I asked as I took the pizza box from her. “I get the impression comfort food is in order, so I stopped at the store and picked up some cookie dough ice cream and a dozen cupcakes from your favorite bakery.” “Aw, thanks.”

She followed me into the kitchen and put the ice cream in the freezer. “So tell me what’s going on?” Taking down two plates, I took them to the table. “I haven’t heard from Sebastian in two days.” “Well, maybe he’s really busy and hasn’t had a chance to call you.” “Too busy to send his girlfriend a text before he goes to bed at night? I tried calling him and it appears his phone is turned off.” “Huh?” She twisted her face. “Why would he turn off his phone?” “I don’t know. Something isn’t right, Sienna.” I took a bite of my pizza and threw the slice on the plate, pushing it away. “I don’t feel like eating right now.” “Okay. Let’s go back to the night he was over for dinner. You said that Damien called him and said that he needed him back at the office.” “Yes, and then he texted me a couple of hours later saying that he needed to fly to Seattle for an emergency meeting and that he’d be gone for at least a week if not longer.” “Why wouldn’t he call you and tell you that? I would think that was something he would want to tell you over the phone, not via text.” “I really didn’t think anything about it. But I told him that I loved him and he didn’t respond back at all.” “If you want my honest opinion,” she spoke as she chewed her food, “I think he has a multiple personality disorder.” I sighed as I rolled my eyes. “He does not.” “Eat your pizza. I have to go to the bathroom.” She pushed my plate towards me. “If you don’t eat your dinner, you can’t have any ice cream.” She grinned. Picking up my pizza, I took a small bite and slowly chewed it as I thought about Sebastian. A few moments later, Sienna walked back to the table. “Umm, Chloe.” I glanced up at her as she stood there holding the pregnancy stick in her hand. “You said that Sebastian went to the bathroom in the middle of dinner. I think I found the reason he ran

out of here so fast.” She held up the stick. My eyes widened and my heart started racing. “Oh my God, he thinks I’m pregnant.” I placed my hand over my mouth. “I would say so. You hadn’t told him yet that your mom is pregnant?” “No. I didn’t have a chance to. We were talking about that business deal of his. I was going to tell him after.” “I could totally understand why he thought it was you. I mean, come on. I never would have thought in a million years your mom would get pregnant again.” “You and me both.” As the confusion and sadness was swept away by the tide, an anger roared throughout my body. Getting up from the table, I walked over to the counter and downed a shot of tequila. Slamming my fists on the counter, I looked at Sienna. “So he just ran away?” I yelled. “Like a fucking coward? Instead of asking me or talking to me about it, he took off?” My voice raised so loudly that I was sure the whole building heard. “Calm down there, tiger.” She put her hands up. “But it looks that way.” “FUCK HIM!” I shouted as I threw the vase of daisies he gave me at the wall and it shattered all over the floor with water spilling everywhere. “Okay. Seriously, Chloe, calm down. This isn’t like you. Take a deep breath. Come on. Deep breath,” she spoke as she breathed in and out. Following her lead, I took in several deep breaths to try and calm myself. After about the fourth one, my heart started to settle down. “That a girl.” She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m sorry he sucks. You need to tell him that you aren’t pregnant.” “I’m not telling him anything. If he thinks I’m pregnant, let him think it. It’s over between us for good. He showed his true colors with this and it’s something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him for.” “Come, let’s sit down on the couch and be rational about this.” She took hold of my arm and walked me to the couch. “Are you defending him?” I narrowed my eyes at her. “No. I’m not defending him at all. What he did was a total douchebag move. But aren’t you the one

who said that he was broken inside? You knew exactly what you were getting into when the two of you became a couple. This shouldn’t shock you.” “But it does! He turned his back on his child and the mother of his child. A woman he supposedly loves.” She held up her finger. “Now remember, he never told you that he loved you. He just always said ‘me too,’ which, if you stop and think about it, he’s actually saying he loves himself too.” “Ugh! You aren’t helping!” I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. “He grew up without a family. His parents abandoned him and now he did the same thing.” A tear formed in my eye. “Hold up. You’re not even pregnant, so technically, he didn’t abandon his child because a child does not exist.” “But to him it does. He thinks I’m pregnant, so he ABANDONED his child!” I yelled. “Stop yelling at me, Chloe. Meditate, do something.” As I shook my head, the tears in my eyes began to fall down my face. “I can’t believe he would do something like this. I thought I knew him, but obviously I don’t.” “Aw, sweetie,” she whispered as she placed her hand on my arm. “You do know him and you know how he struggles with relationship things. I mean, he’s trying so hard and now he thinks you’re pregnant and he got scared. You know what babies men are.” “So you are defending him?” “No. I’m just trying to make you see it from his point of view. He never had a family and now he has this amazing girlfriend who loves him to the ends of the earth and then here comes baby. Instant family. He’s scared, Chloe.” “I guess you’re right, but I DON’T GIVE A SHIT!” “There you go with the yelling again.” “I’m done. I don’t deserve this. I’m a good person, Sienna.” “Of course you are. You’re the sweetest, most kind hearted, and giving person I know. But I still think you need to tell him you’re not pregnant.” “No.” I shook my head. “He can think it all he wants. I’m done with him. Finished.”

“And what are you going to do when he gets back and wants to talk?” “He doesn’t get to talk. He lost that right the minute he walked out my door. If it’s so easy for him to stay away from me for a week or so, then it’ll be a fuck of a lot easier to stay away the rest of his life.” “Chloe, I’m worried. This doesn’t even sound like you.” “I’m hurt, Sienna. Don’t you understand that?” She kissed the side of my head. “Of course I do. But you don’t have a mean bone in your body. You never have.” “Maybe that’s my problem. I’ve let too many guys walk all over me all these years. Not this time. He made his bed over an assumption and now he can rot in it.” She heavily sighed as she tried to comfort me. “I think you mean he can sleep in it.” “No. He can rot for all I care. In fact, where’s my phone?” I stormed off the couch and into the kitchen. “Chloe, what are you doing?” Sienna asked in a panicked voice. When I dialed Sebastian’s number, it went straight to voicemail. “Sebastian, it’s Chloe. I know why you left New York. I just had to tell you that. Because letting you know that I know in some weird way gives me a sense of peace. When you decide to come back, don’t call me, come to my apartment, the art gallery, nothing. It’s over between us. I will erase every memory we ever made and I will move on with my life. I suggest you do the same. And by the way, if you follow me again like you did last time, I will get a restraining order against you! Consider yourself warned.” “Jesus, Chloe. I can’t believe you just did that,” Sienna spoke as she stood across the room with her mouth hanging open. “Sienna, I love you, but I need to be alone right now.” “Are you sure? I can stay the night.” “No.” I gave her a gentle smile. “Go home to Sam and I’ll call you tomorrow.” “Okay.” She pouted as she walked over and gave me a tight hug. “If you need me, call.” As soon as she left, I locked the door, started the water for a bath, climbed in the tub, and cried myself into oblivion.

Chapter 34 Sebastian I was sitting at the bar in the Terrence Lounge when I finally decided to listen to Chloe’s message. My heart shattered into a million pieces hearing her say those words to me. I spent my mornings running along the water and my days sitting on a bench in Waterfront Park, thinking and watching couples walk by hand in hand, kissing and smiling. I paid even closer attention to those couples pushing their babies in strollers. I watched a father as he held his crying baby, trying to calm down his son. I spent my nights sitting at the same bar, drinking my worries and problems away. Being away from her was so hard. I missed her touch, the feel of her soft skin, and the way her nose wrinkled every time she laughed. But what I missed most was hearing her say that she loved me. And now I would never hear those words again because of what I’d done. I could tell by the tone in her voice that she hated me. She was hurt that I left and somehow she figured out why. Lies always do come back to bite you in the ass. “Another bourbon, my friend?” the young bartender asked with a smile. “Sure. Why not.” “You’ve been in here the past four nights. Are you from around here?” “Nah. I’m from New York.” “Ah, I love New York. Bartended there for a couple of years.” “Oh yeah? Why did you move to Seattle?” “My girlfriend is from here. We met in New York when she attended NYU. It was love at first sight. She found out she was pregnant right when she took a job here in Seattle. So I moved with her. We’re getting married next month.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “This is my little angel, Christina.” “She’s beautiful.” “She’s my pride and joy. Her and her mother. Two best things that ever happened to me my whole life.” “Congratulations.” “Thanks, man. How about you? Do you have a family back home?”

“No.” I shook my head. “In fact, my girlfriend just broke up with me over voicemail.” “Ouch. Sorry to hear that.” Just as he was about to walk away, his phone rang. “Hey, baby. I was just talking about you. Okay, I’ll pick some up on the way home. I love you too, baby. Tell my angel that Daddy will home in a couple of hours.” Finishing off my drink, I headed back to the hotel and climbed into bed. As I was scrolling through the pictures of us in Hawaii, I came across one that was more special than any others I had. The picture of Chloe sleeping that first night in London. I took it before I left that morning. She didn’t know I took it and she still didn’t know to this day. I traced my finger over her picture as if magically, she’d appear in bed next to me. I looked at that picture every night after London, wondering if I would have stayed if things would have been different. But now, she hated me and threatened to get a restraining order if I came near her. Nonetheless, she was pregnant with my child and that was the one thing she couldn’t keep from me. I knew what I had to do and, in a couple of days, I would return home to claim what was mine. ****

Chloe By time I dragged my sad, sorry ass out of bed, it was one o’clock. The only reason I did was because my parents decided to drop by. “What’s going on with you?” my mom asked with worry. “We ran into Sienna this morning and she asked if you had talked to us yet, but she wouldn’t tell us anything else.” “You okay, pumpkin?” my dad asked. I sighed as I went to the kitchen to make some tea. “Sebastian thinks I’m the one who’s pregnant. He found the test in the bathroom and flew out of here as fast as he could. He left town and I haven’t heard from him since.” “Oh, sweetheart. Come here.” My mom held out her arms. I should have broken down and cried in her arms, but the truth was, I had cried so much the past couple of days that I didn’t have any tears left in me. “Why would he do something like that without talking to you?” my dad asked. “Oh. I don’t know. Maybe because he’s an asshole.” “Now, Chloe. What have I taught you about calling people names?”

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a couple of tea bags and put them in the teacups. “Sounds to me like he’s running scared,” my dad spoke as he reached in the fridge for a beer. “I’ll have a talk with him.” “No, Dad. I broke up with him.” “But you’re not even pregnant,” my mom said. “I know that, but he thinks I am and instead of talking to me, he took the cowardly way out and left. I’m taking that as a sign for the future. The universe is telling me to run as fast as I can away from him.” “No. I don’t believe that.” My mom shook her head. “The two of you are meant to be together. That’s why you found each other again when you moved back here.” “Well, he hurt me, again, and I’m not playing anymore. This game hurts me, Mom. It hurts so bad that I don’t know how long it’s going to take for me to fully recover because I loved him so much.” “You know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder,” my dad chimed in. “Maybe he’ll come back groveling on his hands and knees, begging you for forgiveness.” “I doubt it. I told him that if he ever came near me again, I’d file a restraining order against him.” “Oh, Chloe.” My mom placed her hand on my face. “Enough talk about Sebastian. It’s over, so get used to it. We have other things to focus on, like my baby brother or sister.” I smiled as I placed my hand on my mom’s belly. Monday morning had arrived and it was the start of a new week. I set my alarm earlier than usual so I could meditate before heading to work. It was a new day. A day where I would renew my soul and create a peaceful mind. A mind that was free from any thoughts of him. He would now become a distant memory of a love I once had. A man who made me feel like I was the only woman on the face of the earth but also a man who broke my heart in two. Just as I prepared myself to meditate, my phone rang and it was Sienna. When I answered it, she was brushing her teeth. “Oh good. You’re up. Sam brought up a good point last night.” She paused to spit in the sink. “It’s a new day, Sienna. I don’t want to hear any points. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m getting ready to meditate before work.” “‘Ello, Chloe.” Sam appeared on the screen. “Good morning, Sam.” I sighed. “Okay, so you know how you broke it off with Sebastian?”

“Yes.” “Well, he isn’t going anywhere because he thinks you’re carrying his child. So, he’s going to be checking on you from time to time to see how you’re doing.” “And you know this how, Sam?” “Because I’m a guy, Chloe. We all think alike. You better prepare that pretty little head of yours because you ain’t seen the last of him. The only way that’s going to happen is if you tell him you’re not pregnant.” So much for my renewed soul and peaceful mind. “I have to go, Sam. Thanks for the little pep talk.” I gave him a thumbs-up. “No problem, love. Have a good day.” “Talk to you later, Chloe.” Sienna waved in the background. As I was unpacking some new paintings that arrived, I heard a familiar voice say my name. “Chloe.” I stood as if I was frozen in time, unable to move. My heart began to rapidly beat and my palms started to sweat. Staring down at the large wooden carton, I spoke, “Go away, Sebastian. It’s over.” “We need to talk.” “And we could have, but your time expired and now, you don’t get to talk to me.” “You need to listen to what I have to say, Chloe.” I spun myself around out of anger and stared into the eyes of a man that I so deeply loved. “You shouldn’t have left. You should have talked to me that night when you saw the pregnancy test. You should have texted me back or at least called me. I would have explained everything to you. But you didn’t. You shut me out of your life for a week. We were in a relationship. You don’t do that to someone you care about.” Tears filled my eyes. “I was scared. I panicked and I needed to clear my head.” “And what about me? Didn’t you think that I would be scared? That maybe I needed you more than ever? Did you ever once stop to think about someone other than yourself?” Suddenly, Gregory walked upstairs. “Umm. Can you two keep it down? We have customers in the gallery.”

“Sorry, Gregory.” I went into my office and Sebastian followed. “I thought about you every second of every day. You are a permanent thought in my head. But, Chloe, the thought of having a baby scared the shit out of me. You know me and you know my past. I had to question whether or not I could even be a good father. I know nothing about kids. Hell, I’ve never even held a baby before and I’m terrified. I’ve already let you down several times and the thought of letting my kid down sent me over the edge.” “Well, guess what? I’m going to put your mind at ease. I’m not pregnant.” I threw my hands out to the side. “What? What do you mean you’re not pregnant?” “I’M. NOT. PREGNANT.” “So you lied to me?” he spoke with seriousness. “Lied to you? How the fuck could I lie to you when I never told you that I was pregnant!” I shouted. “But the test was in your garbage.” “Yes, because my mom is the one who’s having a baby. Not me, you idiot. I couldn’t wait to tell you that night, but you never gave me the chance to. From the minute you walked through the door, it was all about the deal you made, which was fine, but then you saw the test and ran out of my apartment like the coward you are. All of this could have been avoided. But you know what? I’m happy it happened this way because it was sign. A sign that we shouldn’t have a future together.” “Chloe, you don’t mean that.” “Just like you didn’t mean to walk out on me, Sebastian, when you thought I was pregnant? Do you remember that day in the park when you told me that it could never work between us? Well, you were right.” I grabbed my phone and my purse and stormed out of my office. “Chloe!” Sebastian shouted. “I love you.” I stopped for a brief moment, took in a deep breath, and walked down the stairs and out of the gallery. Hearing those words finally come from him should have made me happy but instead they cut into my heart like a sharp blade. I didn’t care that he said it. I was so blinded by anger and hurt that I couldn’t see or think straight. I was headed to God knows where as I hurried down the street, just wanting to get away from him for the fear if I stayed and listened to him any longer, I’d fall back into his arms.

After about thirty minutes, I headed back to the gallery. Stepping inside, I looked around and Gregory came walking up to me. “Is he still here?” I asked. “No. He left right after you did. What the hell is going on between you two?” “Long story and I apologize for what happened. It’ll never happen again.” Gregory hooked his arm around me and smiled. “No worries, Chloe.”

Chapter 35 Sebastian I wasn’t taking no for an answer. She still loved me. I could see it in her eyes and now I needed to do everything in my power to try and get her back. Chloe Kane missing from my life wasn’t an option. Now I was on a mission, but I’d give her a few days to settle down, clear her head, and then I’d make my move. We were meant to be together and that was exactly what we were going to be. While in Seattle, I made a self-discovery and finally realized my purpose in life. It wasn’t to run a billion-dollar company. My purpose in life was to love Chloe and take care of her both physically and emotionally, and that was exactly what I planned to do. I finally felt free by accepting the overwhelming feelings I had for her. My fears of hurting her and letting her down dissipated. Some were still there, but once I focused on my true feelings and what really mattered, I had finally stopped being my own worst enemy. Stopping at the florist before heading to the office, I ordered eight dozen gerbera daisies, all in beautiful glass vases to be delivered to her office tomorrow. “Would you like to include a card?” the saleswoman asked. “No.” I gently smiled. “She’ll know who they’re from. I want them delivered one dozen every hour.” “That’s really sweet. She’s going to love it.” “I hope so.” I winked as I walked out of the shop. I should have felt down about what happened earlier, for the things she said and the hurt and sadness that resided in her eyes. But I didn’t because I was going to take away her pain and sadness and give her a life of love and happiness. She deserved the world and I was the one who was going to make sure she got it. I wasn’t worried about her rejecting me. She just needed time, like I did, and I would respect that and give her what she needed, even if it took days, weeks, months, or years. I wasn’t going anywhere and when she was ready, she’d be back in my arms forever. Once I had her, I was never letting go.

Chapter 36 Chloe After work, I had locked myself away in my apartment while I ate a pint of cookie dough ice cream and watched The Notebook. Tears streamed down my face, and suddenly, I became a blubbering mess. Being in the fragile emotional state I was in, maybe that wasn’t the best choice of a movie to watch. I threw the ice cream carton away and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Opening the drawer, I saw that his toothbrush still lay next to mine, as did his deodorant, shaver, shaving cream, and the stupid tube of Colgate toothpaste because he didn’t like the kind I had. “UGH!” I balled my fists. I quickly made my way to the hall closet where I stored a couple of small boxes. Grabbing one, I threw all of his things from the bathroom in it. Walking over to my dresser and opening the drawer, I took out all the clothes he had kept here for when he spent the night. My mind was at full speed and I couldn’t seem to control myself. Slipping on my slippers and throwing a light coat over my pajamas, I grabbed the box and hailed a cab to his penthouse. Upon entering the building, the doorman stopped me. “Miss Kane, are you all right?” “Just peachy, Jeffrey. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to give Mr. Bennett his things.” “Here, let me get the elevator for you.” “Thank you.” I nodded. Stepping off the elevator, I set the box down and began to walk away. I stopped halfway down the hall when the thought that someone might steal his things crossed my mind. Would I care? Yeah, I would, so I walked back, rang the doorbell, and quickly walked away. I wasn’t fast enough when I heard the door open and Sebastian call my name. “Chloe?” Shit. Double shit. I turned around and saw him standing there in his pajama bottoms and a tight fitting t-shirt. The way his shirt hugged his muscular body always got me.

“You brought my stuff back in your pajamas?” “Yes! I wanted it out of my apartment.” “And you couldn’t wait until morning, why?” “Because. I wanted it out now.” The corners of his mouth curved upwards. “Since you’re here, I can give you your things.” “No. You can drop them off at my apartment when I’m not home. Preferably when I’m at work. In fact, you can just have Eli do it. Good night, Sebastian.” I turned and walked away. I heard him snicker. “Good night, Chloe.” And then the door shut. Why the fuck was he snickering? Better yet, why was he smiling? When I reached the lobby, I gave Jeffrey a wave. “Do you feel better now, Miss Kane?” “Yes. Much better.” I hailed a cab and headed home. ****

Sebastian Shutting the door, I couldn’t help but laugh. That was my girl. Some people would have found it strange that she came all the way here in her pajamas to drop off my things, but not me, I expected nothing less of her. That was one of the things I loved about Chloe; she was unpredictable and the most adorable girl I had ever known. I set the box down in the hallway. There was no way I was packing up her stuff because there was no need to. She’d be back and they’d be here waiting for her. If it made her feel better to drop my things off in the late hours of the night in her pajamas, then so be it. As long as she felt better, that was all that mattered. ****

Chloe Stepping into the gallery at approximately eight fifty-five, I was running a little late because I decided to make a Starbucks run for all of us. “Thank you, Chloe.” Gregory and the rest of the crew smiled. “Today’s going to be a fantastic day.” I grinned.

As I was walking up the stairs to my office, I heard, “I have a delivery for Chloe Kane.” Turning around, I saw a man standing there with a vase full of gerbera daisies. Rolling my eyes, I asked Gregory to sign for them and bring them up. I knew who they were from. I could have easily told the delivery guy to take them back, but they were so pretty and would look so nice in my office. Just because they were from him, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t about to send perfectly good flowers away. It was ten o’clock and as I was sitting at my desk, Gregory walked in. “Another delivery for you.” He smiled. “Again?” I asked as I looked at the brightly colored red gerbera daisies. “Where would you like them?” “Just put them over there.” I pointed towards the window. This went on all day. At the start of each hour, a new bouquet was delivered. It was a little after four o’clock when Connor walked into my office. “What the hell happened in here? Are you secretly running a florist?” He smiled. I sighed. “Sebastian.” “Ah. I see. I take it that he’s trying to make amends,” Connor spoke as he sat down. “He can try all he wants. It’s not happening.” “If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly did he do?” “It’s a long story, so I’ll give you the shortened version. He thought I was pregnant and then he took off to Seattle and I didn’t hear from him for days. He lied to me, he ignored my calls and texts, and now he thinks he can just waltz back into my life as if his leaving based on something that wasn’t true was no big deal.” “Can I give you a little bit of advice?” He smiled. “Sure. Why not?” I spoke in a sarcastic tone as I leaned back in my chair. “Sometimes, we men get scared and make stupid decisions. Hell, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve done some really stupid things where Ellery was concerned. So stupid that it threatened our relationship more times that I care to recall.” “Really? But you two are so perfect.”

“Thank you. We are perfect, aren’t we?” He grinned. “But we weren’t always perfect. We had our troubles along the way and we both made our share of huge mistakes. What I’m trying to say, Chloe, is that making mistakes is how relationships grow and it’s what makes them stronger. If I had given up on Ellery or she had given up on me, we never would have made it to where we are today. Sometimes we have to step outside the box and take a look at the bigger picture. Once you do that, you’d probably see that more good can come from it than standing inside that little box. Does that make sense?” Narrowing my eyes at him, I spoke, “Yeah. I think it does. So you’re basically saying that it’s okay for him to continuously hurt me and I should just take it.” I smiled. “God no. That’s not what I’m saying at all. You love Sebastian and he loves you. I see it in his expression every time you two are together. People tend to do stupid things because they love the other person so much that it frightens them. But it’s those things that strengthen the bond between two people, unless one of them cheated. Now that’s a different story. You always see the good in people when everyone else only sees the bad. That’s the first thing I noticed about you when you first came to work for me. In fact, I do believe you and Ellery were related in a past life.” “How did you get so wise?” I asked. “By making tons of stupid mistakes in my relationship. Just ask Ellery.” He sighed. “Actually, don’t ask her because it would just make me look like a complete ass.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks, Connor. I appreciate your advice.” He got up from his seat. “You’re welcome. Oh. I stopped by to drop off a couple of Ellery’s paintings. I left them down with Gregory.” “Great. I’ll get them up before I leave.” “Enjoy the rest of your evening, Chloe.” He winked. “You too, Connor.”

Chapter 37 Sebastian It had been almost two weeks since I last saw Chloe. I still smiled when I thought about her standing in the hallway of my building in her pajamas. I respected her wishes and didn’t try to contact her. I was still giving her time and we’d cross paths again when the time was right. I had just finished a business lunch and was walking down the street back to the office, when my phone beeped with a text message from Damien. Quickly responding and looking down, I bumped shoulders with someone. “I’m—Chloe.” I spoke in shock. “Sebastian.” “Hello, Sebastian.” Ophelia smiled. “Hello there, Ophelia. It’s nice to see you again. By the way, congratulations.” “Why, thank you.” I couldn’t take my eyes off Chloe. “Do you have the day off?” I asked her. “I took a half day. We went crib shopping.” “Sounds fun. Well, I need to get back to the office. It was good seeing you, Chloe.” “Yeah. Good seeing you too, Sebastian.” Ophelia placed her hand on my arm before I walked away. “You should come to my yoga class on Sunday. It starts at nine o’clock. I think you’d enjoy it. There are other men in the class, so you don’t have feel embarrassed about being there. Many corporate men do yoga. Did you know that?” “No. Actually, I didn’t.” “It’s a great stress reliever. Plus, it helps you to connect with your spiritual being. It clears your mind and opens the gate to better clarity. What happens when your mind is clear and your body is free of stress?”

“What?” I smiled. “You’re able to allow new ideas and better decision making to flow through.” “Maybe I will.” “Aw, that would be great. Wouldn’t it, Chloe?” “I don’t know. I can’t see you doing yoga.” She looked at me. “It never hurts to try new things. It was nice seeing you both, but I have to get back to the office.” When I stepped into my office, Damien was sitting behind my desk. “Hey. Have you ever taken a yoga class?” “A couple of times. Why?” “I was just wondering. Someone told me that a lot of corporate men take it.” “Are you thinking about taking one?” he asked. “I don’t know.” “Does this have anything to do with Chloe?” “No.” “Liar!” He laughed as he got up from my chair. “Do what you have to do to prove to her that you still love her and want her back. If that means taking a yoga class, then do it.” It was Sunday morning, and while I showered, I tried to think about what to wear to yoga class. I couldn’t believe I was actually going, but I was doing it for Chloe. Okay, I was doing it for me too. Being able to see her, even if it was only for an hour, was better than not seeing her at all, no matter what the circumstances were. I had no clue what to wear as I stared inside all my opened drawers. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I decided to suck it up and send a quick text message to Chloe. I highly doubted she would respond, but it was worth a try. “Good morning. I’m sorry to bother you but I have a quick question. What does one wear to a yoga class?” “LOL. You’re actually coming?” “Yes. I could use some mental clarity at the moment.” “Wear your black athletic pants that are in the second drawer to the left and the matching black tshirt that is hanging in your closet towards the back by your casual pants.”

“Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” Her “LOL” made me smile. The fact that she could laugh about me coming to her mother’s yoga class told me that maybe, just maybe, the hate she had for me was starting to disappear. I couldn’t wait to see her. When I wasn’t up all night thinking about her, I was dreaming about her. ****

Chloe What was he up to? He would be the last person on this earth that I ever expected to see at a yoga class. Just as I was about to walk out the door, my phone rang, and it was Sienna. When I answered it, I narrowed my eyes at her. “Why are you still in bed? We have yoga in ten minutes.” “I can’t make it today. I’m sorry.” She pouted. “Me and Sam did our own yoga last night and now I can’t seem to get out of bed.” “Me either,” Sam mumbled. I sighed. “I packed the picnic basket.” I held it up. “Please forgive me. I promise I’ll make it up to you.” “Yeah. We’ll make it up to you,” Sam mumbled. “Go back to bed. I’ll call you later.” “Love you, buttercup.” “Love you, beautiful friend.” “Love you both too.” I sighed. When I arrived at the center, I looked around for Sebastian and didn’t see him. Setting my mat down on the floor, I heard his voice next to me. “Do you mind if I do yoga here?” He smiled. Ugh. Why the fuck did he have to look so sexy? His black athletic pants and the black t-shirt that clung to his body sent shivers down my spine. “No. Feel free. There’s a mat over there.”

“Ah. I guess I would need one of those.” I let out a soft giggle as he walked over and grabbed a mat. This was going to be good. Once class was over, I looked over and Sebastian was lying down on the mat. “Class is over,” I spoke. “You can get up now.” “Actually, I can’t seem to move.” Laughing, I held out my hand. He moaned as he got up from the mat. “That is a lot harder than it looks.” “It can be challenging.” I smiled. “So what did you think, Sebastian?” “I feel very stress relieved, Ophelia.” “Good. I’m glad to hear that.” She grinned. “Well, I’m going to take off, Mom,” I spoke as I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you later. Bye, little sibling.” I placed my hand on her growing belly. “Bye, sweetheart. Thanks for coming, Sebastian.” “Thank you for suggesting it.” I grabbed the picnic basket I had sitting on the shelf in the back of the room. “Going on a picnic?” Sebastian asked as he pointed to the basket. “Yeah. Sienna was supposed to be here and then the two of us were going to have a girls’ day at the park, but she had to cancel.” “Why?” he asked as he held the door open for me. “Apparently, she and Sam did their own yoga last night and now neither one of them can get out of bed.” Sebastian chuckled. “I can understand that. I think. I’m going this way.” He pointed to the right as I headed left. “Have a nice day and enjoy your picnic.” “Thanks.” I gave a small smile. What the hell was I doing? Get it out of your head, Chloe. “Hey, Sebastian?”

He stopped walking and turned around. “Yeah?” “You wouldn’t by any chance want to come with me, would you? I mean, I packed all this food and I would hate to let it go to waste, considering there are so many starving people in this world.” “Are you sure?” He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Yeah. I’m sure.” “I would love to join you.” He smiled. “Then let’s go. We can walk since it’s such a beautiful day.” We walked to Central Park and set up on the Great Lawn. Sebastian helped me spread out the blanket and then we took off our shoes and made ourselves comfortable. “It’s a beautiful day,” I spoke as I took in the sun that was beating down on me. “It sure is. We’re not going to have too many days like this left.” “I know. Before you know it, Mother Nature will blow in the snow, cold, and ice.” Being here with him reminded me of times not too long ago. It felt weird because, as well as I knew him, and after all the things we had done together, it felt like we were two strangers sitting next to each other. I took to heart the conversation that Connor and I had a couple of weeks ago. Sebastian hadn’t tried to contact me at all and I had wondered if he’d moved on with his life. It was gnawing at me, so I had to ask. “So what have you been doing since you got back from Seattle?” “Mainly working.” “Sounds boring.” I smiled as I opened the picnic basket and took out the sandwiches and fruit. “What have you been up to?” “Not much. Just work, dinner with my parents, and an occasional night with Sienna and Sam.” “Sounds fun. Your mom is really starting to show.” “I know.” I took a bite of my sandwich. “I really can’t believe she’s pregnant. How old is she again?” “Forty-six. It’s going to be weird to have a little brother or sister who is twenty-five years younger than me.”

“I bet. Just think, when he or she is twenty-five, you’ll be the big five-o.” “Weird.” I slowly shook my head and he laughed. We continued our conversation, both of us treading carefully as not to bring up the subject of us. After a couple of hours, I found myself not wanting to leave him.

Chapter 38 Sebastian Having a picnic with her in Central Park on such a beautiful day was more than I could ask for. I had missed her so much and being with her, even though we were no longer together, made me fall in love with her even more. It took every bit of control I had in me not to grab her mouth and kiss her beautiful soft lips. It was difficult for me because I wanted to touch her so badly. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her that we could be us again, but I knew she wasn’t ready. “Thank you for the sandwiches and fruit.” I gave her a smile. “You’re welcome. Thank you for joining me.” “My pleasure. I’m just sorry Sienna bailed on you. By the way, how long is Sam staying?” “I guess forever.” She laughed. “He applied for permanent residency in the U.S.” “That’s good, right?” “Sienna seems to really love him and he loves her. So, it’s good.” “What about his family?” “When his mom and dad divorced a few years back, his mom moved to Germany and his dad moved to Scotland with the woman he was cheating on his mom with.” “And his job?” “Up and quit. He’s going to find work here, eventually.” Looking in the picnic basket, I saw she had quite a bit of food left over. “You sure packed a lot for just you and Sienna.” “Yeah. I packed a few extra things because on my way home, I’m going to stop and give the rest to Willie and his friends.” The corners of my mouth curved upwards as I stared into her eyes. “That’s a good idea. I’m sure they would be very grateful. Would you mind if I came with you?”

“Not at all. By the way, Willie told me that a guy named Sebastian has been stopping by and giving him a few dollars here and there.” I shrugged. “It’s the least I can do to help him out. You know, I have never forgotten about what it was like for me living in that abandoned house. When I said to you that night that his being homeless was his own fault, I said it out of anger because it reminded me of bad times. All these years, I wouldn’t even look at the homeless people on the street because every time I did, I went back to that time. A time I want to erase from my memory.” “You shouldn’t want to erase those memories, Sebastian. That period of time in your life made you who are today. You should embrace it and maybe tell your story to others and inspire them. What you did was amazing and all it took was one person to put you on the right path. People come into our lives for a reason and they leave our lives for a reason. They only may be here temporarily, but they’re there for a purpose.” I wanted to reach out and stroke her beautiful blonde hair and tell her that I knew the reason why she came into my life, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to rock the boat, so to speak. I wanted to tell her that if she still was dating Corey when she went to London, we never would have met because the thought of having sex with a stranger in a foreign country never would have entered her mind. “Do you think if we didn’t see each other in London, we would have eventually met here in New York?” She looked down. I could tell my question made her uncomfortable. “I’m not sure. Why don’t we go and give this food to Willie and the gang?” “Sure. I’ll call Eli and have him pick us up. It’s a pretty long walk.” “It’s a beautiful day, though, and the walk is good for us. Besides, if you don’t keep moving, your muscles will tighten up from today, and you won’t be able to get out of bed tomorrow.” I sighed. “Okay. If you insist.” We got up from the ground. While she folded the blanket, I grabbed hold of the picnic basket and we walked to where Willie was camping out for the day. “Hey, Willie,” Chloe spoke as she found him asleep, covered in a blanket on the cement in the alley. He moaned and then coughed as he tried to open his eyes. “Willie, are you okay?” I asked as I knelt down beside him. Chloe placed her hand on his forehead. “He’s burning up.”

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I spoke, “I’ll call 911. He needs to see a doctor.” “It’s okay, Willie, we’re going to get you some help,” she spoke. The ambulance arrived and Eli pulled up behind. “I’m going to ride with him in the ambulance,” Chloe said. “Okay. I’ll meet you at the hospital.” “You don’t have to, Sebastian. I’m sure you have other things to do.” Grabbing hold of her hand, I spoke, “I don’t, and I want to.” A small smile crossed her lips as she gave me a nod and climbed into the back of the ambulance. ****

Chloe As I was holding Willie’s hand, his eyes opened while the paramedics gave him an I.V. “You’re going to be okay, Willie.” I smiled. “I don’t think this time, kiddo.” “Don’t say that. The doctors are going to make you feel better.” Once we arrived at the hospital, Sebastian wasn’t too far behind as I was told to wait in the waiting room while the doctor examined him. I sat in the chair of the waiting room that contained a young girl and her screaming baby. Sebastian took a seat next to me and handed me a cup of coffee. “I thought you could use this.” “Thanks.” I took the cup from him. “Someone over there isn’t happy.” He smiled. “Are you talking about the baby or the mother?” “Both. How old do you think she is?” “She looks to be about seventeen or eighteen. Here, hold this.” I handed him the cup and walked over to where the girl, who looked like she was going to lose it any second, sat. “Someone isn’t very happy.” “No. She doesn’t feel well and she won’t stop crying. If she’d only stop for a minute, that would be great.”

“May I?” I held out my arms to her. The girl gave me a funny look and then looked over at Sebastian. “Do you think you can get her to stop?” “I can give it a try.” I smiled. “What’s her name?” “Isabelle. She’s four months old,” she spoke as she handed her baby over to me. I walked around the waiting room with her and began singing Tomorrow Is a Long Time in her ear as I held her up to my shoulder and softly rubbed her small back. After a few choruses, she began to quiet down and fell asleep. Walking her back over to her mom, I carefully handed Isabelle to her. “How did you do that?” she asked. “Babies can sense when you’re stressed out, which stresses them out. A little singing always works wonders.” “Thank you so much. Thank you.” Tears filled her eyes. “You’re welcome. Unfortunately, when they call you back, she’ll wake up again.” “That’s fine. Just a few moments of quiet is all I need right now.” I gave her a small smile and went and sat down next to Sebastian. “You’re going to make a damn good mother one day.” He smiled. “Thanks.” I took my coffee from him. “And a damn good big sister.” “I’m really excited for the baby. It will be challenging for my parents since they haven’t raised a kid in a number of years.” “You’ll be there to help them out.” He ran his hand down the back of my hair. “You know, you don’t have to stay,” I spoke. “Chloe, I’m here for both of you and I’m staying.” A doctor walked into the waiting room, asking who was with Willie. Sebastian and I stood up. “We are,” I spoke. “Willie has pneumonia and a pretty bad case of it. It seems he’s had it for a while. Because his lungs were inflamed for a period of time, his oxygen levels dropped, which caused kidney damage. Not only

that, but the bacteria spread into his bloodstream, and from what we can tell, has infected his heart. It’s a good thing you got him in here when you did.” “Is he going to be okay, doctor?” Sebastian asked. “We aren’t sure.” He looked down. “We’re pumping him full of antibiotics right now, but only time will tell.” As the doctor was standing there talking to us, someone came on the overhead speaker. “Code blue, room 104. Code blue, room 104.” “That’s his room,” the doctor spoke as he turned and ran down the hallway. Sebastian and I ran behind him and watched through the window as they used the defibrillator and then CPR. Sebastian wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. “Time of death, three forty-five,” the doctor spoke as he looked at the clock on the wall. “No.” Tears started to stream down my face as I buried my head in Sebastian’s chest. “I’m so sorry, baby.” He tightened his arm around me as his other arm wrapped around me and softly rubbed my back. The doctor walked out of the room and looked at us. “I’m sorry. We did everything we could.” “Can we go in there and say goodbye?” I asked. “Yes,” he spoke as he walked away. While Sebastian held me, we walked into the room. “Hey, Willie.” I placed my hand on his. “You’re home now and you won’t have to suffer anymore. You’ll always be warm and you’ll never be hungry. Pretty cool, huh?” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sebastian bring his hand up to his face. Oh my God, he was wiping away a tear. I didn’t want to embarrass him or make a big deal of it, so I ignored it. My heart, which was full of sadness over Willie, was also full of happiness that Sebastian was finally able to shed a tear. “Well, I think funeral arrangements need to be made,” Sebastian spoke as he cleared his throat. “We’re going to give him a proper burial, no expense spared.” “Really? You’re going to do that for him?” I asked as I looked into his sad eyes. “Of course. He wasn’t only your friend, Chloe.” “Right.” I gave a small smile. “Shall we head to the funeral home and make the arrangements now?”

“Let me call them first and make sure they can accommodate us today.” Sebastian stepped out into the hallway. Looking back to Willie, I spoke, “Hear that? Sebastian is giving you an all-expenses-paid funeral. Even though I don’t believe in them, I’m going to let him do it anyway. It’ll make him feel better.” “The funeral home said they can see us today. I told them we’d be over soon. That’s if you’re ready.” “I am.” As we walked out of the room, one of the nurses called out to us. “Here’s his bag that was brought in with him. Since you’re his family, you should take it.” “Thanks.” I gave a small smile.

Chapter 39 Sebastian A tear fell from my eye today. The first tear I’ve had since I was five years old. Was the tear for Willie? Or was it for seeing Chloe so upset? I really didn’t know, and at this point, it didn’t matter. She needed me and I needed her. In the room where the caskets were lined up, we walked around and looked at them. I came across a beautiful mahogany one with brass trim. “This one is nice for him,” I spoke as I stood in front of it. “Yeah. It’s nice,” Chloe responded. “You don’t sound enthused about it.” “No. No. I am. It’s nice,” she hesitantly spoke. “If you like it, we should get it.” “Do you see one you like better?” I arched my brow at her. “No. This one is fine.” “Chloe, are you okay? I get the feeling you don’t want to do this.” “Is it that obvious?” I bit down on my bottom lip. “Just a bit. I can take care of everything. I don’t want you any more upset.” “It’s not that this really upsets me, it’s just not necessary.” “What’s not necessary?” I asked. “A casket that costs ten thousand dollars. We can lay his body in something a little cheaper.” “Oh. I was just trying to give him the best.” “I know you were.” I smiled. “But it doesn’t matter. His spirit is on the other side now and he’s at peace. He doesn’t care about a ten-thousand-dollar fancy casket. We can bury him in this one right here.” “But it’s so plain.” I frowned. “So? It’s going in the ground, Sebastian.”

“Fine. If that’s the one you want, I’ll buy it. But, just for the record, I want to be buried in the tenthousand-dollar casket.” “Of course you do.” She smirked as she placed her hand on my chest. After picking the casket, I had the funeral home make the arrangements at the cemetery. “Just call me when you get the details sorted out,” I spoke to the funeral director. “Remember, just a burial. Quick and simple,” Chloe spoke. “Yes, ma’am. Quick and simple.” The director turned his eyes to me. I shrugged as we walked out. ****

Chloe Sebastian came with me to tell Willie’s friends about his death. They took it really hard and some even shed a few tears. I promised that we’d let them know exactly when the funeral was so if they wanted to attend, they could. “I’d feel better if you’d let me walk you home,” Sebastian said. The truth was I didn’t want to be alone and he was the person I wanted to be with. Spending the day with him meant more to me than anything and I was happy that he was with me when Willie passed away. To be honest, if he wasn’t, I would have probably called him. “I’d like that.” “Are you hungry?” he asked. “We could stop on the way and grab a pizza or something.” “Pizza sounds good.” After getting the pizza, we stepped into my apartment, sat down, and ate. The last time he had been here was when he bolted out the door. That seemed like forever ago, but in reality, it wasn’t. It amazed me how time slowed when you were suffering from a broken heart. “Are you going to go through Willie’s bag?” he asked as he took a bite of his pizza. “Yeah. We can do that after we eat.” “Don’t you want to call your parents or Sienna and tell them what happened?” “I will later. Right now, I just want to sit here and enjoy this pizza with you.”

The corners of his mouth curved up into a captivating smile. My body was aching for him and his sensual touch. Sex with him was addicting. Even when I was so mad at him, my body still thought about all the things he’d done to it. “Do you want to have sex?” I blurted out. “Huh?” He nearly dropped his pizza. I laughed. “Answer the question. Do you want to have sex with me?” “Umm. Of course I do. It’s all I fucking dream about.” I got up from my chair and climbed on his lap, straddling him and placing my hands on each side of his face. “I’ve missed you and your cock.” I grinned. “And I’ve missed you and your pussy.” He brought his lips to mine. “Is this real, Chloe?” “As real as it gets, babe.” Our lips locked lightly at first, then our kiss became passionate. So passionate that it was making up for all the time we lost. “God, I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered. “I’ve missed you too.” As our lips were still locked in a passionate kiss, I climbed off his lap and he got up from the chair. Breaking apart, I pulled my tank top over my head and quickly removed my bra, tossing it on the table. Swooping me up in his arms, he carried me to the bedroom and lay me down on the bed while he hovered over me and his mouth devoured mine. Breaking our kiss, he stood up and pulled off my tennis shoes and socks. Reaching for my pants, his hands pulled them down along with my panties and he tossed them on the floor. With a low growl, he stared at me as he quickly stripped out of his clothes and then grabbed my legs, pulling my ass towards the edge of the bed. He knelt down with my legs over his shoulders, and his tongue licked up my inner thigh, sending erotic spasms throughout. His lips lightly pressed against my aching spot while his tongue traced tiny circles around me. Holy shit. Once again, I was in heaven. I moaned and threw my head back in ecstasy while raising my hips for him to go deeper. “Is this what you’ve been craving?” he moaned. “Yes. Oh God, yes!” I belted out. He looked up at me and smiled. A smile itself that could throw me straight into an orgasm.

****

Sebastian She tasted sweet. Just like I remembered. I’d been waiting for this day for what seemed like forever. I already knew it would be worth the wait. I wanted nothing more but to pleasure her all night long; to take away her sadness, if only for a day. I wanted to make her feel loved and wanted, but most of all, I wanted to show her that she was the most beautiful and most important woman in the world. Nothing mattered to me anymore. Not my business, my money, nothing. Only her. She was the only thing in my life I needed and wanted. Her moans became feral as I continued to devour her. My tongue circled around her swollen spot as my finger dipped inside her. The wetness that emerged from her excited me, and my cock was throbbing to be inside. But first things first. The noises that escaped her escalated as my fingers explored her. “Uh. Uh,” she cried out in pleasure. “Come for me, baby,” I spoke with bated breath. “Oh God, Sebastian.” She arched her back and her legs tightened against me as she gave me the pleasure of tasting her sweet orgasm. She arched her back and propped herself up on her elbows, displaying her beautiful and perky breasts. Climbing on the bed, I dipped down and wrapped my lips around her hard nipple, sucking and nipping until the moans that escaped her satisfied me. Her hands roamed through my hair and then down my backside until they reached my ass with a firm grip. “I need you inside me right now,” she spoke, panting intensely. “How bad?” “Really bad. Please. You need to fuck me with everything you have.” Jesus, hearing her say those words sent me into overdrive as I crammed myself inside her with such force, we both gasped for air. Her legs wrapped around my waist as I pounded into her as hard as I could. Her pussy greeted me with warmth and I found myself lost in her. I needed to slow down because I wanted to make this last. Hovering over her and slowing my movements, I stared into her eyes. This moment. The moment we reconnected with each other was immeasurable. “I love you,” I spoke in a low voice.

Her lips gave way to a smile as she placed her hand on my cheek. “I love you too.”

Chapter 40 Chloe “I’m paralyzed again,” Sebastian smiled as he tried to roll off of me. “That’s a good thing. Job well done, Mr. Bennett.” I grinned. With a moan, he rolled onto his back. “Does this mean you aren’t going to do yoga anymore?” “Probably not.” “I didn’t think so.” I smiled. Climbing from the bed, I slipped on my silk robe. “Where are you going?” he asked. “To go through Willie’s bag. Maybe there’s something in there we can bury with him.” “Hold on. Let me grab a pair of sweatpants. Oh, that’s right. Someone dropped off all my stuff in her pajamas.” He propped himself up on his elbows. Damn. Staring at him on the bed like that totally naked had me raring to go again. “Oh yeah. I did do that. Didn’t I?” I picked up his underwear off the floor and threw them at him. “You have these.” I smiled brightly. “As soon as we’re done going through Willie’s bag, we’ll go back to my place, where you already have clothes and stuff waiting for you.” “Are you inviting me to a sleepover, Sebastian?” “Damn right I am. We’re never spending another night apart.” With a smile, I walked over to the bed and climbed on top of him. “Promise?” I brushed my lips against his. “You have my word, baby.”

Wrapping his arms tightly around me, he pulled me down on top of him. “I’m never letting you go. No matter what happens, you’re my girl forever.” “Forever is a long time.” “Time is all we have and I’m going to spend every moment of it with you. You are the priority in my life, Chloe, and I’m going to make you a very happy woman.” “You already have.” Our lips tangled once more, which led to another round of fantastic sex. I set my phone down on the table while I took a bottle of open wine from the refrigerator. It started to ring and Sebastian told me it was Sienna. “Answer it for me,” I spoke as I reached up into the cupboard and grabbed a couple of wine glasses. “Oh, hello there, Sebastian,” Sienna spoke. “So you’re half naked, I see. Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?!” she voiced rather loudly. Sebastian laughed as he handed me my phone. “Chloe, sweetheart, what happened from the time I talked to you this morning? How did he happen?” “Long story and I’ll tell you tomorrow. I was going to call you. Willie passed away today.” “Oh no. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” “I’m sad, but he’s in a better place now. I’m really going to miss him.” “I would offer to come over and comfort you, but I see some cock, I mean, someone already has.” “I heard that, Sienna, and yes, my big cock has already comforted her twice.” He smiled. “Care to show me how big it really is?” She smirked. “Okay, you two. You’ve had your fun. I’ll call you tomorrow.” “Blah. You’re no fun, Chloe.” Sebastian opened Willie’s bag and began taking out some of his things. At the bottom, he pulled out a small envelope with my name on it. “This has your name on it,” Sebastian spoke. Taking the envelope from his hand, I opened it and inside was a key to a safety deposit box with a note that contained the name of the bank and the box number. “That’s strange. Why would a homeless man have a safety deposit box?” Sebastian asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe he kept some personal things in it after he lost his house.” “I’ll come pick you up at the gallery tomorrow during lunch and we’ll go check it out.” “Okay.” I smiled. “Are you ready to head to my penthouse?” “Yes. Just let me grab a few things because I have a feeling I won’t be back here for a while.” “Good idea. You may be held hostage.” “Mhmm. Are you going to tie me up and have your way with me?” Sebastian closed his eyes for a second and took in a sharp breath. “Chloe, don’t say things like that or we’ll never make it back to my place.” I giggled as I went into the bedroom and packed a few things. As Sebastian took my bag from me, I went into the kitchen. “What are you getting now?” he asked. I reached into the refrigerator and grabbed the two cans of whipped cream I had sitting in the door. “Just these.” I smiled. “For what?” “Really, Sebastian?” I placed my hand on my hip. “Oh.” His eyes lit up. “Damn it, Chloe. My cock is getting hard and we have to go.” I giggled as I walked out the door and Sebastian followed behind. Climbing into the limo, I said hi to Eli. “It’s nice to see you again, Chloe.” He smiled. “Nice to see you too, Eli. I brought the whipped cream.” I winked as I held up the cans. “Can’t have sex without it.” I looked over at Sebastian as he took in a deep breath. “Really? Did you really have to tell him that?” **** Looking at the clock, I saw it was almost lunchtime and Sebastian would be here soon to pick me up.

Getting up from my desk, I walked downstairs as he was walking through the door. “Ready, baby?” He smiled. “Yes. Gregory, I’ll be back in about an hour.” “You two enjoy your lunch.” He smiled. As we entered the bank, Seymour Rawlings, the bank manager, and according to Sebastian, number one ass kisser, walked up to us. “Good day, Mr. Bennett. I didn’t know you were stopping by the bank today. May I offer you and the beautiful lady some champagne?” “Oh. You have champagne?” I asked with a grin. “No. We’re fine. Thank you, Seymour.” “We want champagne, Seymour.” I patted his shoulder. “Very good. Now, what brings you into our bank today?” “I need to use my safety deposit box,” I spoke as I held up the key. “Oh. Yes. Please follow me.” We followed him to the room where the boxes were stored. Taking the key from my hand, he unlocked it and pulled the box out and set it on the long table in the middle of the room. “There you go, Miss…?” “Chloe. You can call me Chloe.” “Nice to meet you. And you’re a friend of Mr. Bennett’s?” “Oh yes. We’re lovers.” I grinned. Sebastian threw his head back and slowly shook it. “Ah, excellent. Your champagne will be in shortly.” He walked out of the room. “Why did you tell him that?” Sebastian asked. “Why not? Do you not want people knowing?” “Of course I want people to know, but you could have said that I was your boyfriend. You didn’t have say ‘lover’ in the seductive way you did.”

I shrugged. “Obviously, I’ll get some free perks being your lover, so why not?” I smiled. He chuckled. “Open the box. Let’s see what Willie, the homeless man, stored in here.” I slowly lifted the lid to the box, which stored his Medal of Honor. “Oh look. We can bury this with him,” I spoke. “Umm. There’s an envelope with your name on it.” Picking up the thick white envelope, I gasped when I opened it. “Holy shit, Sebastian. Look at all this money!” “Give me that.” He took it from my hand and removed the money that sat inside. “What the fuck? How did he have all this?” Pulling out a folded piece of paper, he handed it to me. It was a letter from Willie. “Dearest, Chloe, If you’re reading this, that means I’ve finally crossed over to the other side. You were the only nonhomeless person who cared about me. It was pretty lonely when you moved out to California, except when your mom and dad would come to visit. The highlight of my life was the first day you moved back and I saw you walking down the street towards me. I don’t want you to think I never listened to what you told me, because I did. To me, living on the streets had become a way of life I didn’t mind. I have over fifty thousand dollars in the box that I hid away before I lost everything else. The money is yours. It’s my way of thanking you for being such a wonderful human being and my best friend. I’ve never told you this, but you were like a daughter to me. I know you’re not a materialistic person, so do whatever you would like with the money. Maybe open up your own gallery or buy some great art with it so you’ll always remember me. Another thing, at the bottom of the box, there’s the names of my children listed on a piece of paper with their last known address. Please just let them know that I’ve passed on. They have the right to know, even if they don’t care. Take care, Chloe, and I hope you get everything you want out of life, although I have no doubt you will. Tell the gang I’ll always be watching over them. Love, Willie.” Tears streamed down my face as I read his letter. “Are you okay?” Sebastian asked. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I spoke, “Yeah.”

“I can’t believe he had all this money and never spent it. His life could have been so different,” Sebastian spoke. “The money wasn’t important to him. He liked the way he lived his life.” Seymour walked in with two glasses of champagne and a plate of chocolate truffles. “Is everything okay?” he asked with concern. “We just had a friend who passed away,” I replied. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry for your loss. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.” “Thank you, Seymour,” Sebastian spoke. Taking the contents of the box, Sebastian and I stepped outside of the bank. “Do you want to grab something to eat?” he asked. “Sure. But can we eat it somewhere special?” “Of course, anywhere you want.” He smiled as his lips brushed against mine. Stopping at a deli near my apartment, we took our sandwiches over to the spot where Willie sat every day. “What are you doing?” Sebastian asked as I sat down on the cement and leaned my back up against the brick wall. “Eating lunch. Sit.” I patted the cement. “I’m wearing a three-thousand-dollar suit, Chloe.” “And?” “And you want me to sit on the cement and eat a sandwich.” “And?” I cocked my head with a serious look. “And, I guess this is as good a spot as any,” he spoke as he sat down next to me.

Chapter 41 Chloe Five Months Later “This is the last box, Mr. Bennett,” the muscularly built Channing Tatum lookalike moving man spoke. “Thank you.” Sebastian reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash. “You’re all moved in now and you’re never leaving.” He smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. “I’ll agree to that.” I kissed his lips. “Now, let’s go break in the bed.” “We’ve already broken it in thousands of times.” I laughed. “Not as an official living together couple we haven’t.” “Ah. Let’s go then, tiger.” I pulled him by his tie to the bedroom. Just as Sebastian thrust into me, my phone rang. “Who is it?” I asked with bated breath as his thrusts were hard and deep. “Really, Chloe?” “Just look over at the nightstand. It could be my parents.” He looked over at my phone as he moved in and out of me. “It’s your dad. He can wait until we’re finished.” “Give me the phone. It could be important. You know the baby is due.” Sebastian sighed, pulled out of me, and handed me my phone. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?” I put him on speaker. “Hi, pumpkin. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” “We were in the middle of having sex, but it’s okay.” Sebastian tilted his head and shot me a look.

“Sorry, Sebastian,” my dad spoke. “It’s fine, Larry.” “We’re at the hospital. Your mom is in labor.” “Eek! We’re on our way.” “It could take hours, pumpkin. Go ahead and finish having sex. We’ll be here when you’re done.” “Thanks, Dad. We’ll see you soon. Tell Mom I love her.” “Will do.” “The baby’s coming.” I grinned as I pulled him on top of me. “Now, where were we?” Sebastian sat up and looked down at his cock. “You and your dad ruined it, baby. How can I stay hard when you told your father we were having sex? Why do you have to always tell them?” “Aw, they love that we have so much sex. You should be used to that by now.” “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used it.” He smiled. “Come on, let’s get dressed and head to the hospital.” “Okay.” I flew off the bed. **** As Sebastian and I entered my mom’s room, I ran over and grabbed her hand. “The baby is coming,” I said with excitement. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” my mom spoke in irritation as she let out a howl. “Just breathe through it, Mom.” I held her hand. Looking over at Sebastian, I could tell he was beginning to sweat. “Are you okay?” I asked. “I’m just going to wait out in the waiting room. Hang in there, Ophelia.” He held up his fist as he walked out of the room. When I rolled my eyes, my mom squeezed my hand. “Go out there with him, sweetheart. He needs you. Your dad will let you know as soon as the baby’s born.”

“Are you sure, Mom?” “Of course. I’m fine. But Sebastian, he didn’t look so good.” She smiled. I kissed her forehead and walked to the waiting room. “Hey, are you okay?” I asked as I stroked his arm. “I’m fine. It’s just seeing your mom in so much pain made me a little nervous.” “Aw, but the end result is worth the pain.” I smiled. He leaned over and kissed me just as Sienna and Sam walked in. “Oh my God! Our baby is about to be born!” she exclaimed as she ran over and hugged me. “I know. It should be any time now.” The four of us sat there patiently. Sebastian and Sam chatted it up while Sienna and I looked up makeup tutorials on our phones. Four hours later, my dad walked into the room. “It’s a boy!” he shouted. “I have a son!” With a smile, I got up from my seat and gave him a hug. “And I have a brother. How’s Mom?” “She’s great. Wait until you see him, Chloe. He’s beautiful.” “When can we see them?” “In a few minutes. I’ll be right back to get you.” Sebastian walked over and wrapped his arms around me. “Congratulations, big sister.” “Thank you. Let’s go down to the gift shop and get some of those ‘It’s A Boy’ balloons.” After purchasing six balloons, it was time to meet my brother. Walking into the room, a tear sprang to my eye when I saw my mom holding him in her arms. “Mom. He’s so beautiful.” I kissed his tiny head. “Chloe, I would like you to meet your brother, Arlo Benjamin Kane.” “Arlo. Wow. What a cool name.” I smiled as she handed him to me. ****

Sebastian

I nearly lost my breath as I watched Chloe holding her brother. Things were so good between us. Actually, they were great. Greater than I ever could have imagined. These past five months, and spending every moment with her, made me view life in a whole new way. “Come here.” She smiled as she looked at me. “Come meet my brother.” Walking over to her, I stared down at the little guy as he quietly slept. “Wanna hold him?” she asked. “No. That’s okay. He’s too tiny.” “He won’t break. Hold out your arms.” “Seriously, Chloe. He’s sleeping. I don’t want to disturb him.” “Pfft, you won’t disturb him. This little guy had a long journey down the birth canal. Trust me, he’s exhausted. Now, hold out your arms,” she spoke in a soft voice. This made me nervous. I had never held a baby before. As I held out my arms, Chloe gently handed him over. “Hold his head,” she spoke. I smiled as I looked down at him. He definitely was beautiful and I saw a lot of Chloe in him. Especially his cute little nose. “See, it’s not so bad. Is it?” she asked. I glanced up at her as a small smile crossed my lips. After spending some time with her parents, the baby, Sienna, and Sam, we said our goodbyes and headed home. As I climbed into bed, Chloe walked out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth. “I finally know what I want to do with the money Willie left me.” “Great. Finish brushing your teeth and you can tell me.” I winked. “No. I want to tell you now,” she mumbled. I climbed out of bed, placed my hands on her hips, turned her around, and walked her to the bathroom sink. “Spit,” I said. “Really? You always tell me to swallow.” She smiled. There was never a dull moment with her. “In this case, spit, Chloe.”

After she brushed her teeth, I wiped her mouth with the towel and gave her a soft kiss. “Okay, now you can tell me.” She rolled her eyes and climbed into bed. I climbed in next to her as she snuggled against me. “I want to use the money to open up a homeless shelter in honor of him.” “What? Really?” She lifted her head and sat up. “Yeah. Don’t you like the idea?” “I love the idea and I’ll help you with everything. But what about your job at the gallery?” “I’ll still work at the gallery. We can hire someone to oversee it and enlist volunteers. I know for a fact that Ellery will help out. We can use the fifty thousand dollars to start it up and then you can ask your super rich corporate friends to make donations. In fact, we can hold a fundraiser.” “Sounds like you have it all figured out.” I tapped her on the nose. “What took you so long to decide?” “I actually decided it the day we were at the bank, but with Mercury being in retrograde, it just wasn’t a good time to put the plan into action.” “I see, and why didn’t you mention it to me then?” “Because I didn’t want to jinx it or get into a conversation and throw some bad mojo on it. Are you mad I didn’t mention it?” “No. I’m not mad. I just thought you told me everything.” “Honey, I do tell you everything.” I placed my hand on his arm. “It was just an idea that had to wait. That’s all.” “But that was an idea of importance. Something that meant a lot to you and you didn’t share it with me.” “Aw, baby.” I snuggled into him. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I love you so much and I would never hurt you on purpose. You should know that. I just wanted to wait until the right time.” I felt his chest rise as he sighed. “I do know that and I love you too.” “I want you to be my partner in this. I want us to make decisions together, talk about ideas, and make magic happen for those less fortunate.” “Get up here and give me those gorgeous lips of yours.” Sitting up, I leaned over and he placed his hand on my cheek. Brushing his lips against mine, he spoke,

“I’m so in love with you that I didn’t think it was possible to love you anymore. But every day I spend with you, I find new ways to love you even more.” He smiled. “Sebastian.” I traced his lips with my finger. “I love you so much.” “I know you do, baby. I know you do.” He rolled me on my back and we made passionate love.

Chapter 42 Sebastian “Well, what do you think, Sebastian?” Lenny asked. “I think it’s perfect,” I spoke as I looked around. “Excellent. So, you’re interested in buying the property?” “I am, but I’ll let you know for sure in a few days.” Taking the small blue velvet box from my pocket, I opened it up and stared at the two-carat, princess cut, diamond-encased ring I had purchased. It felt right. The ring, the townhouse, everything. I had known that I was in love with her from our one night in London. We had our ups and downs in the beginning thanks to my stupidity. But now, we were the perfect couple. My love for her was so strong that marriage was the only thing I could see. I wanted to take our relationship to the next level; the ultimate commitment. When I thought of my future, the only thing I saw was her, us, together forever. She would like it here. We could make it our own and the memories that we’d create in this very home would be ones we’d hold on to forever. I took in a deep breath as I closed the lid to the box and slipped it back into my pocket. She’d say yes. I knew she would. She loved me just as much and every day she made me feel it. She wasn’t expecting this because we’d never talked about marriage. We were just happy to be with each other, and there wasn’t one day I took her for granted. Every moment spent with her was just as magical as the moment before. She changed me. Something I never thought could happen. The homeless shelter, Willie’s Place, a shelter for the homeless, was now up and running. We held an elegant fundraiser at The Plaza Hotel where the elite of New York City were invited. I had pulled a few strings and made sure all the paperwork and licenses were expedited so we could get the shelter up and running as quickly as possible. We hired a director to oversee the day-to-day management of operations and hired a small staff to help. We enlisted the help of numerous volunteers including Chloe’s mom and dad, and Sienna and Sam. Since the weekdays were busy for us between our jobs and everything else we had going on, the weekends were the days we spent most of our time there. “Baby, come on. We’re going to be late for dinner.” I poked my head in the bathroom and stared at the beauty that stood before me.

“I’m coming. I’m just touching up my hair, considering someone messed it up just a few minutes ago.” She smiled. “Sorry. But you had me all horny and I couldn’t help myself.” “I forgive you.” She grabbed my chin and kissed me. “So where are we going anyway? You never said.” “It’s a new restaurant that just opened.” “Cool. Where is it?” “Not too far from here. You’ll see when we get there.” Sliding into the limo next to her, my nerves were starting to get the best of me. I had no reason to be nervous, but it couldn’t be helped. All the “what ifs” were running through my mind. What if she hated the townhouse? What if she hated the ring? What if she said no? What if she said she liked things the way they were? Don’t get me wrong, I loved things the way they were, but I wanted and needed more. “What are we doing here?” she asked as Eli pulled up to the curb on West 85th Street. “I forgot to tell you that I had to stop by here and check something out for a client.” “Don’t you have people that do that for you?” “Yes. But this client is very special and I promised that I would do it myself.” “Oh cool. Can I come inside with you?” she asked with a grin. “Of course you can.” Climbing out of the limo, I took her hand and helped her out. Walking through the wrought-iron gate, we climbed up the steps to the front door. “The outside of this building is so beautiful,” she spoke. “Wait until you see the inside.” Unlocking the door, I opened it and led her inside. “Wow. This place is a mess.” She laughed. “I know. But look at it beyond the mess.” “It’s beautiful. So what do you have to check?” She turned and looked at me. “It’s over here in the living room.”

Leading her into the living room by her hand, she looked at me with surprise. “What is this?” she asked as she stared at the round, candlelit table draped with white linens, fine china, and a vase of gerbera daisies that was perfectly situated in front of the fireplace. “This, my love, is where we’re having dinner.” “Here? In an empty house?” She twisted her face. “Yes. Here in this empty house.” “Sebastian, I love you to pieces, but I’m really confused right now.” I swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump in my throat. This was it. Hopefully, the night that would mark the beginning of us as an engaged couple and a life of happily ever after. I took hold of both her hands and stared into her beautiful green eyes. “Chloe, I never thought that I would ever be able to love someone. My heart was nothing but a rock solid stone. But then you came along and showed me that my life was lost without love. You hammered through all the stone until you reached my beating heart. A heart that wouldn’t beat if you weren’t in my life. You taught me things about life I never knew. You helped me to embrace my past and you took away the anger and bitterness that resided inside me for so many years.” She stood there and listened to me as a tear fell from her eye. Taking my thumb and bringing it to her face, I gently wiped it away. “You turned my dark and stormy life into one that is full of brightness and purpose. We were meant to meet that night at the bar in London, just like we were meant to meet again here in New York. It was all in the timing, baby. The universe had it planned out perfectly for us. I was brought into this world to love you.” I reached in my pocket and pulled out the box, got down on one knee while I held her hand, and proposed to her. “Chloe, I want nothing more in this life than for you to become my wife.” I flipped the lid open and revealed the ring. “Will you marry me?” She cupped her right hand over her mouth as she stared into my eyes. “Oh my God, Sebastian. Yes! Yes! Yes! I will marry you!” I let out a sigh of relief as I took the ring from the box and placed it on her finger. “Holy shit, that’s huge.” She smiled as she held her hand out in front of her.

“Do you like it?” “I love it. I adore it and I love you, Sebastian Bennett,” she spoke as the back of her hand ran down my cheek. Standing up, I wrapped my arms around her and gently kissed her lips. “I love you too. More than you’ll ever know.” “I have a pretty good idea how much.” She grinned as another tear fell from her eye. “No tears.” I wiped it away. “They’re happy tears. I can’t believe you did all this. I can’t believe we’re engaged! But I do have one tiny little question.” “What’s your question, baby?” “What’s up with the house?” I let out a chuckle. “Take a look around, Chloe, because I want us to make this our home.” “Shut up!” she exclaimed. “Are you serious?” “Very serious.” I smiled. “I love it and it needs a lot of work.” She looked around. “I know it does and me and you are going to do it together.” “Huh?” She bit down on her bottom lip. “We’re going to fix this place up together, and I’m going to teach you a few things in the carpentry world. We’re going to knock out walls together, saw wood together, and hammer nails. I’m going to go back to a time when I enjoyed doing those things, before I started Bennett Enterprises.” “Wow. I think I just fell in love with you all over again.” “Keep remembering that while we’re working on the house.” I smiled. “Can we have a lot of sex while we’re knocking out walls and being all sweaty?” she asked with a wide grin. “We can have all the sex you want.” I kissed her. “Now, if you’ll take a seat at the table, dinner will be served in a moment.” I pulled out my phone and alerted the caterers to bring in the food. As dinner was being served, Chloe

couldn’t stop looking at her ring. “This ring is so beautiful, Sebastian. I love the cut of the diamond. It’s one of my favorites.” “I thought the cut was fitting since it was for a princess.” The corners of my mouth curved upwards. “Stop.” She looked up at the ceiling. “The tears are coming again.” I grabbed her hand from across the table and brought her ring up to my lips. “When are we going to make the announcement?” I asked. “I can hardly contain myself right now. But we should wait at least until tomorrow. What do you think about having my parents, Sam, and Sienna over for dinner tomorrow night and we’ll tell them all at once?” “I love the idea. I’ll let Karina know and have her make something special.” “Great. Let me send a group message now. But I have to do it in a way where they won’t suspect. I’ll just tell them that we need to discuss something about the shelter.” ****

Chloe Opening my eyes, I held out my hand and looked at my ring. I was still in shock that Sebastian asked me to marry him since I thought that it would be years before he was ready. Even if it took that long, I was willing to wait because he was more than worth it. “It still smells like sex in here,” Sebastian mumbled as he kissed my head. “Well, considering we had sex when we came home last night and then again just a couple of hours ago, I would say it would.” “Sorry, but I woke up and I was hard. I couldn’t let that go to waste.” I smiled as I sat up and kissed him. “I’m not complaining. Trust me. We have to get up now. The alarm will be going off in about five minutes.” “Do we have to?” He closed his eyes. “Yes.” I softly stroked his chest. After showering together and having sex again, we got dressed and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. “Good morning, Karina.” I smiled.

“Good morning, Chloe. Mr. Bennett,” she spoke as she handed us some coffee. “Morning, Karina. We’re having dinner guests tonight, so can you cook something nice?” “What would you like, sir?” she asked. “Chloe?” Sebastian looked at me. “I don’t know. Remember, my parents are vegetarians.” “How about filet for us, Sam, and Sienna, and a vegetarian dish for your parents?” “Sounds good to me.” I smiled. “You know, how come your parents don’t mind that you eat meat?” “I’m my own person and I make my own decisions. They never forced it on me. Although growing up, all I ate was vegetarian meals that she cooked, but then headed to nearest burger place and ate the biggest burger I could get my hands on.” He chuckled. “You can prepare something vegetarian for Chloe’s parents?” he asked Karina. “Yes, Mr. Bennett. I can do that.” “Thank you, Karina.” As I took a sip of my coffee, I looked at Karina, who was preparing omelets for us. “You can call him Sebastian.” I smiled. “Excuse me?” Sebastian raised his brow. “What?” I raised my brow back. “There’s no need to be so formal. We’re adults, not children. Just because she works for you doesn’t mean she has to call you Mr. Bennett. She’s not on any different level than you are. We’re all the same human beings and should be treated as such. If she’s going to call you Mr. Bennett all the time, then you should be calling her Miss Young.” “Okay, okay.” He grabbed my chin. “Can you please just be quiet? No more Mr. Bennett, Karina. From now on, you are to refer to me as Sebastian.” He went and took a seat at the table. “Yes, sir.” “No ‘sir,’ Karina.” I winked. “Just Sebastian.”



Chapter 43 Chloe I finally finished hanging the last of Caden’s newest artwork and took a step back. He was such a good artist and one that was on the rise, thanks to us. His artwork was selling faster than he could paint it. Just as I was walking into my office, I heard Connor and Ellery coming up the stairs. “Hello, Chloe,” Connor spoke. “Hey, Connor. Ellery. What brings you by?” “We just wanted to let you know that we’re heading to California to check on things at the other gallery and we’ll be out there for a couple of weeks at the beach house.” “Great. Have fun. Enjoy that warm Cali sun.” I smiled. As they followed me into my office, Ellery spoke, “You seem different.” “I do?” “Yes. You’re glowing. You know we woman can tell when something wonderful happened. Are you pregnant?” she asked with a wide grin. I was dying. I needed to tell someone about our engagement and I knew Connor and Ellery would keep it to themselves. “No. I’m not pregnant. But,” I reached into my purse and put on my ring, “Sebastian asked me to marry him!” I exclaimed in a soft voice. Ellery cupped her hands over her mouth. “Oh my God. That’s wonderful.” “Congratulations, Chloe. That makes me very happy,” Connor spoke. “You and me both. He proposed last night in the townhouse that he’s buying for us.” “Oh. So you’re moving again?” He laughed. “Yeah. But it won’t be for a while. The house needs some fixing up and Sebastian said that the two of us are doing it together.”

Connor frowned as he looked at me. “You mean you’ll plan it out and hire a company to renovate it for you.” “No. We’re doing the work ourselves.” I grinned. “But why?” he asked with a perplexed look. “I think it’s wonderful that Sebastian wants to the do the work himself,” Ellery chimed in as she lightly smacked Connor on his chest. “You know he fixed up houses himself before he started his company,” I spoke. “Well, yes, but I thought now he wouldn’t want to do that anymore,” Connor frowned again. “He’s very excited about it.” “Well, if you need Connor’s help, just call. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind getting his hands dirty to help some friends.” Ellery grinned. “Right, Connor?” “Of course.” Ellery walked over and gave me a hug. “We have a flight to catch. Congratulations to you and Sebastian. That ring is gorgeous.” “Thank you, Ellery. Have a safe flight.” As Ellery was walking out the door, Connor gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “Do me a favor and don’t call. If you need any help at all, I can arrange it for you.” I laughed. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on it.” **** “You almost ready, babe?” Sebastian shouted from the closet. “They’re going to be here in a few minutes. Well, make that now because I just heard the doorbell.” “You go. I’ll be there in a few.” I took off my ring and placed it in my pocket. Checking myself one last time in the mirror, I headed towards the living room where my mom and dad had just sat down. “Where’s Chloe?” my dad asked. “She’s in the bathroom.” “Aw, did you two just finish having sex?” my mom spoke.

“We sure did.” I walked in with a smile and gave them each a hug, then took Arlo from her arms. I heard Sebastian mumble under his breath as he walked over to the bar with my dad for a drink. The doorbell rang again and Karina answered it, letting in Sienna and Sam. “Hello, darling.” Sienna smiled as she hugged me. “Oh, hello there, you sweet little man.” “Hi. You’re late. Were you two having sex?” I grinned. “We sure were, beautiful,” Sam answered as he hugged me and then kissed Arlo on the head. I could hear Sebastian sigh all the way across the room and I silently giggled. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, so why don’t we go into the dining room and sit down?” Setting Arlo down in his bouncy seat, I took my seat next to Sebastian and discreetly slipped on my ring. Taking hold of my hand from under the table, he lightly gave it a squeeze. “So what’s going on with the shelter?” my mom asked. “Nothing. The shelter is doing really well,” I replied. “There’s something else I need to tell you.” “OH MY GOD, YOU’RE PREGNANT!” Sienna shouted from across the table. I held up my left hand. “Sebastian and I are getting married!” I exclaimed. “Holy shit, look at that ring!” Sienna squealed. “Congratulations!” “Oh, sweetheart, congratulations,” my mom spoke as she wiped her eye. “Wow. My daughter is getting married.” My dad stood up from his chair. “Way to go, you two.” Sam smiled. Sebastian and I got up from our seats and made our rounds of hugs. “So are you pregnant?” Sienna asked. “No. I’m not pregnant. Just engaged.” “Have you set a date yet?” my mom asked. “No. It just happened last night. We wanted you to be the first to know.” There was no way I was telling them that I already told Connor and Ellery. “There’s something else,” Sebastian spoke. “I am purchasing a townhouse on West 85th Street for the two of us.”

“An engagement and a new house. How exciting.” My mom grinned. “I’m so happy for the both of you.” She hugged us again. It was a wonderful evening spent with family. We drank, laughed, and had great conversations. Every time I looked at Sebastian, his face displayed a mouthwatering smile. He fit in with us perfectly and he knew it. “Well, we better get going and get Arlo home to bed,” my mom spoke. “Yeah. I’m sure the two of them want to go have sex again to celebrate this night.” My dad winked. “We sure do!” I grinned as I patted Sebastian’s ass. “Chloe!” He shot me a look. “Get used to it, babe. You’re part of this sex-crazed family now.” I smiled. He slowly shook his head as we walked to the door and hugged each of them goodbye. After brushing my teeth, I climbed into bed and blew in Sebastian’s face. “I’m all fresh for you now and my mouth isn’t the only thing.” I smiled. He let out a growl as he pulled me on top of him. “Good to know because your mouth won’t be the only thing I’ll be spending a lot of time on.” “Bring it on, fiancé.” I brushed my lips against his.

Chapter 44 Sebastian “We really should set a date,” I spoke as she lay wrapped tightly in my arms. “It should definitely be in the summer or early fall.” Her fingers ran up and down my arm. “Whenever you want, but I don’t want to wait too long. I want you as Mrs. Chloe Bennett as soon as possible.” “I like the sound of that. We need to decide where we’re going to get married.” “I know where we’re going on our honeymoon,” I spoke. “You do?” “Yep.” “Where?” “We will be spending our honeymoon in London, at the same hotel where we first met. The place that led us to where we are today.” “You mean where we had sex, because we technically didn’t meet. I mean, we didn’t know each other’s names, so we really never officially met. We just had sex and more sex without knowing each other. We were still strangers when we saw each other at the gallery.” “Chloe, shush.” I smiled as I kissed her head. “Wait a minute. When we saw each other at the gallery, Connor introduced us, so we weren’t strangers.” “We were when I saw you and ran to the bathroom so you didn’t see me. And also that time outside the restaurant when you were talking to Damien.” “What are you talking about?” “Shit.” She sat up and bit down on her bottom lip. “Shit what? Are you telling me that you saw me before I saw you again at the gallery and you didn’t say something to me?” I asked with irritation. “Uh huh?”

“Oh my God. I can’t believe you would do that. Especially since we slept together.” “I’m sorry.” She pouted. “I thought about you every single day after that night. When I woke up, you were gone and it took me a long time to try to forget you. When I saw you, I freaked out. Like, I put on sunglasses at night and pulled the hood over my head.” “Jesus, Chloe. I remember that night. That was you?” “Yeah.” “I remember looking at you and thinking you were strange.” She shrugged. “Nothing new there. After that night in London, I was pretty sure I fell in love with you, even though I didn’t know you. I felt this connection that I had never felt before. A pull towards a total stranger. Then all of a sudden, there you were; here in New York City. The same city that I just moved back to. God, seeing you again, Sebastian, took me back to that night and I got scared. Scared that if you saw me again, you wouldn’t even remember or just totally blow me off, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle the rejection.” “Baby.” I placed my hand on her cheek. “I want to show you something.” I reached for my phone and pulled up the picture of her I took in London. Her brow raised. “You took this of me while I was sleeping?” “Yeah. I took it before I left.” “Why?” “Because, baby, like you, I felt something that I had never felt before. I wanted something to always remember that night and I looked at that picture every single day after. You, Chloe, were on my mind at all times. So if you would have approached me that night outside the restaurant, I would have welcomed you with open arms and brought you back here for another night of amazing sex.” I smiled. “Wow. I’m sorry.” I swept my hand across her cheek and pushed her hair behind her ear. “Maybe the time wasn’t right yet for us to reconnect that night.” A beautiful smile crossed her lips. “I guess it wasn’t.” “But wait a minute.” I shook my head. “After that night we officially met at the gallery, you ran from me and pretended you didn’t know me. Why?” “Because.” She looked down. “I was honestly afraid of what you thought about me because of what

happened in London and I really liked you, even though I didn’t know you, and it bothered me that maybe you thought I was nothing but some sex-crazed girl.” “But you are.” I grinned. “Sebastian.” She lightly smacked my chest. “Come here.” I pulled her into me and kissed the top of her head. “It doesn’t matter, baby. All that matters is that we’re here now, we’re getting married, and starting a beautiful future together. I love you.” “I love you too. Can we have makeup sex now?” “Makeup sex? We didn’t have a fight.” She lifted her head. “I sensed a little hostility and anger in your voice, so technically, you were mad at me. Because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have used the tone you did.” Placing my finger over her lips, I spoke, “Shush. We’re going to have makeup sex now and I don’t want you telling your parents about it.” “Aw, you’re no fun.” She grinned. This crazy girl, who I loved more than life itself, made me the happiest man in the world. She loved me for who I was and I loved her just as much for who she was. Yes, she tried my patience at times, but life without her would be boring and predictable. Two things I would never experience again with her by my side. She was the girl who stole my heart, all thanks to that One Night in London. A night that was planned out all along by a thing we called fate.



A Beautiful Sight

Sandi Lynn



Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39



Chapter 1 Ethan “What the fuck do you mean you can’t make it work?” I shouted as I walked around the long rectangular table. “I’m sorry, Ethan, but we’ve tried everything,” Jarod spoke. “Obviously you didn’t because I know damn well we can do this. Do you think I pay you well to sit there and tell me that it can’t be done? We are on the verge of a breakthrough here. A breakthrough that will make this company billions of dollars.” “But, Ethan—” “No buts!” I shouted as I pointed at Jarod. “Google hasn’t released their product yet. It’s still in beta testing and you know every other damn technology company out there is working on the same thing. I want ours to be the first and the best. It’s not rocket science. It’s technology. Every one of you,” I pointed to the group of men and women sitting around the table, “is an MIT graduate. This is what you do. It’s shit like this that keeps you up at night.” “Ethan, we’ve tried several times,” Edward spoke. “Try again and keep trying until you figure it out.” I scowled. “You have thirty more days.” I shook my head as I walked out and slammed the door. Fuck. I didn’t need this shit today. Walking back to my office, I yelled for Holly, my assistant. “Yes, Mr. Klein?” she nervously spoke. Taking a seat behind my desk, I picked up the time-off request form she filled out. “What’s this?” I asked as I held up the piece of paper. “It’s my and my husband’s one-year wedding anniversary and we wanted to take a trip to Hawaii.” “Didn’t you go to Hawaii for your honeymoon?” I glared at her. “Yes. We wanted to go back.” “Well, the dates you are requesting don’t work for me. I have a lot going on during that time and I’ll need you here. Go to dinner and have a night of wild sex. That’s all you need to celebrate.”

“But, sir, it’s our one year.” “Congratulations. You made it a whole year. Big deal. When it’s your twenty-fifth, let me know and maybe I’ll give you the time off to celebrate. But until then, the answer is no. I need you here.” She lowered her head because she didn’t want me to see the tears that formed in her eyes. “Get out of here and get back to work.” She turned and walked out of my office, carefully closing the door behind her. Shaking my head, I picked up my phone from my desk and noticed a text message from Samantha. “Hey there, sexy. Want to come over tonight?” “I can’t tonight. I promised Charles that I would go to some art gallery thing. How fast can you get to the Plaza Hotel? I have a lot of tension I need to release right now.” “I can be there in fifteen minutes.” “Good. You know which room. I’m leaving now. It would be wise if you didn’t wear any panties. I already owe you five pairs as it is.” “I won’t wear any. I’ll see you soon.” Walking out of my office, I stopped at Lucy’s, my secretary’s, desk. “I’m leaving the office. I’ll be back in about an hour and a half.” “Yes, sir. By the way, Holly looks pretty upset.” “She’ll get over it.” I walked away. Climbing into the limo, I shut the door, and Harry, my driver, glanced at me through the rearview mirror. “The Plaza Hotel,” I spoke as I pulled out my phone. “Who are you meeting this time?” “Samantha.” “I don’t care for her,” he spoke. “And I don’t pay you to care for the women I see. Do I?” “No you don’t. But I’m giving you my opinion anyway.” He smirked. “Keep your opinions to yourself.”

“Shit, Ethan. You don’t even like half the girls you fuck.” “I don’t have to like them, Harry. I just like what’s between their legs.” He sighed and slowly shook his head. As we pulled up to the curb of the Plaza Hotel, the doorman opened the door for me and I climbed out. “Good afternoon, Mr. Klein.” “Hello, Don.” “Enjoy your stay.” “I intend to.” I smirked. I headed up to my room on the 19th floor, scanned the keycard, and stepped inside. After taking off my suitcoat, I began to unbutton my shirt when I heard a knock at the door. “You’re late.” I glared at Samantha. “Traffic, Ethan. It’s New York. I don’t live right around the corner.” She wore a short red dress with high red heels. I could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra because her hard nipples poked through the fabric of her dress. I slid my shirt off my shoulders and unbuckled my belt as I walked towards her. Placing my hand between her thighs, I slowly slid it upwards until I reached her pussy and plunged a finger inside. She gasped. I reached around with my other hand and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the ground. “Keep your shoes on.” She placed her hand around the nape of my neck and moved her lips closer to mine. I pulled away. “You know the rules, Samantha. No kissing. Get on all fours on the bed.” She did as I asked while I removed the condom from my wallet. Taking down my pants, I rolled the condom over my hard cock, grabbed hold of her hips, and thrust into her fast and hard. Loud moans escaped her lips. I thrust in and out of her rapidly, while the wetness that emerged from her enveloped my cock. Unpinning her hair, I grabbed onto it. “Do you like when I do this?” I pulled her hair. “Yes. Oh yes.” After pulling her hair a few more times, I let go and reached around to her breasts, pinching her nipples, which caused her moans to grow even louder.

“What do I like to hear?” I asked as I pounded into her. “Harder, Ethan. Fuck me harder.” After a few more thrusts, I pulled out of her and turned her on her back, pushing her legs up as far as they would go, allowing my cock to go deeper inside her. The buildup was coming and I welcomed it. I needed it. After a few more hard, deep thrusts, I halted and moaned as I came and all the tension that I felt was released. Climbing off of her, I went into the bathroom and disposed of the condom. “Are you okay?” I asked as I grabbed my shirt off the floor and put it on. “Yeah. I’m great.” She smiled. “Why won’t you let me kiss you?” she asked as she lay on the bed. “Because I don’t need to be kissed, Samantha. You know the rules. Don’t ask again.” I slipped on my pants. “Do you have to leave already?” she pouted. “You know how busy I am. I have to get back to the office.” “You’re always busy, Ethan. Have you ever thought about slowing down and smelling the roses every once in a while?” “Nah.” I smiled. “As long as there’s money to be made, there’s work to be done.” “I hate you,” she spoke. “No you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t keep coming back for more.” I adjusted my tie as I looked in the mirror. “The sex is great. That’s why I keep coming back for more. But as for you, you’re an emotionless bastard.” “I know and that’s the way I like it. Enjoy the rest of your day, Samantha.” I winked as I walked out the door. My life was all about my company and about control. My employees and colleagues referred to me as the “Iceman” because I had nothing but ice running through my veins. Emotions weren’t my thing, feelings were non-existent, and my own gain was top priority, no matter who I had to step on to get what I wanted. It was how I became so successful, building and running a billion-dollar technology company by the age of thirty. I was on top and that was all that mattered to me.

Chapter 2 Aubrey After running a brush through my long blonde hair, I slipped into my brand new strapless, black and white floral print, A-line waist dress. Tonight was a special night because my best friend, Penelope, was having her very first exhibition at a well-known art gallery. Penelope Carson and I had met in college when I accidentally bumped into her and knocked all of her books out of her hands. Sometimes, I could be really clumsy. She forgave me, we had coffee, and a friendship was formed. As I was getting my shoes from the closet, I heard the front door open and my Aunt Charlotte’s voice filtered through the apartment. “I was at the store and picked you up some fruit and some more K-cups,” she yelled. “Thank you.” I smiled as I walked towards the kitchen. “Ah. Penelope’s art exhibition is tonight, isn’t it?” She grabbed hold of my hands. “Yes. Ian should be here soon.” “You look beautiful, Aubrey. That dress is perfect.” “Thanks. Penelope helped me pick it out.” The front door opened and my other best friend, Ian, walked in. “Wow. Who’s that sexy woman standing right before me?” “Oh stop, Ian. You know I’m way too old for you,” Aunt Charlotte spoke. “Damn, Charlotte. You’re always turning me down.” “You two have fun and tell Penelope that I said congratulations.” “We will.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Are you ready to go, Madame?” Ian asked. “I’m very ready.” I hooked my arm in his and we walked out the door.

****

Ethan The last place I wanted to go tonight was an art exhibition. But I promised my friend, Charles, that I would go with him since his girlfriend, Lexi, was out of town visiting her parents. He was an art fanatic and always looking for something new. “Will you relax, Ethan?” Charles spoke as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “I’m fine, Charles. I just had a bad day at the office. Everything that could go wrong did, and I lost a lot of money.” “What did you lose? A million or two? That’s chump change, my friend.” He smirked. “Money is money.” I sighed. “By the way, Lexi wanted me to tell you that when she gets back, she’s introducing you to her friend, Greta. She wants us to double date.” “Tell her no thanks. I’m not interested.” “She’s smoking hot, man. Tall, toned, long dark brown hair, exotic eyes. She looks like she just stepped out of a Playboy magazine. I’d totally fuck her if I wasn’t with Lexi.” “I have plenty of women I fuck. I don’t need to get involved with a friend of Lexi’s. That’s just asking for trouble.” “Doesn’t matter. Lexi already thinks you’re a douchebag.” He smiled. “Ethan, it’s been—” “Don’t, Charles. You know exactly where I stand. Now change the subject or I’m leaving.” I scowled. “Fine. It’s your life. Be miserable.” “I’m not miserable. I live my life the way I want and nobody is going to change that.” He rolled his eyes at me and sighed. “Let’s go look at some art.” I grabbed a glass of champagne from the waiter as he passed by holding up a tray and decided to take a look at what this new artist had to offer. Since I was here, I might as well make use of my time. I left Charles standing as he was looking and went over to the other side of the gallery where a few more paintings were displayed. As I was standing there looking at a specific painting, I heard Charles call my name from across the gallery. When I turned around, I accidentally bumped into a woman who was standing rather closely behind me.

“Oh, excuse me.” I lightly placed my hand on her arm and found myself unable to take my eyes off of her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been standing so close,” her innocent voice spoke as she looked down. “Please, don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have turned around so quickly.” She was stunning; absolutely gorgeous and absolutely fuckable. She stood about five foot eight, had beautiful long blonde hair, emerald eyes, and from what I could see in that dress, the body of a goddess. “Ethan!” Charles shouted again as he waved his hand in the air. “Again, I’m sorry.” I walked away and headed over to where Charles was. “What were you doing over there? Who was that woman?” he asked. “I don’t know. I practically knocked her over when I turned around to see what the hell you wanted.” “Oh. Sorry about that. Look at this painting. Isn’t it beautiful? Do you think Lexi would like it?” “Sure. It’s nice. Why don’t you take a picture of it and send it to her?” “Nah. I thought about that, but I want it to be a surprise. You know, for when she comes back from Minnesota. A little ‘I missed you’ gift.” “She’s only been gone a week.” “I know. But for us, that’s a long time apart.” He arched his brow. “I think she’ll like it. I’m going to track down the artist and make her night.” He smiled. Charles and I had been best friends since we were ten years old when his family moved into the townhouse next to mine. His parents owned a couple of dry cleaners, which did very well until his father developed a gambling problem and lost everything, including the family home. Charles didn’t let it affect him. He was in college at the time getting his financial degree and after he graduated with honors, he went to work as a financial analyst on Wall Street. His girlfriend, Lexi, was a nurse in the ER at Mount Sinai Hospital. They met the night I brought him in after some guy beat the shit out of him for hitting on his girlfriend. In Charles’ defense, she left out the fact that she was there with someone. That was over two years ago and he and Lexi have been together ever since. As for me, I loved women, and I used the term lightly. I loved their bodies and the pleasure they gave me. That was about it. I could care less about their feelings, jobs, life, or what they liked to do in their spare time. I was a user, and I used women for what I needed, for what I craved, and for what they could do for me. They were a tension reliever. Some people did meditation, yoga, listened to music, or took pills. Not me. I had sex. Hard, fast, and rough. I stared across the gallery at the woman I almost knocked over. She was still standing in the same spot

staring at that painting.

Chapter 3 Aubrey I didn’t realize I was standing so close to him because I was too focused on his scent, which drew me in. A woodsy smell with a mixture of moss, amber, and a touch of spice. Clean, refreshing, intoxicating. A scent that somehow pulled me from my senses. Standing in the same spot, I held the wine glass in my hand, and as soon as I brought it to my lips, the same scent filtered through the air. “Hello, again,” the familiar low voice from earlier spoke next to me. “Hello.” “You’re still standing in the same spot, staring at that painting. It must really intrigue you.” My lips gave way to a small smile. “A painting can tell a thousand different stories to different people.” “You think so?” he asked. “Tell me what you see when you look at it,” I spoke. “Well, I see a woman standing at the shore of the dark ocean water underneath a gray sky filled with dark clouds. She’s looking up at the small streaks of light that are coming down and glistening over parts of the water.” “What else?” I asked. “The sand is dark in color except for where there’s a lighthouse in the distance, casting its light and lighting a path in the sand.” “And what does this painting say to you?” “To be honest, I haven’t got a clue,” he spoke. “What does it say to you?” “It says that even in a world of darkness, you will always see light.” “That’s pretty deep. I can see the artist is very talented and inspirational.” “Yes. She is.” I smiled. ****

Ethan Her voice was soft and angelic. She was beautiful and I wanted to get to know her. But only small details so I could bring her to the Plaza and fuck her senseless. “I’m Ethan Klein.” I extended my hand to her. “Aubrey Callahan.” The corners of her mouth gave way to a shy smile as she placed her hand in mine. The feel of her soft hand caused my cock to twitch. Enough of a twitch that I had to place my left hand in my pocket to keep it calm. “There you are,” Charles spoke as he walked up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “I bought the painting for Lexi. She’s going to be so surprised.” “Charles, this is Aubrey Callahan. Aubrey, this is Charles St. John.” “It’s nice to meet you, Charles.” “The pleasure is all mine, Aubrey. Have you had a chance to meet the artist, Penelope? She’s so nice and a very talented artist at that.” “I have. She’s my best friend.” Aubrey smiled. Charles looked at his ringing phone in his hand. “Lexi’s calling. I have to take this. I’ll be right back,” he spoke as he walked away. “I take it Lexi is his wife?” she asked. “No. She’s his girlfriend. But by the way they act, they might as well be married.” Studying Aubrey, I noticed she looked down a lot, which signaled to me that she lacked confidence. Either that or she was extremely shy. That was something I would have to fix. “Would you like to go get a drink or maybe some coffee somewhere?” I asked with the hopes she’d say yes because I really wanted to fuck her tonight. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” “Why not? Am I making you uncomfortable?” “No. Not at all.” She looked at me. “Then why not?” “Mr. Klein, I’m flattered that you would like to take me out, but I can assure you that I’m not the type of

girl you’re probably used to.” “Why don’t you tell me what type of girl you think I’m used to?” I smirked. “Someone who can see you,” she replied. “Excuse me?” I asked in confusion. “I’m blind, Mr. Klein.” “What? Is that your way of telling me that you don’t want to go out and have a drink? You don’t have to make something like that up.” “No. I’m just telling you the truth. The painting we were talking about; the one on the wall.” “Yes. What about it?” “Look at the name of it.” I walked over to the painting and looked at the sign that was above it. The painting was titled Aubrey. I was in shock and in total disbelief. She wasn’t lying and I was at a loss for words. I had no clue that she was blind. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.” “It’s fine. I generally surprise people when I spring that on them.” She smiled. She had a beautiful smile. One that I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes from. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you. Penelope wants to talk to you.” Some guy spoke as he lightly touched her arm. “Ian, I would you like you to meet Ethan Klein. Ethan, this is my best friend, Ian.” “Nice to meet you, Ian.” “Likewise, Mr. Klein.” She placed her hand slightly above his elbow, and before she walked away, she spoke, “It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Klein. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” I watched as the two of them walked away. My fist involuntarily clenched itself. I turned and once again looked at the painting, recalling her words, “Even in a world of darkness, you will always see light.” As I was standing there, Charles walked over to me. “Why are you still standing here?” he asked.

“Because I’m going to buy this painting.” “Seriously? Why that one?” “It’s special.” “How?” He arched his brow at me. “It just is.” “Good for you.” He patted my back. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to fetch a glass of champagne.” I looked over at the door and saw Aubrey and her friend walking out. A feeling stirred inside me. Clenching my jaw, I took in a deep breath as a woman approached me. “I noticed you’ve been standing here staring at that painting. I’m Penelope, the artist who painted the portrait.” “Nice to meet you, Penelope.” I extended my hand. “I’m Ethan Klein. The portrait is beautiful and I would like to buy it.” “You’ve made an excellent choice. This happens to be one of my favorites.” She smiled. “The girl in the painting. I just met her a little bit ago.” “You met Aubrey? She’s a wonderful woman.” “She’s very nice and I was hoping that you could perhaps give me her phone number. That is, if she has a phone.” Penelope laughed. “Of course she has a phone.” “She told me she was blind, so I wasn’t sure.” “Just because she’s blind, Mr. Klein, doesn’t mean that she stopped living life. She can do more than a person who has their sight can. May I ask why you want her number?” “I asked her out for a drink and she declined. But I don’t want to accept that. I would like to get to know her better.” “Aubrey steers clear of men. She’s had her heart broken, and to be honest, guys are just dicks when it comes to someone like her. If you’re looking for a one-night stand or something, she’s not your girl. I’m very protective of my best friend.” “I understand that, but even though she told me she was blind, it doesn’t change the fact that I would

like to take her out. She didn’t scare me off.” She sighed. “I won’t give you her number without her permission, but I will tell you something. Tomorrow is Saturday, and every Saturday morning around nine o’clock, she goes to Shakespeare Garden in Central Park to read for a while.” “By herself?” I asked as I cocked my head. “Yes. By herself. She isn’t handicapped, Mr. Klein.” “I didn’t say she was.” I narrowed my eye at her. “If you want to talk to her, you’ll find her there. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have the gallery take the painting down and wrap it up for you.” “Thank you. One more thing: please do not tell her that I purchased this painting.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she bit down on her bottom lip. “I won’t and don’t you be telling her that I told you where she goes on Saturdays.” “I won’t. You have my word.”

Chapter 4 Aubrey Climbing out of the cab, I said goodnight to Ian, took my cane from my purse, and walked through the revolving door to my apartment building. “Good evening, Aubrey.” “Good evening, Kale.” I smiled. “How was your vacation in Mexico?” “It was great. The wife and I had a wonderful anniversary.” “I’m happy to hear that. I want to hear all about it tomorrow. Have a good night.” “You too, Aubrey.” Taking the elevator up to the second floor, I inserted my key into the lock and stepped inside my apartment. I couldn’t stop thinking about Ethan Klein and it was driving me insane. It wasn’t only his scent, but it was also the sound of his voice; deep but not too deep and very smooth. He spoke words with confidence and there was a sexiness to his tone. A voice like that hadn’t affected me like this in a very long time, if ever. I had to decline his invitation for a drink because I knew exactly how it would play out. I’d been there, done that, and it was something I wasn’t going to allow myself to get involved in again. Men thought I was beautiful and I got hit on all the time. Don’t get me wrong; it was flattering since I didn’t have a clue what I actually looked like, but it went either of two ways. Some guys told me they just wanted to sleep with me because they found it a huge turn-on that I couldn’t see them and others didn’t bother to call after the second date. I’d even had some guys tell me that my blindness actually freaked them out, even though they thought they’d be okay with it. They couldn’t look past it and get to know the person I truly was. That was when I decided that it was in my best interest to forget men and live my life the only way I knew how. If they couldn’t adapt, it was their problem, not mine. But I made it my mission and stayed away in order to protect my heart. I had my Aunt Charlotte, Ian, Penelope, and a few other friends and they were all I needed. **** Placing my book in my bag, I grabbed my cane and coffee and climbed into the cab that I had called for before leaving my apartment.

“Hey, Aubrey.” “Hi, Jeff.” “It still amazes me each time you climb into my cab that you know it’s me.” “I recognize your voice.” I smiled. “That’s pretty cool. Where you off to? Shakespeare Garden?” “Yes, please.” I had five cab drivers that I called for on a regular basis. The cab company knew me and my situation and they were always very accommodating. “We’re here, Aubrey,” Jeff spoke. “Just charge it to your card?” “Yes, please.” Reaching into my wallet, I pulled out a few dollars and handed them to him for the tip. I mostly only carried ones, fives, and tens. I had a system in place of how I told the bills apart. For everything else, I used my credit card. “Thanks, Jeff. Have a good day.” “You too.” Climbing out of the cab, I walked into Shakespeare Garden, using my cane for guidance, and took a seat on a wooden bench that sat on a cobblestone walk lined with flowers. This was my place of peace. Not that my life was crazy by any means, but there was something about it that relaxed me. Opening my book, I began to run my fingers along the braille lettering. As I was reading and taking in the warmth of the sun, a scent, the same scent from last night, occupied my space. I could hear soft footsteps approaching and then they suddenly stopped. “Hello, Mr. Klein. What are you doing here?” “How did you know it was me?” “Your cologne.” I smiled. “Wow. You’re good, Miss Callahan. I was just taking a stroll on this beautiful morning and I saw you sitting here. I couldn’t believe it. I was trying to approach with caution because I didn’t want to scare you.” “Do you frequently take a stroll through Shakespeare Garden on Saturday mornings? And you wouldn’t

have scared me. I don’t scare easily.” “Sometimes I do.” “Please, have a seat.” I patted the bench. “Unless you have somewhere you have to be.” “No. Nowhere in particular.” “I find it hard to believe that you just take strolls.” I laughed. “Why?” he asked. “Because you’re not the type.” “And how do you know what type of person I am?” “I can sense it.” “Then please enlighten me.” I sighed. “Okay. You’re a businessman. A powerful, very busy businessman. Work is your life and you like control. You don’t have time to take strolls through Central Park, nor do you have the desire to.” “Seriously, Aubrey. How the hell do you do that?” I couldn’t help but let out a light laugh. “Be honest with me, Ethan. What are you doing here in Shakespeare Garden?” I heard him inhale a sharp breath. “Fine. Obviously, there’s no pulling one over on you. I asked your friend, Penelope, for your number last night. She wouldn’t give it to me, but she told me if I wanted to see you, this is where I’d find you this morning. But, please, do not tell her that I told you. I gave her my word.” “I won’t tell her. Why did you want my number?” “Because I want to take you out and I don’t want to take no for an answer.” “Why do you want to take me out?” “I think you’re a nice girl and I’d like to get to know you.” “But why?” “Why what?” “Why do you want to get to know me?”

“What’s with all the questions?” he asked. “Don’t answer a question with a question. You’re buying time to come up with a line that will sweep me off my feet. Just so you know, I don’t get swept up that easy. I may not have eyesight, but I’m not stupid.” “I never said you were, Aubrey, and I’m not trying to come up with a line. I find you attractive and to be a very nice girl.” “You don’t even know me. We talked about ten minutes. Maybe twenty at the most.” “Exactly, and in that ten or twenty minutes, I felt like you were someone I wanted to get to know better. See, no pick-up line. Just a simple fact.” It was against my better judgment, but I couldn’t seem to resist his charm. After all, he did come to the garden to see me. “Okay. I will go out with you so you can get to know me better. But one time, and one time only.” I smiled.

Chapter 5 Ethan I was happy that she agreed to let me take her out. She said one time and that was fine with me. One time with her was all I needed. If it was that easy to convince her to go out with me, then it would be just as easy to get her into my bed. She was different from the other women I fucked and different was what I wanted. I was getting bored. “Great. How about I take you to dinner tonight?” “How about lunch?” she smirked. “Or lunch.” I laughed. “What are you reading?” “Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.” “I see it’s in braille.” I leaned closer to have a better look. “Yes. It’s the only way I can read.” She smiled. God, she was so beautiful and I just wanted to reach out and touch her. I wanted to feel the softness of her long blonde hair through my fingers. “How would you like to take a walk through the garden?” I blurted out with no control. What the fuck just happened? A small smile crossed her lips. “That would be nice.” “Then let’s go.” I stood up and held out my hand to her like an idiot. She couldn’t see it and I pulled back. This was going to take some getting used to. Putting her book in her bag, she grabbed her cane and stood up. “How about you use my arm instead of that cane?” “Thank you. I appreciate that.” She smiled. She folded up her cane, placed it in her bag, and lightly placed her hand above my elbow. “You need to walk a half a step ahead of me so I can follow your direction. And, you’ll also need to tell me when we approach a curb or stairs. I’m trusting you, Mr. Klein.”

“You’re safe with me, Miss Callahan.” I smirked. “Why don’t you ask me what you’re dying to know?” she spoke as we began walking. “How do you know what I’m thinking?” “It’s always the first question people ask the minute they meet me.” She stared straight ahead. “Have you always been blind?” “No. It happened when I was eight years old after a horrible car crash I was in with my parents. They were killed and I lost my eyesight,” she replied in a soft-spoken voice. I felt a twinge of something in my heart. Pain perhaps? Pain for her because she lost her parents, or pain because she lost her sight. I was concerned because I didn’t feel things like that. “I’m sorry.” “Thank you. That was a long time ago.” “Who raised you?” I asked as we walked along the flower-lined path. “My Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Lee. She was my mother’s sister. They moved me here right after I got out of the hospital.” “You’re not from New York?” I asked. “No. I was born in California.” Suddenly, my phone started to ring. Pulling it from my pocket, I noticed it was Jarod calling. “I have to take this. Excuse me for a moment.” I stopped and she stopped beside me. “Go ahead.” “You better have some news for me,” I answered. “We might. We went to your office and saw you hadn’t been in. Are you coming in today?” “I could if you had something good.” “I think we do, Mr. Klein.” “I’m on my way.” I ended the call and placed my phone in my pocket. “I’m sorry, Aubrey, but that was work. I have to go into the office.” “It’s fine.” She smiled.

“Can we resume this later on tonight?” I asked. “Sure. Why don’t you come over for dinner? I’ll cook you a nice meal.” “You cook?” I asked in confusion. “Yes.” She laughed. “Hard to believe. Isn’t it?” “No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—” “No worries, Mr. Klein. I get it all the time. It’s hard for people who have sight to understand.” “Let me take you home. My driver is already here.” “You have your own driver?” “Yes. His name is Harry. That way, I’ll know where you live for when I come over later.” “Thank you. I appreciate it.” We walked out of Shakespeare Garden and Harry was waiting for us with the limo door open. “Harry, I would like you to meet Aubrey Callahan.” “Hello, Aubrey.” He smiled as he held his hand out to her. Looking at him, I mouthed and pointed to my eye. “She’s blind.” “It’s nice to meet you, Harry.” She placed her hand in his and then slid into the backseat. Harry shot me a look and then shut the door after I climbed in. “We’re taking Miss Callahan home first and then I need to go to the office.” “Your address, Miss Callahan?” Harry asked. “200 East 82nd Street.” “You’re an upper East Sider, eh?” “Yes. I am. Where do you live?” she asked. “In a townhome on West 88th Street.” “Ah. So you’re an upper West Sider.” She grinned. “Do you live by yourself?” I asked out of curiosity. “Yes. But my Aunt Charlotte lives across the hall. She owns the building. She inherited it after my

uncle passed away.” “How long have you lived there?” “About seven years. He passed away when I was eighteen.” “I’m sorry for your loss.” “Thank you.” Harry pulled up to the curb, climbed out, and opened the door for Aubrey, taking hold of her hand and helping her out. “Thank you, Harry.” She smiled. “Which apartment are you?” I asked. “Apartment 2B. I’ll let Kale, the doorman, know you’ll be arriving, say around seven o’clock?” “Seven is fine. I’ll see you then.” Harry shut the door and I watched out the window as Aubrey walked into her building. I couldn’t believe she was cooking dinner for me. I would have rather gone out, but she seemed excited about it. Maybe it was better we stayed in at her place tonight. I would probably have a better chance at fucking her there. “Really, Ethan?” Harry turned and shot me a look. “Really what?” I narrowed my eye at him. “A blind girl? What the hell is the matter with you? I knew something was up when you told me to drop you off at Shakespeare Garden.” “I happen to find her very attractive and she’s a nice girl.” “You, my friend, have just crossed the line as far as assholes go.” “Shut up and just drive.” I scowled.

Chapter 6 Aubrey As I was opening the door to my apartment, I heard Aunt Charlotte’s door across the hall open and she followed me inside. “How was reading time?” she asked. “I really didn’t get much reading done.” “Why not?” “Someone was there I knew and we ended up talking.” “Do I know this someone?” she asked. “No. I just met him last night at Penelope’s exhibition.” “Him?” “Yes. His name is Ethan Klein. Apparently, he wanted my phone number last night and asked Penelope for it. She wouldn’t give it to him but told him where I go on Saturday mornings.” “I’m sorry. Did you say Ethan Klein?” Her voice became serious. “Yes. Do you know him?” “Personally, no. I’ve heard of him. He’s a very ruthless businessman, Aubrey, and I think it’s best you stay away from him. He’s a womanizer on top of it and has a whole slew of women at his beck and call. I’ve heard the talk around the city.” “You heard talk? Talk is talk, Aunt Charlotte. I’ll decide for myself if I should stay away from him. In fact, he’s coming over for dinner tonight.” “What? Oh, Aubrey, please for the love of God listen to me. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “Aunt Charlotte.” I sighed. “I’m twenty-five years old. I’m not a child. I can see who I want.” “I know that, dear, but I don’t want you getting hurt again.” “I can protect myself. Don’t worry about me.”

“Well, I do. I can’t help it.” She walked over to me and grabbed my hand. “I’ll be fine. I promise.” I smiled. “What are you going to cook for dinner?” she asked. “Breaded chicken, baked potatoes, fresh green beans, and salad.” “Sounds good. Mind if I join you?” “Yes. Actually, I do mind.” I laughed. She kissed my forehead. “I’m going to go. If you need any help, call me.” “Thank you. I will.” I loved my Aunt Charlotte more than anyone in the world, but sometimes, she didn’t know how to stop treating me like a child. **** After returning home from the market down the street, I set the two bags of groceries down on the kitchen counter. When I pressed the button on my watch, it told me that it was five o’clock. I had just enough time to jump in the shower and then start prepping for dinner. I kept thinking about what my Aunt Charlotte said about Ethan. About him being a ruthless businessman and a womanizer. I could sense that, but there was something else I sensed. I sensed a side to him that he kept hidden away. A part of himself that he didn’t want anyone to know. That was why I agreed to go out with him. After my shower, I went into the kitchen and started to prepare dinner. Once the chicken and potatoes were in the oven, I gathered all the ingredients for the salad. As I was cutting up the lettuce, there was knock on the door. My belly did a little flip, knowing that he was on the other side. “Hello, Ethan.” I smiled as I opened the door. “Hello, Aubrey. Were you one hundred percent sure that it was me before opening the door? I didn’t hear you ask who it was.” “My watch told me that it was six fifty-nine and I told you to be here at seven. So, I was pretty confident it was you. Come on in.” ****

Ethan

She looked as beautiful as she did this morning in her long floral spaghetti-strap dress. The way her hair fell over shoulders with soft curls aroused me. “You look incredible, but I’m still concerned that you didn’t ask who was at the door.” She let out a light laugh. “I knew it was you. Trust me. But to put your mind at ease, I always ask.” “I hope so.” The apartment looked nice. Her living area had a light gray color on the walls that was accented with a dark gray couch, a couple of matching chairs, and a glass coffee table and end tables. The kitchen was on the small side with dark cabinets, a black granite countertop, and all stainless steel appliances. I suppose you could say that I was surprised at how nice it looked. “It smells good in here,” I spoke as I followed her into the kitchen. “I hope you like chicken.” “I do.” I stood there and watched as she cut up some cucumbers. I was getting overly nervous that she was going to cut herself. “Can I help you with anything?” I asked. “Maybe I can cut those cucumbers for you.” “Thanks, Ethan, but I got this. Am I making you nervous with this knife?” “Just a bit.” I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I cook all the time. I know what I’m doing. I was trained.” “Trained?” “After the accident, my aunt sent me to Lavelle Institute for the Blind. I learned to read braille and they taught me how to live independently. I’ve had many years of training. So don’t worry about me cutting up some cucumbers.” “I’m sorry. I didn’t—” “Don’t apologize, Ethan. You have nothing to be sorry for. I’ve accepted a long time ago the fact that I make people a little uncomfortable. That’s how the world works. People think they have to be careful around me and they don’t. I’m just like everybody else. The only difference is I can’t see.” “And you’re probably a hell of a lot smarter than most people,” I spoke. “I don’t know about that.” She laughed.

She finished making the salad and took the bowl over to the table. “Let me help with something.” “No. Just go sit down and relax. I’ve got this.” I sighed as I took a seat at the table and watched her pull the chicken from the oven. She inserted a thermometer in the middle and it read her the temperature. “Perfect,” she spoke as she took down two plates from the cupboard and placed a piece of chicken on each of them with a baked potato and green beans. She stood in front of the table, holding the plates, and she spoke, “Which seat are you sitting in? Twelve o’clock, three o’clock, six o’clock, or nine o’clock?” “Umm.” “Look at where I’m standing and pretend you’re a clock.” “Twelve o’clock.” I smiled. She walked over and set the plate down perfectly in front of me while setting hers at three o’clock. “Would you like some wine?” she asked. “I’d love some.” “Red or white?” “Whatever you’re having.” I sat there in amazement at how flawlessly she cooked and served dinner. She set my wine glass down in front of me and then took her seat. “What do you do all day?” I asked as I cut into my chicken. “I read and I tutor kids online during the summer for extra income.” “Tutor kids? Tutor them in what?” “English.” It was a good thing she couldn’t see the expression on my face because I was sure she’d be offended by it. “I don’t understand.” She gave me a small smile. “I’m a teacher. I teach English Lit over at Roosevelt High School.”

“In Brooklyn?” I asked. “Yes.” “I—” “You don’t understand how a blind person could teach a class, right?” “No. Yes. I mean—” “It’s okay, Ethan. I get that same reaction from everyone. I graduated from NYU, did my student teaching at Roosevelt, and when I graduated, they offered me a job as a full-time teacher, teaching eleventh grade. Actually, I have to report to school on Monday to get things set up and school starts on Tuesday.” “How long have you been teaching?” “This will be my second year.” She carefully picked up her wine and took a sip. “Have you always wanted to be a teacher?” “Ever since I was ten years old. I wanted to help others like I was helped. I was a child when I lost my sight and it was the most difficult time of my life. Trying to adapt in a world of darkness was something I didn’t think I could do. But I did and I owed it all to my teachers at Lavell and my aunt and uncle. I could sense the gratification they got when they taught me something and I wanted to experience that.” “Why English Literature?” “I fell in love with it since I was first introduced to Shakespeare. For me, it was a new way of seeing the world; their world and the time in which it was written. When I read someone like Jane Austen or Ernest Hemingway, even Shakespeare, I am so absorbed in their writing and stories that I get lost and sometimes I forget I’m blind. If that makes sense.” I sat there and stared at her as a small smile crossed my face. “It does make sense. Roosevelt is a tough school. Not actually the school, but the kids. I’m really surprised you like teaching there.” “A lot of the students there come from broken homes and some of them are just there because they have no choice. But when they walk into my classroom, they walk into another world. They feel my passion and, after a while, they become passionate about it too. If I can help one student follow their dreams, then every day of teaching is worth it.” This woman was incredible as far as I was concerned, and the more we talked, the more intrigued I

became about her. I desperately wanted to reach out and run my hand across her cheek because controlling myself in her presence was becoming difficult.

Chapter 7 Aubrey I got up from my chair and began to clear the table. I heard Ethan get up and follow me into the kitchen, open up the dishwasher, and place his plate inside it. “I can clean up,” I spoke. “And I can help. You cooked a wonderful meal for me and it’s the least I could do.” I wanted to know about him. About his life and about his business. We only talked about me during dinner and nothing about him. “Now that you know about me, what’s your story, Mr. Klein?” “Well, I grew up in Manhattan. I have a sister named Lila. I started my technology company when I was twenty-one years old and the rest is history.” “Come on. There’s more to you than that.” I smiled. “Not really. My parents sold my childhood home about six years ago and moved to Long Island.” “Your parents must be very proud of you.” “They are.” “So that’s all you’re going to say?” I asked. “That’s all there is.” I had this overwhelming desire to be close to him. If he were to ask me to have sex with him, I probably would. He was mysterious and I found that to be a turn-on. Maybe because I hadn’t had sex in centuries. Okay, not centuries, but it sure as hell felt like it. I needed to know what he looked like. “How tall are you?” I asked. “Six foot one,” he replied. “What color is your hair?” “Brown, and my eyes are green just like yours.”

I followed his voice until I was sure I was standing in front of him. Reaching out, I took hold of his hand, placed his palm face up and ran my hand across it. I heard the sound of the sharp inhale he took. Bringing my hands to his face, I ran my fingers along his jawline. It was strong and masculine with light stubble. Tracing the shape of his lips, I felt the softness of them over my fingers. My thumbs traced his perfectly straight and narrow nose and then slid across to his high cheekbones. When I moved up to his eyes, he closed them. They felt perfect. An image formed in my mind of how I saw him. Sexy, hot, desirable. I ran my fingers through his hair. It was short all the way around. Almost shaved, but not quite. My hands clasped his shoulders and ran down his arms. They were strong and muscular. “You’re killing me, Aubrey,” he whispered in a soft voice. “I’m sorry. It’s the only way I can visualize what you look like.” I felt his hand on the side of my face and I was ready and all too eager for his lips to touch mine, but instead, he pulled his hand away. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” I heard his footsteps as he walked away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—” In a mere second, he grabbed me and his tongue slid across my neck. “I want you, Aubrey. I’m sorry, but I do.” “I want you too.” His tongue glided along my neck as his hands reached behind and unzipped my dress. Sliding the straps off my shoulders, he let it fall to the ground and picked me up and carried me into the bedroom. ****

Ethan I tried to control myself, but I couldn’t. There was more to her than I originally thought and I would end up hurting her. I unhooked her bra and tossed it to the side. Her breasts were round, perky, and beautiful, and her nipples were the perfect light pink color I knew they would be. Laying her down on the bed, my mouth devoured each breast and my teeth clamped around her hardened peaks. Her hands roamed through my hair as my tongue slid down her toned stomach. I needed to be inside her. Standing up, I stripped out of my clothes, tore the wrapper between my teeth, and rolled the condom over my hard cock. Reaching down, I gripped the sides of her beautiful white lace panties and slid them down. My fingers roamed up her thigh and dipped inside her. She was filled with warmth and my cock was screaming for attention. Her

moans, as my finger explored her, heightened my excitement. “Are you enjoying this?” I asked with a mere whisper. “Yes,” she replied with bated breath. I hovered over her, my finger still inside, and took her breast in my mouth. She gasped when my thumb pressed against her clit. Her head tilted back and her moans reached their peak as her body tightened and she orgasmed. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the expression on her face. She was ready for me and I was ready for her. Positioning myself perfectly over her, I thrust inside. She was tight and she felt so fucking good. A low rumble formed in my chest as I moved in and out of her. “You’re so tight. My God, you feel so good.” “Don’t stop, Ethan,” she panted as her nails dug into my back. “I don’t intend to, sweetheart.” I thrust harder and picked up the pace. Her legs were wrapped tightly around my waist as her hand reached up and softly touched my face. She was so damn beautiful and I couldn’t stop staring at her lips. So full and perfectly shaped. She let out another loud moan as she came. I thrust deep inside her one last time and strained as I pushed out every last drop of come I had inside me. I lowered myself and buried my face into the side of her neck. Our hearts were beating fast and our breathing was unsteady. We lay there for a moment until I pulled out of her and headed to the bathroom. When I returned to the bedroom, I found her sitting up and the sheet covering her naked body. I sat down on the edge of the bed and ran my finger along her jaw. “Are you okay?” I asked. “Yes. I’m fine.” She gave a small smile. “I suppose I should go.” “If you want to, but you can stay.” My fists clenched and, for the first time in nine years, I was torn with breaking one of my rules. Rules I didn’t dare break for my protection. “I have to be at the office early tomorrow. I have a lot of work to do before Monday morning.” The back of my hand swept over her cheek. “Okay. I understand.”

I got up from the bed, grabbed my clothes from the floor, and got dressed. “Can I get your number?” I asked as I held my phone in my hand. “Sure.” She smiled as she rattled it off. She took her phone from the nightstand and handed it to me. “Could you put your number in my phone? And don’t forget your name or I won’t know who’s calling.” I let out a light laugh. “Of course.” Sitting back down on the edge of the bed, I ran my fingers down her hair. “Thank you for dinner. I had a great time tonight.” “You’re welcome. So did I.” “Good night, Aubrey. Make sure you lock the door when I leave.” “Good night, Ethan, and I will.” Walking out of her apartment building, I climbed into the limo and slammed the door. “What happened?” Harry turned to me. “Nothing. Just drive,” I snapped. “You better not have hurt that poor girl.” He pulled away from the curb. “I’m not too sure I didn’t.” I stared out the window.

Chapter 8 Aubrey I slipped into my robe and then locked the door. I couldn’t tell you what was going through my head. I was happy I slept with him, but on the other hand, I wasn’t so sure I made the right decision. I got caught up in him and I didn’t know sex could be that great. I never had an orgasm before during sex. But with him, I had not one, but two. I was on cloud nine, yet I was feeling a little sad. I didn’t want him to leave. He touched me in a way that I had never been touched before. There was one problem; he didn’t kiss me, and the fact that he could make love to me without our lips touching at least once bothered me. Bringing my hands up to my head, I took in a deep breath. Why did I have this feeling that I would never hear from him again? I crawled into bed and sank beneath the covers. Closing my eyes, I tried like hell to put him out of my mind, but I could still feel him. All of him. I’d awoken to the sound of a knock at my front door and Penelope’s voice alerting me that it was her. Stumbling out of bed, I yawned as I headed to the door and opened it. “Aubrey, it’s twelve o’clock. Did you just get up?” “Yep. I sure did. I didn’t realize what time it was. Come on in.” Shutting the door, I went to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee. “Coffee?” I asked. “No thanks. I already had my fill of caffeine this morning. You never sleep in this late. Are you sick?” “No. I was up all night. You better sit down; there’s something I need to tell you.” “Oh?” I heard her open the refrigerator door. “I have a feeling I’m going to need a glass of wine.” I took my coffee and sat down on the couch. Penelope took a seat next to me. “So what happened?” “I had sex.” “Shut up!” She placed her hand on my arm. “With who?” “You know who.” “How would I know who you had sex with? I haven’t spoken to you since Friday—OH!”

I laughed. “So you do know!” She let out a sigh. “I didn’t think you’d sleep with him so quickly. That’s not like you. What happened?” “He came to Shakespeare Garden, which I know you told him where I was, and we talked and took a walk. I invited him over for dinner and one thing led to another. I have to ask you something.” “What?” “Is he as hot as I think he is?” “Totally hot. Sexy as fuck, to be exact. I admit that my panties got a little wet just by looking at him.” “I figured.” I smiled. “I could totally sense his hotness.” “So where is he? Did he stay the night?” “No. He left right after we had sex. God, Penelope, I’m not sure if I made a mistake or not.” “Listen, doll. Look at it this way; you had sex for the first time, in, well, forever, and with a smoking hot man. I can assure you that he was the hottest guy you ever fucked. Don’t get overly emotional over it.” “He wouldn’t kiss me.” “Huh? What do you mean?” “He wouldn’t kiss me on the lips and that bothers me a little.” “Did you have an orgasm?” she bluntly asked. “Yes. Two.” I grinned. “Then that’s all that matters.” She patted my hand. “Mouth kisses don’t mean shit anyway.” “You think?” “I know. Those are reserved for the guys who actually love a woman. As long as their mouths are touching all the other pleasure points on your body, then you have nothing to complain about.” I let out a light laugh and silently thought to myself how magical his mouth was all over my body. ****

Ethan My eyes flew open and my sheets were drenched in a pool of sweat from a nightmare I hadn’t had in

years. I lay there, my heart pounding rapidly and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I swallowed hard as I reached over and grabbed my phone. Looking at the time, it was seven a.m. I never slept that late. Granted, it was Sunday, but I was always up by six. It was that damn nightmare that had me in its grip. One I couldn’t awake from just like all those years ago. The same nightmare that plagued my mind and haunted me for too long. My feet hit the floor and I sat there, elbows on my knees with my face buried in my hands. I took in a deep breath as I stood up and went into the bathroom to take a shower. As I stood there and let the water beat down on me, I wondered why now. Why last night? After shaving and getting dressed, I headed down to the kitchen, where Ingrid, my housekeeper, was sitting at the island having a cup of coffee. “My sheets need changing,” I spoke as I grabbed a cup and poured some coffee into it. “Good morning to you too, Ethan. I just changed your sheets yesterday. Is someone up there?” she asked as she arched her brow. “Is anyone ever up there, Ingrid?” I snapped. “Then why do they need changing? I think I have the right to know since I just put a fresh set on yesterday. Did you get a little too excited last night?” she asked with a cocky attitude. “No. And what’s with all the nosy questions? I pay you to clean for me, not to question me,” I spoke with a harsh voice. She got up from her stool and waved her hand in the air as she walked over to the refrigerator to put the milk away. “I’m your housekeeper, your chef, your personal errand runner, your therapist, and your friend. What’s going on, Ethan?” She was right. She was all those things, but most importantly, she was my friend. I hired her to come work for me right after I started my company and moved into this townhouse. I placed an ad online giving very strict instructions as to what I was looking for. She answered my ad and only came for the interview to tell me off. Apparently, she didn’t like me. The one thing about Ingrid was that she didn’t have a filter. She was fifty years old, stood about five foot five, full figure, long black hair that she always wore in a bun, and brown eyes. She was wise and I could talk to her as if I’d known her my whole life. The good thing with us was that she put up with me and I put up with her. But I did pay her very well for putting up with my demands and my attitude ninety percent of the time. I sighed as I took a seat at the table and she pulled out the eggs from the refrigerator. “I had that nightmare last night.”

Just as she was about to crack the egg, she stopped and looked at me. “Why? It’s been years.” “I know and I don’t know why.” I took a sip of coffee. “What did you do last night?” She cracked three eggs in a bowl. “Had dinner with a woman I met the other night at her apartment.” She rolled her eyes as she poured the eggs into the hot pan. “Well, that’s no different from any other night.” I wasn’t ready to discuss Aubrey with her, if I was even going to mention her at all. I didn’t need to hear her comments and backlash like I did from Harry. I got what I craved and desired from her and now it was over.

Chapter 9 Aubrey No matter how busy I kept myself the past couple of days, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ethan. He had my phone number, yet I hadn’t heard from him. Ian told me that guys will typically wait a couple of days before calling a girl they went on a date with because they didn’t want to seem too eager. Penelope told me that he was nothing but a man whore, he would probably never call, and to put him out of my mind and move on. I tried. I really did, but he wasn’t so easy to forget. “Hi, Aubrey,” I heard Gigi’s voice speak as I walked into my classroom. “Hi, Gigi.” I smiled as she walked over and gave me a hug. “How was Italy?” “Amazing.” Gigi Graham was my teaching assistant and had been with me since my first day as a teacher last year. She had attended college with the hopes of becoming a teacher herself until she became ill and had to drop out. She was a thirty-year-old woman who married her high school sweetheart and didn’t need to work. But she loved being in a classroom, so she decided to become a teaching assistant instead of going back to college and finishing her degree. I ran my hand along the steel edge of my desk and smiled as I sat down in my chair. It felt really good to be back. The first bell of the morning rang and the students started to shuffle in. Once everyone found a seat, Gigi closed the door. Getting up from my chair, I picked up a white piece of paper with squares on it and placed it on the first desk closest to the door. “Good morning, everyone.” I smiled. “I’m Miss Callahan, but you can call me Aubrey. I don’t believe in formalities at your age. We’re all adults here, right?” I grinned. “I call you by your first name, so in turn, you should call me by mine. Welcome to English Literature. As some of you may know, I am blind. For those of you who didn’t, surprise. I would like to introduce you to my teaching assistant, Gigi Graham. She will be here every day in class with us, making sure you are on your best behavior. I can promise you that by the time the school year ends, we will be like a family, and that’s something I take very seriously. Just to give you a little background information about me, I lost my parents in a horrible car accident when I was eight years old, the same accident that took my sight. I was angry, depressed, and felt like there was no hope for me, like I’m sure some of you are feeling right at this very moment. But I fought back, I won, and here I am today teaching you beautiful men and women all about English

Literature. The point to this story is no matter how bad life seems right now, you can and will conquer it, but you, and only you have to put in the effort. Now.” I smiled. “The seats you are sitting in will be the seats you will sit in for the rest of the school year, and I will know if you decide to be funny and switch.” The subtle laugh of the students filled the room. “I don’t really have any rules. I just ask that you be respectful, not only to me or Gigi, but to your classmates as well. If you want to bring in snacks or a drink, feel free, but be prepared to share with your teacher.” I smiled. I repeated the same speech for the next five classes and before I knew it, the first school day of the new year had come to an end. As I was putting my laptop in my bag, Ian walked into the room. “How was your first day?” he asked. “It was great. How was yours?” “Good. I actually had some students excited to learn about history and the rest of them just slept.” I laughed. Ian was hired as a teacher shortly after I was. He started off as a substitute for one of the history teachers who went on maternity leave. She never came back and the students really liked him, so the school offered him the job. We drove in together every day. He picked me up at my apartment in the morning and then drove me home after school let out. “Have you heard from him yet?” Ian asked. “No, and to be honest, I don’t think I will.” I threw my bag over my shoulder. “It’s probably for the best, Aubrey. From what I hear, he’s bad news. You know my friend, Lance?” “Yeah,” I spoke as I placed my hand on his elbow and we walked to his car. “He told me that his girlfriend, Amber, works at Ethan’s company and he’s a total dick to everyone there. He’s rude, disrespectful to all his employees, and very demanding. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone. They call him The Iceman.” I let out a light laugh as I climbed into Ian’s Honda Accord. “Why would they call him that?” “Because he doesn’t show any emotion or feelings toward anyone. He’s as cold as ice. Amber also told him that Ethan has never been in a relationship and he uses women for sex and then drops them like a hot potato. Gee, maybe I shouldn’t have told you that last part.”

“It’s fine, Ian. You wouldn’t be my friend if you didn’t. Listen, I don’t expect to hear from him again, so don’t worry about me.” “I guess the good thing is you had sex for the first time in forever.” He grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it. “Yeah. At least I had that.” I softly smiled. Ian dropped me off in front of my apartment building and headed home. I wouldn’t lie and say that our little conversation about Ethan Klein didn’t hurt a bit, because it did. But this was something I had grown used to. ****

Ethan “Lucy!” I shouted from my office. “Where the hell is that report I asked you to finish over an hour ago?!” “Lucy isn’t at her desk and you, my friend, need to calm the fuck down,” Charles spoke as he strolled into my office and took a seat across from me. “Here’s your report, sir. I was in the storage room getting new ink for the printer.” “I asked for this over an hour ago.” I grabbed it from her hands. “I’m sorry, but I—” “I don’t want to hear your sorry-ass excuses. The next time I ask for something, you better fucking get it to me when I ask for it. Do you understand me?” “Yes, sir. Is that all?” “Yes. Get out of my office.” I threw the report down and leaned back in my chair, taking in a long deep breath as I looked at Charles. “What has your feathers all riled up today?” He smirked. “Nothing. I just want things when I ask for them.” “I haven’t heard from you since the art exhibition. Which, by the way, the painting was a huge success. Lexi loved it and gave me not one, but two blowjobs when she came back.” He grinned. I hadn’t told Charles anything about Aubrey. The only thing he knew was that I was talking to her that

night. He didn’t even know that she was the girl in the painting. “How did things go with that girl you were talking to at the gallery? What was her name again?” “Aubrey.” “Yeah, Aubrey. You seemed to be into her.” “She invited me over to her house on Saturday for dinner.” “Way to go, Mr. Casanova. Did you fuck her? Wait, don’t answer that. Of course you did.” I turned my chair sideways and stared out the window. “Was she really bad or something?” he asked with a serious tone. “No. She was great. She’s blind.” “What?” He laughed. “Blind to the fact that you’re an asshole?” I shot him a look as I turned my chair around and faced him. “She’s blind.” He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes at me. “Blind? As in see can’t see anything, blind?” “Yes.” “What the fuck, Ethan? Damn. That’s a new one for you. You fucked a blind chick. Holy shit! How was it? Come on, tell me. Was it different? Did you get off fast knowing that she couldn’t see you?” “Knock it off, Charles!” I shouted. “Bro, relax.” He put his hands up. “She’s a great girl who has endured a lot. She wasn’t born blind. She lost her sight and her parents in a car accident when she was eight. She basically had to learn to live all over again.” “Okay. So have you talked to her since?” “No and I don’t plan to. It was one night. She’s no different from any of the other women I sleep with.” “Is that so? Because you just defended her and you’ve never done that.” “I didn’t defend her.” “You did. You didn’t like what I said and you jumped to her defense.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to.” He sighed as he got up from his chair. “Anyway, I just stopped by to say hi since I hadn’t heard from you in a few days. Oh, and by the way, I’m having a little birthday get together for Lexi on Saturday at the house. You will be there.” He pointed at me. “I wouldn’t miss it.” “I’ll talk to you later. Try to stay off your secretary’s ass.” “Don’t tell me how to run my company.” I smirked. As I picked up the report from my desk, my phone rang and it was my mother calling. “Hello.” “Ethan, it’s been ages since we heard from you.” “Sorry, Mom. I’ve been really busy.” “You need to come to dinner on Sunday at the house. We’re celebrating Labor Day a day early.” “Okay. What time?” “Four o’clock. Your sister and Kenny will be here too.” “I’ll be there.” “Good. Do me a favor and pick up a lemon cake at that bakery I love so much.” I sighed. “Got it. One lemon cake.” “See you Sunday, Ethan.” “See you then, Mom.” As much as I loved my family, I hated going over there. My mom and dad were always on my ass about finding a nice girl, settling down, and giving them grandkids. I flat out told them the last time I saw them that they’d have to get their grandkids from Lila, my sister, because there was no way in hell I was ever having kids. Not to mention settling down with a nice girl. I didn’t see them as often as I should because it was best that I stayed away. They didn’t know the full story of what happened that night. They only knew what I chose to tell them.

Chapter 10 Aubrey It was already Friday, and as I was packing up my bag to head home, my phone rang, alerting me that Penelope was calling. “Hello.” “Tell me you don’t have plans for tomorrow.” “Not really. Why?” “Good. Then you’re coming with me to a birthday party.” “Whose party?” I asked as Ian took my bag from me. “A client’s girlfriend. He contacted me and bought another one of my paintings. His girlfriend loved the one he bought at my exhibition so much that she wanted another. He said that she would love to meet me and invited me and a friend to her birthday party tomorrow. Don’t make me go alone,” she whined. I let out a light laugh. “Fine. I’ll go. What time does it start?” “Five o’clock.” “Okay. I’ll be ready.” “Thanks, love. I owe you.” “What are you doing right now?” I asked. “Not much. Why?” “Good. You can meet me and Ian at Roof on South Park in about twenty minutes and buy me a drink or two.” “Sounds good. I’ll meet you both there.” ****

Ethan With a bouquet of flowers in my hand, I stepped inside Charles’ and Lexi’s townhome.

“Hey, Ethan.” Charles smiled as he shook my hand. “Aw, you shouldn’t have.” He winked as he looked at the flowers. “Very funny. Where’s Lexi?” “Outside talking to one of her friends. Follow me.” I followed him out to the patio and gave Lexi a kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday, Lexi.” I handed her the flowers. “Thank you, Ethan. These are beautiful. I’m going to go put them in a vase.” She smiled as she walked away. “How about a scotch?” Charles asked. “Sounds good.” I followed him to the bar that sat in the corner of the patio. “Scotch on the rocks for my best friend here,” he spoke to the bartender. “Wow. You went all out for this party.” I smirked. “That’s because she’s worth it.” The bartender handed me my drink and Charles pulled me over around the corner and reached into his pocket. “What do you think? I just picked it up yesterday.” He smiled as he held a diamond ring in the palm of his hand. “Very nice. When are you asking her?” “Tonight. In front of everyone.” “I thought you were going to wait until your trip to Aruba?” “I was, but I can’t wait any longer.” “I thought that was the reason you booked the trip.” “It was and I know she’ll be expecting it then. So this will be more of a surprise.” He grinned. I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Congrats, bro. I’m happy for you.” “Don’t congratulate me yet. She hasn’t said yes.”

“She will.” I smiled as we walked back to the party. I finished off my scotch and went to the bar for another. As the bartender was pouring it, I looked around. My heart stopped when I saw Aubrey standing next to Penelope, talking to Charles and Lexi. What the hell was she doing here? Shit. The bartender handed me my drink and I stood there, leaning against the bar sipping it while I stared at her. She was too damn beautiful and I didn’t know what to say to her. This shouldn’t have been a problem. I’d run into women all the time that I had one-night stands with. They’d yell at me or call me names and I’d just smile and keep on walking. But with Aubrey, it felt different. That was something I felt I couldn’t do. I didn’t want her to know I was here, so I would quietly escape and she’d never know. Not until Charles opened his big mouth. “Ethan, look who’s here!” he shouted from across the way. Asshole. Aubrey looked straight at me. It was as if she could see me standing there. I finished off my second scotch and casually walked over to where they were standing. “Hello, Mr. Klein.” Penelope glared at me. “Penelope. Nice to see you again.” I nodded. “Hello, Aubrey.” “Hello, Ethan,” she spoke in a soft voice. “Come on, Penelope. Come with me and Lexi and we’ll show you where we hung your spectacular painting that I bought last week.” Dick. Penelope placed her hand on Aubrey’s arm. “I’ll be right back.” “Okay.” She looked down and gave a small smile. “How have you been, Ethan?” she surprisingly asked. “Busy. How about you?” “Busy as well.” Fuck. My conscience was getting the best of me and I didn’t know why and I didn’t know how to control it. “Listen, Aubrey. I’m sorry that—”

She put her hand up. “Don’t apologize, Ethan. It was one night. That’s all. I didn’t expect you to call.” “I wanted to, but with work and everything, I just didn’t have the chance.” “It’s fine. Like I said, I didn’t expect a call.” “So, how’s school?” I asked to make the moment less awkward. “School is great. I have wonderful students.” “That’s good.” I placed my hand in my pocket. “It looks like they’re starting to serve dinner. I should get—” Before I could finish my sentence and was getting ready to make my exit, Lexi walked over and grabbed my and Aubrey’s hands. “Come on, you two. You’re sitting at our table for dinner.” She smiled. “I really need to get going, Lex. I have a lot of work to do.” “Nonsense. It’s my birthday and you’re staying. Work can wait until tomorrow. Oh, there’s someone that just showed up that I need to say hello to. Take Aubrey to that table right over there.” She pointed as she walked away. I sighed. “It’s okay, Ethan. You don’t need to walk me to the table. You didn’t ask to be my eyes.” The corners of her mouth slightly turned upwards. She may have been smiling on the outside, but on the inside, she was sad. I could tell. It was in the tone of her voice when she spoke those words. “Don’t be silly, Aubrey. I want to escort you to the table and, if you’ll have me, I would like to sit next to you. So come on and let me escort you.” “And what if I told you that I didn’t want you to sit next to me?” She lightly touched my elbow. I chuckled. “Then I guess I’d have to find another seat.” I led her to the table, pulled out the chair, and then took the seat next to hers. “I’m sorry if you disapprove, but I’m sitting next to you anyway. Can I let you in on a little secret?” I leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Sure.” She smiled.

“Charles is going to ask Lexi to marry him tonight.” The smile on her face grew wide as she leaned closer to me. “I hope she says yes. It’s a good thing you’re staying. He may need you for support if things don’t go his way.” I chuckled. “You’re right.” Penelope took a seat next to Aubrey but not before shooting me a nasty look. It was obvious that she meant what she said about protecting her best friend. Charles and Lexi joined us with a couple of other friends and as soon as dinner was served, I noticed something Penelope did with Aubrey’s plate. She turned it. “Chicken is at twelve o’clock, au gratin potatoes are at three o’clock, and roasted green beans are at nine o’clock.” “Thank you,” Aubrey spoke in a soft voice as she took her napkin and placed it in her lap. “May I get you something to drink?” I asked her. “A glass of wine would be nice. Thank you.” “I’ll be right back.” Getting up from my seat, I motioned for Charles to follow me to the bar. “What?” he asked. “You didn’t tell me that Aubrey was going to be here,” I spoke with irritation. “I didn’t know. I told Penelope to bring a friend. To be honest, I forgot Aubrey was her friend. I don’t understand what your problem is.” “You know I slept with her and never called her. Seeing her here makes things awkward.” I grabbed the glass of wine the bartender set down. He stood there and stared at me for a moment as his left eye narrowed. “You see women all the time you sleep with and never call again. Why is Aubrey different?” “She’s not.” “Bullshit, Ethan. If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t have asked me about her being here. It’s obvious that it bothers you.” “Forget I said anything.” I walked back to the table. “Here’s your wine.” I took hold of Aubrey’s hand

and placed the glass in it. “Thank you.” Touching her again brought back the memories of our night together. Her soft and silky skin, the way her perfectly manicured nails dug into my back as I thrust in and out of her, causing a sensation that was too much to bear. The way her hair lay over her shoulders and the soft and subtle moans of pleasure that escaped her lips. Lips that I desperately wanted to kiss for some reason. I came back to reality and began eating my dinner. Small talk around the table was made, mostly by Charles asking Aubrey about her life, which was none of his damn business.

Chapter 11 Aubrey I didn’t know that Ethan would be here or else I wouldn’t have come. Penelope never did tell me whose party it was and I didn’t ask. If she would have told me Charles, I would have known that there would have been a ninety-nine percent chance that Ethan would have been here. It was awkward. I won’t lie. Hearing his voice and smelling his scent sent my pheromones into overdrive once again. He was nervous. That much I could tell. “I need to use the restroom,” I softly spoke to Penelope. “I’ll show you where it is,” Ethan spoke as he lightly grabbed hold of my hand, which was resting on the table. Electrifying shocks traveled throughout my body at his mere touch. I swallowed hard as we both got up from our seats. He placed my arm in his and led me inside the house. “Here you are,” he spoke. “The toilet is on the left.” “Thanks, Ethan.” “You’re welcome. I’ll be waiting outside the door.” As soon as I finished, I washed my hands and felt around for a towel. Once I dried them off, I opened the door and his scent pelted me in the face. An ache formed between my legs as I placed my hand on his elbow. As soon as we made our way back out to the patio, we heard Charles starting to propose to Lexi. I couldn’t help but smile when she screamed yes. “I’ll be damned,” Ethan spoke. “She said yes.” “I knew she would.” “Shall we go congratulate them?” he asked. “Let’s.” I grinned. After congratulations and hugs were given, Ethan escorted me back to the table where the servers were just starting to serve cake. “It’s chocolate,” Ethan spoke.

“Chocolate’s my favorite.” “Mine too.” “Can you describe my piece to me, please?” I asked. “Of course. It’s chocolate cake with white icing and there’s two pink roses on the side of your piece.” Picking up my fork, I smiled as I stuck it into the cake and took a bite. “Oh my gosh. This is so good.” “It’s very good,” he spoke. “The one thing you should know about me is that I’m a huge sweets eater. I love all kinds of pastries.” I smiled. “I do too. My housekeeper, Ingrid, makes the most amazing tarts.” “What kind does she make?” I asked as I finished off my cake. “All kinds. Lemon, chocolate, strawberry, cherry. You name it, she makes it.” All of a sudden, I felt the soft touch of his finger against the corner of my mouth. “You had some frosting there,” he spoke. “Thank you.” I brought my napkin up to my mouth. “Would you like to finish the walk we didn’t get to take last Saturday?” he asked. “Now?” “Yes. Now. I’m going to my parents’ house tomorrow for dinner and my mom wants me to pick up a lemon cake from this bakery she loves in SoHo. I thought maybe you could come with me to pick it up and then we can go for a walk.” “Isn’t the bakery closed already?” “Not this one.” He sighed. “They’re open until midnight.” “Wow, really? That’s weird.” “I know.” Do I or don’t I? I had just started to put Ethan Klein behind me. But there was something about him I couldn’t resist and I wanted to spend time with him, even though I knew in the end he’d break my heart.

“Sure. Sounds like fun. I’ll have to tell Penelope.” “Tell Penelope what?” She walked up from behind and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’m going to leave with Ethan if that’s okay with you.” There was a moment of silence because I knew she didn’t approve. “And where do you two think you’re going?” “To a bakery to pick up a cake and then for a walk.” “Fine. Go on. Lexi asked me if I could stay a little longer because she wants to talk to me about painting her a portrait.” She kissed my cheek. “You, Mr. Klein, better watch out for her.” “I will, Penelope. You don’t have to worry about that.” I sighed as I got up from my seat, grabbed my purse, and held on to Ethan’s elbow. “Don’t mind her; she’s been very protective of me since the first day I literally ran into her and knocked all her books out of her hand.” “I don’t blame her. She’s your best friend and best friends look out for each other.” Ethan walked me to the limo and opened the door for me. “It’s nice to see you again, Aubrey,” Harry spoke. “It’s nice to see you too.” Ethan shut the door and climbed in on the other side. “To LuLu’s bakery in SoHo, Harry.” “Let me guess. A lemon cake for Mrs. Klein?” “Yep.” He sighed. I couldn’t help but let out a light laugh. Being with him tonight was nice and I was happy that I agreed to go with Penelope to the party. A part of me was still a little mad at him for not calling me, but the other part of me was happy to be with him. I still needed to be careful where he was concerned. My heart was okay and I wanted it to stay that way. I wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about me being visually impaired and I wasn’t about to let myself become too involved with a man like him. He was very complicated and I needed to find out more about him. That was a strategy I needed to play out very carefully. The limo came to a stop and Ethan announced that we had arrived at our destination. Getting out of the car, he opened the door for me.

“Take my hand so I can help you out,” he spoke. Placing my hand in his, I climbed out and then took hold of his elbow as he led me into the bakery. The minute he opened the door, the aroma of freshly baked pastries swept across my face. “It smells so good in here.” I smiled. “It always does.” “Hello, Mr. Klein,” a man spoke. “Hello, Thaddeus. Please tell me you have a lemon cake for my mother.” “You’re in luck. I have one left.” “Thank God. She would not be happy if I showed up empty handed tomorrow.” Thaddeus laughed. “Can I get you anything else?” “Do you see anything you’d like?” Ethan asked. “Shit. I’m sorry, Aubrey.” “It’s okay. Just tell me what they have.” “Donuts, cupcakes, cookies, cream puffs, slices of pie, eclairs, cheesecake.” “What kind of donuts do they have?” “Glazed, chocolate frosted, vanilla frosted, strawberry frosted, cream filled, custard, fruit filled.” “Vanilla frosted is my favorite.” I smiled. “Give me two vanilla frosted, Thaddeus,” he spoke. “Coming right up. How about two coffees on me to go with those donuts?” “Do you want coffee?” Ethan asked. “Sure, but only if you’re having one.” “You heard the lady. Two coffees.” Ethan handed me a bag. “You can hold the donuts while I carry the coffees. There are some tables outside we can sit down at. Thaddeus, I’ll be back in to pick up the cake when we’re finished.” “I’ll have it waiting for you, Mr. Klein. Enjoy your donuts and coffee.” I held on to his elbow as he led me outside.

“Hold on a second,” he spoke. “Let me set these coffees down.” After setting the cups down, he took my hand and placed it on the back of a wrought-iron chair and then took the bag with the donuts in it from me. “Here you go. I set your donut on a napkin in front of you and your coffee is to the right.” “Thank you, sir.” I grinned as I reached for my donut. “I have a question for you. It’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask you.” “What’s up?” “The night we met, in front of the painting, did you know that painting was there?” I couldn’t help but let out a light laugh. “No. That’s why I asked you what you saw when you looked at it.” Ethan chuckled. “Ah. Okay.”

Chapter 12 Ethan I felt comfortable with her, and to be honest, I had no idea why I asked her to come with me to pick up the cake and go for a walk. A few hours ago, I was ready to leave the party unnoticed, without a trace, so she’d never know I was there. But now, a part of me was happy that I didn’t because I enjoyed her company. “Shall we take our walk now?” I asked. “Yes. Don’t forget the cake.” She smiled. “You wait here and I’ll run in and grab it and give it to Harry.” When I walked back inside the bakery, Thaddeus handed me the box and I brought it outside to the limo. “Aubrey and I are going to take a walk around SoHo for a bit.” I handed him the cake. He glared at me for a moment as he took it from my hands. “Just call me when you’re ready to leave,” he spoke. Walking back to the table, I lightly placed my hand on Aubrey’s shoulder. “Are you ready?” “I am.” She got up from her seat and took hold of my elbow. I grabbed her hand and wrapped it around my arm, bringing her to my side. “Will this work?” I asked. The corners of her mouth gave way to a small beautiful smile. “Yes. This will work, but I’m also going to use my cane if that’s okay with you.” “Of course it is. Why would you even ask?” “Because people tend to feel uncomfortable. I actually had a man once tell me not to use my cane when we were on a date because he didn’t want people to know that I was blind.” “You’re kidding me, right?”

“No. I’m not.” “I sure hope you never saw him again after that.” “I didn’t. But I did make sure to trip him a couple of times with my cane before telling him never to call me again.” I chuckled. “Good for you.” The feeling that resided inside me as her arm was wrapped around mine was something I hadn’t felt in years. Something I never allowed myself to feel. I never would have walked like this if she wasn’t blind and needed assistance. I didn’t do this. I didn’t go on walks and I certainly didn’t let women wrap their arm around me. Not even in the bedroom. I was drawn to her for some reason. I tried to stay away and was successful until I saw her tonight. What is it they say? Out of sight, out of mind? She might have been out of my sight, but she certainly was never out of my mind. “If you don’t mind me asking, how do you get around?” “Since I don’t have a fancy car with a fancy driver,” she smiled, “I take a cab, the subway, or I walk. Just like all the other people in New York. I also use my iPhone for almost everything, even my clothes. I used to tag each color a different way, but now I use an app and all I have to do is swish my phone over what I’m thinking about wearing and it tells me the color. It’s so much easier.” She laughed. “I bet it is.” “I do have apps for almost everything. I use the GPS like it’s my eyes and I use an app that tells me what’s around me, like the locations of ATMs, shops, and restaurants. Technology has come so far in helping those who can’t see that sometimes I fear people will become too dependent on it and then what happens if something goes wrong and we can’t access that technology? That’s why I still use what I’ve learned as well. No matter what happens, you can never lose that.” As we were walking, Aubrey’s phone went off. “It’s my apartment building. Why would they be calling?” “You better answer it.” “Hello. What? Oh my God! Was anyone hurt? How bad is it? Did you call my Aunt Charlotte? Thank you for calling.” “What happened?” “That was Rebecca, the building manager. There was a fire in my building and everyone has been evacuated. I need to get there, Ethan.”

“We’ll go. Let me call Harry to bring the car around.” “Okay. I’m going to call my aunt.” I placed the call to Harry and as soon as he pulled up to the curb, we climbed in and headed straight to Aubrey’s apartment building. “Was your aunt home when it happened?” I asked after she hung up with her. “No. She’s in North Carolina visiting a friend of hers whose husband just passed away. The funeral is tomorrow and she’s catching the first flight out after that.” Harry needed to park around the corner because lines of fire trucks and police cars had the street blocked. Climbing out, I grabbed on to Aubrey’s hand and we headed towards the building but were shortly stopped by a police officer. “I’m sorry, but you can’t go near there.” “I live in that building,” Aubrey spoke. “I’m sorry, miss. All residents have been evacuated and need to make other arrangements for tonight.” “But—” “Come on, Aubrey.” I placed my arm around her. “Let’s go back to the limo and figure this out.” “I need to call Penelope,” she spoke as she climbed inside and pulled out her phone. “She didn’t answer, so I’m going to try Ian.” She placed her phone in her lap after she got Ian’s voicemail. I tightly clenched my fist as I looked up and saw Harry staring at me through the rearview mirror. I had my room at the Plaza she could stay at for as long as she needed, but if I sent her there, she’d be all alone and I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. “You can stay at my place tonight.” “That’s sweet of you, Ethan, but I don’t want to be a bother. I can get a room at a hotel nearby.” “You could, but I would feel better if you stayed at my place. Your building just had a fire and I don’t think you should be alone.” “I’ll be fine, Ethan. Really.” “Maybe you would be, but you’re staying at my townhome tonight and I don’t want to hear another word about it. Do you understand?” I spoke in an authoritative tone. “If you insist.”

“I do. Harry, take us home.” “Very well, sir.” He smiled at me. I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. “Do you have an extra toothbrush?” She smirked. “No. Do we need to stop at the drug store on the way?” “I think so.” She scrunched up her nose in the cutest way possible. “Harry, we’re making a stop at the drugstore.” He pulled over to the curb, and after climbing out, Aubrey held on to my arm and I walked her down the street to CVS. Walking in the store, I looked up at the signs to see which aisle the toothbrushes were in. “Aisle five is where we need to go.” “Okay. Lead the way.” A smile crossed my lips after she said that and I couldn’t help but stare at her. “What kind of toothbrush do you want?” I asked. “Anything medium is fine.” “Do you have a favorite color? Shit. I’m sorry.” “What are you apologizing for?” “Asking you if you had a favorite color. I mean, without your eyesight, I would assume you don’t even know what colors are.” “Hmm.” She placed her finger on her lips. “I lost my eyesight when I was eight, but I learned all of my colors when I was about four years old. I know what colors are and what they look like. And to answer your question, my favorite color is blue.” “Again, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” “Stop apologizing and just grab me a blue toothbrush.” She laughed. I grabbed one and asked her if there was anything else she needed. “Do you have toothpaste?” she asked. “Of course I do. Do you think that I never brush my teeth?”

She smiled. “Just making sure, Mr. Klein. I should also get some new deodorant. I’m almost out anyway.” “Okay. That’s in the next aisle over.” She took hold of my arm and I led her to aisle four. “What kind?” “Secret. But make sure it’s the solid, not the gel.” “Damn. Why are there so many scents?” “Because we women have to smell nice and we always have to have options. You pick.” “Me?” I asked. “Yes, you.” Her smile grew wide. I sighed as I started taking the caps off different scents and smelling them. What the hell was I doing? “This lavender one smells good.” I held it up to her nose. “Lavender is my favorite scent. It’s the same one I have at home.” “Lavender it is, then. Anything else?” “I’ll need some makeup remover wipes.” “Where would those be?” I asked. “Skincare aisle?” she asked. Looking up at the signs above, I found that skincare was one aisle over. “Next one over. Take my arm.” I led Aubrey over to where the facial products were and picked up a package that said “Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths,” and placed it in her hand. “What brand are they?” Looking at the package, I spoke, “Neutrogena.” “Those are fine. Thank you.” “Anything else?” “Nope. That should be all.”

She took hold of my arm and we walked up to the cash register to check out. Once the clerk rang up Aubrey’s items and gave her the total, she reached in her purse and took out her credit card, handing it to the young girl. “You need to swipe it yourself,” the clerk spoke. “And you can’t do it for her, why?” I spoke in irritation. “Because we have the machine right there, sir.” “Ethan, it’s fine,” Aubrey spoke as she felt the machine with her hand. “She’s visually impaired. There’s no reason why you can’t do it for her.” Aubrey slid her card through the machine and the clerk shot me a look. “Looks like she did just fine to me,” she spoke with an attitude. “You need an attitude adjustment. I want to speak with your manager.” Aubrey placed her hand on my arm. “Don’t, Ethan. It’s not worth it. Let’s just go home.” “No. It’s not okay. When you’re working with the public, you don’t treat customers like that.” “Thank you.” Aubrey smiled at the young sales clerk. “Have a nice night.” She grabbed hold of my arm and started pulling me along. Once we climbed into the limo, Aubrey sighed. “Listen, Ethan. I know this is new to you, but I can manage things on my own. I’ve lived with this for the past seventeen years. I’m used to people being rude and having attitudes.” “What did he do?” Harry asked as he looked at me through the rearview mirror with a grin. “He was ready to get someone fired because she wouldn’t slide my card for me.” “Is that so?” His glare intensified. “She was rude and it was uncalled for,” I spoke. “She wasn’t that rude and she didn’t know I was blind. If I would have insisted that I couldn’t do it, she would have helped me.” “Doubt it. She was a snotty little bitch.” Aubrey let out a light laugh. As soon as Harry pulled up to the curb, I got out and opened the door for Aubrey, reaching for her hand

and helping her out. “There’s two steps going up and then there’s a slight turn to the left with another seven stairs leading up to the front door.” “Sounds nice.” She smiled. As we stepped inside, Aubrey spoke, “I just need you to explain to me the layout of the house.” “Oh. Well, it’s eight thousand square feet with six floors.” The corners of her mouth curved upwards as a small laugh escaped her lips. “Eight thousand square feet? Why do you, a single man, need a house this big? Are you planning on having a large family?” “No. No family for me, ever. But, it’s nice to have the room when I host parties or when my parents come to visit. Plus, it was a foreclosure and I got a good deal on it.” I led her to the right, placing her hand on the steel elevator doors. “This is the elevator that goes to all floors and the button is right here on the left. The door opens to the right.” I pushed the button and the door opened. Aubrey walked inside and I followed, taking her hand once again and placing it on the panel on the right. “Here are the buttons and there’s also braille lettering, which I never noticed before.” “Most people don’t,” she spoke. “You also have stairs, right?” “Yes. There are staircases on every floor of the house. Since we came through the front door, we are on what’s called the Parlor level, which consists of my office, the living room, and a bathroom. Since you’ll only be here one night, let me take you to your room and we can start from there.” “Okay.” She smiled. We stepped onto the elevator and I pushed the button to the third floor. When the doors opened, I guided Aubrey to the right. “Your bedroom is to the right when you step out of the elevator.” I watched as she counted the steps into the bedroom. Looking at the bed, I wanted nothing more than to throw her on it and fuck her right here and now. She had my attention all night and I wanted more. “The bed is to the left.” I guided her over to it. “And next to it is a nightstand on each side. Across

from the bed is a dresser with a TV mounted on the wall directly above it.” “And the bathroom?” she asked. “This way.” I placed my hand on hers, which was wrapped securely around my arm, and led her to the bathroom. “There’s a large sunken tub with jets if you want to take a bath and a glass enclosed shower next to it. Now, I’ll show you where the kitchen is.” As soon as we made it to the kitchen, I explained the layout to her and showed her to the island, where she ran her hand along the top of the high wooden chairs. “Describe the kitchen to me. Like the color of the wall, cabinets, and appliances.” “The walls are an eggshell color. The cabinets are a dark cherry, the granite countertops are a burgundy color and all of my appliances are stainless steel.” “I can picture it in my head and it looks beautiful.” She grinned. “Which floor is your bedroom on?” “The entire fourth floor is the master suite.” “Wow.” She smirked. “Fancy having a whole floor to yourself.” “I will admit that I like it.” I grinned.

Chapter 13 Aubrey His scent filtered throughout the house. There was no escaping it. It had been a long night and I was growing tired, so I decided that I wanted to take a bath. “If it’s okay with you, I’m going to take a bath.” “That’s fine. Do you need help?” A smile escaped my lips as I lowered my head. “I can manage on my own like I always do.” “Okay. Do you need me to help you upstairs?” he asked. “I can find my way,” I spoke as I headed towards the elevator. “Do you by any chance have any bubble bath?” I bit down on my bottom lip. “As a matter of fact, I do. It’s in the corner of the bathtub by the faucet. Ingrid put a bottle of it there since it’s the guest bathroom. She said you never know when the mood would strike for a bubble bath.” “Great. Thank you.” Stepping into the bathroom, I started the water and felt around for the bottle of bubbles. Once I had it in my hand, I removed the cap and held it up to my nose, taking in the fruity scent. I undressed and carefully climbed into the bubbly water. Sinking down and closing my eyes to relax, I heard a knock on the bathroom door. “I’m leaving a t-shirt on the bed for you to sleep in.” “Thanks, Ethan. I appreciate it.” “I’ll be downstairs in my office if you need anything.” “Okay.” I inhaled deeply, letting the fruity scent of the bubbles sedate me. He was being so nice and it was hard to imagine that people called him “The Iceman.” I had yet to see that side of him. Climbing out the tub, I reached for the towel, wrapped it around me, stood in front of the sink, and removed my makeup with a cleansing cloth. Once I was finished, I went to the bedroom, walked over to the bed, and picked up the

cotton t-shirt that Ethan had left me. As I slipped it over my head, my phone rang and alerted me that Penelope was calling. “It’s about time you returned my call,” I answered. “Sorry. I was with someone.” “And who were you with?” I could hear her swallow hard on the other end. “This guy I met at the party. His name is Leo and he’s brutally handsome and we may or may not have had sex in the backseat of his car.” “What?!” I exclaimed. “Don’t judge me, Miss I just met Ethan and slept with him the next night.” “Fine. I won’t judge, but I called to tell you there was a fire at my apartment building.” “Oh my God! Are you okay?” “I wasn’t home when it started and I’m not sure what damage there is.” “Where the hell are you?” “I’m at Ethan’s house. He insisted I spend the night here since I couldn’t get hold of you or Ian.” “Oh. I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. I was going to go to a hotel, but he wouldn’t let me.” “Hmm,” she spoke. “What’s that ‘hmm’ for?” “Nothing. Listen, I’m happy you’re safe and I’m sorry I didn’t answer, but I have to go. Leo and I are heading back to my place.” “Do you know anything about him?” “As much as you knew about Ethan when you slept with him. Call me tomorrow.” “I will. Love you.” “Love you too, baby doll.” I ended the call and made my way down to the Parlor level where Ethan’s office was.

“Are you in here?” I asked as I approached the doorway. “Yes. How was your bath?” he asked. “It was good and very relaxing.” “I must say, Aubrey, you look really good in my t-shirt.” I let out a light laugh. “Thanks. Would you mind telling me what color it is?” I heard the rustling of his pants and soft footsteps as he approached me. “How about you show me how that app works? The one that tells you the color of your garments.” I pushed the app button and scanned my phone down the t-shirt. It alerted me that the color was black. “That’s really cool,” he spoke. “Is it ever wrong?” “God, I hope not.” I laughed. He let out a chuckle as he lightly took hold of my arm. “How about a glass of wine before bed?” “I would like that.” I smiled. “If you don’t mind, I would like to lead you to the kitchen.” “Be my guest.” He let go of my arm. I pushed the button to the elevator and once we stepped inside, I found the button to the Garden level and pushed it. The doors opened and I stepped out, turning to the right, and making my way to the kitchen. “See.” I grinned. “No need to worry, Mr. Klein. I got this whole blind thing down.” “I’m sorry, Aubrey. It’s just—” “It’s just you’ve never met a blind person before and you can’t understand how we do the things we do. I get it. You’re not the only person who thinks that. I’m the same as you, Ethan. I can do everything you can do, and I can go to the same places you go. The only difference is I don’t have eyesight.” “I know that.” He lightly placed his hand on the side of my face. Taking in a sharp breath, my heart began to rapidly beat. ****

Ethan While my hand stroked her cheek, my other clenched into a fist. I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t control

myself and I knew she wanted me too. I still had more of her body to explore and the desire inside me was raging out of control. Not to mention my cock, which was getting hard just by looking at her in my tshirt. I leaned down and my tongue softly glided over her neck. A light moan escaped her. She didn’t push me away as she brought her hands up to my head and her fingers tangled through my hair. I picked her up and her legs wrapped tightly around my waist. Carrying her to the elevator, I took her to her room, sat her on the bed, and pulled my t-shirt over her head. Kneeling down, I took her breasts in my mouth, one at a time, exploring them and gently wrapping my lips around her hardened nipples. Her hands roamed down my body as her fingers gripped the bottom of my shirt, pulling it up and over my head. Standing up, I took down my pants, kicked them to the side, and then pulled the covers back. I was taking this slow with her because I needed to devour every inch of her body. I laid her back so her head rested on the pillow. Her hands planted firmly on my chest. I kept staring at her lips. Parted lips that were begging to be kissed. I was close as I leaned down and could feel the warm air that escaped them. But instead, I slid my tongue down her torso, circling her belly button as her tummy tightened and her back arched with pleasure. Slowly making my way down to her clit, my tongue made tiny teasing circles before sliding up and down her, taking in the wetness that was already there. Placing my hands on her inner thighs, I spread her legs wider and inserted my tongue in her opening. She was so beautiful and her pussy was perfection. As my mouth devoured every inch of her swollen area, my hands reached up and played with her breasts. Her moans increased in loudness and her body tightened around me as she came. I wasn’t finished with her yet as I plunged a finger inside and my mouth made its way back up to her. “I want you on top of me,” I whispered in her ear. “I want to watch that beautiful body of yours fuck me until I come.” A smile crossed her lips as I climbed off the bed to get a condom. She grabbed my hand and when I turned and looked at her, she spoke, “I’m on birth control, so you don’t need to use a condom.” “Are you sure?” “I’m positive. I want to feel you and only you.” I climbed into bed and pulled her on top of me, holding her naked body against me. She sat up and took hold of my rock hard cock in her hand, stroking it up and down with a firm grip. Throwing my head back, I gasped at her touch. It was sensual and I was about to explode. Hovering over me, she brushed her clit against the head of my cock before inserting it inside her, slowly pushing down until I was buried deep inside. She moved up and down me like a goddess and circled her hips, causing my arousal to heighten. Her pussy clamped around me as she moved back and forth in a perfect rhythm that sent shivers down my spine and her wetness coated my cock with sheer delight. I fondled her breasts as she rode me, fingering

her hard nipples and taking in the glorious sight before me. I’d never seen a more beautiful woman than I was seeing at that moment. Her hair that fell over her shoulders, the upward curve of her mouth that produced an exquisite smile, and her palms that were firmly planted on my chest. Loud moans escaped us both as her movements became rapid. Her clit swelled against my cock and she was about to come. “Come for me, baby,” I panted. “As soon as you come, I will. I’m holding back for you.” I grasped her hips and moved her back and forth against me, intensifying the pleasure for both of us. She howled as I felt the warmth pour from her and my cock exploded while I held her still and strained to make sure I filled her with every last drop I had in me. She collapsed on my chest. Her breasts pressed firmly against me. Wrapping my arms tightly around her back, I held her and we lay there until our heart rates slowed. She rolled off of me and lay on her side, as did I. Bringing my hand to her cheek, I ran my finger down it and smiled. Even though I knew she couldn’t see my smile, I didn’t care. “You were amazing,” I spoke. “So were you.” She smiled. I knew I needed to leave, but I didn’t want to just yet, so I lay on my back and pulled her into me, holding her tight. “Can I ask you something?” I spoke. “Of course.” “You don’t seem upset about your apartment building. I thought maybe you’d be all stressed out or something, but you haven’t spoken a single word about it.” “I’m okay, my aunt is okay, and the rest of the tenants are okay. Nobody was hurt and that’s all that matters.” “Aren’t you worried about your stuff? The damage to your apartment?” “Not really. Those are all material things and they can easily be replaced and my apartment can be fixed. Everything will work out.” The strength that this woman possessed amazed me. I lay there, staring up at the ceiling as my finger caressed her arm and the demons inside me tried to claw their way out. “I guess I should go to my room now.” There was silence. No response from her. I looked down and saw she was sound asleep, an angel who

was worn out from the activities of the night. I sighed, for I didn’t want to wake her. Maybe I’d just close my eyes for a while and when I awoke, she’d have moved and I could quietly leave.

Chapter 14 Aubrey My eyes opened to the sounds of Ethan mumbling something in his sleep. His legs were restless and I could feel him tossing and turning. I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying, but he was definitely having a nightmare. “Ethan,” I softly spoke as I reached over and touched his arm, which was covered in sweat. He jerked it away from me and I heard the rustling of the sheets as he rolled over on his side. I reached out to touch him and placed my hand on his back. He was soaked and still mumbling. But this time, his mumbles grew louder and then suddenly, they stopped. I lay there for a moment, waiting, wondering if he had awoken from his nightmare. “Ethan, are you okay?” I could hear the sharp intake of his breath before he spoke. “I’m fine, Aubrey. Go back to sleep.” “Are you sure?” “I said go back to sleep,” he spoke in a commanding tone. Rolling over, I pulled the sheet close to me and closed my eyes. After a few moments, I heard his feet hit the floor, the door open, and before I knew it, he was gone. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t. Whatever that dream he had was about, it rattled him and I got the feeling that it wasn’t the first time he had it. The next morning, I pushed the time app on my phone and it alerted me that it was eight o’clock. I climbed out of bed, put on Ethan’s t-shirt, and headed downstairs to see if he was up. When I walked into the kitchen, I called for Ethan but got no response. “Oh, hello,” a female voice from behind spoke. “Hello.” “May I help you with something?” she asked. “I was looking for Ethan.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” “I’m Aubrey.” I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Aubrey. I’m Ingrid, Ethan’s housekeeper.” She placed her hand in mine. “Did you spend the night?” “Yes. Upstairs in the guest bedroom. Ethan was kind enough to let me stay since there was a fire in my apartment building last night and everyone was evacuated.” “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. Did you check in his office?” “No. I just came down here first.” “Sometimes he goes out for a run in the mornings. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you some coffee?” “Thank you. That would be nice.” I ran my hand along the edge of the island until I felt the tall chairs that sat in front of it. “Just in case you’re wondering, I’m blind,” I spoke as I took a seat. “Really? I never would have—Okay, I didn’t want to ask. I’m sorry.” I softly laughed. “Don’t be sorry. I kind of like to get that out of the way.” “Well, you just sit right there and let me make you some breakfast. I’ll get the coffee started right now.” I folded my hands as I sat at the island and waited for the coffee to brew. I couldn’t stop thinking about last night. Not only the mind-blowing sex we had, but also the nightmare that sent Ethan out of my room. “So, how do you know Ethan?” Ingrid asked. “We met at my best friend’s art exhibition and then we ran into each other last night at a party. We were out in SoHo when I got the call about my apartment building.” I heard a door open and footsteps walk into the kitchen. “Ingrid, what are you doing here? Today’s your one Sunday off a month.” “I forgot my grocery list yesterday and I just came back to get it when I met Aubrey.” “Good morning, Ethan,” I spoke. “Morning, Aubrey,” he spoke with a flat tone. “Did you have a good run?” Ingrid asked.

“Yeah. It was okay. I need to go shower. I’ll be down after.” “Do you want breakfast?” she shouted as I heard his footsteps running up the stairs. “No. I’ll grab some coffee when I come down.” I sat there with a heavy heart that he could treat me like he did after our night together. I was confused and wondered if I had done something wrong. “Here’s your coffee, honey.” “Thank you.” “I make the best Belgian waffles and they’re Ethan’s favorite. How about I whip up a batch and I bet he’ll be down here the minute he smells them.” “It’s your day off, Ingrid. I’m fine with just coffee. I’m not very hungry anyway.” She placed her hand on mine. “Listen, honey. Don’t let that man get you down. I know he can be rude and angry and just an overall asshole ninety percent of the time, but deep down, he has a heart of gold. You just have to keep chipping away at all the stone around it before you get there.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Now, how about some of Ingrid’s Belgian waffles?” “Sure.” I smiled. As I was sitting there, my phone rang and alerted me that my Aunt Charlotte was calling. “Hello,” I answered. “Hello, sweetheart. I just wanted to let you know that I spoke with the fire department and we won’t be able to get back into the apartment until tomorrow. I’m going to stay an extra day and fly out in the morning. Where are you staying?” “With a friend. I’m fine.” “Okay. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.” “I love you too, Aunt Charlotte.” I sighed as I ended the call. “Bad news?” Ingrid asked. “They aren’t letting anyone back inside the building until tomorrow.”

“No worries. You can stay here another night.” “Thanks, Ingrid, but I think I’ve stayed long enough, plus Ethan is going to his parents’ house today to celebrate Labor Day. After breakfast, I’m just going to grab my clothes and go.”

Chapter 15 Ethan I couldn’t shake the fact that I had another nightmare last night, and what made matters worse was that Aubrey was there. Now she’d start asking questions and I wasn’t about to discuss anything with her. I was angry. Angry that the nightmares returned and I had no idea why. I took in a deep breath as I ended my shower and got dressed. As I walked down the stairs and headed to the kitchen, the smell of Ingrid’s Belgian waffles smacked me in the face. Damn her. “I told you I wasn’t hungry,” I spoke as I walked into the kitchen and over to the coffee pot for a cup of coffee. “I made them for Aubrey. Not you. So go take your coffee and enjoy it.” Rolling my eyes, I leaned up against the counter and sipped my coffee while staring at Aubrey, who was sitting at the island eating breakfast. Damn, those waffles smelled and looked so good. “Fine, Ingrid. Give me some waffles.” I sighed as I sat down next to Aubrey. “As soon as we’re done eating, I’ll take you back to your apartment.” “Okay,” she softly spoke. I saw Ingrid glance over at her and then back at me. “Aubrey got a call and they aren’t letting anyone back into the apartment building until tomorrow.” “Is that true?” I asked her. “Yes. My Aunt Charlotte called. Don’t worry. You’ve helped me enough and I appreciate it.” She got up from her chair. “I’m going to go get dressed.” She headed towards the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Ingrid shot me a look and stood there shaking her head. “What?” “First of all, you didn’t tell me that the girl who made you dinner was blind. And second of all, you’re an asshole.” “How am I an asshole?” “First, it was your attitude towards her when you came back from your run. And, second, you are not

going to sit there and tell me that you didn’t sleep with her last night. Because I know you and you can’t keep your dick in your pants for nothing when a woman is around.” “You know what? I should fire you right now.” “Go ahead and see who else would put up with you and your bullshit every day.” I rolled my eyes. She was right. “In fact, you’re not worthy of my Belgian waffles.” She walked over and took the plate away from me. “Jesus Christ, Ingrid. What the hell is your problem?” “That poor girl up there is feeling like she’s not welcome here because of you and your attitude. She’s not like the others, Ethan.” “Don’t you think I know that!” I slammed my fist on the counter. “She’s different and she’s an incredible woman and I like spending time with her, but it scares the hell out of me. I had another nightmare last night.” “Then I suggest you give Dr. Perry a call and work it out. In the meantime, I think you owe Aubrey an apology.” I sighed as I got up from my chair and went up to Aubrey’s room. Lightly knocking on the door, she told me to come in. “I’m ready to go.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Where do you think you’re going?” “Penelope’s, I guess. I tried to call her again, but she didn’t answer. She’s probably still with that Leo guy.” I sat down on the edge of the bed and took hold of her hand. “I’m sorry about last night and I don’t want to talk about it. I shouldn’t have snapped at you the way I did or given you an attitude when I came in this morning. You have done nothing wrong, Aubrey. You’re staying here tonight. Okay?” “Thank you, Ethan, but it’s best if I just go.” “You may think it’s best, but I don’t. So, it’s settled; you’re staying here tonight.” “You think so?” She grinned. “I know so and it’s no longer up for discussion.”

She laid her head on my shoulder. “Thank you again.” “You’re welcome.” I kissed the top of her head as I closed my eyes. My fist clenched at what I was about to ask her next. Was I making the right choice? I didn’t know. But what I did know was that it felt right. “Would you like to come spend the day with me at my parents’ house?” “That’s nice of you to ask, but it’s your family day and I don’t want to intrude. You go and have a good time. I’ll be fine.” “You won’t be intruding, and if I didn’t want you there, I wouldn’t have asked.” “I don’t want to go in the same clothes as last night and I don’t have any makeup on. I’m sure I look like a hot mess.” “Actually, you look beautiful.” I smiled. I had an idea. One that I thought she would enjoy. “Come with me.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her up from the bed. “Where are we going?” “You’ll see. We’ll leave now because we have a stop to make first.” “Is Harry outside already?” she asked. “Harry isn’t driving us. I am.” “You’re driving the limo?” She grinned. “No. I’m driving my personal car.” I led her to the garage and opened the door to the Bentley. She climbed in and ran her hand along the leather seat. “Sometimes I wish that I could drive.” She glanced over at me as I pulled out of the garage. “Not in New York you don’t.” I chuckled. I pulled up to the valet parking at Bloomingdales and helped Aubrey out of the car. “Are you going to tell me where we are?” she asked. “Why don’t you see if you can guess once we get inside?”

She held on to me as we entered through the doors. Once we were inside, she stopped and stood there for a moment, trying to figure out where we were. “A large department store. We’re either at Bloomingdales or at Bergdorf. But I’m going to say Bloomingdales.” She grinned. I stood there shaking my head in disbelief that she knew exactly where we were. “How did you know?” “Because we weren’t in the car that long and Bloomingdales is closer to your townhouse.” This woman never ceased to amaze me and I found myself at war between feeling comfortable with her and wanting to run as fast as I could. “So why are we here?” “I thought you would like to have your makeup done and then we could get you a new outfit to wear to my parents’ house.” “Are you serious?” She smiled as she turned her head in my direction. “Very serious.” “Ethan. I don’t—” She lowered her head. “We’re doing this, Aubrey. I want you to be comfortable at my parents’ house. Now, the girl at the Chanel counter isn’t busy. Is that okay?” “Chanel is fine.” I took her over to the counter and a young saleswoman named Vanessa asked if she could help us. “She would like to get her makeup done.” “Do you have an appointment?” she asked as she looked at Aubrey. “No, she doesn’t. We’re heading out for the day and she needs her makeup done.” “I’m sorry, sir, but we do makeup by appointment only.” I sighed as I pulled my wallet from my pocket and took out a hundred-dollar bill. “This should cover the makeup session plus we’ll be buying whatever makeup you use. I do believe you work on commission, correct?” “Yes, sir.” She smiled. “Please have a seat—”

“Aubrey. Her name is Aubrey and she is visually impaired.” “Oh. Okay. Do you usually wear makeup?” she asked her. “Yes. I wear it every day.” “Great. I’ll go pick a foundation to match your skin tone and we’ll get started.” While Aubrey was getting her makeup done, I pulled my phone out, stepped away, and called my mother. “Hello.” “Hey, Mom.” “Ethan. You better not be calling to say you’re not coming.” “I’m not. I’m calling to let you know that I will be bringing someone with me.” “Oh. Who?” “Her name is Aubrey.” “Ethan! That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to meet her. How long have you been dating her?” “We’re not dating, Mom. We’re friends. Her apartment building had a fire last night and she will be staying at my place for a couple of days. I thought since she was there, she should come instead of staying home alone.” “Perfect. I can’t wait to tell your sister.” “Mom, she’s not my girlfriend, so don’t go saying that she is. She’s just a friend of mine. There’s something you need to know about her before we come over.” “What?” “She’s blind.” “Oh dear. Thanks for letting me know.” “We’ll see you soon, Mom.” “Bye, darling.” Placing my phone back in my pocket, I walked over to where Aubrey was sitting and smiled as I looked at her made-up face. “She’s all done. What do you think?”

“I think she looks absolutely beautiful.” I smiled. “So you would like to purchase all the products I used?” Vanessa grinned. “Yes, just put it on my account here.” “Your name?” “Ethan Klein.” “Thank you, Mr. Klein.” She smiled and then turned to Aubrey. “Your boyfriend is a keeper. You better hold on tight to him.” “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my pimp.” Aubrey smirked as she got up from the stool and lightly grabbed hold of my arm. I looked at Vanessa, who was standing there with a shocked expression on her face, and gave her a wink. As we were taking the escalator to the next level where the women’s clothing was, I asked Aubrey why she said that. “Because she shouldn’t just assume things like that.” “True. But a pimp? Really?” “Did you want me to say you were my gay best friend?” She arched her brow. “I suppose pimp was fine.” I chuckled as I stopped at a rack of long dresses. “You like long dresses, right? I’ve seen you in a couple of them. Here’s a rack of very casual looking ones. Perfect for a barbeque, I think.” She took the fabric of one of the dresses on the rack and felt it between her fingers. “This feels nice. What does it look like?” “It’s navy blue with small white flowers all over it.” I pulled it from the rack and held it up while she felt the neckline and ran her hands all the way down the dress. “I’ll have to try it on. Do they have a small?” I looked at the tag on the inside of the dress and smiled. “This one is a small.”

“Lead the way to the fitting room, Mr. Klein.” She held on to my arm. The sales associate opened up a dressing room for her and I took a seat on the chair that was sitting right outside. After a few moments, Aubrey called my name and I stepped inside to see how stunning she looked in that dress. “How does it look on me?” she asked. “It’s perfect. You look beautiful.” “You’re not just saying that, are you?” She smirked. “No. If I didn’t like it, I would tell you. I don’t hold back on anything.” “How much is it?” “Don’t you worry about the cost. I’m paying for it.” “No, Ethan. You already paid for my makeup. I can buy myself a dress.” “It’s going on my account, Aubrey. End of discussion.” “Is everything okay in here?” the sales associate asked as she walked up. “Yes. I’ll be buying that dress and she will be wearing it out of the store.” “Very good. Just follow me and I’ll ring you up and remove the sensor and the tags.” I walked inside the dressing room and grabbed Aubrey’s other clothes. “Do you need shoes?” I asked. “No. The white sandals I’m wearing are fine.” I led her over to the cash register, picked up a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote a note to the sales associate. “My friend is blind and I don’t want her knowing how much the dress costs. Please do not say the total out loud.” I handed the note to her. She read it and then looked at me with a smile. “You can just put the dress on my account. The name is Ethan Klein.” “You’re all set, Mr. Klein. Thank you for shopping at Bloomindales.” She nodded her head. I had the valet bring the car around and we set out to my parents’ house.

Chapter 16 Aubrey I was very appreciative of Ethan’s generosity and he made me feel special. The kind of special that I had never felt before. I was slowly falling for this man and I didn’t want to, but he was making it impossible with the sweet things he had done for me. I remembered his comment about never wanting a family and it made me curious as to why he felt that way. Did I dare ask him now? That probably wasn’t a good idea since I didn’t want to stir up anything before arriving at his parents’ house. “We’re here,” Ethan announced as the car stopped. “I’m a little nervous.” “Don’t be. My parents are great people and they will welcome you with open arms.” As Ethan helped me out of the car, my phone rang and alerted me that Ian was calling. “Let me answer this for a second,” I spoke. “Go ahead.” “It’s about time you returned my call,” I answered. “Oh sorry. I didn’t know you called. My phone got stolen last night at the club and I had to get a new one this morning.” “That’s a bummer.” “I know. I was just calling to see if you wanted to hang out today. A bunch of us are getting together in Central Park for a barbeque.” “That sounds great, but I’m spending the day with Ethan. In fact, we just arrived at his parents’ house, so I’ll call you later.” “Wait. What? You lost me at you were spending the day with Ethan. He called you?” “Bye, Ian. We’ll talk later.” After ending the call, I slipped my phone back inside my purse and lightly took hold of Ethan’s arm as he guided me up to the house. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day and perfect for a family get-together.

The minute we stepped inside the door, I heard footsteps coming from all directions. “You made it!” a cheerful woman’s voice spoke. “It’s about time, big brother.” “Good to see you, son.” “Everyone, I would like you to meet my friend, Aubrey Callahan. Aubrey, to the right of you is my sister Lila.” “It’s nice to meet you, Lila.” “It’s nice to meet you too, Aubrey. Do you mind if I hug you? We’re a family of huggers.” I gave her a smile and we lightly hugged. “Standing in front of you is my mother, Nancy.” “Aubrey, you’re gorgeous. Welcome to our home. It’s so good to meet you.” She hugged me tight. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you as well.” “And over to your left is my father, Joe.” “Nice to meet you, Aubrey.” He hugged me. “Nice to meet you too.” Their home felt warm and inviting with a lemon scent that filtered in the air. “Come on. Let’s go out on the patio and have some drinks,” Nancy spoke. I placed my hand on Ethan’s arm as he led me outside. “There’s a large step out the door,” he spoke. I stepped down and he took me over to the patio table and pulled out a chair for me. “Thank you.” I smiled. “What can I get you to drink?” he asked. “Whatever you’re having is fine.” “I’m going to have a beer.” “A beer sounds good.”

“Really? You drink beer?” “Yeah. I drink beer.” I grinned. “Two beers coming right up.” When Ethan went off to get a couple of beers, Nancy reached over and grabbed my hand. “You are the first girl Ethan has brought around since—” “Mom, we aren’t supposed to talk about that,” Lila chimed in. “Aren’t supposed to talk about what?” Ethan asked as he set the beer bottle down in front of me. “The accident I had the other day with my car,” Lila spoke nervously. “You were in an accident?” Ethan asked. “Not really. I just backed up too far and hit the brick on the garage. I feel really stupid about it and I didn’t want it talked about.” “You should. How the hell did you do that?” Ethan chuckled. “Like I said, we aren’t supposed to talk about it, so drop it.” I let out a light laugh. “By the way, where’s Kenny?” Ethan asked. “He’s on his way. Why? Do you miss him or something?” “No. It’s just the two of you are like Siamese twins. It’s weird just seeing half of you.” “Shut up, Ethan.” Lila laughed. As I sat there and listened to the banter between him and his sister, my mind kept wandering to what his mom said about me being the first girl he had brought around “since.” But what really piqued my curiosity was that Lila said they weren’t supposed to talk about it. How long had it been? Two years? Three years? Was she the reason he said he never wanted a family? The more time I spent with him, the more questions I had. He was a very closed off man, that much I already knew, and I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to tell me anything about his past. “Do you work, Aubrey?” Nancy asked. “Yes. I teach English Literature over at Roosevelt High.” “Wow. How wonderful. How long have you been teaching?”

“This is my second year.” “That’s amazing. Good for you, honey.” She patted my hand. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some things prepped for dinner.” “May I help with something?” “No, honey. You’re a guest in our home. You just sit there and relax. There’s not much to do.” The one thing people didn’t understand about the visually impaired was that we were capable of doing everything that those with sight could. I often wondered that when people told me just to sit and relax, if it was their way of not trusting me. That was the biggest obstacle in my life since I lost my sight. People believed that because I couldn’t see, I couldn’t do. It was their non-belief that fueled me to do everything I could and more to the best of my ability all these years. “Ethan, come in the house with me. I got a new set of golf clubs the other day that I want to show you.” “Sure, Dad. I’ll be back, Aubrey,” he spoke to me. “Okay. I’ll be here.” I smiled. “So, how did you and my brother meet?” Lila asked. “We met at an art gallery where my best friend was having her first art exhibition. He asked me out and I told him no. Then he asked my friend, the artist, for my number. She refused to give it to him but told him where I go on Saturday mornings.” “Where do you go?” “I go to Shakespeare Garden in Central Park to read for a couple of hours. I was sitting there the next morning and he claimed he was taking a stroll.” Lila let out a loud laugh. “My brother? Taking a stroll? You didn’t buy that, did you?” “No.” I smiled. “I invited him over for dinner and we had a nice night. Then last night, we ran into each other again at his friend’s party.” “And now you’re here meeting the family,” she spoke. “Interesting.” “Interesting?” “You’re the first girl we’ve met in nine years. You must be pretty special to him.” “I don’t think so. We haven’t known each other that long. He didn’t want me to sit home alone all day since I’m staying with him until I can get back into my apartment. Are the two of you close?” I asked.

“We used to be. But he doesn’t come around much and hasn’t for years. Ever since Sophia, he’s changed and not in a good way.” “Sophia?” “Shit. Listen, you have to promise not to tell him that I told you. We aren’t allowed to talk about it and if he catches us, he’ll be so pissed off and who knows what he’ll do.” “I promise I won’t. You can trust me.” “Sophia was his girlfriend who passed away in a terrible accident. I’ve said too much already. Let’s go inside and see if my mom needs any help.” “Sure. Okay.” I got up from my chair. Finally, I knew a little more about him. A tragedy that struck his heart and a hurt so deep that it still affected him all these years later.

Chapter 17 Ethan My parents and Lila liked Aubrey. In fact, I was pretty sure they fell in love with her the moment they met her. I knew they would and I knew this could cause a potential problem for me. The problem was that my mother wouldn’t leave me alone about her. Lila and Aubrey went outside while my mother asked me to stay back and help her for a moment. But I knew damn well she didn’t need help with anything. “Aubrey is a very nice girl, Ethan.” “Yes. She is.” “It’s incredible to me that she’s a teacher. She’s a very strong woman.” “Yes. She is.” “She’s very sweet.” “Yes. She is,” I spoke because I knew exactly where this was going. “So does this mean that the two of you will be spending a lot of time together?” she asked innocently. “No. It does not. I already told you that Aubrey and I are friends and nothing more.” “But you brought her home to us.” “Because I didn’t want her staying at my house all alone. That’s the only reason, Mother.” I walked over and clasped her shoulders. “We’re just friends. Please don’t read any more into it.” “Ethan—” “Friends, Mother. Now drop it,” I spoke as I walked out to the patio. I knew this would happen if I brought her here because my mother couldn’t understand that I wasn’t interested in any type of relationship, so I shut her down quickly. When I walked outside, I took a seat next to Aubrey. Not too long after, Kenny showed up and dinner was served. After we ate, Kenny, my dad, and I all shot some golf balls and bullshitted about life. Every time I glanced over at Aubrey, which I found myself doing more than I should have, she was laughing, smiling, and enjoying the conversations she was

having with my mother and sister. A feeling stirred inside me that was getting harder to control. It was getting late, so I asked Aubrey if she was ready to go. After saying goodbye to my family, we climbed in the car and headed back to the city. “I didn’t know your dad was a chief technology officer for a company on Wall Street,” she spoke. “He was until he had a heart attack a few years ago and decided to retire. He said the stress and the demands of the job just weren’t worth it anymore.” “You must get your technology smarts from him.” She smiled. “I guess so.” I smiled back. “How did you get to owning your own company at such a young age?” “I’d always been a tech geek, so to speak. I always looked at technology and thought if I could make whatever it was I was interested in better, I would. I started web designing when I was fifteen, coding when I was sixteen, created and sold two video games to Nintendo and an app worth a lot of money to Apple by the time I was twenty. I did what any twenty-year-old would do after scoring his first few million and traveled for a while. When I was twenty-one, I started Klein Technology. I rented a space, hired some staff, and here I am nine years later.” “You should be very proud of yourself.” “Thanks, Aubrey.” I glanced over at her. “Did you have a good time today?” “I did. Your family is wonderful. I think it’s great that your sister is an editorial assistant over at Elle magazine. Since she works in the city, do you see her a lot?” “Not really. Occasionally, I’ll run into her at a restaurant. Sometimes, if she’s over by my office, she’ll drop in and say hi.” Finally, we arrived back at my town house. After parking the car, I got out and opened the door for Aubrey, took her hand and helped her out. Stepping into the house, I placed my hand on the small of Aubrey’s back. “Would you like a glass of wine?” I asked. “Maybe just a half of glass.” I told her to stay put while I went into the living room and walked over to the bar, where I grabbed a bottle of wine and two wine glasses and brought them to the kitchen. I had sex on my mind all day long and thoughts of her underneath me aroused me on more than one occasion. I found myself needing her and wanting her more than I should have. After pouring a half of glass, I walked up behind her, took her hand,

and placed the wine in it. “Here you go,” I whispered in her ear as I moved her hair to one side. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” My lips lightly pressed into her neck. She slightly tilted her head to the side to allow me full access. That was her way of telling me not to stop. Taking the glass out of her hand, I set it down on the counter. My cock was getting harder by the second as my fingers took hold of her straps and pushed them off her shoulders, letting her dress fall to the floor. Unhooking her bra, I tossed it to side and wrapped my arm around her breasts, feeling her hardened nipples pressed against my skin while my tongue traced circles around her soft neck. She gasped as I placed my other hand firmly against her stomach and my fingers traveled down the front of her panties, not stopping until they reached her wet opening and dipped inside her. I felt her body tremble as I firmly held her against me, pressing my hard and throbbing cock against her. Several moans escaped her lips while my fingers explored her and my tongue devoured every inch of her neck. “Do you want to come?” I whispered in her ear. “Yes. God, yes.” I tightened my grip around her as my fingers moved in circles, hitting the right spot that sent her body into an explosion. Her cries of ecstasy heightened as her body stiffened in my arms and she orgasmed. I smiled as I turned her around and explored her breasts with my mouth, making my way down her torso before getting on my knees and tasting the sweetness that emerged from her. “I need you right now,” I softly spoke. “I need to be inside you.” I lifted her up and placed her on the granite countertop. Wrapping her legs around my waist, I thrust inside her, hard and deep until my cock was enshrouded by her warmth. Placing my hands on each side of her face, I tilted her head slightly up so our eyes met. I wished she could see how unraveled I became when I was fucking her. To see the pleasure she gave me each time I thrust in and out of her. The pressure was building and I was getting ready to explode. She placed her hands on the counter and leaned back as I grabbed her hips and held her steady, pounding into her at a rapid pace. Both of us moaned in excitement as our bodies synced together and we came at the same time. I halted and strained to pour every last drop inside her. I picked her up, her legs still tight around my waist. She wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder in exhaustion while I carried her to the elevator and took her up to her room. Laying her down on the bed, I pulled out of her and stroked her hair as I rolled on my side.

“I have a confession to make,” she spoke as she turned her head towards me. “What’s that?” “You are the only man that I’ve slept with who has given me orgasms during sex.” Hearing her say that made me smile, but also an unbearable rage of jealousy crept inside me knowing that she’d slept with other men. I knew I had no right to feel that way, but I did and it bothered me. “That’s a good thing, right?” “Of course it is.” She laughed as she brought her hand to my cheek. “You’re an amazing man.” “Not that amazing, Aubrey.” “To me you are.” She smiled. Things were getting heated between us and I was too frightened to continue this type of conversation. “I should go to my room now and let you get some sleep.” I sat up and placed my feet on the floor. “Please don’t go. Just stay with me tonight. Please, Ethan.” She placed the palm of her hand firmly against my back. I sat there, clenching my fist while I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I wanted to stay with her and feel her body wrapped around mine all night. But what if I had another nightmare? “I know something is going on with you and I know you had a nightmare last night. I don’t need to know what it was about and you don’t have to tell me. I just want you to stay.” “You don’t understand, Aubrey. I don’t do this. I don’t stay. I fuck and I get out. It’s best that way for both you and me.” “So is that what we just did? We fucked? Because I know it was more than that. I felt it from you. In the way you touched me.” “I do that to all the women I fuck. I’m sorry if you read anything more into it. It’s just sex, Aubrey. I’m a man and I have needs. You’re a woman and you can fulfill those needs. I can’t, nor will I ever give you anything more. I don’t have it in me.” I stood up and walked towards the door. “My Aunt Charlotte was right about you,” she spoke. “And so was Ian when he told me that people call you ‘The Iceman.’ Now I understand why. But if you want my opinion, I think you’re hiding. You’re carefully guarding yourself because of Sophia.” I whipped my head around and spoke in anger. “How the hell do you know about Sophia?”

“Your sister accidentally mentioned her. She didn’t mean to; it just slipped out. What happened to her, Ethan?” “I don’t discuss that and you are to never speak of her again. Do you understand me?” I spoke in a commanding and angered voice. “No, actually, I don’t understand and I’m not going to lie to you and say I do. We all lose the people we love, but life does and still has to go on.” “Enough!” I shouted. “This discussion is over.” I walked out the door.

Chapter 18 Aubrey I lay there, naked and exposed on the bed as he just walked out the door, leaving my heart broken. A perfect day turned bad because he was too afraid to get close to me. Getting up from the bed, I dressed myself in the clothes that I wore to the party the other night. I needed my phone, but it was down in the kitchen where my purse was. Leaving was the best choice for both of us and I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. If I took the elevator, he’d hear me, so I took the stairs, remembering that I was on the third floor. I counted the floors as I made my way down each set of staircases until I was on the garden level where the kitchen was. Feeling my way around, I placed my hands on the island where Ethan and I had just made love. I remembered setting my purse down on the table while I was waiting for him to pour me my glass of wine. Making my way to the table, I found it and placed it over my shoulder, and as I was making my way to the door, I heard Ethan’s voice behind me. “Where are you going?” “I’m going to stay with Penelope for the night.” “Why?” he abruptly asked. “Because I think after our last conversation, it’s for the best.” “Why do you think it’s for the best? Because I told you it was just sex and nothing more to me? Seriously, Aubrey? We’ve known each other for what? A week and a half? Or is it because I won’t talk to you about something that’s extremely personal to me?” “I’m done talking about this, Ethan, and you’re right, we’ve only known each other for a very short time and I’m sorry that I let myself believe that maybe, just maybe, I meant a little something more to you than just a fuck buddy.” Silence filled the space between us. Having this conversation with him was slowly tearing me apart and I needed to leave because I refused to break down in front of him. Maybe the other women he had similar conversations with did just that, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he broke me. The makeup session, the dress, the donuts and coffee, taking me to meet his parents—all of that made me feel like he saw me as something more. But I was wrong and I would tuck my tail between my legs and quietly leave.

“I’m sorry, Aubrey.” “I am too, Ethan.” “At least let me drive you to Penelope’s.” “No. I can get there on my own. I don’t need any more of your help.” “Then at least let me walk you out and hail you a cab.” “I can get my own cab.” I stepped into the elevator and took it up to the Parlor level and walked out the front door. Pulling my cane from my purse, I tapped each step in front of me as I held on to the railing and made my way to the sidewalk. Standing on the curb, I pulled out my phone and called for a cab. “Sure thing, Aubrey. Actually, Jessie is over that way. He should be there in about five minutes.” “Thanks, Glenn. I’ll be waiting.” For me, in my current situation, five minutes seemed like an eternity. I wondered if Ethan was watching me from his window. While I waited for the cab, I dialed Penelope. “Hello,” she sleepily answered. “Hey. Did I wake you?” “Umm. Maybe. What’s wrong?” “Can I stay with you tonight?” “I thought you were staying at Ethan’s.” I tried so hard to hold back the tears, but I couldn’t do it anymore as I started to stutter into the phone. “Things didn’t work out.” “Oh, Aubrey. What did he do to you? I’m on my way.” “No. A cab will be here in a few minutes. I already called for one.” “Of course you can stay here. I’ll see you soon. I wish you would have called me first. I would have come over there and kicked his pompous no good rich ass.” “I think the cab just pulled up. I’ll see you soon.” Opening the door, I climbed inside.

“Hey, Aubrey.” “Hi, Jessie.” “You okay, hon?” “Not really. 425 East 66th Street, please.” As I sat in the back of the cab, the tears streamed down my face. I was a fool to think that he could even remotely feel something for me, and I was also a fool for believing that I could probably fix him. His words felt like a dagger through my heart and even now, I could still feel it inside me. “We’re here, Aubrey,” Jessie spoke. “Thank you. Just put it on my card. It’s on file.” “I know, hon. Feel better, okay?” “I’ll try.” As soon as I climbed out of the cab, I heard Penelope’s voice. “Come here.” She wrapped her arm around me as we walked into her building. “What happened?” “We made love and I asked him to stay with me and he wouldn’t. I practically begged him. I’m such a loser.” “No you’re not.” She opened the door to her apartment and I stepped inside. “He told me that it was nothing more than sex and that all he does is fuck and leave. I made the mistake of telling him that I felt it was more than that by the way he touched me and he said that’s how he does it to all the women he sleeps with. He basically told me that I was nothing special.” “Aw, sweetie.” She hugged me tight and led me to the couch. “I warned you about him and now do you understand why?” “Yes, and I was so stupid to let my guard down. I thought he was different. Do you know what he did for me today?” “What?” “He took me to Bloomingdales and I had my makeup done and then he bought me a dress to wear to his parents’ house. Who just does that for someone they don’t care about?” “Unfortunately, a lot of loser men with big egos. He wanted something in return for his kindness and you gave it to him.”

“His sister told me that his ex-girlfriend, Sophia, died in a tragic accident nine years ago, and ever since then, he hasn’t been the same. They barely see him anymore.” “Did she say how she died?” “No, and they aren’t allowed to talk about it. In fact, she told me not to tell him that she told me, but I sort of did.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “Oh no. What did you say to him?” “I just told him that I thought he was guarding himself because of her.” “And what did he say?” “He instantly became angry and told me never to speak of her again.” “Wow. So apparently, Sophia is the reason he is the way he is.” “I guess so.” “Then you have to stay away from him, Aubrey. He’s not the type of man you need to become involved with. Look, you’ve only known him for a week or two and he’s already said some pretty bad things to you. Those are what are called ‘red flags’ and believe me, they’re flying high for you right now.” “I can’t forget him and the time we spent together.” “Let me ask you this. Did he kiss you on the lips yet?” “No.” “There you go. Drop him like a hot potato. He’s toxic, Aubrey, and you don’t need that in your life. You’ll meet someone without all the baggage who will love you because he can’t help but to love you. A man like Ethan Klein isn’t capable of love, especially if he’s damaged from a past relationship. If it’s been nine years like you said, and he still isn’t over it, then he never will be.” “Maybe you’re right.” “I know I am. Now come on; you can sleep with me in my bed.” “Why were you sleeping earlier? You never go to bed that early.” “I wasn’t exactly sleeping.” “Oh God. Was he over?” “Yeah. After you called, I kicked him out.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I could have just gone somewhere else.” “Don’t be silly. You’re my best friend and you come before any guy.” “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll sleep on the couch.” I smirked. “I just want you to know that I’m rolling my eyes at you. I’ll go get you a pillow, blanket, and a nightshirt to wear.” “Thanks. I owe you big time.” I reached over and gave her a hug. “No you don’t. Just being my best friend is enough. Promise me no more tears over that douchebag.” “I promise.”

Chapter 19 Ethan I drank myself into oblivion after Aubrey decided to leave and passed out on the couch. My sister had no right to bring up Sophia, and now, Aubrey knew a piece of my past I wanted to keep secret. She said she didn’t need to know about her, but I knew damn well her curiosity at some point would get the best of her and she’d start asking questions. I hurt her feelings by what I said and it bothered me. Another reason why I could no longer continue to see her. I was getting too close and everything I had fought to keep buried down inside me was starting to emerge. I opened my eyes as the sun beat through the windows of the living room, blinding me and making the pounding headache I had intensify. I rolled off the couch and stumbled up the stairs to my bedroom. I reeked of alcohol and it was making me sick. Stumbling into the bathroom, I turned on the shower, stripped out of my clothes, and stood under the warm water, placing my hands on the tiled wall for support. I hadn’t been this hungover in years. But that hadn’t been what I was thinking about as I kicked back several glasses of scotch. I drank to stop thinking about her and to stop thinking about the pained look on her face after our conversation. The day had come and gone. I attended a few parties my friends were throwing in honor of Labor Day and then strolled in around midnight. I thought that by staying out all day it would help to get my mind off of Aubrey. But it didn’t. Even the numerous women hanging all over me and trying to get me to fuck them didn’t take my mind off of her. **** I awoke feeling like I had been hit by a truck. Another night, another nightmare, and a bad mood took hold of me. I stumbled out of bed, showered, dressed, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. “Good morning, Ethan.” Ingrid smiled as she poured me a cup of fresh coffee. “Morning,” I mumbled. “Uh-oh,” she spoke. She always knew by the look on my face what type of mood I was in. “Don’t ask me any questions. Not today, Ingrid. I’m in no mood.”

“I can tell. So I won’t ask.” “Pour this coffee in my travel mug. I need to get to the office.” “What about breakfast?” “I don’t want any breakfast.” I scowled. After taking my travel mug from Ingrid, I grabbed my briefcase and headed towards the door. “Have a good day, Ethan!” she shouted sarcastically. “It won’t be!” I snapped. Climbing into the limo, I slammed the door shut. Harry turned around and looked at me. “I suppose it’s not a good morning.” “Just drive.” I pulled out my phone. I heard him sigh as he pulled away from the curb and drove me to the office. “Holly!” I shouted as I passed her desk. “In my office, now!” She followed me inside and shut the door. “Good morning, sir.” I rolled my eyes and sighed as I turned around and looked at her. “Actually, it’s not a good morning and I don’t want you to ever assume it is. Understand?” “Yes, sir.” She gulped as she took a seat across from my desk. “I want the last six months of financial reports on my desk in an hour. Also, I want you to get the product development team up here for a meeting at noon.” “Yes, Mr. Klein. Anything else?” “Go to the bakery down the street and get me one of their lemon poppy seed muffins.” “I’m on it, sir. There’s something I need to discuss with you.” “Are you quitting?” I arched my brow. “No. I’m pregnant. I just thought you should know.” “Pregnant? Are you serious? Is that going to prevent you from doing your job here at Klein Technology?”

“No. It won’t affect it at all.” “I hope not. Because if it does, I’ll have to fire you and find someone who I can trust won’t be getting pregnant any time soon.” “I understand. You don’t have to worry.” “Good. Now get out of here and get my muffin and reports.” She nodded her head as she got up from her chair and timidly walked out of my office. Fuck. Why the hell did she have to go and get pregnant? It was in my best interest to start looking for another assistant ASAP. Pulling out my phone, I brought up Dr. Perry’s number. Maybe it was time I gave her a call to try and get to the bottom of these damn nightmares. I hated the thought of sitting in her office again like I did all those years ago. “Dr. Perry’s office. How can I help you?” “It’s Ethan Klein and I need to see Dr. Perry.” “When were you looking to meet with her?” she asked. “Today, if possible.” “She’s completely booked for the rest of the week, but I can squeeze you in next week.” “Next week isn’t good. I need to see her as soon as possible.” “I can put you on the cancellation list and give you a call if someone cancels.” I let out a long, hard sigh. “Fine.” I ended the call and leaned back in my chair. As I was pondering the idea of taking a vacation, Holly walked in with my muffin. “Here you go, sir. I’ll go pull up those reports now and I’ve already scheduled your meeting with the product development team.” “Good. You may leave.” As I was eating my muffin and drinking my coffee, my phone rang. “Ethan Klein.”

“Mr. Klein, it’s Amanda from Dr. Perry’s office. We just had a cancellation for three o’clock. Shall I put you in?” “Yes. Three o’clock will be fine.” “We’ll see you then.” Noon had approached and I headed to the conference room to meet with my product development team. “Good, you’re all here.” I took a seat at the head of the table. “Why the urgent meeting, Ethan?” Rob asked. “Did you know that there are over four hundred and forty thousand people in New York alone that are visually impaired?” “Umm. No. I didn’t know that,” Rob spoke. “And over two hundred and eight million worldwide.” “Interesting,” Terrence spoke as he stroked his chin. “So what does that have to do with Klein Technology?” “I want us to develop an app, and not just any ordinary app. This app we design will have the ability to scan an entire indoor area and tell the person the layout of the space, guiding them in the direction they need to go and alerting them of objects that are in the way of their path.” “Apple already has something like that.” “But it’s not suitable for the visually impaired person. It’s not voice over compatible. This app would be, and it would also store previous routes, which could be very useful in hotels, malls, and other large buildings.” “I don’t know, Ethan,” Rob spoke. “You don’t know?” I glared at him. “You will make it work. I’ve already started the coding.” I threw the paper in my hand down on the table. “Look it over and go from there. This can be done. I know it can. Think of how much Apple would pay for something like this. They can’t do it, but we can. And as a little incentive to get your asses in gear on this, once it’s complete, I will throw in a ten-thousand-dollar bonus to each of you for your hard work.” “Are you serious?” Terrence asked in shock. “Dead serious. Now get to work. I want an update in three days. If you have to work all night on this, do it. I want this done quickly.”

“May I ask why this is so important to you?” Rob asked. “It’s just something that I think visually impaired people need to make their lives a little easier.” Rob laughed. “Since when do you care about blind people, Ethan?” I shot him a look from across the room. “I have a friend who is completely blind. That concludes this meeting. Now get out of here and get to work.” I looked at my watch. “I have to leave for an appointment.”

Chapter 20 Aubrey The school day came to an end and I was exhausted. Ian walked into the room just as I was packing my bag. “Hello, princess. Are you ready to leave?” “Yeah.” I sighed. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” He walked over and placed his finger on my chin, slightly lifting my head. “Are you still thinking about him?” “Maybe. I can’t help it, Ian. He swept me off my feet.” “Listen, sweetheart. He’s no good for you. You don’t need a man like that, especially with so much baggage in your life. You’re too good for him. You’re a kind and sweet girl who deserves a man that will love you forever. Someone you can trust.” “You sound like Penelope.” He laughed. “It’s the truth. Any reasonable person can see that.” “So you’re saying I’m not reasonable?” He kissed my forehead and took my bag from me. “No. I’m saying you’re a woman with a broken heart right now, and when your heart heals, you’ll be more reasonable.” I let out a sigh. “You know I hate you, right?” “Of course you do. Now let’s go home. I have a date tonight.” “A date? With whom, may I ask?” “His name is Rigby.” “He sounds like a dog.” I smirked.

“Oh, my dear Aubrey. He’s far from a dog. He’s tall, tanned, dreamy chocolate eyes, and he has the whitest teeth I’ve ever seen.” “And when did you meet this Mr. Rigby?” “Last night when I was at Starbucks getting an iced coffee. He was standing in front of me and when he went to get his wallet, he realized he left it at home. So, being the kind gentleman I am, I paid for his drink.” “Smooth.” I grinned. “He only lived a block away, so I followed him home. He paid me back and we exchanged phone numbers.” “And why am I just hearing about this now? Why didn’t you tell me this morning?” “Because I was waiting to see if he’d make the first move, and he did. He texted me this afternoon and asked me if I wanted to go to dinner.” “That’s great, Ian. I want to hear all about it tomorrow morning.” After climbing out of his car, I walked into my building and up to my apartment. I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t have any smoke damage. Walking into the kitchen, I opened the refrigerator and took out the container of last night’s leftovers of chicken and pasta from the Italian restaurant down the street. Just as I popped it into the microwave, my Aunt Charlotte knocked on the door. “Honey, it’s me. I heard you come home.” Walking over to the door, I opened it and let her in. “Hi, Aunt Charlotte.” “Hello, honey. Is this a bad time?” “No. Come on in.” I felt bad because I never told her that Ethan was the one I stayed with. In fact, I didn’t tell her anything at all about him. As far as she knew, we had dinner that one night and everything went well. I didn’t want to hear her tell me how she was right and I should have listened to her. “The fire started in Mr. Johnson’s apartment. Apparently, he was making something on the stove and forgot about it. Stupid man. He could have easily burned this place down.” “But he didn’t and everyone is okay. So we need to thank God for that. Would you like some chicken and pasta?” I asked as I took the container out of the microwave.

“No thank you. I’m having dinner with Mr. Morris tonight.” “Mr. Morris down in 1C?” “Yes. That Mr. Morris.” “He’s been asking you out for a year. Why did you decide to go out with him now?” “I think it’s time I start to explore what’s out there and we always have nice conversations. He’s a good man. By the way, speaking of men, have you heard from Ethan?” “Umm. Yeah. We went out and there really isn’t a connection there, so I probably won’t be seeing him again.” “Oh. Well, it’s for the best anyway. I already told you how I felt about him. You deserve much better. I need to get going, sweetheart. I have to get ready for my date,” she spoke with excitement. “Have a good time.” I smiled. After she left, I sat there and ate my dinner while I thought about Ethan. I didn’t want to think about him, trust me. But, somehow and someway, he left his mark on me and he wasn’t so easy to forget. But I had no choice; I needed to forget about him and the short time we spent together. As much as I didn’t want to allow myself to fall for him, I did. I did everything wrong and everything that was out of character for me. I had sex way too fast, I fell too hard too quickly, and in the end, I let him break my heart. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid on my part. Now Penelope was seeing Leo, Ian was going on a date, and my Aunt Charlotte was spending time with the guy down in 1C. I felt alone at the moment and felt sorry for myself, thinking that I might never find the right man to build a future with and have a family of my own.

Chapter 21 Ethan “It’s been a long time, Ethan. Please have a seat,” Dr. Perry spoke. “What brings you back to my office?” I took a seat in the chestnut-colored, oversized leather chair and placed my arms on the armrest, bringing my ankle up to my leg. “The nightmares are back.” “When did they return?” she asked as she adjusted her glasses. “About a week ago.” “Hmm. Did anything in your life change? Possibly something you did or saw that triggered the memory?” “No.” I looked down. “I get the feeling, Ethan, that you aren’t telling me everything.” Letting out a long sigh, I got up from the chair and paced around the room with my hands in my pants pockets. I used to do that during my sessions because it felt more comfortable to me. Dr. Perry understood that and didn’t seem to mind. “They started after I met someone.” “Okay.” She nodded. “Why don’t you tell me about her?” “Her name is Aubrey. She’s an English Literature teacher over at Roosevelt High School.” “How old is she?” “Twenty-five.” “Go on,” she slowly spoke. “I don’t know what else to say except that she’s blind.” Dr. Perry cocked her head when I said that and removed the glasses from her face.

“She’s blind?” “Yes. But I didn’t know she was blind when I first met her. I asked her out first and she told me no. Then she proceeded to tell me about her loss of vision.” “Was she born blind?” “No. She was in a car accident when she was eight years old that also killed both of her parents.” “That poor girl. Did you sleep with her?” “Yes. A few times.” “And the nightmares returned after you slept with her?” “Yes. That first night.” I had enough pacing around, so I sat back down. “Do you have feelings for her?” “I don’t know.” “Ethan, you know how this works. You have to be totally open and honest with me.” “I sleep with a lot of women and I have rules.” “Yes, I know of your rules.” She nodded. “Those were rules you put in place to protect yourself since Sophia.” I swallowed hard. “I like being with her and I think about her all the time. She’s different from anyone I’ve known.” “Different how?” “I don’t know. I can’t explain it.” “Try.” “She’s beautiful and smart. At first, I was incredibly attracted to her physically. I knew the moment I laid eyes on her, I had to have her.” “Sexually?” she asked. “After she declined my invitation to go out for a drink, I asked her friend about her and she told me that on Saturday mornings, she goes to Shakespeare Garden to read. So, that next morning, I went there.” “And what happened?”

“I was just going to keep my distance at first, like some kind of fucking stalker. But then, she knew I was there, which really caught me off guard.” “How did she know?” “She could smell my cologne and she just knew it was me. Her senses are incredible. So, we talked and I asked her out and she invited me over for dinner that night.” “She cooked for you?” “Yes and it was very good. After dinner, we had sex and the first nightmare came that night.” “While you were with her?” “No. After we had sex, I left and went home. I didn’t call or see her that whole week.” “Why?” she asked. “Because I got what I wanted and I was done with her.” “I don’t believe that. I think you started to have some sort of feelings for her and you ran.” I looked down and shifted in my chair. “Maybe I did. Things were happening to me that haven’t in a very long time. Then, a week later, I ran into her at a friend’s birthday party. I didn’t know she would be there.” “What happened when you saw her again? I would assume she wanted some sort of explanation as to why you never called her after that night.” “I told her I was busy, but she wasn’t buying it. She told me that she didn’t expect me to call.” “And how did that make you feel when she said that?” “A little shocked, to be honest. Anyway, we ended up going out that night and while we were taking a walk in SoHo, she got a call that there was a fire in her apartment building and they weren’t allowing any of the tenants to stay there that night.” “What happened then?” “She tried to call a couple of her friends, but they didn’t answer, so I invited her to stay at my place for the night.” “Really?” she spoke as she arched her brow. “And how did that go?” “Fine. Except I was lying with her and fell asleep and had another nightmare. I left the room and didn’t speak of it. The next day, I invited her to my parents’ house and we had a good time. My sister told her

about Sophia, which really pissed me off.” “Why did that piss you off?” “Because she had no right. What happened in my past is nobody’s business. When we got back to my place, we had sex again. She asked me to stay with her and I couldn’t. So we got into an argument, she brought up Sophia, I said some things, and she left.” “How did her leaving make you feel?” “Angry. Very angry. I told her she was no different from any other woman I had slept with and that I was sorry if she got the wrong impression.” “But she is different from the other women and you know that. Your fear, Ethan, is what stirred up the nightmares again. You’re afraid because for so long, you could control your feelings and emotions. Now Aubrey walked into your life and you feel that control slipping away and you don’t know how to handle it.” I sat there with my fist to my chin, listening to what Dr. Perry was saying. “Time’s up, Ethan.” She got up from her chair. “I want to see you again in a couple of days.” “I have back to back meetings for the next week. Is there any way you can come to my house for a private session? I will pay you triple your normal fee.” “I suppose I could.” She walked over to her desk and looked at her calendar. “How about Thursday at eight o’clock? My last appointment is at six.” “That’s fine. I’ll make sure I’m home.” “In the meantime, you need to do some self-reflecting. Maybe give Aubrey a friendly call and see where she stands. I can tell you’re not at peace with what happened and I think calling her is a step in the right direction.” “We’ll see. I’m sure she hates me.” “She may or may not. There’s only one way to find out.” I walked out of the building and hailed a cab back to the office.

Chapter 22 Aubrey After getting home from another day of school, I set my things down, changed my clothes, and sat at my computer to begin listening to the essays I had my students email me. After listening to about ten of them, I was getting hungry, so I decided to take a break and walk to my favorite Thai restaurant a few blocks away. “Hello, Miss Aubrey. How are you this evening?” “I’m good, Kai.” I gently smiled. He took hold of my arm. “Come on, I’ll take you to your table and Gwen will be right over. Can I get you something to drink?” “Just water will be fine. Thank you.” “Hey, Aubrey. It’s good to see you. Are you ready to order?” Gwen asked in a cheerful voice. “Hi, Gwen. I’m going have the Pad Thai tonight with chicken.” “Medium spice okay?” “That’s fine.” “Great. I’ll put that order in for you. Would you like a spring roll to go with that?” “Sure. A spring roll sounds good.” As I sat there and waited for my food, I thought about the conversation Ian and I had this morning about his date with Rigby. Things went so well that they were seeing each other again tonight. Rigby Jones was a financial officer over at Chase Bank and he hadn’t been in a relationship in over a year, just like Ian. When he was telling me about his date this morning, his voice was excited and I could tell he was happy. I got the impression that he was already head over heels for him, which I believed could happen after one date. After all, it did happen to me. After finishing my dinner, Gwen boxed up the leftovers for me. “Have a great night, Aubrey. Hopefully, we’ll see you soon.” “Thanks, Gwen. Have a good night.”

Opening the door and stepping out, I walked down the street, tapping my cane in front of me. As I turned the corner, I abruptly stopped when my cane hit something or someone standing in front of me. That scent. It was him. “Aubrey.” “Ethan.” “How are you?” “I’m fine. Thank you for asking.” “Did you just come from dinner?” he asked. “Yes,” I replied as I held up my container. “What are you doing over here?” “I had a dinner meeting, and as I was walking out of the restaurant, I saw you.” “So you decided to stop in front of me?” “I guess so.” “I need to get home, Ethan. I have a lot of essays to grade.” “Please wait. There’s something I need to say first.” “What?” “I’m sorry for what happened and what I said the other night. I just wanted you to know that. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I stood there, taking in his scent and trying to hold my composure. He sounded sincere and, even though he broke my heart, I accepted his apology. “I accept your apology.” “Thank you. It means a lot to me.” “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get home.” “Please let Harry drive you. He’s just around the corner.” “No. I can walk. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr. Klein,” I spoke as I moved to the side and walked away. It was nice that Ethan apologized, but it made me wonder if he would have called and said he was sorry if he hadn’t run into me. A part of me believed he would because if he didn’t stop me, I never would

have known he was in the same area. He could have just kept going, but he didn’t. I appreciated his apology and it took away some of the bitterness I had towards him for saying what he did, but it didn’t change the fact that I needed to move on and forget about him, which I felt I could do now. It was going to be tough, but I’d overcome tougher situations in my life and I survived. As I stuck the key into the lock of my apartment door, I heard Mr. Morris’ voice from down the hall. “Hello, Aubrey. It’s me, Jack Morris.” A smile crossed my lips as I turned my head in the direction in which his voice was coming from. “Hello, Mr. Morris. How are you?” “I’m great, young lady. How are you?” “I’m fine. Thank you for asking. Are you going to see my Aunt Charlotte?” “I am. We’re going to see a show on Broadway tonight.” “Which show are you seeing?” “Jersey Boys. Charlotte expressed an interest in it, so I got us two tickets for tonight.” “I’ve heard it’s very good. Have a good time,” I spoke as I opened the door. “Thanks, kiddo. I’ll talk to you soon.” I gave him a small smile before walking into my apartment and shutting the door. After I locked up and put my leftovers in the refrigerator, I went into the bathroom and started the water for a bath. As I was relaxing and soaking up the lavender smell from the few drops of oil I placed in the water, my phone alerted me that I had a text message from Ethan. Drying my hands on the towel next to the tub, I reached over and pressed the message button on my phone as it read to me his text. “I just wanted to tell you that you looked really beautiful.” A sick feeling in the pit of my stomach emerged and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to hear that from him. Maybe he felt that since he apologized, it was okay to toy with my emotions. But it wasn’t okay and I wasn’t going to stand for it anymore. I spent the last couple of days in the hurt phase and now I found myself entering into the angry phase. How dare he say what he did to me. How dare he use me the way he did. I didn’t care how broken of a man he was; it didn’t give him the right. “Thank you. But please don’t text or call me again. The damage is done, I forgave you, you made yourself perfectly clear on where you stood as far as I was concerned, and now it’s time for me to forget that I ever met you.”

I waited for a response that never came, which was fine with me. I said what I needed and it was time to close that chapter of my life. Tomorrow, I would start a new chapter; one that didn’t involve a man named Ethan Klein.

Chapter 23 Ethan I sat on the edge of my bed and read her text message. She forgave but she still hated me and I deserved it. When I saw her walking down the street as I exited the restaurant, I couldn’t help but smile, because that was what she did to me. Nobody had that kind of power or control over me. Dr. Perry was right; I could feel the control over my emotions and feelings slipping away and it scared the fuck out of me. She wanted to forget she ever met me and after reading that, I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart. The next morning, I got up from my desk and walked outside my office on my way to the tech department when I noticed Holly wasn’t at her desk. “Lucy, where’s Holly?” I asked. “She’s in the bathroom. She’s not feeling well.” “What’s wrong with her?” “Morning sickness.” I sighed as I rolled my eyes and headed to the tech department. “Well?” I asked Rob as I approached his office. “You gave us three days, Ethan. It’s only been two.” “Do you have anything at all?” I asked with irritation. “We’re making some progress. We’ll update you tomorrow once we have more. By the way, I’ll have the demo glasses ready for you tomorrow.” “Have you tested it out yet?” “No. We thought we’d let you do the honors.” He smiled. “Wise decision.” Walking back to my office, I noticed Holly still wasn’t at her desk. “Lucy, where’s Holly this time?” “She’s back in the bathroom.”

Turning around, I went to the women’s bathroom and opened the door. “Holly, are you in here?” I asked. “Yes, Mr. Klein.” “It seems to me that you spend more time in here than you do at your desk and now I’m seeing this as a problem. You assured me that there wouldn’t be a problem.” “I’m sorry, sir.” She emerged from the stall, wiping her mouth with a piece of toilet paper. I stood there shaking my head and stared at the paleness of her face. “Just clean yourself up and get back to work.” I arrived home that night at seven thirty, poured myself a drink, and waited for Dr. Perry to arrive. I stood in front of the painting I purchased, which was still wrapped up and leaning against my wall. As I removed the brown wrapping, I stared at it as I sipped on my drink. Aubrey wasn’t the only one who lived in a world of darkness. But I was not so sure that she did. She had found things that put light in her life, regardless if she could see or not. The doorbell rang and when I walked over and opened it, Dr. Perry was standing there. “Good evening, Ethan. Are you ready for our session?” “Hello, Dr. Perry. Yes. Please come in.” I led her to the living room and had her take a seat in my black leather chair while I sat on the couch. “May I get you something to drink?” “No. I’m good. So tell me how the past couple of days have been. Did you reach out to Aubrey?” “I actually saw her last night. I had just finished with a dinner meeting and as I was leaving the restaurant, I saw her walking down the street.” “And?” “I stopped in front of her and I apologized for the things I said that night and I told her that I didn’t mean to hurt her.” “How did she respond?” “She accepted my apology and then got away from me as fast as she could. I sent her a text message and told her how beautiful she looked. She responded by telling me never to call her again and that it’s time she forgot she ever met me.”

“Do you blame her?” Dr. Perry asked. “Not really.” “Aubrey is now protecting herself like you’re protecting you. And you can’t blame her for that.” “I know.” “What happened with Sophia was a long time ago and I thought you were healing from it. After our last session, you told me you accepted the fact that it wasn’t your fault and then I never saw you again.” “Because the nightmares stopped. After two years, they finally stopped.” “Do you know why they stopped?” she asked. “Not really.” “Because you successfully buried all your emotions and feelings. You became numb, not letting anyone ever get close to you. Unknowingly, you let your guard down with Aubrey. Something about her touched you, and it touched you enough to follow her to Shakespeare Garden that Saturday morning. Maybe it’s time, Ethan, to start living life again the way it should be lived. You’ve suffered and endured enough pain over the past nine years. Sophia had problems way before she met you. You swooped in and tried to save her, but you couldn’t. What happened was not your fault. She was already in an altered state of mind from the drugs. It’s time you let go.” I watched as she glanced over at the painting. “What a lovely painting.” She got up from her chair and walked over to it. “Who painted it?” I walked over and stood next to her. “Aubrey’s best friend, Penelope. It was her art exhibition at the gallery the night I met Aubrey. She told me something that night while we were talking about the painting. This was before I knew she was blind. She asked me what I saw when I looked at it. So, I described the painting to her and then she asked me what it meant to me. I told her I didn’t know and then she spoke these words: ‘Even in a world of darkness, you will always see light.’” “Is the woman in the painting Aubrey?” she asked as she glanced over at me. “Yes.” “Why did you buy this painting, Ethan?” “I don’t know.” I looked down.

“I think you do. Our time is up.” She grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. “Call my office and schedule an appointment for next week. I think weekly sessions for now would be a good idea.” “I will, and thank you for coming here tonight.” “You’re welcome. Have a good night, Ethan.” “You too, Dr. Perry.”

Chapter 24 Ethan As I was walking down the stairs, the smell of Belgian waffles put me in a halfway decent mood. I really didn’t have time to sit and eat breakfast, but today, I would make an exception. “Morning, Ingrid,” I spoke as I walked into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. “Good morning. Is that safe to say today?” “Yep, and it’s only because I could smell those Belgian waffles all the way upstairs.” I smirked. “Ah, it’s good to see you in a better mood.” “Well, I’m really not. But I’m working on it.” She set the plate of waffles down in front of me and I immediately dug into them. As I was enjoying every last bite, my phone rang. It was my mother. “Hello,” I answered. “Good morning, son. How are you?” “I’m fine, Mom. How are you?” “Good. Good. Listen, I’m coming into the city today to do some shopping. How about taking your mom to lunch?” “I would like that. What time?” “You tell me. You’re the one who has the hectic schedule.” “Why don’t you come to my office around twelve thirty and we’ll go to that little French restaurant you love.” “Twelve thirty it is. I’ll see you then.” “Bye, Mom.” I took the last bite of my waffles and pushed the plate forward. “Taking your mom to lunch?” Ingrid smiled.

“Yeah.” “How’s Aubrey doing, Ethan?” Even though I never told Ingrid what happened between us, she could sense something had, and she was brave enough to ask. “Aubrey told me never to call her again. She wants to forget she ever met me.” I sighed. “Oh boy. I’m not even going to ask.” “Good, because I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m working on things, Ingrid.” A small smile graced her face as she looked at me. “I’m happy to hear that.” “I have to get to the office. I’ll talk to you later.” “Have a nice lunch with your mom and tell her I said hi.” “I will.” Climbing into the limo, I shut the door. A perplexed look took over Harry’s face as he looked at me. “What?” I asked. “You didn’t slam the door today. That’s a good sign.” “Just drive, Harry.” I sighed. He let out a chuckle and pulled away from the curb. When I arrived at the office, I noticed Holly wasn’t at her desk. “Lucy—” “Bathroom,” she spoke without even letting me finish my sentence. I turned around, headed to the bathroom, and opened the door. “Holly, are you okay?” I asked. “I will be, Mr. Klein. I’ll be at my desk in a second. I’m sorry.” “Don’t rush. Take your time.” I walked back to my office and found Charles sitting at my desk. “Good morning. Are you into stalking your employees in the bathroom now?” He smirked.

“Very funny. Get out of my chair,” I spoke as I set my briefcase down. “Shouldn’t you be at work?” “I had a meeting this morning, so I figured I’d drop by before heading to the office.” “What time was your meeting?” I looked at my watch. “It’s only eight o’clock.” “It was at six. It was the only time a new and very wealthy potential client could meet. So, what’s going on with you?” “What do you mean?” I sat down and leaned back in my chair. “You’ve been distant lately.” “I’ve been busy,” I spoke as I shuffled some papers on my desk. “Too busy to tell your best friend what’s going on in your life? I mean, come on, Ethan, what’s up with Aubrey?” “She hates me. Told me never to call her again. End of story.” “I see. Nothing new there. A lot of women tell you that all the time. But this time, it’s bothering you.” “Not really.” “Come on, Ethan. Jesus Christ, it’s me you’re talking to. What the fuck is going on in that head of yours?” “I’m losing control,” I spoke through gritted teeth. “I’ve developed feelings for Aubrey and I can’t stop them.” “Bro,” he spoke in a low voice. “It’s okay. You’re human. There’s nothing wrong with that.” “I don’t do feelings. You know that.” “You used to. But since Sophia, you’ve closed yourself off to everyone. At first, I understood and figured you’d get over it. But as the years went by, you got worse. Your company became your obsession. It’s all you live for and it’s not healthy.” “It’s the way I like it.” “I’m not buying that bullshit anymore, Ethan. And neither are you. Because if you did, you wouldn’t be in such a shit mood 24/7 over a girl you barely know. Now,” he got up from his chair, “you know I love you like a brother. We’ve been through some serious shit together. But I can’t stand by you anymore when you’re like this. It’s time to put the past to rest. There was nothing you could have done, and if you can’t accept that, then I no longer feel sorry for you. You’ve created an image for yourself. Do you really like

people calling you The Iceman? Damn it, you can’t let one person ruin your entire life and change the man you used to be. I have to go.” He shook his head as he walked out the door. Picking up a pen, I threw it across my desk. “Excuse me, Mr. Klein,” Holly softly spoke as she popped her head through the door. “Come on in, Holly.” “Umm—” She looked down and folded her hands. I let out a sigh. “Just say whatever you have to say.” “I have a doctor’s appointment first thing Monday morning. I tried really hard to get a later appointment, but they were all booked. So I wanted to ask you if it’s okay that I come in a little late? If not, I understand.” I sat there and watched this girl tremble from head to toe before my very eyes. She was scared to death of me and I couldn’t blame her, judging from the way I treated her over the past two years. “It’s fine, Holly. Just come in when you can.” “Really?” Her head popped up. “Of course. Your doctor’s appointments are important. I understand.” “Thank you, Mr. Klein.” She smiled. “I promise I’ll be in right after. It shouldn’t take very long,” she spoke with excitement. “You’re welcome.” She turned and headed for the door. “Thank you again.” “By the way, if you and your husband are still planning that trip to Hawaii, you can have the time off.” Her face lit up and a wide smile splayed across her face. “Mr. Klein, are you sure?” “Yes. You should go celebrate your one-year anniversary in Hawaii. Hopefully, your morning sickness will be over by then.” “I don’t know what to say except thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.” “You’re welcome.” I smiled. “Go call your husband and tell him the good news.” ****

I was making my way back to my office after a meeting and Lucy informed me that my mother had called. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I noticed I had two missed calls from her. “Ethan, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.” “I’m sorry, but I was in a meeting. Is everything okay?” “Yes. I need to change our lunch to dinner. Will that work?” “Why?” “I got a late start and just got into the city about a half hour ago. I have a million stores I need to go to, so that should give me plenty of time.” “Dinner is fine. Say, around five o’clock? Where do you want to meet? That French bistro isn’t open for dinner.” “I know. Let’s meet at Benihana over on West 56th Street. I’m in the mood for some Japanese food.” “Sounds good. I’ll see you there.”

Chapter 25 Aubrey “Hey, Aubrey, you ready for our staff meeting?” Ian asked as he walked into my classroom. “Yep. Gotta love these staff meetings after school.” “To be honest, I’d rather have them after and not before. I’m not trying to get up any earlier than I have to.” I gave him a smile as I took hold of his arm. “How about we do dinner after our meeting?” he spoke. “Sure. Where do you want to go?” “I’m in the mood for Japanese. How about Benihana?” “Okay. I haven’t been there in a while.” I smiled. After our staff meeting, Ian told me that Rigby had sent him a text message saying that his meeting tonight with a client got cancelled. “Would you mind if Rigby joined us for dinner? I want you to meet him so bad.” “I would like that. I’m dying to meet him.” “Excellent!” he spoke with excitement. “I’ll text him now.” It seemed like it took us forever to get to the restaurant because traffic was heavier than usual today. Once we arrived, Ian saw Rigby standing outside waiting for us. “He’s already here and looking as sexy as ever,” he spoke as he pulled into a parking space. Shaking my head, and with a smile, I climbed out of the car and felt a hand wrap around my arm. “You must be Aubrey. Here, let me help you.” “And you must be Rigby.” I grinned. “It’s nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too. Ian has told me so much about you.” “All good, I hope.”

“Nothing but the best.” The hostess took us over to our table and I sat on the end so Ian and Rigby could sit next to each other. “Weird. We’re the only ones at this table so far,” Ian spoke. “It’s still early. This place usually doesn’t start getting crowded until around six.” “Do you need me to read you the menu?” Rigby politely asked. I couldn’t help but smile at his generosity. “No. I’ve been here enough that I pretty much know what they have.” “Oh shit,” Ian spoke in a low voice. “What?” I asked. Before he had a chance to answer, I heard the hostess walking over with other patrons. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes for a moment as a familiar scent crossed my path. “Aubrey?” Ethan spoke. “Aubrey, sweetheart,” his mother spoke. “What a surprise seeing you here.” She clasped my shoulders and kissed my cheek. “Hello, Nancy.” “Ethan, you sit here next to Aubrey.” This was the last thing I needed. Oh my God. How was I going to get through this dinner? “Hello, Ian. Nice to see you again.” “Ethan,” he spoke in a disgruntled tone. “This is my friend, Rigby. Rigby, meet Ethan Klein.” “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Klein.” “Likewise, Rigby.” I heard the scraping of the chair across the floor as he pulled it out and took a seat next to me. “I can request to sit somewhere else,” he leaned over and whispered to me. I wanted to tell him to do it, and if he had been with anyone else besides his mother, I would have. “It’s fine.” My heart was racing a mile a minute as Nancy carried on a conversation with me. More guests were

seated and it just so happened that the woman who sat next to Nancy was a girl she knew back in high school. Go figure. That left me and Ethan the odd ones out since everyone else had someone to talk to. “May I get you a drink?” The waitress with the high-pitched voice asked me. “I’ll have a Mai Tai, please.” “And for you, sir?” “I’ll have a scotch on the rocks. Make it a double.” After she went around the table and took everyone’s drink order, we placed our order for dinner. “How was your day today?” Ethan asked cautiously. “It was good.” I didn’t ask him how his day was because, frankly, I didn’t care. Like I said before, I was now in the angry stage. “I’m surprised you’re with your mom,” I spoke. “Why?” “I just figured you’d be with someone else.” Shit. I really didn’t mean to say that. “No. She was in the city shopping and asked me to have dinner with her. Well, actually, we were supposed to have lunch, but she got a late start.” “That’s nice.” “And I’m not seeing anyone else. Why would you say or think that?” “Because, Mr. Klein, you’re a man and you have needs.” “Aubrey, please. Don’t do this.” “They were your words, not mine.” “You know what? Maybe it’s best if we don’t speak,” he whispered. “That’s probably for the best.” “I told you that I would switch tables.” “Why are you speaking?”

I heard the sharp intake of his breath and the ice clanking in his glass as he picked it up. We sat there in awkward silence as I sipped on my Mai Tai. “Listen, you can hate me all you want, but just not right now. My mother doesn’t know anything and she’ll start asking questions. So please, just for the next hour, at least pretend to hold a conversation with me.” “I have nothing to say to you. So how am I supposed to do that?” I whispered. “Oh, you two look like you’re in deep conversation,” Nancy spoke with excitement. “See. I told you,” Ethan whispered. “Well, now we don’t have to worry about it; our chef is here.” “I know. I heard him wheel the cart over.” As the chef put on a show and prepared our meal, I sipped on my Mai Tai. I needed to remember the things Ethan said to me because even though I was in my angry stage, his scent was driving me crazy. During dinner, I talked a bit with Ian and Rigby, and Ethan held a conversation with his mother. This had to be the most awkward dinner I was ever at and I couldn’t eat fast enough to get the hell out. All I wanted to do was go home, climb into bed, and hide under the covers for the rest of the night. I finished eating and waited patiently for Ian and Rigby to finish. “Are you done yet?” I leaned over and asked Ian. “Yes. We’re done,” he replied. “Let me ask the waitress for the check.” “No need,” Ethan spoke. “Dinner was on me tonight.” “Ethan, that’s very kind of you, but we couldn’t let you pay,” Ian spoke. “What are you doing?” I whispered in a harsh tone. “It’s only dinner, Aubrey. Now you’re free to go.” I didn’t want to thank him, but being the good person I was, I had no choice. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” I pushed back my chair and as I was about to get up, I felt a hand on mine. “Let me help you,” Ethan spoke as he gently gave my hand a squeeze. A thousand lightning bolts raced throughout my body as I stood there, frozen for a second, just taking in the touch of his hand on mine. A touch that I hadn’t forgotten and didn’t think I ever would.

“Thank you.” I pulled my hand away. As soon as we exited the restaurant, Nancy gave me a hug and told me not to be a stranger. “Have a safe drive home,” I spoke as I said goodbye to her. “Hey, Aubrey,” Ian spoke. “Is it okay with you if we stop at Nordstrom? I want to pick up a couple of things and so does Rigby.” “You two go ahead. I’ll catch a cab home.” “What? You don’t want to come with us?” Ian whined. “I have some things to do at home and it’s been a long day. No worries; you two go and have fun.” “I’ll drive you home,” Ethan spoke. “No thank you. I’ll catch a cab.” “Don’t be ridiculous, Aubrey. Why pay for a cab ride when I can give you a free one?” Ugh. I was going to kill Ian for putting me in this situation. “Please. It’s just a ride home,” he spoke. “And I promise I won’t speak to you.” “Fine,” I huffed. “My arm?” Ethan spoke. “What about it?” “Are you going to take it?” “No.” “Oh for god sakes, Aubrey.” He grabbed my hand, wrapped it around his arm, and led me to the limo. Upon opening the door, I slid into the backseat. “Hello, Aubrey. It’s good to see you again.” “Hi, Harry. How are you?” “I’m good.” I heard the other door open and Ethan slid in next to me. “Harry, we’re driving Aubrey home.”

Chapter 26 Ethan Imagine the shock on my face when I saw Aubrey sitting at the table. She was the last person I expected to run into, let alone sit next to her for dinner. She had an attitude with me and I didn’t blame her. I hadn’t seen that side of her yet and, to be honest, it turned me on. The car ride back to her apartment was silent because I knew that was the way she wanted it. I was struggling inside. Struggling with the fact that I had hurt her so deeply. Harry pulled up to the curb of her building and I quickly got out and opened the door for her, holding out my hand. “Please take my hand and let me help you out.” “I don’t need help, Ethan. I can get out of a car on my own.” “I know you can, but—” “Then let me.” When I lowered my hand, she climbed out of the car and placed her cane down in front of her. “Good night, Ethan.” “Good night, Aubrey.” I watched as she walked inside her building. Clenching my fist as hard as I could, I took in a deep breath, for I knew what I had to do. “You can have the rest of the night off, Harry. I’ll catch a cab home. There’s something I need to say to her.” “Good luck, Ethan.” I ran inside the building and placed my hand in between the elevator doors as they began to close. “Aubrey, I need to talk to you.” “Ethan, what the hell are you doing? I thought you left.” “I can’t leave without making things right with you. Please just hear what I have to say.” She stood there in silence, looking down. I knew she was struggling with the decision whether to hear

me out or not. “Please, Aubrey,” I spoke in a soft voice. “Fine. I’ll hear you out, but after I do, you are to leave.” “I will. I promise.” We stepped off the elevator, and as soon as we approached her apartment, the door from across the hall opened and a man and woman stepped out. “Oh, hello, Aubrey,” the older woman spoke and then glared at me. “Hi, Aunt Charlotte. Hello, Mr. Morris.” “Hello, little lady,” he spoke. “Aunt Charlotte, I would like you to meet Ethan Klein. Ethan, this is my Aunt Charlotte and Mr. Morris from apartment 1C.” “It’s nice to meet you, Charlotte.” I extended my hand. Her eye narrowed at me as she hesitantly placed her hand in mine without saying a word. “Nice to meet you, Ethan.” Mr. Morris shook my hand. “Likewise.” I smiled. Aubrey opened her apartment door and we both stepped inside. “Have fun, you two.” She smiled as she closed the door behind her. “I don’t think your aunt likes me too much.” “No. Actually, she doesn’t. She heard talk around the city and the things said were not good.” I stood there with my hands in my pockets, lightly nodding my head. “I deserve that.” Aubrey walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch. “What did you want to say to me, Ethan? I don’t have all night.” Her tone was harsh. I could feel anxiety taking over me, so I took in a long, deep breath. I was nervous as hell because this was something I didn’t do. “May I sit down next to you?” I asked.

“Whatever, Ethan. Just say what you have to say.” I took a seat next to her and swallowed hard while my heart pounded out of my chest. “I meant to push you away and with everything I said, most of it was the truth. I have rules, Aubrey. Rules about women. I don’t stay after because I don’t feel anything, so there’s no point in leading anyone on. But with you, I wanted to stay and it scared the hell out of me. For the first time in many years, I didn’t want to leave after sex. Shortly after Sophia died, I started having nightmares about that night and then they stopped after I was in therapy for a while. Then, the first night I was with you, the nightmares came back. You need to understand that I’m a destroyed man. I’ve buried every emotion and every feeling I ever had deep down inside me. That’s why the nightmares stopped and why I never felt anything for any of the women I was with. Then I met you and, suddenly, things started to resurface and I couldn’t control it.” “What things?” she asked. “It may sound crazy because we haven’t known each other very long, but I started to have feelings for you right away, and I did things that I would never do. Every day, I would lose a little more control where you were concerned and I found it difficult to handle. I wanted to push you away, because if I did, then I wouldn’t have to feel these things anymore. When you were begging me to stay, it made me angry because I couldn’t control the fact that I didn’t want to leave.” “What happened the night Sophia died?” she asked. “Only very few people know what happened that night. My parents don’t even know the whole truth.” She reached over and placed her hand on my thigh. “You can trust me, Ethan. I promise.” “Do you have any liquor? Something stronger than wine?” “In the upper cabinet above the refrigerator there’s a bottle of Jack Daniels. You’re more than welcome to have some.” “Thanks.” I got up from the couch, went into the kitchen, and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the cabinet. “There are a couple shot glasses in the cabinet next to the stove,” she spoke. After reaching for the glass, I poured myself a shot, kicked it back, and took in the burn as it cascaded down my throat. I poured another and took it back into the living room. “Sophia and I met when we were eighteen years old at a wedding I had attended for one of my parents’

friends. I remember standing there talking to Charles and every time I glanced over at her, she was staring at me. So I walked over, introduced myself, and we spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other.” I kicked back the shot of whiskey and set the glass down on the coffee table. “I took her out the next night and we had spent every moment we could together for the next three years.” “You must have really loved her,” Aubrey spoke. “I did. I couldn’t imagine my life without her. I found out about three months after we were dating that she was using drugs. She told me she only did it occasionally and she promised she’d stop because she knew how I felt about it. Her occasional drug habit eventually turned into a daily one. About a year and a half into our relationship, I finally talked her into getting some help. She checked herself into a rehab facility and got clean.” “What kinds of drugs did she do?” “Cocaine. She stayed clean for about six months, and those six months were really good for us. Then, her sister was killed in a car accident and she couldn’t cope. So, she started using cocaine again along with amphetamines.” “I’m sorry, Ethan, but I have to ask. Why did you stay with her?” “Because I loved her and I couldn’t turn my back on her. She was so screwed up and all she kept telling me was that I was the only stability she had in her life. So I dealt with it the best I could and tried to get her to get clean again. The night she died, we were in California at a friend’s birthday party at his beach house. She had been acting weird all day and I kept asking her what was wrong and she insisted nothing. But I could tell something was bothering her. Later that night, I left with Charles and another friend of mine to run to the store to get some more liquor and when I came back, I couldn’t find her. When I went upstairs for the third time, she was just coming out of the bathroom. I asked her why she didn’t respond to my calling her name and she said she didn’t hear me. She was as high as a kite at that point. I walked into the bathroom and found two syringes on the floor. She had just shot herself up with heroin.” I swallowed hard. “I’ll never forget how I felt at that moment. I was enraged. Anger consumed me so badly that I couldn’t see straight. I grabbed the syringes off the floor and flew down the stairs, grabbing her arm and leading her outside away from the party. I asked her when she started shooting up heroin and she told me she’d been doing it for a while. How I didn’t know was beyond me.” “Because you loved her and you didn’t want to see it. You know how they say love is blind,” she spoke. I stared at Aubrey when she said that and she was right. I had noticed over the past couple of months leading up to her death that she was acting different and changing before my eyes every day.

“I started yelling at her and then I gave her an ultimatum. I told her that it was either the drugs or me and that I’d had enough. I couldn’t live like that anymore. She told me that as much as she loved me, she couldn’t give up the drugs. So I told her we were over, and as I walked away, she ran after me and grabbed my arm, begging me not to go. I turned to her, took hold of her arms, and begged her to stop the drugs. I told her that I would check her into rehab the next morning and if she wouldn’t go, I would walk away. She looked me straight in the eye, and after a few moments of silence, she agreed to go. I held her tight and told her how much I loved her. She asked me if I could go into the house and get her some aspirin and a glass of water. When I came back out, I couldn’t find her anywhere. I screamed her name over and over again. It was so dark out except for the lights from the boats in the water out in the distance. A fear came over me and I started to panic as I ran down to the beach and found a trail of her clothes leading to the water. I yelled her name over and over again as I kicked off my shoes, tore off my shirt and ran into the water. Charles and a couple other guys heard me screaming for her and they came running down, asking me what was going on. I couldn’t find her, and just like that, she was gone. Charles called 911 and the police were out within a few minutes. The search went on for a few days, but they never did find her body.” Aubrey scooted closer to where I was sitting and placed her hands firmly on my shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Ethan. I can’t even imagine.” “She died because of me. Because of the ultimatum I gave her. Had I never told her that I would leave, she wouldn’t have gone into the ocean and killed herself.” “You don’t know that. She was messed up from the drugs. What happened to her was not your fault. You have to believe that.” “That’s what everyone who knows what happened told me. But in the end, it was my words that led her to the water.”

Chapter 27 Aubrey I reached over and wrapped my arms around him. My heart felt so much sadness as he told his story that it took everything I had not to break down. I now saw him in a different light. He blamed himself for Sophia’s death and had been carrying that around with him all these years. I understood all too well about guilt and having the burden of it take over your life. I broke our embrace and placed my hands on each side of his face. “Thank you for telling me. I know how hard that was for you.” “I wanted you to know why I am the way I am.” He removed my hands and held them in his. “After her death, I buried myself into my work, started Klein Technology, and devoted my life to it. I live, eat, and breathe that company. I don’t make time for anyone or anything else. I like you, Aubrey. I really do, and I don’t want to hurt you anymore. You don’t deserve it. All I want is to make love to you more than anything else in the world, but I can’t commit to anything and I know you want more.” Even after confessing to me about Sophia, he was still frightened. I wanted to take away his pain, but would I be happy just being a casual fling? Would it be selfish of me to keep having sex with him with the hopes that he’d change his mind down the road? Or would I be setting myself up for an even worse heartbreak? I wasn’t that type of person. Or was I? I didn’t know because I had never been in a situation like this before. All I knew was, at that moment, I wanted him and he wanted me. He could have gone and had sex with any woman he wanted, but he was here, with me. Letting go of his hands, I gripped the bottom of my shirt and pulled it over my head. Reaching back, I unhooked my bra and slid it off, tossing it onto the floor. The sharp intake of his breath heighted my excitement as I took his hands and placed them firmly on my breasts. “Are you sure, Aubrey?” he asked with a whisper. “Yes.” While one hand firmly gripped my breast, he placed his other hand on my cheek. I could feel the warmth of his breath sweep across my face. Instead of our lips meeting for the first time, his tongue trailed along my neck. It felt so good to be touched by him again. He leaned me back on the couch so I was lying down, and while his mouth made its way to my breasts, his hand slid down my torso and unbuttoned my pants. He sat up and pulled them off and his fingers traced the outline of my lips through the

silk fabric of my panties. Before I knew it, his head was buried between my legs and my panties were off in a split second. His mouth wasted no time devouring me as I arched my back, forcing him to go deeper. Subtle moans rumbled in his throat as he explored my opening, flicking his tongue in and out and making small circles around my clit. The pleasure built inside me. He took his fingers and tugged at my hardened nipples as his mouth sent my body into an explosive orgasm. I let out a low moan as my breath escaped me and my heart raced faster than the speed of light. He didn’t speak a word as he sat up and pulled me on top, my knees straddling him. Slowly lowering myself onto his hard cock, I gasped as did he while I took his entire length inside me. “God, you feel so good,” he whispered in my ear. His hands stayed firmly on my hips as I slowly moved up and down, taking in the moment that I didn’t want to end. As much as I was enjoying this, I wanted him to kiss me. I needed to feel his lips on mine, but I wouldn’t force it or him. He had his reasons for why he never kissed me. Another orgasm was on its way as I tightened my grip on his shoulders and he tightened his grip on my hips. “Come for me, baby. I need to feel you come all over my cock,” he panted as he thrust his hips and deepened inside me. Letting out the sound of ecstasy, my body gave in as the rush of warmth over his cock elated him. “That’s it. Oh God. Yes.” He strained as he held my hips in place and exploded inside me. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I laid my head on his shoulder as his arms wrapped around me and held on tight. I prayed that he’d stay the night. I knew it was something he didn’t do, but in light of our recent conversation, I hoped he’d change his mind. He stood up, telling me to hold on as he carried me to the bedroom and set me on the edge of the bed. He pulled back the covers and I climbed under them, pulling the sheet up over my naked body. I was a nervous wreck that he was getting ready to leave. But instead, he climbed in on the other side, wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me into him. “You don’t mind if I stay the night, do you?” My lips gave way to a delighted smile. “I don’t mind at all,” I replied as I snuggled against him. We lay there, his hand stroking my hair as my fingers trailed along his chest. I had never felt as safe as I did at that moment. “How are you feeling?” I asked. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine, Aubrey. Thank you for listening to me.” His lips kissed the top of my head. “You’re welcome. Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.” “Why won’t you kiss me?” “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that.” He sighed. “I have a no kissing rule. I can’t explain it. It’s just something I don’t do. I haven’t kissed anyone passionately since Sophia. I hope you can understand that.” I lied and told him I did, even though I didn’t. There was something between us. I felt it and I knew he did too. I could feel and sense it. Maybe he just needed some time to adjust. After all, he did just tell me about her. I pressed my lips against his chest and then closed my eyes. When I awoke the next morning, I was alone in bed but could smell the freshly brewed coffee coming from the kitchen and I could hear the opening and closing of cabinets. I let out a sigh of relief that he was still here. “Good morning.” I smiled as I tied my robe and walked to the kitchen. “Good morning. I hope I didn’t wake you.” “No. You didn’t. What are you doing?” “I wanted to make us breakfast, but I can’t seem to find a pan to cook the eggs in.” I gently smiled and walked over to the cabinet next to the stove. Reaching down, I pulled out the frying pan. “Is this what you’re looking for?” “Yes. But I swear I looked in that cabinet.” “Go sit down. I’ll make breakfast.” “Oh no you don’t. I’m cooking. So go sit down and I’ll get you a cup of coffee,” he insisted. “Seriously, Ethan—” Before I knew it, his hands were grasping my shoulders. “Go sit down. I’m cooking breakfast. End of discussion. Do you understand?” He led me to the barstool at the counter. “Fine. I’ll sit down.” “Thank you. Now, how do you like your eggs?” “Scrambled is fine.” He set a cup of coffee down in front of me and told me to be careful.

“It’s hot. Don’t burn yourself.” “Yes, Ethan. I know it’s hot. But I will be extra careful for you.” I smirked. “You’re a little snippy from time to time. Do you know that?” “Only when someone insists on treating me like a handicapped child.” “I’m sorry. I’m learning.” “I know you are. Just make my eggs. I’m starving.” “What are your plans for today?” he asked. “I don’t know. I really don’t have any.” “After I make breakfast, I’m going to go home, shower, change, and head to the office. I have quite a bit of work to do.” “It’s Saturday.” “Saturdays are no different from any other day of the week as far as I’m concerned.” I sat there, sipping my coffee with the hopes that he’d want to spend the day together. I needed to play it off as if I didn’t care. “Sounds boring.” I smirked. He chuckled. “It can be.” After we finished breakfast, he cleaned up the kitchen and then kissed me on my forehead. “Enjoy your day. I have to go.” “You too. Try not to work too hard.” “I can’t make any promises.” He walked out the door and I sighed. I wasn’t sure I could do this.

Chapter 28 Ethan I hailed a cab home and got ready for work. As I stood in the shower, I lowered my head and let the water beat down on me while I thought about Aubrey. For the first time in years, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Telling her about Sophia and making her understand the way I was, was gratifying. I was honest and told her I couldn’t commit to anything and yet she still wanted to make love. Which to me, was a sign that she was okay with it. I still had fears, and many of them. Would I ever go back to the way I was? I didn’t know. But, little by little, Aubrey was peeling away the damaged layers that resided inside me. Spending the night with her was great and I didn’t feel like I needed to leave. It was the least I could do for her since she sat and listened to what I had to say. Did this mean we were in a relationship? No. It meant that we reached a level where we could enjoy each other’s company without any strings attached. As I was sitting in my office doing some work, a text message came through from her. “Hey, I know you’re busy working, but I’m going rock climbing today and wanted to see if you wanted to tag along. It’ll be fun.” Rock climbing? Was she serious? She couldn’t rock climb. A nervousness settled inside me at the thought. She’d slip and fall and possibly get killed. All sorts of things ran through my head. “Is anyone going with you?” “Nope. Just me and you if you want to come along.” Damn it. There was no way I could let her go alone. “What time are you going and where are you going?” “Three o’clock at Chelsea Pier Sports Center. I have a friend who works there.” I let out a sigh of relief. She was going to go to a gym to rock climb. That made me feel somewhat better because someone would be there with her. “I really can’t. I’m sorry. I have so much to do.” “That’s fine. I just thought I’d ask.” I set down my phone and got back to work. My tech team was working today on that app I wanted to

create. Walking down to their department, I found them huddled around a table. “Anything yet?” I asked. “We’re having trouble with the voice over. It’s thirty percent complete.” “Alright. Just keep working at it.” Looking at my watch, I noticed it was three o’clock. Why on earth would she want to rock climb? Fuck. I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. Instead of going back to my office, I headed out the door and hailed a cab to the Chelsea Pier Sports Center. When I arrived, I asked the young attractive girl at the front desk where their rock climbing was. “All the way in the back and to the right. Do you have an appointment?” she asked. “No. I’m just here to support a friend of mine who’s doing it.” “Oh. Okay.” When I found the section where the rock climbing was, I clenched my fist when I saw a man with his arms around Aubrey’s waist. I stood back and watched as she began to climb the wall. The man who had helped her glanced over and looked at me. Bringing my finger to my lips, I motioned for him not to alert Aubrey that I was there. “Hey, Alyssa, keep an eye on Aubrey. I’ll be right back.” He walked over to me and we stepped away from the area. “Can I help you with something?” “I’m just here to watch her, but I don’t want her to know.” “Dude, that’s creepy.” I couldn’t help but give him a half smile. “I’m a close friend of hers. She called me earlier and asked me to come with her, but I couldn’t. I just wanted to see her do it. To be honest, I’m a little nervous.” “Why? It’s not the first time she’s rock climbed. She’s been here several times and she’s really good. If you’re such a close friend, you would know that. Listen, you need to let her know you’re here or I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Then, after you leave, I’ll tell her you were here but didn’t want her to know.” “Fine.” “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Ethan Klein.” “I’m Justin. Nice to meet you.” Rolling my eyes, I followed him over to where Aubrey was. She was already halfway up the wall. “Hey, Aubrey,” Justin spoke. “Yeah.” She turned her head to him. “You have a visitor. He says his name is Ethan Klein.” “Ethan.” A smile crossed her face. “I thought you couldn’t come.” “I finished earlier than I thought, so I came down here to watch you.” “Watch me? No, Ethan, I want you to climb with me.” “I can’t, Aubrey. I don’t have the right clothes or anything. I’ll do it another time.” “Promise?” she asked with a smile. “I promise.” She finished climbing and came back down the wall. Even though she was a sweaty mess, she looked incredible. “Great job, Aubrey,” Justin spoke. “See you next week?” “Thanks, Justin. I’ll be here.” I took her hand and placed it on my arm. “I didn’t know you rock climbed,” I spoke as we headed out the door. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” I smiled. “Is that so? Then how about we have dinner tonight and you can tell me more about the things I don’t know about you.” “As much as I would love to, I can’t. I’m having dinner and drinks with Penelope and my Aunt Charlotte.” “Ah. Okay. Maybe I can see you after?” “I’m not sure what time I’ll be home. Since we’re hitting the town, I probably won’t be getting in until really late.”

“Okay. I understand. How about we share a cab?” “I’d like that. No Harry today?” “Nah. He went out of town for the weekend.” I hailed us a cab and we climbed into the backseat. “Why didn’t you drive your car?” She smirked. “I didn’t feel like dealing with the traffic.” She let out a light laugh. “Even though I have never actually seen what the traffic looks like in New York City, I can sure feel it, so I understand.” “We have arrived at your apartment. Would you like me to come up for a while?” I asked. “As much as I’d like that, I have to shower and get ready, so I won’t be much company.” “Oh. Okay. Have a good time with Penelope and your aunt.” “Thanks, Ethan. Enjoy your evening.” She climbed out and shut the door.

Chapter 29 Aubrey I knew what I was doing. He couldn’t commit, so neither could I. I wasn’t about to sit around waiting for him to call me whenever the mood struck him. “So you’re playing hard to get?” my Aunt Charlotte asked as she sipped her wine. “Pretty much.” “Eeek! I’m so proud of you.” Penelope placed her hand on mine. “He wants to have a relationship with me, just not a dating one.” “Well, you know that I find that extremely hot in a man. They secretly want you but can’t let you know because of their issues,” Penelope spoke. “Just fuck him and leave him hanging.” “Penelope!” Aunt Charlotte exclaimed. “What? He does it. In fact, a lot of men do it. So there’s no reason why my best friend can’t do it too. She’s not a damn doormat. Guys just can’t walk all over her, wipe their feet, walk away, and then come back when their shoes are dirty again.” “What?” Aunt Charlotte sighed. “Listen, Aubrey. You know how I feel about that man.” “I know, Aunt Charlotte, but you don’t have to worry. He is a good man. I knew it the minute I met him, to be honest. He just has some issues he needs to work out before he can move on with his life. Our conversation last night proved it.” “So what did happen to his girlfriend?” Penelope asked. “She drowned in the ocean and he loved her very much. He’s still dealing with that loss.” “I don’t know, Aubrey,” my Aunt Charlotte spoke. “Trust me.” I reached over and grabbed her hand. “He’s a good man.” **** The next morning, I was awoken by the sound of my phone letting me know that Ethan was calling. “Hello,” I sleepily answered.

“Did I wake you?” “Oh no. I was just lying here,” I lied. “What time is it anyway?” “It’s eight o’clock and I’m sorry. I did wake you.” “I had to get up anyway.” “How would you like to go with me to the Hamptons today?” A smile crossed my face. “I’d like that.” “Good. I was hoping you’d say yes. Charles and Lexi are heading there to spend the day on the boat. They invited me and asked me to ask you.” “Sounds fun.” “How fast can you be ready?” “Umm. An hour? When did you want to come pick me up?” “Well, I’m standing outside your door.” “What?” I laughed. “I’m hanging up and I will be there in a second to let you in.” Climbing out of bed, I slipped on my robe and walked to the front door, unlocking it and letting Ethan in. “Good morning.” He kissed my forehead. “Good morning.” I smiled. “You go get ready and I’ll make you some coffee.” “Thank you. I won’t take too long. I promise.” Making my way into the bathroom, I hopped into the shower and quickly washed my hair. Spending the day with Ethan was going to be perfect and it made me happy that he asked. Climbing out of the shower, I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around me. I could hear his footsteps approaching the bathroom. “Here’s your coffee.” He took my hand and placed the cup in it. “Thanks.” “I brought you something to wear.” “You did?” I asked as I took a sip of my coffee.

“I brought that dress I bought you at Bloomingdales. I thought you might like to wear it on the boat.” “I’d like that.” I smiled. “What time did you get in last night?” he asked. “Around one.” “Wow. The three of you must have been having a good time.” “We did. We ate, drank, talked. It was fun.” I smiled. “What did you do last night?” “Charles came over. We watched some football, drank a few beers, and ordered a pizza.” I let out a light laugh. “What?” he asked. “I just can’t imagine you eating pizza and watching football.” “Why? I happen to like football and pizza.” “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re filthy rich.” He chuckled. “And rich people aren’t supposed to like sports and pizza?” “That’s not what I’m saying.” “Then what are you saying?” he whispered as he clasped my shoulders and nipped at my ear. Turning to face him, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re supposed to like golf, polo, and horseracing.” “I like those things too. But I do enjoy a good game of football.” Suddenly, my towel fell off and dropped to the floor. “Oh, look at that. Your towel fell off,” he spoke as his fingers traced over my breasts. “I thought you were in a hurry to leave.” I smiled as his tongue caressed my neck. “I think we can spare a few moments.” He turned me around and took me from behind. After we finished, he handed me my dress. “I need some panties.” “Actually, you don’t.”

“What do you mean, I don’t?” I laughed. “You don’t need any. I would prefer it if you didn’t wear any under that dress.” “You’re a bad boy, Mr. Klein.” “I know.” He kissed my forehead. “Okay, now you have fifteen minutes to do your hair so we can get out of here.” After brushing out and blow drying my hair, I threw it up in a ponytail. Grabbing my sandals from the closet, I walked out into the living room, where I heard Ethan talking on the phone. “Who were you talking to?” I asked as I slipped on my shoes. “Charles. Unfortunately, he and Lexi aren’t going to be able to make it. She’s sick.” “Oh. I hope she’s okay.” “She thinks it’s food poisoning. But we’re still going to go.” “Just the two of us?” I grinned. “Yes. Just the two of us. Charles rented the boat for the day, so I told him that I’d pay him for it since we’re going to be using it. Are you ready?” “I am.” I grabbed my purse and my cane.

Chapter 30 Ethan Getting to spend the day with Aubrey was something I looked forward to doing. After dropping her off at her apartment yesterday afternoon, and knowing that she was going out for the night, set me in a mood. I wanted to spend the rest of the day and evening with her. It was a feeling that completely took over me and I couldn’t get her out of my head. When Charles came over, we had a long talk and he was pleasantly surprised that I told her about Sophia. He said that right there alone was a step in the right direction. And the more I thought about it, he was right. I told her that I couldn’t give her more of me. She seemed okay with it, but for me, it felt unsettled. I wanted to change the person I’d become. We arrived at the marina and I led her onto the boat. “Good afternoon. I’m Jacque, and I’ll be your captain for the day.” “Good afternoon. I’m Ethan Klein and this is Aubrey Callahan. It will only be the two of us today. Charles and his fiancée were unable to make it.” “Okay. If you’d like to explore the boat, be my guest. Up on the deck, you will find some champagne, a large cheese tray, and fresh fruit waiting for you.” “Thank you, Jacque.” Aubrey took hold of my arm and I led her up to the sun deck, where she took a seat on the long blue and white striped couch. “This is comfy.” She smiled. “Would you like some champagne?” I asked. “I’d love some.” “Right in front of you, on the table, is the cheese and fruit tray,” I spoke. “Thank you.” I handed her a glass of champagne, sat down next to her, and pulled her into me as her legs sprawled out on the couch and her head pressed against my chest.

“You don’t get seasick, do you?” I asked. “I don’t know. I’ve never been on a boat.” “Well, if you do, let me know. They have medicine here you can take.” Sitting there with my arms wrapped tightly around her felt right. I had so many thoughts running through my head that I needed to have a talk with her. “There’s something I need to talk to you about,” I spoke with nervousness. “Okay.” She softly stroked my arm. “First of all, I need you to turn around and face me.” She set her champagne glass on the table and shifted her body so she was sitting up facing me. “This sounds serious.” I brought the back of my hand up to her face and softly stroked her cheek. “I know I told you this the other night, but I’m going to say it again. I really like you, Aubrey, and I like spending time with you. And not just for sex either. I mean, I love having sex with you. You make me feel different, but you also make me feel different just spending time alone with you doing things like this. I know I said that I couldn’t commit to anything, but I want to try. You’ve unraveled me to the point that if I don’t see you every day, I could possibly go insane.” She let out a light laugh. “I want me and you to merge together and become an us. That’s if you want the same thing. If you’re not ready or think it’s too soon, I’ll understand. I’m slowly changing because of you, Aubrey Callahan.” “Oh, Ethan.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I would love to become an us.” She brought her hand up to my face. “Are you sure? I’m a hard man to be around sometimes. You have to be really sure, because once you’re completely mine, I don’t think I could ever let you go.” A smile graced her beautiful face. “I’m positive. I want to be all yours and I want you to be all mine.” After tracing her lips with my thumb, I leaned in and softly pressed mine against them. Pulling back, I stared at the smile on her face. “I need you to do that some more.” “It would be my pleasure.”

Cupping her face in my hands, I kissed her passionately and she tasted exactly how I knew she would. Sweet and full of innocence. Our tongues introduced themselves as our kiss deepened. The emotional connection I felt at that moment was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. My cock was at full attention, as was my mind. I was happy again and I owed it all to this beautiful, blonde-haired woman. Breaking our kiss, she ran her hands down my shirt. “What am I?” She smiled. “You, Aubrey Callahan, are my girlfriend.” “And you, Ethan Klein, are my boyfriend.” I pulled her into me and held her tight. “I’m not sure your aunt is going to be too happy about this.” “Don’t worry about Aunt Charlotte. She’ll be fine.” We sailed for a few hours, had dinner on the boat, and when we docked, we headed back to New York City. “I’m spending the night at your place, so we’ll stop at my house so I can grab some things and go straight to the office in the morning.” “Good. I was hoping you’d stay with me tonight.” **** The next morning, Ian knocked on the door and Aubrey asked me to answer it since she was still getting ready. Both of us were running late thanks to our little sex session we had this morning. “Good morning, Ian.” I smiled as I opened the door. “Umm. Hey, Ethan.” His eye narrowed at me in confusion. “Did you stay the night?” “I did. Aubrey said she’ll be ready in a second.” “So am I to assume things are good between the two of you?” “Things are very good. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it on the ride to school.” I winked. Walking back into the bedroom, I kissed Aubrey goodbye. “Have a good day, sweetheart. I’ll see you later.” “You too. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” Walking out the door, I climbed into the limo and Harry turned around with a grin across his face. “Well?” “Miss Callahan and I are dating and you will be seeing her a lot.” “Very good, Ethan. I’m happy for you, my friend.” “Thanks, Harry.” Walking down the hallway to my office, I stopped at Lucy’s desk. “Good morning, Lucy. How was your weekend?” “Good morning, Mr. Klein. It was good. And yours?” she asked with suspicion. “It was fantastic. Holly has a doctor’s appointment this morning. Send her in my office when she comes in.” “I will.” “Oh, and could you please get me a cup of coffee?” “I’ll bring it right in, sir.” “Thank you.” I smiled as I tapped my finger on her desk. ****

Lucy What the hell was that? I thought to myself as he walked into his office. Getting up from my desk, I went into the break room, poured him a cup of coffee, and took it into his office. “Here you go, Mr. Klein.” “Thank you, Lucy.” He smiled. “Do me a favor and get the product development team up here for a quick meeting.” “I’ll call down right now.” Going back to my desk, I picked up the phone and called Rob. “What’s up, Lucy?” he answered. “Mr. Klein would like you and the team to come up to his office.”

“Shit. Right now?” “Yes. Something’s going on with him. He’s in a really good mood and, to be honest, I’m scared.” “He’s never in a good mood. What’s that about?” “I have no clue.” “We’ll be up in a minute.” As I hung up the phone, Holly walked in and set her purse down at her desk. “Mr. Klein asked to see you when you arrived.” “He did remember I had a doctor’s appointment, right?” “Yeah, and he’s in a really good mood. He said good morning to me, tapped his finger on my desk, and said thank you.” “What? What’s wrong with him?” “I don’t know, but I’m a little freaked out by it. His mood may not last too much longer, so you better get in there quick.” She took in a deep breath and went into his office. After a few moments, she walked back out with a look of confusion on her face. “What? What did he say?” I asked with anticipation. “He asked me how my appointment went and if I was feeling okay. He told me not to worry about my future appointments and if I need to make them in the mornings, I can.” “Weird. Something is going on with that man.” “Yeah and we better take advantage of it while we can.” She smirked.

Chapter 31 Aubrey It had been a month since Ethan and I started officially dating. We traveled back and forth between my apartment and his townhouse. I had gotten to know Ingrid and fell in love with her right away. My Aunt Charlotte was not thrilled when I first told her about us, but the more Ethan was around and the more she got to know him and saw how happy he made me, the easier it was for her to accept him. Waking up to him every morning was the highlight of my day. Those three little words had yet to escape both of our lips. I loved him and I was sure he loved me. He just hadn’t said it and I wasn’t going to push him. He hadn’t had a nightmare since we’d been together, which was a good thing. Dr. Perry told him that since he let his emotions and feelings for me come full force, the pain he carried around all these years about Sophia began to slowly fade away. The sweetest thing he had done for me was his company created an app that would help visually impaired people navigate their way through large buildings. It was amazing and I was the first one to test it out. Ethan was not only happy that it helped me significantly, he was also happy because Apple paid his company millions of dollars for it. As I was sipping my morning coffee, Ethan walked over to me and gave me a hug and kiss goodbye. “My flight doesn’t get in until nine o’clock tonight. I’ll come right here from the airport.” “Okay. Have a safe trip.” “Oh, before I go, I have something for you.” He handed me a small box with a bow tied around it. “What’s this?” I smiled. “Open it and find out.” After untying the ribbon, I removed the lid from the box and took out what was inside, feeling the fabric in my hands. “Is this something sexy?” I grinned. “Yes, and when I get home tonight, I expect you to be wearing it for me.” “It would be my pleasure, Mr. Klein.” I reached up and kissed his lips. “Oh, you’re going to be getting a lot of pleasure when I get back. I have to run, baby.” He kissed me one last time before walking out the door.

****

Ethan I had a meeting with Dr. Marchetti at Massachusetts General Hospital, the head and lead surgeon of their ophthalmology department. He was the best in the world and had agreed to meet with me regarding Aubrey. “Welcome, Mr. Klein. Please have a seat.” “Thank you, and please, call me Ethan.” “What can I do for you, Ethan?” he asked as he took a seat behind his desk. “I heard about your breakthrough in being able to restore a blind person’s eyesight.” “Yes. We have had some success. May I ask why you’re asking?” “My girlfriend lost her eyesight from a car accident when she was eight years old, and she’s been permanently blind ever since.” “How old is she now?” “She’s twenty-five.” “Hmm. Do you know what caused it? Brain trauma or direct impact to the eyes?” “To be honest, I don’t know. I came to you with the hope that you might be able to help her see again.” “In order to answer that, I’ll need to view her medical file from the accident, and for that I’ll need her written consent.” “She doesn’t know I’m here. I didn’t want to get her hopes up if there wasn’t a possibility you could help her. “I see. And you say this happened seventeen years ago?” “Yes.” “Let me do some research and I’ll give you a call. There are a couple of possibilities as to why she lost her sight after the accident.” Getting up from my chair, I extended my hand. “Thank you, Dr. Marchetti.” “No problem, Ethan.” He lightly shook my hand. “Talk to your girlfriend about this and have her sign a form so I can get her medical records. With today’s technology, I’m sure we’d be able to help her. I’ll be

in touch in a couple of days.” “Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.” **** I arrived at Aubrey’s apartment a little after ten o’clock. Inserting my key, I opened the door and headed straight to the bedroom. I had been thinking about her all day in that black nightie with the matching silk string panties. She was going to look delicious in it and I couldn’t wait to devour every inch of her. I had my reasons for contacting Dr. Marchetti. One of them being if there was chance Aubrey could get her eyesight back, that would be incredible for her. I wanted nothing more than for her to be able to see the world as an adult and to also see me. Even though I hadn’t told her that I loved her yet, I did. And to be honest, I didn’t really know why I hadn’t. To me, it was the final commitment in our relationship. I mean, I was one hundred percent committed to her, but there was still a fear inside me that was holding me back. Walking into the bedroom, I found her lying on her side, hand on her cheek and a smile on her face. She looked so sexy that instantly, my cock rose to the occasion without warning. “It’s about time you got home,” she spoke. After removing my tie, I unbuttoned my shirt and slid it off. As I walked slowly towards the bed, I kicked off my shoes, then unbuttoned my pants and slid them down. “I missed you.” I climbed on the bed and kissed her lips. “I missed you too. How was your trip?” “We can talk about that later. We have other business to attend to first.” She lay on her back as my fingers traced the outline of her cleavage first before traveling down the silk fabric of her nightie and reaching the top of her panties. She gasped as my hand slid down the front of her and to her slick lips that were already drenched with pleasure. Dipping my fingers inside her, she gasped and I kissed her mouth softly, nipping at her bottom lip, and teasing her while I explored her insides. I needed to go down on her. Nothing gave me more satisfaction than tasting the sweetness of excitement that emerged from her. I pushed up the silk fabric of her nightie slightly and let my tongue explore her torso, kissing and licking every inch of it. Climbing off the bed, I got down on my knees and lightly pulled her towards me. Hooking my fingers into the sides of her panties, I slid them down and delicately touched her while I licked up her inner thigh. The soft moans that escaped her and the trembling of her skin under my touch had me wanting to explode.

My tongue made its way up her thigh, over her lips, and to her already swollen clit that was begging to be caressed by the tip of my tongue. With each flick, she let out soft sounds of pleasure that heightened when my finger dipped inside her. Grasping the comforter with her hands, her body tightened as she orgasmed. Climbing on top of her, I placed my cock at her entrance and thrust inside as I could no longer wait. Being inside her was what I had waited for all day. I stared into her eyes as I moved rapidly in and out of her, my cock coated with her wetness. There was nothing I wanted more than to have her eyes look into mine and see me. To see the expression on my face as I made love to her, talked to her, and how I reacted when she walked into a room. I wanted her to see how I looked at her every day and how she made me smile. The buildup had come as I thrust in and out. She was ready to come with me and that made me a happy man. “Come with me, baby,” I panted. Her legs tightened themselves around my waist as I felt her orgasm, making my cock explode inside her. I leaned down and passionately kissed her before collapsing down to regain my breath and calm my racing heart. Rolling off and onto my side, I ran my hand through her hair. “Whew. Are you okay?” I asked. “I’m great.” She smiled as we scooted off the bed and climbed under the sheets. I pulled her tightly into me and kissed the top of her head. I was exhausted but not too exhausted to talk to her. We lay there in silence for a moment, me softly stroking her arm and her lightly running her hand across my chest as her head lay against it. “Do you ever wish you could see again?” I asked. “Sometimes. Why do you ask?” “I just wondered if you ever thought about it. I mean, isn’t it something all visually impaired people think about?” “I’m sure they do. It would be nice to see the ocean, to see the blue sky again, and to actually see what snow looks like.” “Believe me, that shit is best unseen.” I chuckled. She giggled and then said something that really hit my heart hard. “Sometimes when I know I’m facing a mirror, like when I dry my hair or put on my makeup, I’ll just stand there, and even though everything in my world is black, I wish I could see what I look like now that

I’m an adult.” “You’re beautiful, Aubrey. In fact, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.” “Ethan. I do believe you may be a little biased since I’m your girlfriend.” “No, sweetheart. I thought that when I first saw you in the art gallery. When I turned around and saw you standing there, I was mesmerized.” Her lips pressed firmly against my chest. “Thank you.” I tightened my grip around her. Now that I got that question out of the way, I could relax a little. I had no doubt that if Dr. Marchetti could help her, she’d jump at the chance to let him.

Chapter 32 Ethan A few days had passed and I was a little concerned that I hadn’t heard from Dr. Marchetti. I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of Aubrey getting her sight back. As I was on my way back from an important meeting, my phone rang. Pulling it from my pocket, I noticed it was Dr. Marchetti. I took in a deep breath before answering his call. “Ethan Klein.” “Ethan, it’s Dr. Marchetti over at Massachusetts General. How are you?” “I’m good, Dr. Marchetti.” “Listen, have you talked to Aubrey about signing over her medical records? I believe there may be something I can do to help her regain her sight. I’ve done some research and if what happened to her is what I think happened, I am certain I can help her.” I swallowed hard because I couldn’t believe it. “That’s wonderful news. I haven’t talked to her about it yet, but I will tonight.” “If she agrees, let me know as soon as possible. I will be in New York on Thursday hosting a seminar over at New York Presbyterian University Hospital and could meet with the two of you after.” “That would be great. I’m sure she will agree to it. Just let me know what time.” “The seminar runs until three o’clock. So how about three thirty?” “We’ll be there. Thank you, Dr. Marchetti.” “You’re welcome, Ethan, and I’m looking forward to meeting Aubrey.” I ended the call and sat at my desk with a smile on my face. Hearing the door open, I looked up to see Charles walking in. “What’s that smile for?” He grinned. “Just got some good news.” “Ah. Do tell, my friend.” He took a seat across from my desk.

“Remember when I went out to Boston on a business trip last week?” “Yeah.” “It wasn’t really a business trip. I met with a Dr. Marchetti to talk about possibly having Aubrey’s eyesight restored.” “What? Are you serious?” “Very. I just got off the phone with him and he thinks he can help her.” “Wow. That’s amazing. I bet Aubrey is ecstatic.” I sighed. “She doesn’t know anything about this.” “Say what? You didn’t tell her you met with him?” “No.” “Bro, she’s your girlfriend and this involves her. Why the hell wouldn’t you tell her?” “Because I didn’t want to get her hopes up until I was sure that he could possibly help her. I’m going to tell her tonight.” “Any idea how she’s going to react with you going behind her back like that?” I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t go behind her back.” “Yes, you really did. You met with a doctor about her without her knowing. That’s going behind her back, bro.” “She’ll be okay with it. I’m not worried.” “I hope so. Anyway, I came to see if you wanted to hit up that burger joint down the street for lunch.” “Sure. Let’s go.” I grabbed my phone and got up from my desk. ****

Aubrey I loved my job and I loved my students. Teaching them about English literature was the best part of my life, as well as loving Ethan. I was so happy and life was grand. When I walked through the door of my apartment, his scent was filtering through the air. “You’re here early?” I smiled.

“I had a meeting not too far from here, so I just decided not to go back to the office.” He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss. “I missed you.” “I missed you too.” “How about we order something in for dinner. There’s something I need to talk to you about.” “Okay. Is everything good?” I asked with concern. “Everything is good, sweetheart. I promise.” “Since we’re staying in, I’m going to take a quick shower.” “Okay. I’ll pour us some wine and we can decide what we want to order when you’re finished.” He kissed my lips once again. As I stepped into the shower, I was curious as to what he wanted to talk to me about. Maybe he wanted to take a vacation and go somewhere. God, how I would love to go somewhere with him. Like a tropical island where it was just the two of us. A smile crossed my face the more I thought about it. I bet that was it. He wanted to go away somewhere. After I was finished, I slipped into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. Removing the towel from my head, I ran a brush through my long hair. Ethan came up from behind me, took the brush out of my hand, and started brushing my hair. “Here, let me.” “What did you want to order?” I asked. “Anything you want, sweetheart.” “How about pasta from Luigi’s? I’ve been craving their bread.” “Pasta sounds good.” He set down the brush and turned me around so I was facing him. “You’re so beautiful and I’m a very lucky man to have you in my life.” “I’m a lucky woman to have you in my life.” I hugged him tightly. He called in our dinner order as I took my wine and sat down on the couch. I was in anticipation of what he wanted to talk to me about and I couldn’t wait any longer. “So what did you want to talk to me about?” I smiled. “We’ll discuss it after dinner. It’ll be here soon.” I heard his phone ring.

“Excuse me for a moment. It’s the office.” While I sipped on my wine, there was a knock on the door. As I got up to answer it, Ethan ended his call and beat me to the door. Opening up the cabinet, I took down two plates and grabbed some silverware from the drawer, taking them to the table and setting them down. “Sit down. I’ve got this.” “Yes, sir.” I saluted him. He let out a chuckle. “The pasta is to your left and the salad is to your right.” “And the bread?” I asked as I arched my brow. “Shit. They didn’t give us any. I’m sorry, sweetheart.” “Very funny, Ethan.” I smiled. “I can smell it.” “I should know better by now, right?” “Right.” We enjoyed our dinner and talked about our day. Ethan helped me clean up and then poured me another glass of wine. “Let’s go over to the couch, shall we?” “Okay.” The suspense was killing me. I wondered where he was going to take me. It didn’t matter, though. As long as it was just the two of us, I’d be happy anywhere. As we both sat down, I heard him take in a long deep breath. “Remember how I went to Boston last week?” he asked. “Of course.” I smiled. “I didn’t go there for business.” “You didn’t?” I cocked my head. “No.” “Then why did you go?” “I met with a doctor. His name is Dr. Marchetti and he’s a world renowned eye specialist.”

Suddenly, my stomach dropped. “Why did you meet with him?” “I wanted to know if there was any way he could help you regain your eyesight. He just needs your permission to access your medical records from the accident, but he believes he can restore your vision. He took the wine glass from me, set it down, and grabbed both of my hands. “He said he wants to meet you on Thursday. He’ll be here in New York hosting a seminar.” I sat there, my heart beating out of my chest. I couldn’t believe what he had just told me. “Why would you do something like that without talking to me about it first?” “Because I didn’t want to get your hopes up if he couldn’t help you.” I was in shock that he would do something like that without talking to me. “Aren’t you happy? Aubrey, sweetheart, there’s a chance you could get your eyesight back.” I pulled away from him and got up from the couch. A feeling of discontent washed over me, not to mention an anger that ripped through my body at what he had done. “You had no right, Ethan. No right at all. This is my life. Not yours,” I sternly spoke. “Aubrey, I know it’s your life and I’m trying to help you.” “I don’t need help. I’m happy with my life the way it is!” I raised my voice. “Don’t you want to see again? You said the other night that you wished you could see the ocean like you used to, the blue sky, and yourself. My God, sweetheart, if Dr. Marchetti can help you, you could see the world.” “No. I don’t want to see. This has been my life for more years than I was born. I’m comfortable this way. You just can’t do that, Ethan. FUCK!” I yelled as I placed my hands on my head. “You just can’t go messing with people’s lives.” “Aubrey, calm down.” I felt the firm grip of his hands around my arms. “Don’t, Ethan.” I jerked away. “I thought I was doing something good here. Why can’t you understand that? And to be honest, I don’t get why on earth you wouldn’t want to get your sight back!” he yelled. “Because that’s for me to decide! Not you! And I suspect you want it for your own selfish reasons!” “I want this for you, Aubrey!” he shouted. “I want this for us!”

“Us? I thought my being blind didn’t bother you. So all this time, you were lying to me? You’re no different than any other guy out there!” “Seriously? Your blindness doesn’t bother me at all. If it did, I wouldn’t be with you.” “Obviously it does or else you wouldn’t have sought out that doctor! Just get out of here, Ethan. I don’t want to see you right now.” “You don’t want to see me? Guess what, Aubrey? You can’t see me!” He shouted so loudly that I flinched. “Is it so wrong that I would do and give anything to have you see me? To see the way I look at you, to see my smile and to see how much I fucking love you! Maybe I am being selfish because I want you to see me and see what I look like. Why live in a world of darkness if you don’t have to?” “Because it’s the only world I know!” I shouted back. “It’s not the only world you know, Aubrey. You’ve seen things before the accident and you were forced to adapt into a world only people who are blind can understand. I’m giving you the opportunity to go back to that other world!” The next set of words flew out of my mouth faster than I could stop them. They were out of anger because he didn’t understand. “I’m not Sophia, Ethan. I don’t need saving! You can’t save me just like you couldn’t save her.” There were a few moments of silence between us. I could just imagine the angry look on his face. The same look that my father had before the crash. I swallowed hard as the tears started to fall down my face. “That was a low blow, Aubrey.” “Get out,” I whispered in a low voice. “I’m leaving and I don’t know when or if I’ll be back.” “Don’t bother.” “Fine. Then it’s over. I thought I was doing something good. But apparently, I’m just a selfish bastard. Good luck to you, Aubrey.” I heard the door slam shut. Falling to my knees, I held my face in my hands and sobbed. A few moments later, the door opened and I heard my Aunt Charlotte’s voice. “Oh my God, Aubrey. What happened?” She wrapped her arms around me as I cried hysterically into her.

“It’s okay, baby. Tell me what happened.” I couldn’t talk. My chest felt tight and the tears wouldn’t stop falling. We sat on the floor for a while before she helped me up and led me over to the couch. “I’m going to get you some tissues. I’ll be right back.” She returned and dabbed the tissue around my eyes. “There, there, sweet girl. Everything is going to be okay.” “No. No it’s not.” “Tell me what happened.” After taking a moment to compose myself and blow my nose, I began to tell her, and I instantly felt she took his side. “He shouldn’t have done that without speaking to you first, but he did it for you, honey. I believe it was all in good intention.” “So you’re taking his side and saying that I shouldn’t have gotten so upset?” “No. I’m not taking anyone’s side. When two people love each other, they want to do things to make the other’s person’s life easier.” “No! He did it for his own selfish reasons. He wants me to see him. He can’t stand the thought of being with a blind girl the rest of his life who will never see what he looks like.” “Aubrey.” She pulled me into her. “I don’t believe that’s entirely true. He was trying to give you a gift. The gift of your eyesight back. If this doctor can help you, I don’t understand why you won’t talk to him.” “Because this is how my life was meant to be.” “That’s not true.” “Yes, it is. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to be alone.” “Aubrey.” “Aunt Charlotte, I mean it.” I raised my voice. She kissed my forehead and patted my hand. “If you need anything, call me or come over.” “I will.”

Chapter 33 Ethan I was hurt. I was angry. I was sad. Rage consumed me, and as soon as I arrived home, I grabbed the bottle of scotch and a glass and took it upstairs to my bedroom. I downed two glasses in a flash, and as I looked over at the chair that sat in the corner, I noticed some of her clothes folded neatly on top of it. I couldn’t believe what she said to me regarding Sophia. But most of all, I couldn’t believe how upset she was with what I had done. Maybe I should have talked to her first about it, but I didn’t think she was even capable of reacting the way she did. Maybe I didn’t know her at all. But one fucking thing I knew for sure was that she never wanted her eyesight back, which I couldn’t understand. Over the next several days, I couldn’t control my anger and my staff knew to stay away from me. In the blink of an eye, I was back to the person I hated most. I had let my guard down, let my feelings come to surface, and for what? Only to be shattered again. I hailed a cab to Dr. Perry’s office, climbed out, and went inside. There was only a brief wait as she was with another patient. “Come on in, Ethan.” She smiled. “Your phone call sounded urgent. What’s going on?” I placed my hands in my pocket and paced across the room. “Aubrey and I broke up.” “Why?” “I did something she didn’t like and she said something I didn’t like.” “Okay. Why don’t you sit down and we’ll talk about it?” “I’m fine pacing around the room.” “What did you do?” “I found and spoke to a doctor that may be able to help Aubrey get her eyesight back. I told her about it and she freaked out on me. She told me that she was happy the way she was and I only did it for my own selfish reasons.” “Did you tell her after you found the doctor or before?”

“After I met with him. She said I had no right. That is was her life.” “Did you do it for your own selfish reasons?” she asked. “No. Of course not. I want Aubrey to see again. I want her to be able to see the things she never saw before the accident.” “Including you?” “Of course. Who wouldn’t want that, Dr. Perry? But that wasn’t the main reason I got in touch with Dr. Marchetti.” “Dr. Marchetti from Boston?” “Yes. Do you know him?” “Yes. I’ve known him for years. He’s one of the best eye specialists in the world.” I finally stopped pacing and took a seat across from her. “I thought I was doing something good for her.” I lowered my head and placed my hands over my face. “You were, Ethan. There has to be some psychological reasoning as to why Aubrey doesn’t want to meet with Dr. Marchetti. You said that she said something to you that you didn’t like. What did she say?” “She said that she wasn’t Sophia, she didn’t need saving, and that I couldn’t save her, just like I couldn’t save Sophia.” “I see.” “I told her that was a low blow, that we were over, and I left.” “You haven’t spoken to her since?” “No. I can’t sleep. I have no appetite and I’m back to the same person I was before I met her.” “Do you miss her?” “Of course I miss her. I love her more than anything in the world, but what she said to me showed me who she really was.” “That’s not true, Ethan. People say things out of anger. She was hurt and angry that you spoke to Dr. Marchetti without talking to her first, so she threw back at you the one thing she knew would hurt you most.” “Well, that was a shit thing to do on her part. I still don’t understand why she got so defensive about it.”

“Like I said, there has to be some psychological thing going on. Perhaps she would feel guilty for getting her sight back from an accident that took the two people away she loved the most.” “That doesn’t make sense.” I sighed. “In Aubrey’s head, it does. Now I’m not saying that’s what her problem is. All I’m saying is that there’s some deep rooted issue she doesn’t want to deal with. Give her some space and see what happens. She was in shock by what you told her. Perhaps seeing again frightens her. Let her work things out on her own.” “I have been.” “Would you be able to carry on a lifelong relationship with her if she decided she didn’t want to attempt to get her eyesight back?” “Of course I would. I love her, Dr. Perry.” “Then that is something you need to tell her.” ****

Aubrey The past few days had been the hardest days of my life. I cried every morning, taught my classes, and then came home to an empty apartment and cried myself to sleep. Ian and Penelope had seen me at my worst and I felt bad because they tried so hard to help me. I thought Ethan was different and apparently I was wrong. I was so sure and secure in the fact that he could love me the way I was. My last class had just ended and Ian had a meeting with a student’s parents, so I sat down at my desk and did some work on my computer until he was finished. As I was sitting there, I heard a light knock on the door. “Come in,” I spoke. The door opened and I heard a woman’s voice as the visitor approached me. “Miss Callahan?” a soft voice spoke. “Yes.” I stood up from my desk. “I just wanted to stop in and say hi. I’m Dr. Perry. We have a mutual friend in common: Ethan Klein.” “Hello, Dr. Perry.” I extended my hand to her. “It’s nice to meet you.” “It’s nice to meet you too. I was a guest speaker for the psychology classes today and I remembered

that Ethan told me you were a teacher here, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello.” “That was very nice. Thank you. Ethan spoke very highly of you.” “So how is Ethan? I haven’t seen him in a while.” “I don’t know. We aren’t seeing each other anymore.” I sat down in my chair. “I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t mean to be forward, Aubrey, but I can see that you’re very upset. If you would like to talk about it, I’d be more than happy to listen.” “Thank you, Dr. Perry, but I don’t want to waste your time. I’m sure you’re very busy.” “Actually, I’m not. Speaking here today was the only thing I scheduled, so I’m not going to the office.” I didn’t know if talking to her was the right thing to do. I’d spent so much time the past few days talking to my Aunt Charlotte, Penelope, and Ian, that I was tired of reliving what happened between me and Ethan. But she was a professional and maybe she could offer some advice on how to stop feeling the way I did. “Ethan broke up with me after an argument we had. He did something that really hurt me and made me see that he wasn’t the man I thought he was.” “What did he do?” “He contacted a doctor who could possibly help me get my eyesight back. He did it without even telling me and then came home and sprang it on me out of nowhere. It was sneaky, undermining, and it made me very angry.” “Why did you get so angry that he did that?” “Because he had no right.” I looked down. “This is my life, not his. He can’t love me like this. That’s why he sought out that doctor. He wants me to get my eyesight back for him. He told me that he wants me to see him.” “Is that so wrong?” she asked. “Not really. In a way, I get it, but he had no right doing what he did. If he can’t be with me the way I am, then there’s no point in us being together.” “Let me ask you something, Aubrey. Do you want to be able to see again?” “I think about it sometimes. But losing my eyesight was my fate. It was my punishment and something I made peace with many years ago.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean by ‘it was your punishment.’” My heart started racing at the thought of telling Dr. Perry about the accident. “The accident was my fault and the reason my parents are dead. We were on our way to the beach and I couldn’t wait to get there. It was a Saturday and my dad decided to go into the office first. He came home later than he said he would, so we got a late start. I remember being angry at him for it and as we were on our way, it started to pour down rain when it had been sunny and beautiful earlier in the afternoon. He said there was no use in going and he was going to turn around. My heart was broken because I had been promised all week that we would go to the beach. It was all I looked forward to. I started crying and yelling at him from the backseat, and I told him that it was his fault because he always put work in front of his family. My mom told me that I needed to calm down and that we’d go another day. I wouldn’t accept that and I wouldn’t stop crying. My father turned and looked at me and told me to stop or else. I’ll never forget the look of anger on his face. He drifted into the other lane into oncoming traffic and my mother screamed at him to look out. He swerved, but it was too late. I had my hand on the seatbelt buckle and during the impact, I must have pressed it and released the seatbelt because I was thrown from the car. I woke up in the hospital to a world of darkness. The doctors told my aunt that the paramedics found me lying on the ground a few feet away from the car. I was barely alive, but they managed to save me.” “I’m so sorry, Aubrey,” Dr. Perry spoke. “So you see, Dr. Perry, the accident was my fault. If I had just accepted the fact that we couldn’t go to the beach that day, things would be different. My parents would be alive and I wouldn’t have lost my eyesight.” “You were a child. The accident wasn’t your fault.” “But it was and losing my eyesight is something that I have to live with for the rest of my life. It’s my punishment. Nothing can bring my parents back, so why should I be able to see again?” A tear fell from my eye. “And you became angry at Ethan for wanting to take that punishment away from you?” “Yes. I’m living my life the way I’m supposed to.” “Oh, Aubrey. I wish to God you didn’t feel that way. That accident wasn’t your fault, just like Sophia’s death wasn’t Ethan’s. Didn’t you tell him that it wasn’t his fault?” “Yes.” “How is that any different? Ethan believed that his actions drove Sophia into that ocean that night, just like you believe your actions caused that accident. So how can you say that Ethan wasn’t responsible?

There’s no difference between the way you feel and the way he felt.” “It just is.” “No, sweetheart, it isn’t. If you were to tell him about the accident, he would tell you it wasn’t your fault, just like you told him it wasn’t his fault. You’ve lived over half your life being visually impaired, and now, with today’s advance technology, there’s someone who could potentially help you see again. It’s time to let the punishment go, Aubrey. If this doctor can help you, let him.” I heard my classroom door open and Ian’s voice. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company,” he spoke. “Ian, this is Dr. Perry. Dr. Perry, this is my friend, Ian.” “Nice to meet you, Ian. I’m going to go. Give some thought to what we talked about and if you need anything, please call me.” “Thank you. I will.” “It was nice to meet you, Aubrey. Hopefully, we’ll talk again soon.” She walked out of my classroom.

Chapter 34 Aubrey I spent the next few days thinking about what Dr. Perry said. As I stood in the bathroom, in front of the mirror, I placed my hand on it and held it there for a few moments. Thoughts about what I looked like invaded my head. There was a question I needed an answer to, so I called in sick to work and headed over to Ethan’s office. If he wasn’t there, I’d wait for him. Using the app his company developed, I easily found my way up to his office. Using my cane for guidance, I walked down the hallway until I stopped at a desk. “May I help you?” a woman’s voice asked. “Is this Ethan Klein’s office?” “Yes, it is. Do you have an appointment with him?” “No. But if he’s in there, I need to speak with him.” “He’s on a phone conference at the moment. May I ask your name?” “Aubrey Callahan.” “Oh my gosh. It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’m Lucy, Mr. Klein’s secretary.” “It’s nice to meet you, Lucy.” I smiled. “As soon as he’s finished with his call, I’ll let him know you’re here. I’m sorry to say this, but he’s been an absolute nightmare since—well, you know.” “Since we stopped seeing each other?” “Yes. Don’t get me wrong, he’s always been a nightmare, but since he met you, he became a totally different person, and it was nice while it lasted. Gee, maybe I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. I understand. He can be a difficult man.” “That’s an understatement.” “LUCY!” I heard the door open and his harsh and authoritative voice spoke. “Aubrey?” His voice calmed.

“Hello, Ethan.” My nerves were getting the best of me. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school?” “I took the day off. I need to speak with you.” “Sure. Come on in.” “First, you need to apologize to your secretary for yelling her name the way you did,” I bravely spoke as I stood there. “Lucy, I apologize for being so abrupt.” “It’s fine, Mr. Klein.” I walked into his office and he shut the door. A feeling of sickness rose in the pit of my stomach. “Are you standing in front of me?” I asked. “Yes. I am.” His hand lightly touched my arm. “I have a question for you and I want an honest answer.” “Okay.” “Could you be with me if I never got my eyesight back?” “Yes, Aubrey. Of course I could, and I would. The only thing that matters to me is being with you. Fuck. Do you have any idea how hard this has been for me? How many times I’ve wanted to reach out to you? But I couldn’t because I was afraid you’d tell me to go to hell after what I’d done.” “I do know because I’ve felt the same way. I’m sorry, Ethan, for the horrible things I said to you. I had no right getting so angry the way I did.” “Sweetheart, I had no right to contact Dr. Marchetti without speaking to you first.” He took hold of my hand. “I’ve missed you so much but I wanted to give you as much space and time as you needed. I’ve been miserable without you.” “I have too, and I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry too, baby. I really am.” I felt his arms wrap tightly around me. “I need you to forgive me, Aubrey.”

“I do, and I need you to forgive me. There’s a reason why I became so upset with you, and we can talk about that later.” “Listen, nothing in this world matters to me more than being with you. I need you in my life.” “And I need you, Ethan. I would like you to do something for me.” “I’ll do anything for you.” “I want you to call Dr. Marchetti and set up an appointment to see him. I’ll sign the papers so he can get my medical report from the accident because I’m ready to see if he can help me.” “Aubrey, let’s just forget about him. I never should have contacted him in the first place. I want you just the way you are.” “I appreciate that, but this is my decision and I’m ready to do this. I want to do it for me.” “Are you sure?” “Yes. I’m positive.” His grip around me tightened before he broke our embrace and our lips were locked in a passionate kiss. “I love you so much, Aubrey Callahan.” “I love you too, Ethan.” I smiled. Before I knew it, he swooped me up and carried me out of his office. “Lucy, clear my schedule. I’m taking the rest of the day off and I don’t want to be disturbed. Call Harry and have him pull the car around.” “Have a great day, Mr. Klein,” she spoke with excitement. “What are you doing?” I giggled. “I’m taking you back to my house and we’re spending the rest of the day in bed. We have a lot of making up to do.” He kissed my lips. “I love that idea.” I smiled. **** Ethan called Dr. Marchetti and set my appointment for next Thursday. I spoke with the principal of the school and arranged to have Thursday and Friday off so I could travel to Boston. Dr. Marchetti said that we’d have the consultation on Thursday and schedule the surgery for Friday morning. The night before

Ethan and I left, we had a goodbye dinner with my Aunt Charlotte, Mr. Morris, Ian and Rigby, and Penelope. “I’m so proud of you for doing this.” My aunt hugged me tight. “And even if it doesn’t work, it’s okay.” “I know, and I’m not getting my hopes up. But I have to try.” After saying our goodbyes, Ethan and I went back to my apartment to get my bags and take them back to his house, where we would spend the night and head to the airport first thing in the morning. Walking into the hospital, a nervousness engulfed me. My life could change drastically in a matter of a day and I wasn’t sure how to cope with it. Don’t get me wrong; this was what I wanted, but nonetheless, I was still scared as shit. “Aubrey, it’s so good to finally meet you. Come here; I feel the need to give you a hug.” “It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Marchetti. Thank you for agreeing to see me.” “Of course. Please have a seat.” Ethan led me over to where the chairs were and then took a seat next to me, holding my hand the entire time. “Okay,” Dr. Marchetti spoke. “First thing we need to do is an ultrasound of your eyes so I can get a better idea of what’s going on. I know that the optic nerves in both eyes have been severed from the accident but I need to see if there is anything else we’re dealing with. So, let’s go across the hall and get this started.” Walking across the hall into another room, he had me sit down while bringing a machine up to my eyes. “You have a lot of scar tissue that has formed, which is normal and there’s a lot of inflammation. Once we remove the scar tissue and reduce the inflammation, I’m going to inject the severed nerves with mutation cells, including stem cells to try and get the nerves to regenerate. Now, I want you to know that it could take several months for you to get your vision back completely. There is a small chance, Aubrey, that this might not work. You could still either be completely blind, or you may have some residual sight.” “I understand, Dr. Marchetti. Even if it doesn’t work, I’m okay with it because this is how I’ve lived my life. It working would only be a bonus. But trust me, I’m not getting my hopes up.” “Okay.” He patted my hand. “Let’s do this. Be back here tomorrow morning at five a.m. We’ll get you prepped and in surgery at six. It should take around four to five hours for the procedure.” ****

“Are you okay?” Ethan asked as he held me tight after we made love. “I’m fine.” “Are you sure? You’ve been quiet all day.” “I’m just a little scared.” He kissed the top of my head. “I know you are and I’d be worried if you weren’t. But everything is going to be okay. Even if it doesn’t work, you would have lost nothing.” “I know.” “I love you, sweetheart, and I will be right here by your side no matter what happens. I will support you, love you, and give you everything you need and want. You’re stuck with me for life, whether you want to be or not.” I couldn’t help but let out a light laugh. “I love you and there’s no other person in the world that I would rather be stuck with.” I lifted my head and kissed his lips. “Good. Now let’s get some sleep. You have a very big day tomorrow.” “Good night, Ethan.” I lay my head back on his chest. “I love you.” “I love you too, baby. Good night.”

Chapter 35 Ethan The truth was that I didn’t sleep a wink all night. I was worried about Aubrey’s surgery. One, in case it didn’t work, I didn’t want her to be disappointed, and two, because Dr. Marchetti had a talk with me on the effects regaining her eyesight could have on her emotionally. He said that she would have to learn to see all over again and that could send her into a depression. He told me that it would become a developmental process, like learning a new language and to be patient with her and help her as much as I could. I was starting to have second thoughts about the whole thing. What if this affected her teaching? I could never live with myself if she became emotionally damaged by having this surgery. The next morning, as we were getting ready to leave, I asked her if she was sure she wanted to go through with it. “I’m sure, Ethan. Why are you asking me that?” “Because of the effect it could have on you afterwards.” She gave me a small smile and placed her hand on the side of my face. “I’ve done my research. I know all about the transition and I’ll be okay. If this works, it’s going to take time for my brain to catch up. I get that. Did you really think that I just thought I could see again and there would be no problems?” “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” “Because it’s nothing for you to worry about. I remember colors, numbers, shapes, objects, and words. I lived in a world of light for eight years. I understand there will some issues, but I can handle it.” “You’re amazing. Did you know that?” I softly kissed her lips. “Yeah. I am. Aren’t I?” She grinned. “You sure are.” I pulled her into a tight embrace before heading to the hospital. ****

Aubrey I could hear the sound of my name being called as I felt the bandages that were covering my eyes. I

stirred and brought my hand to my face. “It’s all over, Aubrey,” Dr. Marchetti spoke. “How are you feeling?” “Tired,” I whispered. “We need to leave the bandages on for a few more hours and then we’ll remove them.” He grabbed hold of my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Get some rest.” “Ethan?” I softly spoke. “I’m right here, baby.” He kissed my forehead. “You did great. I’m so proud of you.” “Thanks.” I attempted a half smile. “Get some rest and let the anesthetic wear off. I’ll be right here waiting for you.” I lightly nodded my head and drifted off into a sound sleep. After sleeping for what felt like several hours, I stirred, and instantly, I felt the touch of a hand on mine. “How are you feeling?” Ethan asked. “Better.” I smiled. “Dr. Marchetti was just in here to check up on you. He said that the bandages can come off in a couple of hours. Are you thirsty?” “Yeah. A little bit.” “Here’s some water.” He held the straw to my mouth. “Have you eaten?” I asked him. He chuckled. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. My mom and sister called. They wanted to see how the surgery went and to make sure you were fine.” “That was so nice of them.” “Penelope, Ian, and your Aunt Charlotte also called or should I say facetimed me to see how you were.” “You better not have let them see me in this bed.” “It was only for a second, Aubrey. I swear.” He laughed. “They wanted to see for themselves how you were, plus you know Penelope; she doesn’t take no for an answer.” A couple of hours had passed and I was growing more nervous by the second. My hospital room door

opened and Dr. Marchetti and his team of doctors stepped inside. A sick feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. This was it and I wasn’t sure if I was ready. “Hi, Aubrey. Are you ready?” I took in a long, deep breath as I tried to control my racing heart. “I think so.” He raised the back of the bed so I was sitting straight up. I felt his hand start to unwrap the bandages and my palms began to sweat. “You okay?” Ethan asked as he held my sweaty palm. “I’m okay.” “Now I’m going to remove the metal plates from your eyes. Keep them closed until I tell you to open them. Okay, Aubrey, slowly, and I mean slowly, open your eyes.” I swallowed hard first and then carefully opened my eyes. A swoosh of light fell over me and instantly, I closed them tight. “Aubrey, what’s wrong?” Dr. Marchetti asked. “The light. I saw light and it kind of freaked me out.” “That’s understandable. Your eyes may hurt for a moment while they adjust. Try it again, but very slowly.” Ethan’s grip on my hand tightened as I slowly opened my eyes and stared straight ahead. I gulped as I saw outlines of people, shadows, black and white. I slowly turned my head towards Ethan and my eyes filled with tears as, for the first time, I saw him. The outline of his face, a blurred shadow, but not too blurry that I couldn’t make out his features. A tear fell from my eye as I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek and a smile graced his beautiful face. “I love your smile.” “Everyone out. Let’s give them a few moments alone,” Dr. Marchetti spoke. Ethan swallowed hard as he sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at me as he brushed a strand of hair away from my face. A tear fell from his eye and I gently wiped it away. “You saw that?” “Yes.”

“Can you see, Aubrey? I mean, really see?” “Not fully. I see shadows, outlines, and some colors, like the blue shirt you’re wearing.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. “My God, this is a miracle. I love you so much.” “I love you too.” Dr. Marchetti and his team walked back in and approached me. “How many doctors are in the room, Aubrey?” he asked. “Including you?” “Yes. Including me.” He smiled. “Six.” “How many fingers am I holding up?” “Three.” He walked away from the bed and over to the door. “Now how many?” It was so blurry that I couldn’t really make it out. “I don’t know.” While holding the same fingers up, he slowly walked towards me. “Tell me when you can see how many fingers I’m holding up.” “Four.” “Very good.” He approached me, sat down on the other side of the bed, and placed his hand on top of mine. “The surgery was a success. But it’s going to take time. It could take months, but every day, your vision should get a little better. You’re going to need some help learning to see again. I’m not too concerned about colors, shapes, numbers, and various objects because you learned all that before the accident. Your brain has to readapt to its visual surroundings. It needs to retrain itself. Don’t get too frustrated if things don’t come to you. You need to stay here overnight for observation and if all checks out well, you can go back to your hotel tomorrow and fly back to New York on Sunday.”

Chapter 36 Ethan I stayed with Aubrey at the hospital all night. There was no way I was leaving her. I had briefly left the room to go and get us some coffee, and when I came back, I found her in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. ****

Aubrey I wanted to wait until I was alone to see myself in the mirror. After Ethan left to go get some coffee, I climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom that was ten steps away. It took me a minute to be brave enough to flip the light switch for I was scared at who would be staring back at me. Placing my hand on the switch, I closed my eyes and flipped it up. Taking in a deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes. Was this me? The last time I saw myself in a mirror was when I was eight years old and had long blonde braids. Images of that little girl came to my mind and I could see the shadow of her in the mirror. I’d grown into this woman that I only knew from the inside. It was strange seeing myself after all these years. I felt like a stranger was staring back at me. A person I didn’t visually recognize and it freaked me the fuck out for a moment. Until Ethan walked in. ****

Ethan She looked frightened, like a child who was looking at a total stranger. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I smiled at her through the mirror. “Didn’t I tell you that you were gorgeous?” “This is so strange to me, Ethan. The last time I looked in a mirror, I was a child. A little girl. And now, I’m this woman.” “Yes, sweetheart. You’re this beautiful woman both inside and out.” Tears started to fall from her eyes as she turned to me and buried her face into my chest. “It’s okay, baby. Let’s get you back in bed.”

Just as I helped her back in bed, Wanda, her nurse, walked in shaking a small cup with a pill in it. “I have a little something for you to take, Aubrey. Hold out your hand.” “What is this?” “It’s a little something to help you sleep. Dr. Marchetti ordered it for you. Right now, your brain is on visual overload and you won’t be able to unwind.” She handed her a cup of water. Aubrey popped the pill in her mouth and chased it down with water. “Get some sleep.” Wanda smiled. “Are you staying with her?” she asked me. “Yes.” “Good man. Do you want a cot?” “No. I’ll be sleeping in this bed with her.” “Like I said, good man.” She smiled. Aubrey moved over as I climbed in next to her and held my arm out while she snuggled against my chest and fell fast asleep while I stroked her hair.

Chapter 37 Aubrey Slowly opening my eyes, I squinted at the sun that peered through my window, and I visually took in the room as I lay there wrapped in Ethan’s arms. Staring at his face, I found that he was more handsome than I ever imagined. He was a beautiful sight. Bringing my hand up, I lightly traced his lips with my finger. Lips that kissed mine with meaning and passion. His eyes opened and he looked at me as the corners of his mouth curved upwards. “You’re staring at me.” “Get used to it.” I smiled. “Never.” He kissed me. Ethan climbed out of bed as I sat up. He went into the bathroom, washed his face, and then went to get us some coffee. I lay there, my vision just a little bit clearer. It wasn’t much, but to me, it was everything. The door opened and Dr. Marchetti walked in. “Good morning, Aubrey. How are you feeling today?” “Morning, doctor. I’m okay.” “And your vision?” “A little bit better than yesterday.” “Good. I need to check your eyes. The light might bother them a little bit, but I need you to hold still and try not to blink.” He shined the small white light into my right eye first and then in my left. I was nervous that he was going to tell me something wasn’t right. “Everything looks good.” He grinned. “On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, tell me how you feel.” “I’d say an eight.” “All your vitals are completely normal, so I’m going to let you go home today.” Ethan walked in the room with our coffees and set them down on the counter.

“Did I just hear you right, Dr. Marchetti?” he asked. “You’re letting Aubrey go home today?” “Yes. She’s doing great and there’s nothing more we can do here, so why make her uncomfortable? She’ll do much better in her own surroundings and out of this hospital bed.” “Thank you, Dr. Marchetti.” My grin widened. “You’re welcome, Aubrey. I would like to put your case in the journals, but I’ll need your permission.” “That’s fine.” “Great. I’ll go get the paperwork for you to sign and you should be out of here in about thirty minutes.” After he walked out of the room, Ethan approached me and wrapped his arms around me. “Are you ready to face the world?” “As ready as I’ll ever be.” I lay my head on his shoulder with concern. “Since we can leave today, I would like to just drive our rental car back to New York. It’s only about a three-and-a-half-hour drive. What do you think?” “I think that’s a great idea. I’d much rather sit in a car than on a crowded airplane.” “Okay.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll let the rental place know that we’ll be driving back to New York.” I didn’t want to let Ethan know that I was a little apprehensive about stepping out of the hospital and facing the world as a sighted person. There was a nervousness inside me that I didn’t understand. I should be the happiest woman in the world to get my eyesight back, but something bothered me. Something I needed to keep to myself until I could work it out. After signing the paperwork that Dr. Marchetti wanted signed, I hooked my arm around Ethan’s. “You ready?” He looked over at me. Taking in a deep breath, I spoke, “Yes. Let’s go.” As we walked to the elevator, I felt unsteady and my grip around his arm tightened. “Is something wrong?” “No. Nothing’s wrong.” Stepping into the elevator, I looked at the panel of numbers and ran my fingers along the braille. Still holding onto Ethan’s arm, I closed my eyes as the elevator took us to the lobby. Stepping out onto the carpeted floor, we headed towards the doors that would lead me into the open world. As we approached,

the doors slid open and I instantly stopped. Ethan looked over at me and kissed the side of my head. “Take your time, sweetheart. We aren’t in any hurry.” I took in a long deep breath as I put one foot in front of the other and walked outside. The sun was so bright that it hurt my eyes. Splashes of green filled the surrounding area. Grass, trees, bushes, and shrubs overwhelmed me. The air was cool. I stopped and looked up at the blue sky and the white fluffy clouds that floated above it. I felt uneasy, so I pulled my cane from my bag, unfolded it, and tapped it on the ground in front of me. Ethan looked over at me but didn’t say word. He couldn’t possibly understand what I was feeling. He led me over to a black car and opened the door for me. I climbed in and when the door shut, I felt lost. Closing my eyes, I pulled the seatbelt over me and buckled it. It’s going to take time, I silently chanted to myself over and over again. Ethan climbed in on the driver’s side and took hold of my hand, bringing it up to his lips. We arrived at the hotel, and when we walked through the doors and entered the lobby, people were everywhere; talking, laughing, babies crying, in the door, out the door. Phones were ringing, carts with luggage were being pushed in every direction. My brain was on visual stimulation overload, so I shut my eyes and reverted into my world of darkness. Once we stepped out of the elevators and onto our floor, there was quiet, so I opened my eyes as Ethan led me down the hallway to our room. Pushing the card key into the lock, he opened the door and I stepped inside. “What do you think of the room?” he asked. “The same thing I thought about it when we first arrived. It’s big.” He chuckled. “What about the décor? Do you like it?” “Yes. I do like it,” I replied as I stared at the wall and the carpet that had flowers on it. “Is it okay if I take a quick shower before we head back?” “Of course. I’m going to call your aunt and friends and let them know we’ll be coming home today.” “Okay.” I gently smiled as I walked to the bathroom. I started the shower and stripped out of my clothes: a pair of capri jeans and a red tank top. Before stepping into the shower, I turned and faced the mirror as I looked at my naked body. Bringing my hands up to my breasts, I stared at them and then ran them down my abdomen. Ethan stood and looked at me from the doorway. “You’re so beautiful.” He smiled as he walked up behind me and placed his hands on my hips, while giving my shoulder a soft kiss. “Would you mind if I took a shower with you?”

I could feel the hardness of his cock press against my lower back and a deep ache between my legs formed. “Not at all.” I gave a half smile. I stepped into the shower and let the water stream down on me while Ethan stripped out of his clothes. I was a little scared to see his manhood since I’d never seen one before. I knew it by touch, and believe me, I touched it all the time, but to actually be able to see it frightened me a bit. He opened the glass door and stepped in front of me. Instantly, my eyes looked down at his cock, which was standing tall, straight, and thick. It looked as powerful as it felt when he was inside me. His left hand groped my breast as his right hand placed itself between my legs. Looking into my eyes, he slipped his finger inside me and dipped his head, brushing his lips against mine. My hand wrapped around his cock and began moving up and down his shaft. A low moan rumbled in his chest as he threw his head back and closed his eyes. I lightly pushed his body back against the tiled wall and he removed his fingers from me. “What are you doing?” he asked with bated breath. “I want to see you come.” He grabbed the sides of my face and smashed his mouth into mine, kissing me more passionately than he ever had before. Slowing down my speed, I loosened my grip around him and lightly moved my hand up and down the tip of him. Cries of pleasure escaped from inside him as his cock erupted all over my hand. I looked up at him, and our eyes locked. He grabbed my wrists and, in a split second, he had me pinned up against the tile, arms above my head. His mouth devoured my breasts and his teeth clamped around my hard nipples. He slid his tongue down my torso, let go of my wrists, got down on his knees, and explored my most sensitive spot. My hands gripped his head as the water beat down on him. Before, I could only feel, and now, I could see what he did to me, what I did to him. He stood up, his fingers gripping my ass, and lifted me up, forcing my legs around him. His cock thrust inside me and I gasped. “Keep looking at me while I’m fucking you,” he spoke heatedly. I stared into his beautiful green eyes. My heart melted at that moment as I watched the expression on his face as he moved in and out of me. I tightened my legs around him and bit down on my bottom lip as the force of my orgasm exploded around him. He moaned as he kept thrusting while staring into my eyes. “I love you,” he whispered breathlessly. “I love you too.” His movement slowed and he suddenly halted as I watched the look on his face while he came inside

me. He lowered his head and tried to catch his breath. Setting me down, he pulled me into an embrace and held me as if he was never letting go. Once our shower was finished, we stepped out and he wrapped a towel around me before getting one for himself. He kissed my lips one last time, wrapped a towel around his waist and walked into the bedroom. I walked over to the sink and stared at my wet self in the mirror. Looking down at a black bag that held my makeup, I began to go through it, checking out the two-color eyeshadow palette and the pink blush that sat inside. I picked up my foundation bottle, removed the cap, and stared at it. Closing my eyes, I began to apply it, like I always did. It felt more comfortable that way. I swept a brown shadow across my eye, a touch of blush across my cheeks, and applied a light coat of mascara.

Chapter 38 Ethan I stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched as Aubrey applied her makeup with her eyes closed. I had grown concerned because I noticed she did that a lot today. Stepping out onto the balcony, I gave Dr. Marchetti a call. “Dr. Marchetti.” “Hi, doctor, it’s Ethan Klein.” “Hello, Ethan. Is everything okay?” “Yeah. I just have some concerns.” “Okay. What’s going on?” “Aubrey’s been closing her eyes a lot and when we left the hospital, she pulled out her cane and used it.” “Were her eyes closed while she was using her cane?” “No.” “You need to remember that Aubrey has used nothing but touch sensory for the past seventeen years. To her, that’s her life, her routine, and what makes her feel safe. It’s going to take time for her to physically and emotionally adjust. Each day, she should start becoming less dependent on touch. It’s nothing to worry about, Ethan. Just do your best to make her feel safe during the transition.” “Thank you, Dr. Marchetti. I will.” Ending the call, I placed my phone in my pocket and walked back into the suite. “Who were you talking to?” Aubrey asked. “Rob. There was an issue with something at the office.” “Is everything okay?” “Everything’s fine now.” I walked over and gave her a kiss. “You should get dressed. We need to get going.”

She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out the two sets of clothes she had packed. She set them on the bed and looked them over. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing. It’s just weird to actually see my clothes. I can’t wait to see my closet and to see if anyone has steered me wrong over the years.” She smirked. I couldn’t help but smile as she removed her towel and pulled on her jeans and a navy blue shirt over her head. ****

Aubrey The drive home was a little difficult. I took in as much of the scenery as I could handle, but shut my eyes for a while to give my mind a rest. Ethan tried to comfort me the best he could by holding my hand and making me laugh with his jokes. Some of which weren’t that funny, but I humored him anyway. He pulled up to the curb of a building and I looked over at him. “This is where you live.” He smiled as he gave my hand a squeeze. Climbing out of the car, I studied the tall tan building with the glass revolving door. I saw an older gentleman, about six feet tall with white hair, come out from the building with a smile on his face. “Welcome back, Aubrey.” The minute I heard his voice I knew it was Kale, the doorman. He walked over and took our bags from Ethan. “Good day, Mr. Klein.” He smiled. “Kale.” I grinned as he turned to me. “It’s so good to see you after all these years.” He chuckled. “Well, it’s only been a couple of days.” “Aubrey and I flew to Boston and she had surgery on her eyes. She has most of her vision back,” Ethan spoke. “Oh my God, Aubrey. Is that true? Can you really see me?” “Yes, and you’re a very handsome man.” I placed my hand on his cheek. “Come here, girl,” he spoke with excitement as he set our bags down and hugged me. “You didn’t mention you were having surgery.”

“I didn’t want to tell anyone in case it didn’t work.” “This is a miracle. I’m so happy for you.” “Thank you.” I smiled. As we stepped out of the elevator and headed to my apartment, I was a nervous wreck, for I wasn’t emotionally prepared to see my Aunt Charlotte yet. Ethan slid the key in the lock and when he opened the door and I stepped inside a place that had been my home and safe haven for the past several years, it felt different. It almost felt as though I stepped into unfamiliar territory. But I was going to embrace it. This was my home and to be able to see the couch I sat on, the table I ate at, the kitchen I cooked in, and the bed that I slept in was all surreal. “Wow. Look at this place.” I smiled as I wiped a tear from my eye. “It’s pretty cool. Isn’t it?” Ethan hooked his arm around me and kissed the side of my head. “Yeah. It’s pretty cool.” Suddenly, there was knock at the door. “It’s your family and friends,” Ethan spoke. “I told them to give you a few minutes before coming over. I hope you don’t mind. They really want to see you.” “I really want to see them too.” I took in a deep breath and swallowed hard as Ethan opened the door. My Aunt Charlotte walked in first. How did I know that was my Aunt Charlotte? She was an older woman with the same blonde hair I remembered her having when I was eight years old. “Hi, Aunt Charlotte.” I smiled as I stared directly at her. She cupped her mouth with her hand as her eyes swelled with tears. Walking over to me, she placed her hands on each side of my face and slowly nodded her head as she fought to hold back the tears. “Finally,” she whispered as she pulled me into a tight embrace. “It’s so good to see you, Aunt Charlotte.” “My baby girl. I can’t believe this.” She broke our embrace and once again placed her hands on each side of my face. I looked behind her and my eyes locked with Penelope’s. She walked her teary eyed self over my way. “You are gorgeous.” I smiled as I hugged her.

And that she was with her long red wavy hair, emerald eyes, and perfect snow white skin. “I can’t believe this, Aubrey,” she cried. “Oh my God. I just can’t believe it.” “My turn,” Ian spoke as he grabbed me and hugged me. Ian looked exactly as my mind had pictured him. Tall, tanned, spikey brown hair, chocolate eyes, and black-rimmed glasses that suited his face. “You’re sexy. Rigby is a lucky guy.” I smiled. He wiped the uncontrollable tears that streamed down his face. “Now I’m not going to be able to make faces at you.” I laughed. “You still can and I’ll make them right back.” The best part of getting my eyesight back wasn’t seeing the sight of the beauty of the world. It was seeing the people I loved more than life.

Chapter 39 Aubrey Two Months Later Life was a huge adjustment after the operation, and to this day, I still found myself closing my eyes every once in a while, just so I could go back to the world that made me who I had become. With each sun that rose, my eyesight and the clarity of the world became better. One of the best times I had was going shopping with Penelope for new clothes and shoes. I would admit that my taste in style had changed now that I had sight. Ethan took me to Shakespeare Garden a couple of days after I returned home and it was exactly how I visualized it in my mind. It still gave me a sense of peace, and before the weather had turned too cold, Ethan and I would go every Saturday morning with our coffees in hand, where we sit on a blanket in the grass and I would read while he laid his head on my lap and listened. When I returned back to school a week after my operation, my students overwhelmed me with their kindness by throwing me a welcome back party. To see their bright smiling faces was pure joy. It was now December and I awoke earlier than usual for a Saturday morning. I needed to use the bathroom, so I carefully rolled out from under Ethan’s arm and quietly made my way across the room. When I was finished, I walked over to the bedroom window and peeked through the curtains. My eyes widened and I let out a loud sound. “What’s wrong?” Ethan quickly sat up. “Oh my God!” I cupped my mouth with my hand. “What? Aubrey, are you okay?” he asked in a panicked voice. “It’s snowing!” I exclaimed as I looked over at him. He fell back down and pulled the sheet over him. Going into his closet where I kept some of my clothes, I quickly pulled on a pair of leggings and an oversized cream-colored cable knit sweater. “What are you doing?” he asked as he opened one eye. “I’m going outside.” I pulled on my socks. “Sweetheart, we’ll go later. I promise. Come back to bed.” “Fuck later, Ethan. It’s snowing, and for the first time, I can see it. I’m going now!”

Walking over to the bed, I kissed his forehead. “Go back to sleep.” I raced down the stairs to the front door and put on my tall boots and my winter coat. Stepping outside on the porch, I looked out into the city, which was covered in a white blanket. Soft large flakes hit my face as I made my way down the steps. It brought back a memory I had when I was six years old. I sat on the steps and watched as the flakes hit the ground and stuck to it. A few moments later, Ethan took a seat next to me. “I told you to go back to sleep.” I smiled. “How could I knowing how excited you were about the snow.” He kissed my cheek and took my hand. “I remember when I was a kid, my father traveled to Colorado for a business trip and was stuck there for a couple days due to a snow storm that hit. When he returned, I asked him to tell me all about the snow. He reached into his bag and pulled out a snow globe, turned it upside down, and told me that’s what it looked like. I’ll never forget how I just sat and stared it. When it was done, I shook it again, over and over. He told me that one day, he’d take me up to the mountains to see it. We never did get around to making that trip.” “Well, now you see it. Is it as beautiful as you thought it would be?” “It is.” I grinned. Ethan brought my hand up to his lips. “I have an idea. Let’s walk down to Starbucks and get some coffee.” “Seriously?” My face lit up. “Yeah. Just let me go change first. I’ll be right back.” He jumped up and went inside. When he returned, I laced my fingers in his and we walked in the snow to get some coffee. This day was as perfect as could be. **** Later that night, Ethan told me that we were going out, but he wouldn’t tell me where. He said it was a surprise and not to ruin it by asking so many questions. We originally had plans with Charles and Lexi, but Ethan cancelled them, which I thought was kind of rude, but he didn’t seem to care. As I was putting the final touches on my makeup, and Ethan was standing next to me shaving, looking as sexy as he always did, I glared at him. “What?” He looked at me through the mirror with a narrowing eye. “I still can’t believe you cancelled our dinner plans with Charles and Lexi.”

“Are you still bothered by that?” “Yes.” “Well, don’t be. Charles said it was perfectly fine and we’ll get together next weekend.” “I still think it was rude.” “I know you do because you keep telling me that.” He smirked. “So whatever you have planned better be worth canceling on our friends at the last minute.” “I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Won’t we?” He winked. His smug attitude was getting on my nerves. “Since you won’t tell me where we’re going, I don’t know what to wear.” “I’ve already laid out your clothes on the bed. Dammit!” He nicked his face. “Are you okay?” He sighed. “Yeah.” He reached for a tissue. “I would say that was karma getting you back for canceling on our friends.” I smiled as I patted his ass and walked out of the bathroom. Walking into the bedroom, I saw there was a pair of jeans and a pink sweater lying on the bed. I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that he actually picked out my clothes for me. “Are you ready?” he asked as he stood by the door with his hand on the knob. “Yes.” I smiled. “Let’s go.” Harry pulled up to the curb in front of a donut shop and Ethan climbed out and opened the door for me. “So, you cancelled dinner with our friends so we could get some donuts?” I smirked. “Very funny, Aubrey.” He held out his arm for me. Hooking mine around his, we walked down the snow-covered street and over a block until we reached one of the entrances to Central Park. I was so busy looking at how pretty the city was covered in snow that I didn’t even notice the horse and carriage that was in front of me. “Your carriage awaits you, my princess.” Ethan smiled. “Wait. We’re going on a horse and carriage ride?”

“We are.” He nodded. “Through Central Park.” “Why?” I asked as I climbed into the carriage. “Because it’s been snowing all day and the park is really beautiful covered in snow. I thought since you are so weirdly excited about seeing it, what better way than sitting in a carriage?” He smiled. “So this is why you cancelled our plans with Charles and Lexi.” I placed my hand on his cheek. “Do you forgive me?” “I so forgive you, Mr. Klein.” My lips brushed against his. Central Park was a blanket of white and truly a sight that I would never take for granted, from the covered pathways to the snow-topped trees and the lightly snow-covered street lamps that glistened from afar. I held on to Ethan tight as he wrapped his arm around me, taking in the beautiful scenery that could easily be a picture on a Christmas card. I was so happy and so in love with him and tonight was the perfect date night. He took something he knew excited me and turned it into something I would never forget. When we approached Shakespeare Garden, the carriage stopped and Ethan climbed out. Holding his hand out to me, I placed mine in his, and we began to take a stroll. “I thought maybe you’d like to see Shakespeare Garden covered in snow.” He smiled. “It’s so pretty, Ethan. Thank you for doing this for me.” I laid my head on his shoulder. “You’re welcome. I’d do anything for you.” His lips pressed against my head. We approached the area that we used to sit at every Saturday morning before it got too cold to come anymore, and Ethan took his glove-covered hand and wiped away the snow from a bench. “Have a seat,” he spoke. As soon as I sat down, he took hold of both my hands and got down on his knees. “Aubrey, I just wanted to tell you that I love you so much and I couldn’t imagine my life without you. You have taken me to a whole new level of living. My world was so dark before I met you and with one smile, you drove that darkness away. You are the most beautiful woman in the world, both inside and out. I’m a changed man because of you and I’m who I’m supposed to be. I’m the man who is going to love you for the rest of your life. Will you marry me, Aubrey?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue velvet box, opened the lid, and held up the most beautiful diamond ring I’d ever imagined. My hand flew to my mouth in shock as my heart pounded out of my chest.

“Yes! Yes, Ethan. I will marry you.” My eyes filled with tears. With a smile on his face, he placed the ring on my finger and brought it up to his lips, and then picked me up from the bench, kissed my mouth, and swung me around. “Do you know how happy you’ve made me?” he asked with excitement. “I hope as happy as you’ve made me.” “I love you so much, Aubrey, and I promise to love you forever.” “And I promise to love you forever, Ethan.” Our lips locked tightly together as we stood under the light snow that trickled down from the sky and gently landed on us as our first passionate kiss as an engaged couple would never be forgotten. ****

Ethan Aubrey and I were married seven months later in Central Park. She was a stunning bride and I had never seen a more beautiful woman in my entire life. She lit up my world so bright and gave me the most precious gift of all: her love. Shortly after we were married, we opened up a school in Manhattan called Klein School for the Blind. It was divided into two sections. One section was for children and their education, and the other was for people who had lost their sight at a later age and needed help learning how to live their daily lives as a visually impaired person. With the help of my astounding tech team, we continued to develop new technology to make the lives of those who couldn’t see easier and the world a better place to live. Aubrey, my company, and the school were everything I needed in life. Or so I thought, until the day she told me that I was going to be a father and, later, when I held my daughter in my arms for the first time. She was the spitting image of her mother, right down to her cute little button nose. They were my existence and I thanked God every day for putting me in Aubrey’s path. If it wasn’t for her, I would still be a lost soul in a dark world, living a life with no meaning.



His Proposed Deal

Sandi Lynn

Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31

Chapter 1 I finished putting the last loose curl in my long, blonde hair when Kara walked into the bathroom. “I can’t believe you’re leaving in the morning.” “I know. I’m going to miss you guys.” I ran my fingers through my hair and swept a bit more mascara on the lashes around my blue eyes before Kara and I headed to meet the girls for dinner. It was our last dinner together in Florida before I hopped on a plane to New York City tomorrow. I would be attending the fall semester at Parsons School of Design. It had been a dream of mine since I was a child. I worked as a waitress in an upscale restaurant and saved all my tips and a good chunk of my paychecks for over a year to be able to move to New York and live for a while until I found a job. With the help of a student loan I was able to secure, tuition wasn’t a problem. Kara and I met our friends, Molly and Aubrey, at Seafood Haven, and then we were off to a club. The four of us had been best friends since elementary school when we were put in a group together for a project. Kara and Molly were hairdressers and worked at the same salon, and Aubrey was on her way to becoming a lawyer. My dream had always been interior design and, at the age of twenty-four, I was finally pursuing it. Life hadn’t been so easy for me and my mom. My dad took off when I was two and my mom always struggled to make ends meet. When she’d work double shifts at the diner, my Aunt Laura would look after me. My mom did her best, and as soon as I was old enough to work, I got a job. After graduating high school, I put off college so I could work full-time and help my mom with the bills. “So have you talked to Justin at all?” Kara asked. “No. He doesn’t know that I’m leaving and I want to keep it that way. So don’t any one of you go and tell him.” “It’s too bad things didn’t work out between you two,” Molly spoke. “Yeah. He’s a nice guy but way too boring. I mean, come on; we never went out because he couldn’t tear himself away from his video games. Not to mention the fact that he refused job offers because he felt like they weren’t good enough. He has a lot of growing up to do.” “But the sex was good, right?” Aubrey asked. “Yeah. That was the only thing that was right with our relationship. I put up with his shenanigans for a

year and I just couldn’t take it anymore.” “But he cried when you broke it off with him.” Kara smirked. “He cried because I broke the X-Box game he was playing when I was trying to break up with him and he wouldn’t listen to me. I’m done with guys unless they’re over the age of thirty-five. Hopefully, they’ll have their shit figured out by then.” We all laughed, paid our bill, and headed to Club Fifty-Seven. **** I was standing with my back leaning up against the bar, sipping a mojito and watching the girls twerking on the dance floor when a ruggedly handsome gentleman walked up and ordered a scotch on the rocks. I studied his six-foot stature as he talked to his friend. His light brown short hair was styled to perfection, as was the stubble and light mustache he sported. He wore a pair of black jeans – at least they looked black in the dim light – with a button-down short sleeve black shirt. I gulped when he turned my way and caught me staring at him. His lips were full and his gray eyes caught my attention faster than the rest of him did. He gave me a small smile. “Hello.” I nodded as I held up my mojito, feeling like a complete ass for getting caught. The bartender handed him his drink and he stepped closer to me. “I’m Max.” “Emma. Nice to meet you.” I smiled. “Nice to meet you too, Emma. Want to go somewhere and talk?” That was code for “Let’s go fuck somewhere and call it a night.” “Sorry. I’m with my friends.” “Your friends can join too.” He winked. His wink made him even sexier than he already was. “You’re cute but I’m not into that.” He leaned closer to me until his lips were dangerously close to mine. The smell of scotch on his breath swept over my face. “I would love to know what you’re into.” His smile distracted me from my thoughts for a moment. “I bet you would.” My finger ran down the front of his shirt. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“Only the ones I find incredibly sexy. And judging from my hard-on, you’re one sexy girl.” My body was overheating as I signaled for the bartender to get me another mojito. Max threw down some cash as the bartender handed me my drink. “It’s on me.” “So now you expect sex because you bought me a drink?” I smirked as I took a sip. “I’m not that kind of girl.” His finger slowly traced the outline of my jaw as he tilted his head and stared into my eyes. “Why don’t you tell me what kind of girl you are?” This game was pretty fun. But then again, what if he was some psychotic killer that was going to stalk me and murder me for turning him down. “I’m the type of girl who doesn’t have sex with strangers. Especially those from a club. I like to get to know my men before I take them to bed. A few dates, some flowers, amazing dinners, and most importantly, the finest chocolates money can buy.” “Well, I’m sorry that I won’t be able to do that for you because I’m flying out tomorrow morning. So, why don’t you live life on the edge and forget all that stuff for once, and we can get straight to the bed part.” I certainly couldn’t fault the poor guy for trying. My panties were wet. That hadn’t happened in a very long time. Not even with Justin. But nonetheless, no matter how horny I was at this moment, I couldn’t have sex with this incredibly hot and sexy man standing in front of me. It wasn’t me and I wasn’t about to do anything stupid for my own sexual satisfaction. Molly, Kara, and Aubrey walked up and stood there staring at the two of us. I thought Molly’s jaw was going to hit the floor. “Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.” I placed my hand on his chest and swallowed hard as I felt what I’d be missing. “I’m sure you’re a really sweet guy even though you want to have sex with strange women in clubs, but like I said earlier, that’s not what I do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my girls are here and it’s time for us to leave.” I hooked my arm in Kara’s and Molly’s and the four of us left the club. “What the fuck was that?” Aubrey asked. “I would have pounded him right then and there. He was a god, Emma.” “That he was, but I don’t have sex with random strangers. I know you all think it’s fine and fun, but I guess I’m old fashioned.”

“You’re leaving tomorrow. You don’t have a boyfriend. God knows when the last time you had sex was. So what do you have to lose? You can get on that plane in the morning feeling like a rock star,” Molly said. “Sorry, ladies. If you want to have sex with him, then be my guest. I’m sure he would do you all at the same time. He said you could join in.” I smiled. “You’re nuts!” Kara spewed. “I never would have turned down that fine piece of ass.”

Chapter 2 Before going through security at the airport, I hugged my mom goodbye. “You be careful in New York City. I’m going to miss you, baby girl,” she pouted. “I will, Mom, and I’ll miss you too. You know this is good for me. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of.” “I know.” Tears started to fill her eyes. “Now get out of here and call me when you get there so I know you arrived safely, and be careful. New York City is scary.” “I will. I love you, Mom.” I laughed. “I love you too, baby girl.” She stood there and gave me a small wave as I cleared security and headed to my gate. Just as I made my way across the airport, my flight was already boarding. With bated breath, I stepped onto the plane, shoved my carryon in the overhead compartment, and sat in my seat, taking out my phone and checking my emails before the plane took off. My heart started racing as I opened the email from the financial department at Parsons. Dear Miss Knight, We are sorry to inform you that we’ve made a mistake in approving your financial loan for the fall semester at Parsons School of Design. We are so sorry for this inconvenience. If you still wish to attend the fall semester at Parsons, we are giving you five days to pay the tuition to hold your classes. After five days, if payment is not received in full, we will be forced to give your spot to another student. Robert Foreman Director of Financial Services I couldn’t even process what I was reading. How could they take my loan away at the last minute? My eyes filled with tears. My dream was no longer going to become a reality. There was no way I could afford the $21,000 fall semester tuition. I only had enough money to live off of for a while. I started to panic as my mind raced with fear. I left my mom and friends back in Florida to move to New York to attend school and now there was no school. A wave of nausea swept over me and I needed to get up and use the bathroom. As I made my way down the aisle, I noticed the bathroom was occupied. Shit. I stood there, literally shaking, waiting for whoever it was in the bathroom to get out. Suddenly, the door opened and a pair of spellbinding gray eyes looked at me.

“Hey. Emma, right?” Max smiled. Oh my God, this can’t be happening. “Are you okay?” He lightly took hold of my arm. “Not really. I just need to use the bathroom, please.” “Sure.” He stepped out of the way. I shut the door and stood against the sink. First Parsons and now the guy from last night? I took in a long deep breath as I tried to rationalize the situation. This wasn’t the end of the world. I would go talk to the financial department tomorrow and clear everything up. When I opened the door, Max was standing there, waiting for me. “Why are you still standing there?” I asked with irritation. He was the last person I wanted to deal with. “I was making sure you were okay. You looked like you had tears in your eyes. Is everything okay?” “I’m fine.” I walked away and he followed behind. I sat down in my seat and looked out the window. “Hey, buddy, how would you like my seat in first class?” Max said to the guy sitting next to me. “Dude, are you serious?” “Yeah. It’s seat 2A. If you don’t mind, I would like to sit next to my friend here.” “Sure. I don’t mind at all. Thanks.” He got up from the seat and Max sat down. “Really? You just gave up your first class seat to sit here? Are you crazy or something?” “Maybe I am.” He smiled. Damn. His smile was just as sexy as it was last night. In fact, he was just as sexy as last night. Thank God I didn’t sleep with him. What were the chances he would be on the same plane as me? I needed a drink and I needed one bad. The flight attendant walked by and I stopped her. “Excuse me, can I please get a glass of red wine?” “Sure. There’s a charge for the alcoholic beverages.” “Fine.” “Drinking already?” he asked.

I looked over at him and sighed. I didn’t need this shit right now. “Can you please just go back to your seat and leave me alone? I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.” “Sorry, but I gave my seat up. Looks like you’re stuck with me for the duration of the flight. By the way, are you traveling home?” “No.” I turned my head and looked out the window. The flight attendant walked over and handed me my glass of wine. Before I knew it, Max reached in his pocket and pulled out some money and handed it to her. “It’s on me.” “Do you always make a habit of buying drinks for women on a plane?” “No. Do you ever say ‘thank you’?” I sighed. “Thank you and I’m sorry. I’m just having the worst life possible right now.” The sip of wine I intended to take turned into downing half the glass. “I could tell something was wrong. Listen, I’m sorry for imposing on you. I’ll just sit here and listen to some music and I won’t bother you again.” Now I felt like a complete bitch. It wasn’t his fault that Parsons took back my loan. “You wanted to have sex with me last night.” I smiled. He turned his head and the corners of his mouth slightly curved. “I never said that.” “Oh, come on. You said you wanted to go somewhere and talk. That’s code for ‘let’s go have sex.’ Plus, you told me to live life on the edge and skip all the romance stuff and go straight to the bed.” He chuckled. “Okay, fine. The thought had crossed my mind. I mean, look at you, but I could tell you weren’t that type of girl anyway. We had harmless flirting and you have to admit it was pretty hot.” He wasn’t lying. It was hot and, unfortunately, after I left the club, I thought about him the majority of the night, which led me to take care of myself. “You live in New York?” I asked. “Yep. I spent the summer in Miami at our beach house, scouting out potential property for my dad’s company.” “So you work for your dad?” “Yep. I’m being groomed to take over once he retires.”

“That’s great.” I gave a small smile. “Since we’ll probably never see each other again after this, I don’t see the harm in you telling me what’s wrong. Sometimes it helps to tell your problems to a complete stranger.” “You’re not a stranger. I know your name and you tried to have sex with me.” He shook his head while a wide smile splayed across his gorgeous face. “All right.” I finished my wine and set the glass on the tray and Max looked away from me. He was right. I probably would never see him again after this flight, so what was the harm? “I was moving to New York to attend Parsons School of Design. Everything was arranged. My financial loan was approved. I had been saving my money from my full-time job for living expenses and I was staying at my friend Macy’s apartment while she’s out of the country. Attending Parsons was a dream I had ever since I could remember. I received an email from the school this morning telling me that they made a mistake in approving my loan and that I have five days to pay the full fall tuition or else they’re giving my spot to someone else.” “Wow. I’m really sorry, Emma. How can they just take it back like that?” “I don’t know. I’m going to talk to them first thing tomorrow morning.” I looked out the window with tears in my eyes. “Hey. Don’t let it get you down. I bet it’s just a mistake on their part.” The plane finally landed and Max took his phone off airplane mode. Several dings came through and I looked at him when he uttered, “Oh, shit.” “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Umm…nothing.” He seemed really nervous. He got up from his seat, grabbed his bag from the overhead compartment in first class, then waited for me and we walked off together. “I have to use the bathroom.” “Okay. Well, it was great meeting you, Emma. Maybe I’ll see you around New York. Good luck.” He turned around and ran off. I went into the bathroom, feeling confused and unsure of what had just happened. Oh well, I couldn’t think about him. I needed to go get my bags and get to Macy’s apartment and figure out what to do next. I exited the bathroom and headed towards baggage claim. Once I found it, I was startled when I heard my

name. “Emma, there you are. After I left the bathroom, I couldn’t find you,” Max said as he walked over and hugged me. “Go along with me. Please, Emma. I will compensate you for this favor,” he whispered in my ear. “What the fuck are you doing, Max?” “Just smile,” he said through gritted teeth. He hooked his arm around me and walked me over to where an older woman and gentleman were standing. “Mom, Dad, this is my fiancée, Emma.” His grip around me tightened. I gulped and looked at him with wide eyes. “Emma, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” the woman said as she hugged me. “Look at you. You’re beautiful.” “Emma, I’d like you to meet Bradshaw and Carol Hamilton, my parents.” “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” His dad smiled as he held out his hand. I extended my hand and we lightly shook. “It’s wonderful to meet the both of you.” Everything happened so fast I didn’t know what was going on. One minute I was in the bathroom and the next, I was meeting some guy’s parents who thought I was his fiancée. “Mom, Dad. It was nice of you to come all the way here, but I have to take Emma home. We’ll catch up later, okay?” “Nonsense, son. You both will ride with us and we’ll drop her off on the way.” “Seriously, Dad, we want to be alone for a while,” Max commanded. “Can you please respect that?” “Certainly we can, Max.” His mom smiled. “Come on, Bradshaw. Let the two of them be for now. We can get to know Emma better at dinner tonight. Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.” My eyes widened and I took in a deep breath. “Looking forward to it.” I smiled. They both walked away and exited the airport. I turned to Max, who let out a breath, and I smacked him. “What the hell was that all about? Your fiancée? Are you fucking crazy?!” “Ouch. Let me explain. Just calm down.”

“Oh, you’re going to explain. In fact, you have five seconds.” I walked away when I saw my luggage come around. I grabbed it and Max grabbed his, following me as I stepped out the doors. Max hailed us a cab and I slid in the back seat. “Do you have the address of where you’re staying?” I pulled out the piece of paper from my purse and handed it to him. “Tribeca, eh? Nice.” He rattled off the address to the cab driver. “Now you have three seconds to tell me what the hell just happened back there.” “Emma, it’s a long story. Can it please wait until we get to your apartment?” How could this day get any worse? I should have just stayed in Miami and none of this would be happening right now.

Chapter 3 Max slid out of the cab and held out his hand to help me. I smacked it. “I don’t need your help.” I climbed out and grabbed my luggage from the cab driver. Max grabbed his and followed me inside. “You’re on floor twenty-eight,” he said. “No shit. I can read.” We took the elevator up to the twenty-eighth floor and I found apartment 28C. “Wait. I’ve been here before,” Max spoke. “What’s your friend’s name again?” “Macy.” “Is she a high-end fashion model?” I turned and gave him a suspicious look. “Yeah.” “I know her. I’ve been to a couple parties here.” “Great.” I rolled my eyes as I inserted the key and opened the door. “Wow!” I exclaimed as I stepped into the foyer. “Pretty nice. Isn’t it?” Over to the right of the foyer was the kitchen with a few white cabinets and black granite counter tops. The living room was huge with every wall being nothing but windows that overlooked the Hudson River. It was absolutely breathtaking. “You should see the view at night with the city all lit up. It’s amazing,” Max said. I turned from the window and glared at him. “Explain! NOW!” I yelled. He put his hands up and fell back into the black leather chair. “Okay. Okay. Can you at least sit down?” I sat down on the couch across from the chair, waiting for him to explain himself. “I have three months until my twenty-sixth birthday to get engaged to be married or I won’t get my trust fund. It was a rule that my parents put in place when the trust fund was set up. It’s what my grandparents

did for my father and so now he believes because it worked for him, it’ll work for me.” I waved my hands back and forth at him. “Wait a minute. In order for you to collect your trust fund, you have to be engaged by your twenty-sixth birthday? Did I just hear you right?” “Yes, and I’ll be twenty six in three months, so I would say that time is running out. I’m sorry to drag you into this, Emma, but I need your help. Trust me, I didn’t plan on this. A couple of nights ago, I was drunk and apparently sent a text to my dad saying that I was bringing my fiancée home for them to meet. If you help me out with this small favor, I will help you out.” “Really? And what could you possibly do to help me out?” “I’m going to pay for your entire tuition at Parsons. You will never have to worry about that again.” My eyes widened and my mouth dropped. “You can’t be serious.” “I am. I’m in a bind, you’re in a bind, and we can help each other out. All I need is for you to pretend to be my fiancée for three months. After I collect my trust fund, then you are to break the engagement off.” I couldn’t believe what he was asking. He was only the guy I spoke to at a club in Miami last night and now I’m his supposed fiancée? Too much shit was spinning around in my head. “So that’s it? Are there any rules or stipulations to go with this ‘arrangement’?” “The only thing is you have to attend family and social functions. That’s it. We won’t be going out on dates. We won’t be having sex. Unless you want to, then by all means, I’m all yours.” He smiled. “Listen, Emma. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m not ready to settle down and, frankly, I don’t have any desire to. My dad wants me to uphold the Hamilton image and create this perfect little family. Meanwhile, he’s off fucking his thirty-year-old secretary and the twenty-something intern he just hired. I’m rich, successful, and soon to be even more successful and I don’t need to be tied down to someone who will complicate my life.” The plan he was proposing didn’t sound so bad and he was going to make my lifelong dream of attending Parsons a reality if I pretended to be his fiancée for a short period of time. “Three months?” I asked just to be sure. “Yes. Three months. Just until I turn twenty-six.” I placed my hands over my face and took in a deep breath. I was already here in New York. Nobody had to know about this. It would be our little secret for three months. Three months wasn’t so long. “Okay, Max. You have yourself a deal.”

He stood up in excitement. “Really, Emma? You’re sure about this?” “Yeah. I’m sure.” “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. I’ll write you a check for your tuition. Now, since we’re having dinner together tonight at my parents’ house, we have to go get you a ring. We have to keep it real and you can just wear it when we’re together and around family.” “Now?” I asked. “Yeah. We’ll head over to Tiffany’s and you can pick out whatever you want.” “Tiffany’s? I’ve never been in Tiffany’s.” Excitement took over me. “You’ll love it. Let me call the family driver, Martin, to come get us.” “You have a driver?” “Yeah. He’s really cool. You’re going to love this lifestyle for a while.” He winked. “I think we should exchange phone numbers since we’re engaged to be married.” A light chuckle escaped him. I pulled out my phone and entered in his number and he entered mine. A while later, Martin called and said he was waiting outside. My first couple of hours in New York City and I was off to pick out an engagement ring. What the fuck am I getting myself into?

Chapter 4 When we arrived at Tiffany’s, we were taken into a room in the back where the most beautiful diamond rings sat on velvet cushions. “It’s nice to see you, Mr. Hamilton.” “Thank you, Doug. I would like to you to meet my fiancée, Emma Knight.” “It’s wonderful to meet you, Miss Knight.” He smiled graciously. “Please take a seat. I’ve taken the liberty of pulling some of our finest diamonds for you. May I offer you a glass of wine?” My face lit up. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.” Max and I took a seat in front of the table. “Pick out whatever you want.” “They’re all so beautiful, Max.” “Beautiful diamonds for a beautiful woman.” He winked. My stomach was in knots and I was afraid to touch them. I’d never seen such beauty up close before. I carefully looked at each ring as I slipped it on my left hand. Such sparkle and elegance had never touched these hands and I was in awe and feeling a bit overwhelmed. “Here, try this one.” Max smiled as he took my hand and slipped on a two-carat cushion cut ring with diamonds going down the sides. “Excellent choice, Mr. Hamilton. That is one of our brand new collections.” “I love it.” I smiled as I looked over at Max. “Are you sure?” “Yes, and it fits perfectly.” “That’s the one we’ll take, Doug.” Max pulled out his credit card. “Ah, excellent. It’s so wonderful to see two young people so in love and embarking on a wonderful journey and new life together.” I almost busted out into laughter. If poor Doug only knew. As soon as Max and I left Tiffany’s, I stopped him and put my hand on his chest.

“Aren’t you going to properly propose to me?” I smiled as I slipped my ring off and handed it to him. “You mean right here on the street?” “Yes. If we’re going to be engaged, I expect a proper proposal.” “But the street is filled with people,” he replied nervously. “Isn’t that the point, Max?” He rolled his eyes and looked around. He got down on one knee and took my hand. Suddenly, people were stopped and gathered around us, watching the show. “Emma Knight, will you marry me?” I placed my hands over my mouth in excitement. I had to play the part of the happy girl who just got proposed to on the streets of New York. “Yes. Oh my God, Max! Yes! I will marry you!” He slipped the ring on my finger and stood up, pulling me into a warm embrace, one that jolted the shit out of me. His muscular arms wrapped around me were setting my body on fire. “You’ll pay for this.” His hot breath trailed along my ear. Everyone around began to clap and whistle and congratulations were said all around. Martin opened the limo door. “Congratulations, Max and Miss Knight.” “Thank you, Martin, and please call me Emma.” I smiled. We slid into the back of the limo and Max looked at me, narrowing his eyes. “You wanted me to do that in front of Martin. Didn’t you?” “Made it look more real. Didn’t it? Now he can tell your parents how you proposed to the love of your life on the streets of New York because you’re so happy and you wanted everyone to witness it.” “Damn. You’re good.” “I know.” I winked. “Martin, please take us to Saks so my lovely fiancée can buy a new dress for dinner tonight.” “I have dresses, Max. I don’t need to go to Saks.” “How can I put this nicely? Dinner with my parents is a formal occasion. Don’t worry; I’ll help you

pick something out.” I guessed if I was going to play the role of a millionaire’s fiancée, I’d better dress the part. Martin pulled up to the curb of Saks and opened the door for me. I climbed out and Max placed his hand on the small of my back, sending shivers down my spine. Damn. What is it about his touch? We took the escalator up to where the women’s dresses were and, immediately, Max pulled a dress from the rack. It was a Jacquard Sheath sleeveless dress with a round neckline in natural. “You’re what? About five foot nine and a size two?” “Size four.” I smiled. “But thanks for thinking a size two.” “This will look amazing on you. Go try it on.” I took the dress from Max and the sales associate let me into the dressing room. As I took off my clothes and stood in front of the full-length mirror, I noticed some areas of toning that were desperately needed. Damn these fitting room lights. Macy said there was a fitness center in the apartment building and I could use it at any time. Tomorrow, I’d start working out. I slipped into the dress and had trouble zipping it up, so I walked out of the fitting room and asked Max, who was sitting in the chair, to help me out. He got up and walked over to me with a smile on his face as I turned around. His hand lightly took hold of the zipper and he slowly zipped it up. “Nice light pink bra. Are you by any chance wearing matching panties?” His hot breath trailed along my neck. I swallowed hard. “Don’t you worry about what panties I’m wearing,” I replied in a seductive tone. Once again, his lips were a mere inch from my ear. “I can’t help it.” I took in a deep breath and turned around. “Well?” “That dress looks perfect on you and incredibly sexy.” “Thanks. I like it too, but I’m afraid it’s too expensive.” “Nonsense. Nothing is ever too expensive for my fiancée.” A smile crossed his lips. Hell, if he wanted to buy it for me, who was I to turn down a four-hundred-dollar designer dress. I began to walk back into the fitting room when Max called my name. “Ahem, Emma.” “Yes?” I turned around. “Don’t you need help with your zipper?”

Shit. Here we go again. My panties were already wet from when he zipped it up. I turned around and pulled my hair up. He unzipped it as slowly as he had zipped it up. “I swear to God. If you even think about looking at my panties, I’ll smack you.” “I would never. Only if you wanted me to see that sweet ass of yours, then I would.” I smirked and walked into the dressing room. As I changed back into my clothes, Max paid for the dress. “Do you need shoes?” he asked. “I don’t know. I forgot about shoes.” “Well, let’s head over to the shoe department and see what they have.” He walked a step in front of me and I couldn’t help but check out his fine ass in the dark denim jeans he was wearing. He had a great body. Muscular, strong, and, from what I could tell, perfect in all areas. When we reached the shoes, a pair instantly caught my eye. I walked over to the table and picked up the thin strap, four-inch heel sandal in a natural color. “I think these would go great with the dress.” I turned the shoe over to see what size it was and my eyes diverted straight to the price. “Oh never mind.” I put the shoe down. “Why? What’s wrong with them?” “The price,” I replied as I moved to another display of shoes. “It’s fine, Emma. They’re only eleven hundred dollars. I’ve paid more than that for my own shoes. What size are you?” “Size eight. But seriously, Max, they’re too expensive.” He flagged down the sales lady and asked her if they had an eight. A few moments later, she returned with the box of shoes and I slipped my feet into them. “They look great on you.” Max smiled. “What do you think?” “I think they’re great.” “We’ll take them,” Max told the sales lady. Martin was waiting for us when we stepped out of Saks. He opened the door and I slid in and across to the other side. As soon as Max slid in next to me, I lightly grabbed his hand. He looked at me with surprise and smiled.

“Thank you.” A small smile fell upon my lips. His gray eyes stared at me for a brief moment. He tilted his head as the corners of his mouth slightly curved. “You’re welcome.” I let go of his hand and looked out the window. We arrived back to my apartment and Max told me that he’d be over around six thirty to pick me up. “I can catch a cab. You stay at your house and I’ll see you when I get there.” He chuckled. “Emma, I don’t live with my parents. I have my own place.” “Oh. I assumed you lived with your parents.” “Good God, no. I moved out as soon as I graduated from college. My apartment is over on East 77th Street, about twenty minutes from here, and my parents live over on Park Avenue. “Oh, sorry about that. Then I guess I’ll see you at six thirty.” I grabbed the bag that my dress hung in and my shoes and went up to my new apartment. **** I stepped into the marble tiled shower and let the hot water bead down the front of me while I tried to take in everything that happened today. I lost my loan to Parsons. I moved to New York. I got engaged to a man I just met last night, and I was going to be wearing an entire outfit that cost over fifteen hundred dollars to dinner with his parents; parents who believed that I was the love of their son’s life. It was only for three months. I needed to keep reminding myself of that. I did the right thing, right? I was second guessing myself and my decision now that I was alone and had time to absorb it. I was nothing but an ordinary girl who lived in a doublewide trailer her whole life. Everything I had was worked for. Nothing was ever given to me, including the tuition payment for Parsons. I was working for that. Like an actress. Playing a role, a part; one that probably could have won me an Academy Award. I stepped out of the shower, put on my makeup, and threw a few curls at the ends of my long, blonde hair, deciding to pull the sides back and pin it up with a pretty pearl hair clip that Aubrey bought me for my birthday. Slipping into my dress, I struggled to zip it up. Somehow, I managed and then I slipped on my ring. As I held out my hand and stared at the beauty of the diamond, there was a knock on the door. “Hey.” I gulped when I saw Max standing there in a pair of black dress pants and a white dress shirt with the top three buttons undone underneath a matching black blazer. “You look gorgeous.” He smiled as he stepped inside.

“Thanks. You’re looking pretty hot yourself, Mr. Hamilton.” “Are you ready to have dinner with the folks? There’s been a change of plans and we’re meeting at a restaurant instead.” “As ready as I’ll ever be. Let me grab my shoes.” We walked out of the apartment building and climbed into the back seat of a Rolls Royce. “Emma, I would like you to meet Darren. He’s another one of my drivers.” “Hi, Darren. Nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too, Emma.” He smiled as he looked back at me. “Darren is the only one who knows about our little arrangement. I trust him with my life. If you need him for anything, you are to give him a call. He’ll take you wherever you need to go. Hand me your phone and I’ll put his number in for you.” “I thought no one was supposed to know.” He put in Darren’s number and handed me my phone as he placed his fingers under my chin. “Like I said, I trust him with my life.”

Chapter 5 We stepped inside Shay Gardens and I was blown away by the décor. Round tables spread across the two-level restaurant with gold-colored tablecloths and beautifully lit candles that sat in the center. The dark wood trim that surrounded the restaurant was elegantly carved and the finest paintings hung on the walls. The hostess showed us to the table where Max’s parents were waiting for us. “You’ve arrived.” His mom smiled as she lightly hugged Max and then me. “You look stunning, Emma.” “Thank you.” I smiled as Max pulled out my chair. I looked over and saw a beautiful young girl sitting across from me. “Emma, I would like you to meet Fiona, my sister.” “Hello, Fiona.” “Hey,” she said with a fake smile. I could tell already that she didn’t like me. “Oh my God!” Max’s mom exclaimed as she grabbed my left hand. “You got your ring. It’s beautiful.” “Yes, it is. You did a nice job, Max.” His dad smiled. “Have you two set the date yet?” Fiona glared at Max. “No. Not yet. It probably won’t be for a couple of years. Emma wants to finish school first.” Both his parents grilled me about my background and my childhood. I had to make it sound better than it was because they’d think I wasn’t good enough for their son. Hell, I didn’t think I was good enough for him. I told them I grew up in Miami in a very influential neighborhood and that both my parents were very successful business people. I didn’t want to give out too much information in case they decided to check out my story. I wouldn’t put it past these people, especially ones that would put an engagement stipulation on their son’s trust fund. After we finished dinner and dessert, we said our goodbyes and climbed into the Rolls Royce. “What a success! My parents adore the shit out of you.” “I’m not so sure about your sister.” “Ignore her. She’s seventeen going on thirty. She has an opinion about everything and everyone.”

Max reached in his pocket and handed me a check. “This is for your first year at Parsons. Go deposit it in the bank tomorrow and then pay your tuition. I don’t want you losing out on your classes.” Suddenly, guilt washed over me and I found it hard to accept it. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing. Thanks, Max. I really appreciate it.” He placed his hand on mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. My heart skipped a beat at his touch. “No, Emma, thank you. I wouldn’t be able to pull this off without you.” I gave him a small smile as the Rolls Royce pulled up to my building. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night, Max,” I said before climbing out and shutting the door. “Good night, Emma.” **** I slept in longer than I should have, but I was exhausted from all the shit that had happened yesterday. When I awoke, I looked at the ring on my finger that I forgot to take off before climbing into bed. Today was a new day and I was still engaged. Somehow, as I slept, I prayed to the dream gods to let it all be a really bad dream; a dream that happened while I was still sleeping in Miami. But it wasn’t a dream. I let out a long stretch before climbing out of bed. I shuffled into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and noticed there wasn’t a coffeemaker. What the fuck? Who doesn’t own a coffee maker? No time for a shower. I needed coffee ASAP. I dug out a pair of black yoga pants, an oversized pink t-shirt that said, “I’m All Yours,” and threw on my pink Miami baseball cap. After grabbing my purse and phone, I took the elevator down to the lobby and headed out the door. Right or left? Shit. I didn’t know New York City yet. I walked back inside and asked Tommy, the doorman, where the closest Starbucks was. “Go out the door, make a right, and it’s right on the corner.” “Thanks, Tommy.” I smiled at him. “You’re welcome, Emma.” I found Starbucks and stood in a line with about fifteen other people who had the same idea I had. Finally, it was my turn. I ordered a coffee and a banana chip muffin and took a seat at a table by the window. My phone started beeping with a text message from Kara. “How’s New York City? I figured I would have heard from you by now.” “Sorry. Yesterday was kind of a crazy day trying to get situated.”

“Meet any hot guys yet?” “Not yet.” I couldn’t tell her about Max. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. The questions would start being asked and I would have to lie to my best friends. It was better that they knew nothing of what happened yesterday. “Keep me posted and send me lots of snap chats. Especially when a hot guy is around.” “Tell the girls I said hi and I promise to keep in touch.” As I sipped my coffee, I wondered what Max was doing. I caught myself thinking about him a lot already today. In some sort of weird way, I missed his company. Hell, he was practically the only person I knew in New York City, so that would explain why I missed him, not to mention the fact that all I could think about was what he looked like naked. I finished my coffee and muffin and hailed a cab to the bank to open a new account and then to Parsons School of Design. When I stepped into the large building, I asked the guy sitting behind the desk where the financial office was. He guided me down the hall, to the right, and then another right. “What may I do for you?” the old woman with a unibrow asked. “I’m here to pay for my fall semester.” It didn’t matter anymore, why the hell they decided to decline my loan at the last minute, so I didn’t even bother asking. I handed the lady my I.D. and then handed her a money order for the tuition. “You’re all set. I hope you enjoy your time here at Parsons.” She smiled. I wanted to tell her thanks for nothing, but I just gave her a small smile and left. Classes started in a few days and I was more than ready. Before heading back to the apartment, I decided to stop at the store and pick up a few things, the most important item being a coffeemaker and coffee. I purchased some snacks and some food to cook meals since Macy’s refrigerator and cabinets were empty. I wasn’t surprised with her being a model and all. She always ate like a rabbit. My hands were full of bags, the coffeemaker being the heaviest. I tried to hail a cab, but they weren’t stopping. I set down my bags and pulled out my phone, pulling up Darren’s number. “Hello, Miss Knight. Do you need me to pick you up?” “Hi, Darren. Yes, please. I’m outside of Whole Foods by Parsons. I’m not sure exactly what street I’m on.” “No worries. I’ll find you. I’m in the general area right now. Sit tight and I’ll be there shortly.”

“Thank you.” Click. I stood there with my heavy bags and watched the people pass by as I felt like I was in another world. A few moments passed and the Rolls Royce pulled up. Darren got out, opened the door, and took my bags. “Thank you, Darren. I didn’t want to call you, but I couldn’t get a cab to stop and these bags are heavy.” “No problem, Emma. I’m at your disposal whenever you need me.” I slid in the back and then asked Darren if he’d seen Max today. “Yes, I just dropped him and a lady friend of his off at a restaurant for an early dinner.” Something happened to me. My stomach instantly felt sick. “Oh, good for him. I’m going to go home and cook a nice meal for myself.” He looked at me from the rearview mirror and smiled. Darren was a nice man. He was about mid to late forties with brown hair and hazel-colored eyes. There was something about him that clicked with me and I felt comfortable around him. Almost like a father figure. We reached my building and Darren helped me carry my bags up to my apartment. “Thank you. I appreciate your help.” I smiled. “You’re welcome, Emma. Have a good night.” He walked toward the door, stopped, and turned to me. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing with Max?” I was taken aback by his question. “Yeah, I know what I’m doing.” He pursed his lips. “You’re a great girl and I don’t want to see you get hurt. Sometimes, people need to fall on their own before they’ll learn a valuable life lesson.” He walked out the door, shutting it behind him. I stood there for a moment and pondered what he meant. I figured he was talking about Max. After setting up my new coffeemaker and putting my food away, I decided to cook myself a breaded chicken breast and a baked potato. As I was preparing dinner, I had the music playing on my phone and “Uptown Funk” came on. I needed to distract my mind from Max. I began dancing around the small kitchen and using a wooden spoon as a microphone, moving my hips back and forth while I breaded the chicken. I threw it in the oven with the baked potato and shut the door while moving to the beat of the music and singing. I turned around and screamed when I saw Max standing there, smiling at me. “What the FUCK! You scared the shit out of me, Max!” I turned off the music. “Sorry, but I knocked. You didn’t hear me and you didn’t lock the door, so I let myself in and watched

your sexy dance moves. Damn, Emma. Rule number one when living in New York: always lock your door.” “I forgot. I thought you were on a date.” “How did you know that?” he asked as he arched his eyebrow. “Darren told me. I had to have him pick me up from Whole Foods because I had a lot of bags and I couldn’t catch a cab. I was surprised I didn’t hear from you today.” “I was busy at work. Pretty much in meetings all day.” A smart-ass remark was about to escape my lips, but I stopped it. “I take it you’re cooking dinner.” “Yep. I haven’t eaten since this morning. So, what are you doing here? And why is your date over already?” “I only took her to dinner. Once we left the restaurant, I took her home and headed here.” “Why?” I asked as I poured a glass of wine. “Would you like some?” “Sure. Thanks. And why what?” He took a seat on the stool in front of the counter. “Why would you cut your date short to come here? You didn’t want to have sex with her?” “Of course I did, but she’s on her period and I don’t do that shit. I don’t think you should be asking me questions like that.” I handed him his glass. “Why not? We are engaged to be married after all.” A twinge of pain invaded my heart when he admitted he wanted to have sex with her. What the hell was going on with me? It had been too long since I’d had sex. The last time was with Justin and that was right before we broke up six months ago. Speak of the devil. My phone rang and his name popped up. “Ah, shit.” I looked at Max and then answered the call. “Hello.” “Emma, it’s Justin.” “I know who it is, Justin. Why are you calling?” I looked at Max and he stared back with narrowed eyes. “I heard you moved to New York to go to that design school or whatever. Why did you do that?”

“Gee, Justin, maybe because it has always been a lifelong dream of mine. You would know that if you ever paid attention to me in our relationship.” I put it on speaker and set the phone down. I had to check on the chicken. “I paid attention to you and, by the way, you never paid me for that X-box game you purposely broke.” Before the laugher could escape him, Max covered his mouth. “I’ll send a check in the mail.” “I miss you, Emma. I really do,” he spoke in a sad tone. “Sorry about that, Justin. Listen, I need to go. My dinner is ready. Do me a favor and please don’t call me anymore.” “Is that what you truly want?” he asked. “Yes. I’m living life in New York now. I’m starting over. I suggest you do the same.” “Goodbye, Emma.” Click. A single tear rose up in my eye, and Max got up from his stool and walked over to me. “Hey, you okay?” he asked softly. “Yeah. He’s an idiot and he has a lot of growing up to do.” “Go sit down and I’ll put your food on the plate and bring it to you.” “I’m fine, Max. I can—” He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Emma, go sit down. Please.” I took my glass of wine and the bottle and sat down at the table. Max put the chicken on a plate and fixed my baked potato with a little bit of butter, salt, and pepper. He set it down in front of me with a knife and a fork and took the seat across from me. “Would you like a bite?” I cut into the chicken. “Nah. I’m full. How long have you and Justin been broken up?” “Six months.” “How long did you date?” “A little over a year.” “Wow. So, you broke his X-box game?” He smirked.

I took a bite of my potato and nodded my head. “He wouldn’t listen to me. That was the biggest problem in our relationship. I would talk and he’d zone out. He was either watching sports or playing his damn X-box. He didn’t have a job and he never took me out. Even when I offered to pay, he still wouldn’t go.” “He sounds like a loser.” “He is. I got so fed up that I couldn’t take it anymore. I went over to his apartment and he was playing X-box. I asked him to turn it off because I needed to talk to him. He told me that it was cool and just to start talking. So I did and he basically ignored me. I told him we were over and he told me not to be silly. He never looked at me once the whole time I was talking to him. Rage got the best of me so I took the disc out of the X-box and stomped on it until it broke into several pieces.” Max chuckled. “What did he do?” “He cried.” He threw his head back in laughter. “Jesus Christ, Emma.” I couldn’t help but laugh with him. He held up his wine glass. “Here’s to broken X-box games and the start of a new life.” I held up my glass and we lightly clanked them together. After finishing my dinner, Max got up from his seat. “I better get going. I have to be at the office early tomorrow.” I got up and walked him to the door. “Thanks for stopping by.” “You’re welcome. Thanks for the wine.” His eyes stared straight at me. He hesitated for a moment and then walked out the door. “Good night, Emma.” “Good night, Max.” I shut the door, locked it, and then leaned up against it. There was a part of me that didn’t want him to leave.

Chapter 6 I spent the next couple of days inside my apartment building. I got up in the mornings, went down to the fitness center, worked out, and then sat in front of the TV all day. The only person I knew in New York was Max and I hadn’t heard from him since the night he was over. He was probably too busy trying to fuck anything with legs. School started tomorrow and I couldn’t wait. I needed to keep myself busy and immerse myself in something other than thinking about him all day. What I thought was going to be easy wasn’t turning out that way. He had an effect on me that I couldn’t explain and all I wanted to do was spend time with him. Maybe it was just because I was in a strange city and living alone that I felt this way. I needed to get out and meet more people. I talked to my mom back in Miami and she was doing well. I’d never kept anything from her before and it was hard not to tell her about Max. I missed my girls – Kara, Aubrey, and Molly – and I missed going out. After putting on my pajamas and climbing into bed, my phone beeped with a text message from Max. “Good luck on your first day of school tomorrow.” Really? I don’t hear from him in two days and he sends me that? I put my phone down and didn’t respond. Turning off my light, I snuggled under the covers and closed my eyes. **** I arrived and took a seat in my Integrative Studio 1 class. I was nervous as hell just like any other person would be when they start something new and unfamiliar. “Hi, I’m Hannah.” The girl next to me sat down and smiled. “Hi, I’m Emma.” A prospective friend already. I was excited. We sat and talked for a few minutes before our, oh my God, sexy as shit professor walked in. He scanned the class and smiled, welcoming us. I swear I felt my ovaries explode when he looked at me. He stood a little over six feet tall with messy brown hair and a light beard that sat upon his perfectly sculpted jawline. I frowned when my gaydar started flying off the charts. When class let out, Hannah and I found that we had the next two classes together. Before our last class, we took a lunch break and grabbed sandwiches at Breads Bakery. She was a cute girl with curly brown hair and big brown eyes. Her tiny body fitted her five-foot-four stature. She was from Iowa and was in New York cultural shock. She lived in one of the campus apartments and was shocked when I told her where I lived. I explained to her that it was Macy’s place and she was letting me stay there. As we were talking and getting to know each other,

my phone beeped with a message from Max. “You didn’t respond to my text last night. I expect a response when I send you a message.” “At lunch now. Can’t talk. TTYL!” I smiled, and before I set my phone down, another message came through. “I’m coming over tonight.” “Hey, would you mind if I sat with you lovely ladies?” a handsome guy asked. “I’m Austin. I was sitting behind you two in the last two classes.” “Hi, Austin.” I smiled. “I’m Emma and this is Hannah.” Another potential friend. This day was turning out better than I thought it would. Austin was the same age as Hannah and me. He lived with his boyfriend, who was six years older than he was, in a studio apartment in SoHo. The two of them moved to New York from California over the summer when his boyfriend took a job on Wall Street. After finishing our lunch, we walked back to Parsons and headed to our last class of the day. When I walked out of the building, I noticed Darren standing in front of the Rolls Royce. “Good day, Emma. I’m here to drive you home.” “Hi, Darren. He’s not in there, is he?” He chuckled. “No. You’re safe.” I smiled as he opened the door and I slid into the back seat. “How was your first day of school?” “It was good. I met some new friends.” He looked at me through his rearview mirror. “That’s great, Emma. I’m glad you had a good day.” I opened the door to my apartment and stepped inside, setting my bag on the floor. The last text message Max sent me was that he was coming over tonight, but he didn’t say if we were going to dinner or not. So I decided to ask him. “What time are you coming over? Are we doing dinner?” “I won’t be over until after nine and I already have dinner plans.” FUCKER. He pissed me off again. “Why are you coming over? I’ve had a long day and I’m tired.”

“I have to talk to you about the engagement party my parents are throwing us and I won’t stay long.” Really? An engagement party? Shit. I pulled out some menus that I had found in the kitchen drawer and decided to place a delivery order from the Chinese restaurant around the block. I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top and put my hair up in a high ponytail. A while later, my dinner had arrived and I took it over to the couch with a glass of wine and turned on the episode of Revenge I was on during my two-day Revenge marathon. It was eight forty-five when I heard a knock. I set my carton of sweet and sour chicken down and walked to the door, looking out the peephole to make sure it was Max. I opened the door and, instantly, his eyes traveled from my head down to my feet. I almost lost my breath when I saw him standing there in his dark gray business suit. “How was school?” he asked as he walked in. “It was good.” “You’re eating Chinese, I see.” I sighed and took a seat on the couch, picking up my carton and a piece of chicken with my chopsticks. He sat down next to me. “My parents are throwing us an engagement party next weekend at their home.” “And? You couldn’t have told me that over the phone?” “I hadn’t seen you in a couple of days.” His fingers played with the ends of my ponytail. “I wanted to tell you in person.” I turned my head towards him so my hair was out of his reach. “How was your dinner?” “Boring. It was with a prospective client. Why don’t you tell me about your day?” He softly smiled. “Well, let’s see. I went to class, met some new friends, had lunch, and now I’m home. That pretty much sums it up.” “What’s wrong with you? I’m sensing an attitude.” His fingers deftly ran across my shoulder. I shuddered. “Nothing’s wrong and I don’t have an attitude.” I did have an attitude, but I didn’t want to. The fact that he walked into my life unexpectedly and decided to turn my world upside down irritated me. The more I was with him, and the more I stared into his amazing gray eyes, the harder I was falling. “Tell me about your new friends.”

I got up from the couch and took my Chinese cartons into the kitchen. “Their names are Hannah and Austin and they’re really nice.” “Austin?” I swore I heard a hint of jealousy in his voice and there was no way I was telling him that he was gay. “Yeah. He lives in a studio apartment over in SoHo and Hannah lives on campus.” “I’m glad you met some people. So I suppose you’ll be going out with them some time?” I narrowed my eyes at his question. “Yeah. I’m sure I will be.” He got up and walked to the door. “I better get going.” I stood in front of him as he stared at me for a few moments before placing his thumb on my chin. “You look really hot in that outfit.” My toes curled and my heart picked up a rapid pace. “Are you trying to have sex with me again?” He kissed my forehead. “No. I just wanted to tell you that.” He smiled and walked out the door. **** I knew what I was getting myself into by agreeing to this arrangement. I knew that when I saw him for the first time in Miami and my body started to tingle that I was interested in him, but I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. The more days that went by and I didn’t see or talk to Max, the more dejected I became. I barely knew him but yet we were engaged and he was paying for my school. It was a Saturday morning and I had just gotten out of bed when my phone beeped with a text message from Darren. “Good morning, Emma. Max is sending me over to pick you up and bring you to his apartment. I should be there in about fifteen minutes.” I sighed. “I just woke up and I need to shower and get dressed. You can tell Mr. Hamilton that I’ll be over when I’m done getting ready and no sooner. So I’ll see you in about an hour.” Who the hell did Max think he was? I thought I had heard my phone beep as I was showering, so when I finished, I took it from the nightstand in my room. “Don’t eat breakfast. I have breakfast here for us.”

I rolled my eyes. What the hell was he doing? I stepped out of the building and Darren was waiting at the curb. “Good morning, Emma.” He smiled. “To what do I owe the pleasure of being summoned so early in the morning by Mr. Hamilton?” Darren snickered. “I’m not quite sure.” He drove me to Max’s apartment and pulled around to the parking garage where an elevator sat at the far end. “Take that elevator up to the top floor.” “Thanks, Darren. Have a good day.” “You too, Emma.”

Chapter 7 I grabbed my purse, climbed out of the Rolls Royce, and took the elevator up to the thirtieth floor. As the doors opened, I stepped into the foyer of Max’s apartment. I nearly had an orgasm when I saw him walking towards me in a pair of faded blue jeans and no shirt. I gulped at the sight of his ripped abs and the hint of his V that peeked out from where his jeans sat low on his hips. Actually, I think I did have an orgasm. “Good morning, Emma. Welcome to my apartment.” “Good morning, Max.” I needed to keep my cool because it was taking every bit of strength I had not to tackle him to the ground and rape him. This wasn’t like me and I blamed it on not having sex for so long. I was only human, after all. “Come sit down and join me for breakfast.” I followed him to the kitchen where the smell of eggs and bacon infiltrated the place. His kitchen was huge with top-of-the-line appliances, dark cherry cabinets, and black speckled granite counter tops. I took a seat at the modern black elongated table and Max handed me a cup of coffee. “Thanks. Are you going to tell me why you sent your driver to pick me up? And, by the way, what happened to Martin?” He chuckled. “Martin is the family’s driver and Darren is my personal driver. No one uses him but me. I use Martin when I’m in a pinch. Anyway, I wanted to have breakfast with you.” “Why?” I asked. “I hadn’t heard from or seen you but once this week.” “Exactly, and I felt it was time we saw each other.” He set a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of me. “So YOU felt it was time to see each other? What if I didn’t feel that way?” “You’re here, aren’t you?” He smirked. Damn him. “You’re lucky I didn’t have any plans today.” “I guess I am.” He sat down across from me with a smile. “Have you told any of your friends back home about us?”

“No. Why would I? After our deal is over, we won’t be seeing each other anymore. Why try to explain that to them?” “I guess. Don’t forget the engagement party is next Saturday night and my mom is already asking why I haven’t brought you by the house. I told her you had just started classes and you’ve been really busy but that we’ll come by tomorrow for dinner.” “What? I have plans tomorrow.” “Cancel them,” he commanded. I didn’t really have plans yet, but I wanted him to think I did. I couldn’t help but to stare at his rock hard chest as I consumed my breakfast. “You really need to put on a shirt.” “Why? Are you getting excited looking at me?” “You’re very bold, Max, and no, I’m not. I just don’t think that you should sit at the table with no shirt on.” “Why don’t you take yours off and then maybe you wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable.” The corners of his mouth curved upwards. My panties were getting wet by the second and I was horny as hell. All my dignity went out the window. I guess that’s what lack of sex does to you. “Fine.” I lifted my shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. He gasped and slowly shook his head. My heart was racing as he got up from his chair and walked over to me, holding out his hand. I took it and he helped me up. “Are you trying to get me to fuck you?” he slyly asked. “I guess I am. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex and I’m horny as hell. We are engaged to be married, after all,” I nervously spoke. “Indeed we are.” He ran his fingers along my collarbone and down the center of my breasts. I took in a deep breath as he stared into my eyes. “You’re so beautiful, Emma, and I want to fuck you so badly. But I need to make sure that this is what

you want.” His lips suddenly became dangerously close to mine. I knew once they touched, there was no turning back. “It is what I want,” I whispered. “But wait.” “What is it?” he asked with concern. “Shit. I’m on the pill and you can’t use a condom. I’m allergic to the latex unless you have non-latex ones.” “Seriously? You’re allergic to condoms?” His smile grew wide. “Yes. I’m serious. It’s a disaster down there if latex touches it.” “If you’re trying to ask me if I have an STD, you don’t have to worry about that. I always use a condom. ALWAYS. Except this time.” I could see the excitement dancing around in his eyes. I glared at him. “You always use a condom?” “Yes, Emma. I swear to you I’m clean.” “Okay, then.” He placed his hand around the nape of my neck and his lips touched mine, softly at first and testing the waters. His earthy and warm scent that radiated off him sent my pheromones into high gear. My lips parted by force of his tongue and I responded by introducing mine to his. My body was on fire and I was raring to go. He cupped his hands around my ass, squeezing tight as I jumped up and wrapped my legs around him so he could carry me to wherever it was he wanted to fuck me. A subtle moan escaped him as he carried to me to the couch, turning around and sitting down so I was straddling him. His erection pressed against me and it felt so good. I softly moaned as his tongue traveled from my mouth and down to my neck. “You have me so fucking hard, Emma.” His hands unclasped my bra and he took the straps down, throwing it across it room. He pushed me back so he could have a look at my bare breasts. Pulling my body closer, he took my hard nipple between his lips and moaned as he gently sucked on it. Excitement had moved through me and, oh my God, I was coming. I couldn’t stop it and I was embarrassed because that had never happened to me before. He stopped and looked at me. “Did you just come?” I nodded. “Fuck, baby. That is so hot. We have to slow down for a minute,” he said with bated breath.

He lifted me off of him and took my hand, leading me to the other side of the apartment where his bedroom was. We stopped in front of his king-sized bed and he slowly unbuttoned my pants and slid them off my hips. “Look at you. Your body is what every man dreams of.” His hands softly ran down my body and to the inside of my thighs. He gazed at me as his fingers moved to the crotch of my panties. His eyes slowly closed and he took in a sharp breath. “You are so wet. We better get these off of you.” I took them down before his finger dipped inside and worked its way around me, exploring and hitting the right spots. I moaned as I unbuttoned his jeans and grasped the sides, taking them down and releasing his throbbing rock hard cock. “No underwear?” I smiled. “I forgot to put some on this morning.” Another finger plunged inside me and I gasped, losing air as excitement enveloped me. My hand wrapped around his manhood, taking in his amazing pleasurable orgasmic length and thickness. A soft moan escaped his lips as his hot breath trailed along my neck. “My mouth is greedy for your pussy, Emma, and I need to taste you.” Removing his fingers from me, he gently laid me down on the bed and hovered over me for a moment, brushing strands of my hair from my forehead. His mouth gently met mine before trailing down to my breasts and taking each hardened peak into his mouth before his tongue slowly slid down my torso, stopping at my belly button and tracing tiny circles around it. My stomach tightened and my pussy began to quiver. His head made its way between my legs as his tongue slid up my inner thigh, teasing me and taking hold of every sexual sensation ever felt. “Do you want my mouth on your pussy, Emma?” he whispered between my legs with the feel of his hot breath inches from me. “Yes, Max. Now. Please,” I begged as my fingers tangled in his hair. And there it was. His tongue slid up my wet opening as he groaned and flickered at my clit, causing an orgasmic sensation to build. He circled around my opening before spreading my legs farther apart as his mouth devoured me. I threw my head back in excitement as I arched my back and lifted my hips, begging for him to go deeper. “Ah, baby. I can’t wait to thrust my dick inside you,” he spoke as the sensation built and my body tensed, releasing myself to him. He lifted his head and ran his tongue across his lips as his mouth smashed into mine, and before I knew it, he pushed himself inside of me, immersing me with his cock. We both gasped. “You’re so tight. Shit, Emma. Your pussy is so fucking hot inside.”

He pounded into me as I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist. His hands reached down and grasped my ass, slightly lifting me up so he could penetrate me deeper. Our moans grew louder with each thrust as his balls smacked against my bare skin. My heart was pounding out of my chest and my skin was overheated. My God, this had to be the best sex I’d ever had. My body was building and my release was close. “Are you about to come, Emma?” he asked with bated breath. “Yes,” I exclaimed. I could feel his body tense as he threw his head back, thrusting into me deep and hard, throwing me into the throes of yet another amazing orgasm. His last thrust halted as he stared into my eyes and spilled himself deep inside me. He collapsed on top of me and lay there as our heart rates slowed and our breathing returned to normal. He sat up and kissed my lips before rolling off of me. “That was amazing.” He smiled. “It sure was. Thank you.” I got up from the bed. I needed to play it off as that was all I wanted. No cuddling, no talking, nothing. If I cuddled, I’d fall. If I fell, I’d break. I just needed sex. That was all. “Where do you think you’re going?” “I’m getting dressed.” I smiled. “Why? Get back in bed.” I turned around and looked at him, narrowing my eyes. “Max, we fucked. That’s it.” I put on my clothes and went back to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. “Really, Emma?” I turned around. “What?” “You’re just going to up and leave like that?” I silently laughed because wasn’t that what he did? “We both knew it was inevitable, Max. We were going to have sex sooner or later. But that’s all it is. In three months, we’ll never have to see each other again.” Saying that hurt me in places I never knew could hurt. I needed to keep my head in the game because this was what it was. It was a deal. A three-month arrangement and then it would be over. It would be easy for him to walk away because he’d get his trust fund, the only thing he cared about. For me, it wouldn’t be so easy if I became emotionally involved.

“I guess you’re right. But still.” “Isn’t that why you brought me here? I mean, come on. You were practically naked when I got here. Admit it; you brought me here hoping we’d have sex.” He looked at me and narrowed his eyes. “Sorry, Emma, but that’s not why I brought you here. The reason I brought you here is because I thought we could spend the day together at Central Park. Since you’ve been in New York, you haven’t been there yet. At least, I don’t think you have.” “No. I haven’t.” He stepped closer to me and smiled as he placed his thumb on my chin. “Would you like to go to Central Park with me?” “Sure.” I gave a small smile.

Chapter 8 Central Park was nothing like I’d ever seen in my life. It had to be the most beautiful place on Earth. At least to me it was. This wasn’t an ordinary park; it was another world. The only park I ever went to growing up was the one by my house in Miami. A small piece of land with a few swings and overgrown grass that wasn’t regularly cut. We were near mid-park when I spotted a familiar statue ahead. “Is that what I think it is?” I asked in excitement. “Depends on what you think it is.” Max smiled. As I approached the sculpture, I was in awe of the beauty standing before me. “Oh my God, it is. It’s Alice in Wonderland. That was one of my favorite Disney movies when I was a child.” I climbed up and ran my hand along the bronzed mushroom that Alice was sitting on. “Sit down and I’ll take your picture.” Max smiled. Suddenly, I felt like a kid again as I became giddy and sat in front of Alice while Max snapped a picture. “Come up here and we’ll take a selfie.” I waved my hand for him to join me. He climbed up the statue and sat down next to me. He held up his phone in front of us and snapped a picture. “I have an idea,” he spoke as he took my hand and helped me down. We walked over to where the horse and carriages were parked. Max pulled out a wad of cash, handed it to the man in the carriage, and then helped me up. “Have you ever been on a carriage ride?” he asked. “No.” I smiled as I sat down. “Well, now you can say you have. We’re going to tour Central Park in style, Miss Knight.” As we sat in the carriage, I took in the beauty of Central Park. I felt like a princess for the first time in my life and, I must say, I enjoyed it. “Why don’t you tell me about your real childhood,” Max spoke as he looked at me. “There’s not that much to tell. My dad left us when I was two and my mom struggled her whole life to

support us. She got pregnant with me at seventeen and dropped out of school. My grandparents were upset and kicked her out. When I was old enough to work, I got a job, finished school, and then worked fulltime to help her with the bills. My childhood was not a magical one but my mom did the best she could and she worked really hard. I couldn’t fault her for that.” “She never married?” “No. She dated a few guys for a while, but they always turned out to be lazy jerks. Kind of like Justin. It took me a while, but I finally saw the kind of person he was and where his life was going, which was nowhere, and I wasn’t going to be stuck with someone like that. I have goals and dreams for myself.” “You certainly do, Emma.” He smiled. “What about your childhood? It couldn’t have been all bad growing up rich and spoiled.” He chuckled. “It wasn’t all that grand. I was more of a trophy for my mom and dad than anything. Their first born, and a son at that, who would take over my father’s company and carry on the Hamilton name and image. Everything in my life, since the day I was born, was carefully planned and calculated. The private school I went to, the friends I was allowed to hang out with, even the college I attended.” “Which was?” “Columbia. I had to follow in my father’s footsteps and even join the same fraternity he was in. It was like he was reliving his youth through me and I hated it.” “What about your sister?” “She’s going through the same thing, but she’s more of a rebel than I was. They are the reason why I won’t settle down with anyone. It’s all a show.” “Does your mom know about your dad’s affairs?” “I don’t think so and, if she does, she’s stupid not to have left him by now. But she’s just as money hungry as he is, so I’m not sure she’d ever give up the Hamilton name or lifestyle. One time, we were on vacation in Hawaii and my mom had taken ill with a migraine. My dad took me and my sister down to the beach and then told us to stay and build sand castles while he went and talked to someone he knew. I watched him as he walked up the beach and to a hotel room not too far from where me and Fiona were playing. After a while, I got up and peeked inside the door wall that I saw him go through and watched him fucking some other woman. I’ll never forget the feeling of sickness and disappointment that shot through me.” “I’m sorry, Max. How old were you?”

“Thirteen. It was at that moment that I realized what a fake he was.” “Did he know you saw him?” “No. But it was that day that I started acting differently towards him. He wasn’t my hero anymore. A few years later, I was at a hotel, having lunch with one of my friends who was staying there, and I saw my dad and some woman walk through the lobby and to the elevator. I quickly got up from my seat and watched them get on the elevator and go up to the third floor. I ran up the stairwell and made it just in time as they got off the elevator and watched what room they went to. I sat up against the wall outside the room and listened to the moans that came from inside. It made me sick. For some reason, I thought that maybe Hawaii was a one-time thing with him. When the moans stopped, I knocked on the door. I wanted nothing more than that asshole to get caught. Surprisingly enough, he opened it with a towel wrapped around his waist. The look on his face was priceless. I just shook my head at him and left. Later that night, he took me out and said he was sorry and that he’d never do it again. He told me that if I told my mom, I’d be cut off and lose everything. There was no use in hurting my mom anyway.” There was a sadness in his voice when he spoke about his childhood. Here was a man who had the world at his fingertips but was unhappy. I grabbed his hand and he looked over at me with a small smile. “I’m sorry he’s such an ass. But I don’t think you’re anything like him if that’s what you’re worried about.” “Not really. I just don’t have any desire to be tied down to one woman for the rest of my life and play the happy little married couple with the perfect family. It’s not my style. I don’t like to answer to anyone. I do what I do and I do what I please. I don’t need some girl trying to control me. I watch my mom try and do it with my dad and look what’s going on in that relationship.” I didn’t know what to say at that moment. I was in shock that he would even say something like that to me. “Hang in there, Hamilton.” I smiled. “I am.” He kissed the side of my head. **** We grabbed some lunch at the Central Park boathouse and, as I was sipping my wine, Max looked at me in a panic. “Take the ring off. Now!” What the hell? I slid the ring off and clenched it tightly in my hand just as a beautiful, tall, dark-haired woman approached us. “Hey, Max,” she said as she looked at him and then over at me, giving me the bitch look.

“Hey, Aria.” “We still on for tonight? Remember you said you’d take me to that new club that just opened up?” “A new club opened? How did I not know about this? I would love to go with the two of you.” I smiled. First, his eyes widened before he narrowed them at me. “I’m sorry, but who is she?” Aria asked. “So rude of me not to introduce myself. I’m Emma. It’s nice to meet you. I’m a friend of Max.” I held out my hand and she looked down at it and turned away. Ah, this was going to be fun. “Emma, I don’t think that club is really your scene,” Max spoke. “Really? I happen to love clubs. So it’s settled. Aria and I would love for you to take us.” “Then I’m not going!” Aria chimed like a two-year-old on the verge of a tantrum. “Oh, please, Aria. Do come. I’m kind of thinking right now that since it’s a new club and all, that it would be packed with people and you’d have to wait in an incredibly long line with the hopes that they let you in. Max, on the other hand, can pull some strings and get us right in. Am I right?” I smiled at Max. “Yeah,” he said, deadpan. “Fine. Pick me up at eight o’clock.” She stomped away from the table and I couldn’t help but laugh. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Max asked in seriousness. “Please. Get over yourself. I just need a ride. I won’t be hanging with you two lovebirds. I’ll call Hannah and Austin and ask them to meet me there.” He shook his head at me. “This isn’t a game, Emma.” “I never said it was, Max.” I took a sip of my wine and slipped my ring back on.

Chapter 9 Hannah, Austin, and his boyfriend, Dominic, were going to meet me at the club. I honestly didn’t know what possessed me to say that I’d go. It was probably the sick feeling I got when Aria said that Max would take her. My body was still on fire from the morning sex we’d had and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I looked at myself in the black sheer, spaghetti-strap, baby-doll dress with the jewel-accented empire waist and smiled. I bought it back in Miami for a friend’s wedding but didn’t get the chance to wear it since she called the wedding off. I slipped into a pair of black, round toe, stiletto heels with a bow and sprayed my curly up-do one last time before the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, Darren was standing there, smiling at me. “Good evening, Emma. Are you ready?” “Hi, Darren. Just let me grab my clutch.” I hooked my arm in his as we walked down the hallway. “Is she in the car?” I asked. He looked at me with a sly grin. “Yes. She’s in there. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” “Not really.” I smiled. He opened the door and I slid inside next to Max. I swear he gasped when he saw me. “Hello, Emma,” he spoke. “Hi, Max. Hey, Aria. You look really pretty.” As pretty as a hooker waiting on the street corner. “Hey.” The only word she could seem to muster up. “Thanks again for the ride, Max.” “No problem. I made a call and had your friends put on the list so they won’t have any problems getting in.” “Thank you.” I smiled big. “My pleasure.” We pulled up to the club and Darren held out his hand to help me out. “Have fun in there and stay out of trouble.” He gave a small smile. “I can’t make any promises.” I winked.

I watched as Aria grabbed Max’s hand and they cut in front of me to get into the club first. Whatever. She was a skank in a skintight white dress that showed the outline of her thong. The only reason I noticed was because her ass looked mega huge. I stepped into the club and sent a text message to Hannah, asking where she was. “Sitting at a table to the left of the bar.” The blaring bass of the music was causing the floor underneath my feet to shake. Bodies that tangled all over the dance floor crowded the new club. Aria dragged Max over to the bar and I took off to find Hannah and Austin. “There you are!” Hannah smiled as I sat down next to her. “You look hot!” “Thanks.” I reached across the table and shook the hand of Dominic, Austin’s boyfriend. Before I knew it, Max sat down in the empty seat next to me and handed me a mojito. “I figured you’d want one. Reminds me of another time.” He winked. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet my friend, Max Hamilton, and his friend, Aria.” Hannah had the same reaction on her face as I did the first time I saw him. “Oh my God, Emma. He’s so fucking hot.” I gently smiled at her and took a sip of my drink. Aria stood up and grabbed Max’s hand, leading him to the dance floor. I sat there and watched as that slut moved her body up and down Max, grinding to the beat of the music. I touched the arm of the waitress that walked by and asked her to get us a round of lemon shots. I wasn’t about to sit here and watch the two of them sober. Downing two rounds of lemon shots, the effects of the alcohol mixed with the three mojitos started to take over. As soon as “Uptown Funk” blasted through the speakers, Hannah grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor. I let loose, shaking my hips to the beat and moving my body around in a seductive way that suggested I was an easy target for sex. A tall and good-looking guy slithered in my direction, pressing his body up against mine as he smiled and our hips moved in sync. The final straw was when his hands grasped my waist and Max was near me in a flash, grabbing my wrist and leading me off the dance floor and through the club, to a hallway off to the side where nobody was allowed to go. He pushed me inside a small room, a room that was an office with a desk, a couch, and a couple of chairs. He turned on the light and slammed the door, locking it from within. “What the fuck, Max?!” “Shut up.” His mouth crashed into mine as his hands went up the back of my dress, cupping my ass as hard as he could. He broke our kiss and his angered eyes stared into me. “Don’t you ever do that again as

long as we’re engaged. Do you fucking understand me, Emma?” I was stunned and shocked by his tone and his behavior and I didn’t like it. The only reaction I could muster up was my hand slapping him across the face. “Don’t you ever, and I mean ever, fucking talk to me like that again! And don’t you ever grab me like that again either. You have no right, you sorry son-of-a-bitch.” I stomped out of the room and quickly made my way down the hallway, sending a text message to Hannah telling her that I was sick and had to leave. My stomach was nauseous as I left the club and headed down a street that I wasn’t familiar with. I didn’t know where I was going and, at this point, I didn’t care. Getting away from him was the only thing I wanted to do. I felt the vomit rise up in my throat as I stepped into the alley and bent over, releasing the alcohol that needed to escape me. A pair of hands lightly gripped my arms as I flinched. “It’s okay, Emma. It’s me,” Max whispered. As soon as I was finished, he picked me up in his arms and carried me to the curb where Darren was waiting with the door open. He slid me in the back seat and I turned and faced the window. “Emma,” he spoke. I put my hand up, signaling him not to say another word. Darren pulled up to my building and Max slid out, holding out his hand to help me. I pushed it away. “I don’t need your help.” I heard him tell Darren that it was okay to leave and I abruptly stopped before reaching the door. “Don’t you dare follow me up to my apartment. You aren’t welcome.” “You’re making a scene, Emma. Let’s just go upstairs and get some coffee.” I huffed and stumbled away from him. I couldn’t find my keys, so Max found them for me and slid the key into the lock. As soon as I walked in, I kicked off my shoes and threw my purse down. The door shut and Max took hold of my arm, pulling me into him and brushing his lips against mine. “I never got to tell you how fucking sexy you look in that dress,” he spoke in between kisses. A part of me was still angry at him for earlier, but the other part of me desired him inside of me. I kissed him hard, practically throwing myself at him to let him know that he could fuck me. A moan rumbled from his chest as he pulled down my panties and dipped his fingers inside of me while his mouth devoured my neck. My fingers raced to unbutton his pants and release his hard cock in my hand. As I slid his pants down, he stepped out of them and kicked them away while unzipping the back of my dress and

letting it fall to the ground. His other hand grasped my breast and his fingers tugged at my hardened nipples. Max picked me up and set me down in front of the couch, turning me around so I was bent over. He didn’t waste any time as he thrust inside of me, gripping my hips as moans escaped our lips. My body was heated and my heart was racing in sync with each thrust. His hand released my hip and his finger traveled down, circling my clit and sending my body into pure bliss as I began to climax. Yelling out his name, I gave in to my release as his thrusting slowed and he submerged himself deep into me while filling my insides. His hot breath trailed along my back as he moaned in erotic pleasure. He pulled out of me and wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my neck. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice soft and with bated breath. “Yeah. I really want to go to bed.” He turned me around so I was facing him and picked me up, carrying me across the apartment and to my bedroom. He set me down and pulled back the covers. “Would you like me to stay?” I gave him a small smile and nodded my head as we both climbed into bed and he pulled me close to his body, where I fit perfectly.

Chapter 10 I opened my eyes as the sun filtered through the crack of the closed curtains. I noticed I was alone and couldn’t remember if I told Max to stay the night. I could smell fresh coffee brewing, so I unsteadily climbed out of bed and slipped on a pair of panties and a t-shirt. “Good morning, sunshine.” Max smiled as he looked at what a hot mess I was. I put my hand up to prevent him from speaking. “Lower your voice.” He chuckled. I took a seat on the stool at the counter as he handed me a cup of coffee and set a glass of orange juice in front of me. “I’m making French toast. Would you like some?” “Maybe one piece,” I moaned as I leaned across the counter. “Maybe you shouldn’t drink so much and you wouldn’t feel like shit.” “Oh please. Like you don’t ever get drunk.” He smirked as he turned and looked at me. “You have a powerful hand.” Was I sorry that I slapped him? No. I wasn’t. He deserved it. “Yeah, well, I have a powerful knee too if you want to try me.” “Ouch. That’s not even funny.” He lightly laughed. I sat and stared at his muscular back as he cooked the French toast, daydreaming about running my tongue up and down his spine as the ends of my hair tickled his back. I sighed. “You had no right last night, Max. You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do with other people. That’s not how this works. We have an arrangement and that’s all. If you want to change the agreement to where neither one of us sees other people for the next couple of months, let me know. Because the same rules apply to both of us, not just me. And by the way, what happened to Aria?” He placed a piece of French toast on a plate and slid it to me. “I had Martin pick her up and take her home. She was pissed as hell.” “Then you should have stayed with her.” “Nah. I couldn’t let you wander the streets of New York alone, especially at night and in your

condition.” He sat down next to me on the stool with his plate and began eating. “It’s a deal.” “What’s a deal?” “No seeing other people until our arrangement is over. We’re having sex now, so it won’t be an issue.” Did he really just say that? Was that all he thought about? I rolled my eyes and attempted to eat. “Are you sure you can commit to one woman for the next couple of months? Are you sure it won’t be too difficult for you?” He snickered at me. “You’re cute when you’re hung over.” He finished his breakfast before I did and then grabbed his phone and called Darren to come pick him up. “You’re leaving?” “Yeah. I have to get home and do some work. I have a meeting tomorrow morning and I’m not fully prepared. I want to get it done before dinner at my parents’ house tonight.” “Ugh. I forgot about that.” He put his clothes on and kissed my forehead. “Take some aspirin. Drink plenty of fluids and rest up for tonight. I’ll be by to pick you up around six o’clock and don’t forget to put on your ring.” “I’ll be ready and waiting.” “I’ll see you later, babe.” He walked out the door. I grabbed my phone from my purse and sent a group message to Hannah and Austin. Me: “Sorry about last night. I wasn’t feeling well.” Austin: “Don’t worry about it. It happens.” Hannah: “Is something going on between you and Max? Because he looked really pissed when we were out there dancing and that guy came up to you.” Me: “We’re sort of seeing each other.” Austin: “But he was with that girl last night.” Me: “Yeah, I know. I guess you can say that we made it official last night.” Hannah: “You’re so lucky. He’s so hot and rich. He’s a keeper, Emma.” Austin: “Yeah. Don’t let him get away.” Me: I’ll see you two at school tomorrow. I have to do some things around the apartment and then

I’m having dinner with Max and his parents later.” **** Taking one last look in the mirror, I ran my fingers through my straightened blonde hair and dabbed on a light pink-colored lip-gloss. My phone started beeping with a text message and when I looked at it, it was from Macy. “Hey, girl! Sorry I haven’t been in touch. Service isn’t the best over here. I hope you’re all settled in and enjoying the apartment. I’ll be home in a couple of weeks and we can spend enormous amounts of time catching up. Ciao.” I smiled but didn’t send a message back due to the international charges. There was a knock on the door and, as usual, Max was right on time. When I opened it, Darren was standing there with a smile. “Hello, Emma. You’re looking better.” “Sorry about last night. It wasn’t one of my finest moments.” I grabbed my purse and shut the door. “It’s fine and I know Max can do that to you. I want to say congratulations for slapping him.” “He told you?” “He tells me a lot of things and I’m sure he deserved it.” “That he did, Darren.” I smiled. We reached the Rolls Royce and I slid into the back seat. Max glanced at me and smiled as he held his phone up to his ear. “I don’t fucking care if they don’t like it. You tell that son of a bitch if he doesn’t agree to my terms, then he’s out. Get back with me tomorrow.” He hung up and grabbed my hand, bringing it up to his lips. “You look gorgeous.” “Thanks. You’re looking pretty spiffy yourself, Mr. Hamilton. Sounds like you’re having an issue with someone.” “It’s just work bullshit. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.” “I talked to my mom today. It seems she’s met someone.” “Good for her. Right?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I guess. As long as he’s good to her.” Darren pulled up to the three-story red brick building with the little black wrought-iron gate in the front

and opened the door. Stepping out, Darren opened the gate and held it as Max and I walked through. We walked up the four concrete steps that led to the door and, before we approached, the door opened and a small-framed woman in a maid’s outfit stood there, welcoming us. “Hello, Hattie.” “Hello, Mr. Hamilton. How are you this evening?” She was a younger woman, I’d say about mid to late thirties with short black hair. I could tell by the look on her face she was smitten with Max. “Hattie, this is Miss Knight.” “Please, call me Emma.” I smiled at her. “Your family is in the living room,” she spoke as she shut the door behind us. Max took hold of my hand and led me to the living room where his parents were properly seated in burgundy wingback chairs. “Darling, it’s so good to see you.” Carol smiled as they hugged. “And Emma. You look as beautiful as ever.” “Can I get either of you a drink?” Bradshaw asked. “Emma will have a glass of wine and I can get my own bourbon.” “A glass of wine for a beautiful young lady.” Bradshaw smiled as he handed me the glass. I couldn’t help but look at him with contempt for what he was doing behind his wife’s back. Knowing what I knew had tainted my perception of him being a good man and a loving father. “Thank you.” I gave a small, non-deserving smile. Hattie alerted us that dinner was ready and so we headed to the dining room. “Where’s Fiona?” Max asked. “Right here, big brother.” She smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. Her unfriendly eyes diverted my way and as she looked me up and down. “Don’t be rude, Fiona,” Max stated. “Hey.” She walked around to the other side of the table and took the seat across from me. “Our sweet little Fiona applied to Columbia today,” Bradshaw proudly said. “Good for you, sis.”

“What do you want to study?” I asked. “She’s getting into law,” Carol answered for her. “My girlfriend is just finishing up her degree in law. She’ll be graduating in December.” “Good for her. Where at? Miami?” She rolled her eyes. “And why the hell are you just starting Parsons anyway? Shouldn’t you have been graduated already?” “Fiona, that’s enough.” Max scowled. “You’re right, Fiona, but I chose not to go to college right from high school. I took a few years off to work.” “Stop right there, Emma.” Max commanded. “It’s none of Fiona’s business.” The air was thick in the room and I didn’t know what Fiona’s problem with me was. Both times I’d seen her, she had been nothing but rude. We finished dinner and had dessert. Max poured me another glass of wine and leaned down and kissed my lips. “Aw, look at those two lovebirds. They’re perfect together.” Carol smiled at us. I felt bad for this charade. They were genuinely happy that their only son had finally found someone to settle down with. Little did they know that it wasn’t going to last.

Chapter 11 It was Wednesday night and Max and I were having dinner together at my apartment. It was the first time I’d seen him since dinner with his parents on Sunday. I was making lasagna and waiting for him to come by after the office. As I was in the kitchen making the salad, the door opened, and Max walked in and set his briefcase down on the stool. “Hi.” I smiled. “Hey. It smells delicious in here. How was school today?” “It was good. How was work?” “Hectic and stressful as always.” He walked behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his face into my neck. “It’s good to see you.” “It’s good to see you too.” “Can I help?” he asked. “Yes. Finish cutting up these tomatoes for the salad while I check on the lasagna.” I reached up and kissed his soft lips before pulling the dish out of the oven. Just as the two of us sat down at the table, there was a knock at the door. “Are you expecting someone?” “No. I have no idea who it could be.” “I’ll answer it.” He got up from the table and opened the door. My eyes widened and my heart started racing when I peeked over the table and saw Molly and Kara standing there. “Umm. Is Emma here?” “Yeah. Come on in, ladies.” I jumped up from the table and ran to them. “What are you doing here?” I asked as the three of us hugged. “We wanted to surprise you, but I think you may have surprised us. Isn’t that the guy from the club in Miami?”

I sighed. “Yes, I am. I’m Max Hamilton.” He held out his hand. “We were never formally introduced.” “What’s going on, Emma?” Molly asked. I stood there and stared at my best friends from whom I never kept a secret. I didn’t expect this visit and they caught me off guard. “Come sit down and have some lasagna. I’ll explain everything, but first let me pour you a drink because you’re going to need it.” Max and I explained everything to them and I could tell they weren’t happy about the situation. The two of them glared at me from across the table, a glare that I came to know growing up. After dinner, Max helped clean up and then said his goodbyes to Molly and Kara. “It was lovely to finally meet the two of you officially this time.” He winked. He placed his thumb on my chin. “You owe me sex.” “I know. Sorry.” I pouted. “It’s all good. I’m glad your friends are here. Go catch up and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He walked out the door and as soon as I shut it, the girls were right behind me, grabbing my arms and dragging me to the couch. “What the fuck, Emma? How the hell are you going to pull this off?” Kara asked with concern. “It’s easy. After he collects his trust fund, I’m breaking off the engagement.” “That’s not what she meant,” Molly chimed. I looked at both of them as I narrowed one eye. “What are you talking about?” “I can already tell you’re falling in love with him if you aren’t already in love with him. I’ve never seen you like this before. You’re different. I saw it in the way you looked at him every time he spoke.” “You’re going to get hurt, Emma, and we’re worried for you.” Molly put her arm around me. “You’re both wrong. I don’t love Max. This is an agreement we have. There’s no love between us. Only amazing sex and friendship. We’re the friends-with-benefits couple and nothing else. I don’t have time for love or relationships and neither does he.” “If you say so, but we’re still worried,” Kara spoke. I grabbed the bottle of wine from the table and brought it over to the couch with our glasses. “Now, tell

me why the two of you are here.” Excitement overtook both of them at the same time as their faces displayed huge smiles. “We’re moving to New York!” Kara screamed. “You’re kidding, right? Because seriously, that’s not even funny if you’re joking.” Molly took hold of my hand. “No, Emma. We aren’t kidding around. We both have interviews tomorrow at a new hair salon that’s opening up over on Madison Avenue. They’re looking to hire ten new stylists. We miss you and Miami hasn’t been the same since you left and you know we’ve always wanted to see New York.” I could barely contain my excitement. Having my best friends, who were like sisters to me, with me in New York was like a dream come true. I missed them so much and the fun times we used to have. “Poor Aubrey. Now she’s going to be left all alone back in Miami.” Molly looked at me and gave me a big smile. “We were waiting for the best piece of news for last. She’s moving to New York too!” “WHAT?!” I screamed in excitement. “After she graduates in December, she has a job waiting for her at Lawson, Talbot, and Grimes Law Firm. She did a Skype interview with them and they hired her. She wanted to come here with us and tell you in person, but with her classes, she couldn’t.” I started jumping up and down because I was so happy. Then reality hit me. “What if you two don’t get the job at the salon?” “We already thought of that and it doesn’t matter. We’ll find jobs at one of these salons in New York or even Jersey.” Kara smiled. **** Kara and Molly stayed the night. I had to get up and go to class, so I left the extra key on the counter for them. As I walked to class, I dialed Aubrey. “Hello, my dearest best friend,” she answered. “I can’t believe you’re moving to New York in December and didn’t tell me!” She laughed. “I wanted to, but the other two goofballs wanted to do it in person. I’m so excited, Emma, and I’m ready to make a fresh start.”

“I am thrilled that we’re all going to be together. I just got to class, so I’ll talk to you later. Love you, Aubrey.” “Love you too, girly!” I couldn’t wait to introduce Hannah and Austin to my friends, as I was telling them all about the girls. During my last class, a text message came through from Max. “Dinner tonight. The four of us. I’ll pick you ladies up at seven o’clock and then you’re spending the night at my house. So pack a bag.” “What if I don’t want to spend the night?” “It’s not an option. You owe me sex and I’m ready to collect.” I smiled and rolled my eyes. “See you at seven.” He was becoming the most important person in my life very quickly. I knew that falling in love with him wasn’t an option, but it was too late and I knew he was falling for me. The question was: how were we going to continue our relationship after he collected his trust fund? When I arrived home and opened the door, Molly and Kara were huddled on the couch, watching Sex in the City with a pint of ice cream in their hands and two spoons. I set my purse down and sat in between them. “How did your interviews go?” “Great,” Kara spoke. “They said they’d let us know by the end of tomorrow.” “I’m keeping my fingers crossed for both of you! By the way, Max is picking us up at seven for dinner.” I took the spoon from Kara and dipped it in the ice cream. “Please tell me he has a brother,” Molly begged. “Sorry. He only has a nasty seventeen-year-old sister named Fiona. For some reason, that girl hates me.” “Friends, perhaps?” Kara smiled. “I never met any of his friends.” “That’s weird. Don’t you think you should?” I shrugged. “We have a three-month arrangement. He probably doesn’t want his friends involved.” I took one last bite of ice cream and got up from the couch to change for dinner. Kara and Molly

followed to do the same. At precisely seven o’clock, there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, Darren was standing there. “Come on in, Darren. We’re almost ready.” “Max informed me that your friends were in town and that you were forced to tell them about your ‘arrangement.’” “Yeah. But I trust them with my life, so I’m not worried. Molly. Kara. I would like you to meet Darren, Max’s driver.” “Nice to meet you, ladies.” Darren smiled. “Nice to meet you too, Darren,” they both chimed at the same time. We walked down to the car and I looked around because the only thing in front of the building was a limousine. “No Rolls today, Darren?” “Not today, Emma.” He winked as he opened the door. I slid in first, taking the seat next to Max. “Hey, good looking.” I smiled as I leaned over and kissed his lips. “Hey, beautiful.” He took my bag from me and set it down on the floor. “Hello, ladies.” Both girls blushed as they sat across from us. It wasn’t hard to do when one of the hottest and sexiest guys in the universe spoke to you. “Did you tell them about the engagement party?” “Umm. No.” “We would love if the two of you would join us Saturday night at our engagement party.” Molly frowned. “Engagement party? Isn’t that taking things a bit far?” “It’s my parents. They feel the need to show off to their friends.” “We’d love to come and celebrate your fake engagement.” Kara smiled. We drank, talked, and laughed as we ate dinner and I couldn’t have been more pleased at how well Max got along with my friends. I had visions of a future where we’d be sitting here with Kara and Molly and their boyfriends, laughing and having a good time. I had to have a little hope that when all was said and done at the end of three months, Max would love me enough to want to keep me in his life. After a

great dinner and conversation, we dropped the girls back at my apartment and I went home with Max where our first round of sex took place in the kitchen because we couldn’t make it up to the bedroom fast enough.

Chapter 12 “Good morning,” Max whispered as he kissed the side of my head. My hand ran down the front of his torso as I curled up closer to him, not wanting to leave his bed or his side. Our night of passion topped it all and my body was still reeling in the effects of the things he did to me. “Do you have to go to work?” “Unfortunately, I do. I have a meeting first thing. You don’t have classes today, so what are your plans?” His finger made tiny circles around my shoulder, sending me into a frenzy. “I’m going to show the girls around New York and then go shopping. I need to get a dress for our engagement party tomorrow.” “I’ll give Melanie a call over at Bergdorf’s and tell her to expect you. Whatever you find, put it on my account and don’t be shy about it. Understand me?” I looked up at him with a smile as I traced the outline of his lips. “Yes. I’ll go see Melanie at Bergdorf’s.” “Good. Now let me have that pussy before I get ready for work.” He rolled over and dipped his fingers inside me, ensuring that I was ready for him. And I was. I was always ready when he was around. **** “You must be Emma,” the tall redhead spoke. “Max described you to a tee.” “And you must be Melanie.” “If you ladies would like to come with me, I’ve pulled some dresses for you all to try on.” “Us?” Kara asked in shock. “Yes. Max said the three of you will be needing dresses for an event tomorrow.” Molly grabbed my arm. “He’s buying us dresses too?” “I guess so.” “I think I’m officially in love with him,” Kara swooned.

I put up the hand with my engagement ring on it. “Back off, bitches. He’s mine.” I laughed. I tried on the first couple of dresses and sent a picture to Max, asking what he thought. “What do you think of this one?” “I’m not sure. Why don’t you step outside the dressing room and show me.” My belly fluttered at the thought that he was right outside the dressing room. I pulled back the curtain and stepped out, only to find Max sitting in the chair, staring at me. “What are you doing here? I thought you had to work?” “I had a few moments to spare, so I thought I’d come here and see what you girls were up to.” “Well?” I asked as I did a little spin. “It looks great on you, but I don’t think it’s the right dress for the party.” I walked back into the dressing room and slipped into a long, off-white silk strapless gown embellished with beads around the waistline and knew instantly it was the one. I smiled before stepping out and showing Max. “Wow. You look sexy as fuck in that dress.” He smiled. Molly and Kara took one look at me and their mouths dropped. “That’s the one, Emma.” “I know. I do love it.” Max got up from the chair and walked over to me, placing his hand on my waist and kissing my cheek. “I have to go. I love that dress. I’ll talk to you later.” “Are we hanging out tonight?” I asked. “Nah. You spend the night with your friends. I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Okay,” I said with a bit of sadness. I sighed as he walked away. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain inside because I so badly wanted to see him later. Not only for sex because my body craved his, but because I loved spending time with him. Molly and Kara found the perfect dresses and Melanie was going to have them delivered to the apartment tomorrow morning. “Are you seeing Max tonight?” Kara asked. “No. He told me to hang with you guys and he’ll see me tomorrow.” “So what should we do tonight? It’s a Friday night in New York City.” Molly smiled.

Kara had her nose buried in her phone as she let out a small scream. “How far is Bowery Ballroom from your apartment?” “I don’t know. Why?” “Guess who’s playing there tonight?” “Who?” Molly asked in suspense. “High Five!” “Shut the fuck up! That indie band from Miami?” “Yes! Looks like we’re going to see them tonight, ladies!” Molly expressed. “The lead singer, Lucas, is so hot. I think he had a thing for you, Emma.” “He did not.” I waved my hand. Kara hooked her arm in mine. “So him buying you every drink that night in Miami didn’t mean anything?” “Please. I’m sure he buys all the girls drinks.” “He didn’t buy ours.” Molly frowned. **** Getting ready to go out, Kara squealed as her phone rang. It was the salon calling. After hanging up, she jumped up and down, saying she got the job, and they wanted her to start in two weeks. Not too long after, Molly received the same call. “This calls for some serious celebrating tonight!” Kara announced. I was so excited that my friends had secured jobs and they would moving to New York City. I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Max. “Guess what? Molly and Kara got the jobs at the salon!” I set my phone down and finished doing my hair and makeup. He never replied. I slipped into my slimfitting black jeans and my new black embellished trapeze cami. As I took one last look in the mirror, I put on my black four-inch heel strappy sandals and grabbed my clutch, ready to let loose to the music from the band, High Five. As the cab dropped us off in front of the Bowery Ballroom, we stepped inside and took note of the crowd of people hovering in front of the stage, waiting for the show to start. Off to the side was a private

seating area where I saw a familiar face. Ugh, it was Fiona. She stood up when she saw me and walked over. “Hey,” she spoke. “Hey, Fiona. I would like you to meet my friends, Molly and Kara. This is Max’s sister, Fiona.” Surprisingly, she gave them a friendly smile and then proceeded to ask me a question. “You like High Five?” “Yeah. We saw them a couple of times in Miami. Great band.” “They’re one of my favorites. I can’t believe you know of them. That’s pretty cool.” “If you play your cards right, little sister, maybe Emma can introduce you to the lead singer.” Molly smiled. “What? You know Lucas Wayne?” “We talked a few times after the shows back in Miami.” “Oh my God. That is so awesome. Hey, there’s an extra table next to mine if you’d like to sit there.” “You mean in the private section?” I asked in confusion as to why she was suddenly being so nice. “Yeah. When I found out they were coming to New York, I reserved a couple of tables. The Hamilton name can get you anything.” “Thanks, Fiona. That’s very sweet of you.” We followed her to the black table and chairs that sat on the side of the stage. “Best seats in the house.” She smiled. She introduced me to her posse and she picked up a glass of wine. “You’re not twenty-one. How did you get that?” “Like I said, the Hamilton name can get you anything.” Kara, Molly, and I took our seats at the next table and ordered our own drinks. Fiona and her friends looked way older than seventeen and it made me wonder if her parents or Max knew she was here. As Kara and Molly got up to go find the restroom, Fiona sat down next to me. “Hey, I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch to you. I know your engagement to Max is fake and I didn’t want to like you and then you disappear.”

I was stunned. “Our engagement isn’t fake. Why would you say that?” “I’m not stupid, Emma. I know my brother, and he will never settle down. He’s doing this to get his trust fund.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I began to get nervous. “It’s okay. I won’t say anything to anyone, and if he truly loved you and was going to marry you, why would he have taken Christine to the ballet tonight?” I couldn’t comprehend what she had said because a feeling of hurt washed over me. “He went to the ballet tonight?” “You didn’t know?” She pulled out her phone and showed me a picture she secretly took of the two of them leaving his apartment building. He was dressed in a tux and she was in a long red gown. “Does he know you took that?” “No. I had Lizzy’s driver stop by there on the way here so I could pick up a bracelet that I’d left there a couple of weeks ago, and that’s when I saw him and Christine leaving. I saw the tickets sitting on his kitchen counter and I assumed he was taking you.” “So who is this Christine?” I asked. “A girl he’s dated on and off. I’m sorry, Emma.” I put on my fake smile. “Don’t be sorry. You’re right, I’m doing Max a favor and, in return, he’s helping me out. Please don’t tell anyone and please don’t tell him you saw me here tonight.” “I won’t. Don’t worry and your secret is safe with me. I love my brother and I hate what my parents have done to make him do this. Max is an amazing guy and brother, but he just can’t settle for one girl. I guess you could say he takes after our dad. I’m sure he’s told you about my dad’s affairs.” “Yeah. He’s mentioned it.” Kara and Molly arrived back at the table just in time for the opening band to start playing. Fiona went back to her table and I sat there, upset and jealous that Max took that girl to the ballet instead of me. He broke our rule of not seeing anyone until our engagement was over. That sorry son of a bitch. Now I was pissed as hell. I slipped my ring off my finger and put it in my purse. The opening band ended and, finally, High Five took the stage. We all stood up from our seats in the private seating area and started shouting and waving our hands. Wow, did Lucas look good up there. He had on a pair of dark wash jeans and a black muscle shirt that showed off his muscular arms. His brown hair, which had once been longer, was now cut short on the sides with a longer top that he swept over to

the side, enhancing his already dreamy brown eyes. He ran across the stage as he sang the first song. Once the song was over, he and the band talked to the crowd, telling us how awesome New York City is. Fiona stood on her chair and screamed his name. When he turned to look at her, his eyes met mine and a wide smile splayed across his face. He pointed at me and winked. Molly reached over and grabbed my arm in excitement. “This next song is a song I wrote after spending a few hours with a girl named Emma. It’s called “Whoever She Is.” He strummed his guitar. The crowd went crazy. Fiona ran over to me. “Oh my effin’ God! That is one of my favorite songs and he wrote that about you!” she screamed. I took the last sip of my mojito as he sang the rest of the song. Ten songs later and their performance was finally over. As soon as they exited off the stage, one of the security guys walked up to me. “Are you Emma?” “Yes.” “Lucas would like to see you in the back. He said to bring your friends too.” “Here we go again.” Kara smiled. I looked over at Fiona, who had practically stopped breathing, and hooked my arm around her. “Wanna hang out with us?” “Really?” she asked in excitement. “Yeah.” I smiled as we were led to the back of the lounge and into a large room. When we walked through the door, Lucas turned and looked at me. “Hello, Emma.” “Hello, Lucas. You remember my friends Kara and Molly?” “Of course. Wasn’t there one more?” I laughed. “Yeah. That would be Aubrey. She’s back in Miami. I would love for you to meet my friend, Fiona Hamilton. She’s a huge fan.” He took her hand and brought it up to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. I thought Fiona was going to pass out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Fiona. Would you ladies like to join us down on the first level for a few drinks? On me, of course.”

We followed the band down to the first level, where we were seated at a large table. Lucas signaled for the bartender, ordering us a round of drinks for the adults and cokes for Fiona and her friends. “What a surprise seeing you here in New York, Emma.” “I live here now. I’m attending Parsons School of Design.” “Very cool.” He smiled. We sat and talked for a couple of hours and, a few drinks later, I was really feeling the alcohol. “Would you like to come back to the hotel with us?” The offer was tempting and, for a split second, I thought about it. If Max could break the rules, then so could I. “She’s engaged to my brother,” Fiona proudly spoke. Lucas looked at me and tilted his head. “You’re engaged?” Thank you, Fiona. “Yeah.” I looked down. “Where’s your ring?” I reached in my purse, pulled it out, and then slipped it on my finger. “It’s a little big and I didn’t want to lose it.” He narrowed his eyes at me as his lips slowly parted. “I see.” God, he was sexy and I could see Fiona swooning over him and his band members. “How would you like to perform at Emma and Max’s engagement party tomorrow night?” Fiona asked. I just about had a heart attack as I shot her a look. What the fuck was she doing? “We charge a fee for performance,” Lucas said. “Whatever your fee is, I’ll pay double.” She smiled. “How old are you?” Lucas slyly asked. “I’m seventeen, soon to be eighteen, and I’m very wealthy, so money isn’t a problem.” Lucas looked at her with a grin on his face. “I think we’d love to perform tomorrow. Give me the address and time and we’ll be there.” Great. Fuck me right now. “We have to go, Lucas. Thank you for tonight.” I got up and grabbed Fiona by the arm. “Let’s go.”

“See you tomorrow, Emma.” He winked. We walked out the doors and I stopped and looked at Fiona. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” “What? They’re a great band and you love them, so why shouldn’t they play at your engagement party? Think about it, Emma. It would piss my parents off to no end and think of Max’s reaction. Wouldn’t you love to get a rise out of him, especially after taking Christine to the ballet tonight instead of you, his fiancée?” “I don’t play games like that, Fiona.” “I do, and trust me, this will be good.” Before she stepped into her limo, she turned and looked at me. “By the way, this so-called engagement is a game.” She climbed in and shut the door. Molly hailed us a cab and Kara put her hand on my shoulder. “That girl is something else for a seventeen-year-old. You better watch out for her.” I sighed as we rode back to the apartment.

Chapter 13 Fuck. Another hangover plagued me as I opened my eyes to my phone beeping. I reached over and grabbed it, noticing a text message from Max. “Where the fuck were you last night and who the hell is that guy you’re with? My sister posted a pic of you and him on Instagram.” Wow. Really, Max? He goes to the ballet with some skank and he has the nerve to question me? As angry as I was, I didn’t want to start an argument with him on the day of our engagement party. I didn’t owe him an explanation. It was none of his fucking business where I was or what I did. He broke the rules, not me. I didn’t reply. About an hour later, there was knock on the front door. Shit. I knew it was him. I climbed out of bed in my silk nightshirt and stumbled across the apartment. As soon as I opened the door, Max came barreling in. “You didn’t answer my text message!” he shouted. “Will you be quiet? The girls are still asleep.” He stood there, looking sexy as fuck and slowly shaking his head at me. The anger that consumed me was quickly being replaced by my desire for him. Shit. Shit. Shit. I knew what was about to happen. I could see the hunger in his eyes. “Damn you, Emma.” He walked over to me and smashed his mouth into mine, cupping each side of my face with his hands. I jumped up and wrapped my legs around him as he held me up and carried me to the bedroom, kicking the door shut with his foot. He lay me on the bed and I scooted up, laying my head on the pillow as he pulled his shirt over his head and his jeans off, kicking them to the side. He stood at the end of the bed and reached up under my nightshirt, grabbing the sides of my panties and pulling them down. My eyes closed as his tongue slid up my inner thigh, teasing me and begging for more as the warmth of his breath enveloped my aching sweet spot that was filled with lust and desire for him. The wetness of his lips grazed over my clit as his fingers imprisoned my insides. Soft, sweet moans escaped him as his mouth pleasured me beyond words. The buildup was happening as my hands planted themselves on each side of his face, holding him down there until I climaxed. As much as I wanted to scream from the gratification of his talented mouth, I couldn’t because of Molly and Kara. My body tightened as my release came and I threw my head back in delight. His tongue embarked on a journey up my torso while his hands pushed up my nightshirt, exposing my breasts. Grasping the left one with his hand, his mouth worshiped my entire right breast before his lips clamped around my hardened peak,

nibbling and suckling before he moved over to the next one. I wanted to touch him and feel his hardness in my hand before he fucked me. He scooted up closer so his mouth was hovering over mine as he looked into my eyes before softly kissing me. Reaching down and taking hold of his cock, I moved my hand firmly up and down his length as he gasped while I ran my thumb over the slickness of his engorged head. “I want you to ride me,” he whispered as he rolled over and pulled me on top of him, slowly pushing himself inside of me. I inhaled deeply as I sat up, driving him deeper inside of me. His fingers took hold of the bottom of my nightshirt and he slowly lifted it over my head, exposing my entire naked body to his eyes. As I moved in small, tight motions on his cock, his hands kneaded my breasts and tugged at my nipples before he pulled me down and took them in his mouth. The buildup was happening as I sat up and planted my hand firmly on his chest while I circled my hips and then moved back and forth, causing him to throw his head back. Grabbing my hips and holding me in place, he lifted himself and thrust in and out of me as fast as he could, sending me to the peak of another orgasm. Panting, and with my heart racing, I released myself on him as he released himself inside of me, pushing deeper with one last long stroke. I collapsed on top him and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. As our breathing calmed, I rolled off of him and turned on my side, facing him, stroking his bare muscular chest. He looked at me and kissed my head, lifting his arm up around me and pulling me into him. “I want to know where you were last night,” he spoke. I lifted myself out of his grip and got up and put on a new pair of panties. “How was your date with Christine?” I asked as I slipped on my nightshirt. He placed his hands behind his head and glared at me. “How was the ballet, Max?” As I stared at him from the end of the bed, he bit his bottom lip. “How did you know?” “It doesn’t matter how I knew. You broke our agreement.” I walked out of the bedroom and headed to the kitchen for some coffee. He followed behind in only his jeans. Kara and Molly were sitting at the table, staring at us. I watched as their mouths dropped to the floor as they stared at Max. “Don’t get smart with me. Who was that guy?” “And who the fuck is Christine?!” I yelled in his face.

Kara and Molly got up. “We’ll leave you two alone so you can argue in peace.” I rolled my eyes as Max said good morning to them. “You ditched me last night so you could take another woman to the ballet. You suck, Max. You really suck!” He poured himself some coffee, because I refused to get him some, and sat down on the stool. “I’m sorry, Emma. I bought the tickets before I met you and I told her that I’d take her. What kind of man would I be to suddenly tell her that I changed my mind?” “The fucking kind of man who has the balls to tell her that he has a fiancée!” “Why would I do that? It’s not even a real engagement. Now who was that guy you were with and why were you with my sister?” I didn’t feel like I owed him any explanation at all, but I couldn’t stand arguing with him anymore, so I caved. “His name is Lucas and he’s the lead singer of a band from Miami called High Five. We had seen them a couple of times in Miami and, after the show, we chatted. When we found out they were playing last night, we went and your sister was there with her girlfriends. She showed me the picture of you and Christine. Apparently, she left her bracelet at your apartment and when she stopped by to get it, she saw you coming out of the building with her. And by the way, she knows our engagement isn’t real.” “What? What the fuck!” he yelled. “Don’t worry about her. She won’t tell your parents because she feels sorry for you. Anyway, your sister loves the band and I introduced her to them. We all sat around after the show and we talked. Your sister must have taken our picture, but I don’t remember her doing it.” He looked away from me as his jaw moved back and forth. He was so angry but had no right to be. “Did you fuck her last night?” I boldly asked. His eyes looked into mine as he cocked his head. “Did you fuck him last night?” “No, because I’m not a whore. Contrary to what you might believe, Mr. Hamilton. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want you to leave my apartment!” “I didn’t fuck her, Emma. I just took her to the ballet. I was home by eleven o’clock, alone.” “You know what, Max. I don’t give a rat’s ass anymore what you do. We have two more months of this arrangement. Let’s just try to be civil to each other long enough to get through it.”

“Why are you so upset? Just explain that to me,” he softly spoke. “Because you lied to me. You didn’t tell me where you were going or that you’d be going with another woman. We had an agreement not to see other people as long as we were in this so-called fake relationship.” “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie to you. But this is the exact reason why I can’t be tied down in a relationship. Nobody tells me what I can and can’t do. I’m the only one who makes that decision. No one else.” My heart ached something fierce and tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t let him see me about to cry over him. I wouldn’t give him the power or the satisfaction. “You’re right, Max, and I apologize. The same goes for me. No one will ever question what I do. I will never allow it.” He walked over and wrapped his arms around me from behind, burying his face into my neck. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to argue with you. I’ll be by to pick you up around six o’clock for the party, okay?” I nodded my head. He pressed his lips against my neck and walked into the bedroom to gather the rest of his clothes and then walked out the door while I stood looking out the window. “Are you okay?” Molly asked with concern. “What the fuck did I get myself into?” I broke down and all the tears that I held back when Max was here suddenly fell down my face. Kara walked over and hugged me. “You were doing it for the right reason. You didn’t expect to fall in love with him.” “How can anyone not fall in love with him? I mean, look at him, for fuck sake. Every time he’s near me, I have an orgasm.” Molly and Kara both laughed. “I think we know what you mean. He obviously has some deep issues, Emma, which stem from his father and his behavior. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think it’s best that you don’t get any further involved with him. He can’t be saved unless he wants to be and, from the sounds of it, he doesn’t want to be.” I swallowed hard because everything Kara said was true, but if he didn’t have feelings for me, then why did he act like that over Lucas? “I’m going back to bed. I’m too tired to deal with the subject of Max anymore.” I walked back to my

room and climbed into the bed that smelled like him and pulled the covers over me. Fuck! I climbed out of bed and grabbed the throw that sat on the chair in my room and took it out to the couch. Kara and Molly were in the kitchen. “I thought you were going to bed?” Molly asked. “I can’t sleep in that bed with his smell all over it.” I pulled the throw over me as I lay down on the couch and fell asleep.

Chapter 14

Molly finished putting the final touches on my hair as I looked at the clock. It was five minutes until six o’clock. “There. Now slip into that beautiful dress.” She smiled. I went to my closet and pulled out the dress that was delivered earlier while I was sleeping. It looked just as beautiful as it did yesterday. Just as I put it on, there was a knock at the door. “Can one of you get that? It’s Darren. Tell him I’ll be ready soon.” As I slipped my feet into my new shoes, Max walked into the bedroom. “My God, you look beautiful.” He smiled as I turned around. My heart started racing from nerves because of our fight this morning, and I wasn’t quite ready to see him yet. “Thanks.” I turned away. “I bought you something.” Max walked over and handed me a long blue velvet box. “You shouldn’t have.” “Just open it, Emma.” As I took the box from his hand, I noticed it was from Tiffany’s. I lifted the top and inside sat a beautiful diamond butterfly pendant on a silver chain. “Max. It’s beautiful.” He took the box from my hands and removed the necklace from it, placing it around my neck as I stared in the mirror. “The butterfly is a symbol of transformation. We all have different stages in our life where we transform and, in order to get to the next stage, we have to go through changes that will shape us into who we will be next. She represents faith, and as she flits among the flowers, she dances. I always want you to dance, Emma. Promise me you’ll never stop dancing.” Chills ran up and down my spine as he spoke and a tear filled my eye. “Thank you, Max. It’s truly beautiful.” He turned me around and swept the back of his hand across my cheek. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t

mean to be such a dick.” “Apology accepted.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “We better get going or my mom is going to go into a fit of rage if we’re late.” The four of us climbed into the limo that Martin was driving. “Where’s Darren?” I whispered in Max’s ear. “He has the night off.” He winked. We arrived at his parents’ house and as soon as we walked in, everyone began to clap. “There they are!” Carol exclaimed. “Our happy little couple has finally arrived.” I smiled as she and Bradshaw gave me a light hug and introduced them to Kara and Molly. The house was filled with floral arrangements of white dahlias and pink roses. Soft music was playing in every room and guests were mixing and mingling amongst each other. Max grabbed a glass of champagne from the waiter that passed by and handed it to me. “You are simply stunning. I love that dress.” Carol smiled as she grabbed my hands and held them. “Come on. I’m anxious to show you off to all my friends.” After meeting a room full of people that I’d never see again, Fiona walked up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. “They’ll be here soon.” She smiled. “I’m so excited I can barely stand it.” “Who will be here soon?” Max asked as he looked at his sister. “You’ll see.” She smirked and walked away. “What the fuck is she up to?” I wasn’t about to get in the middle of that one, so I graciously excused myself to the bathroom. As I walked down the hallway, I heard moaning noises coming from the room across from the bathroom. If I remembered correctly, it was Bradshaw’s office. After I finished in the bathroom and opened the door, I was startled by the woman that opened the door across the hall. She stopped and her eyes widened when she saw me. I happened to glance over her shoulder and I could see Bradshaw buttoning up his pants. I looked down and continued to walk back to where all the guests were. Max took hold of my arm and whispered in my ear. “Your band has arrived.”

“They aren’t my band and I had nothing to do with it. Your sister paid for them to play here tonight.” Max walked away with an anger in his eyes and I was completely confused as to what the fuck was going on in his head. I grabbed another glass of champagne as I shook it off and found Kara, Molly, and Fiona talking to Lucas. “Well, hello there, pretty lady.” He smiled as he looked me up and down. Max walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “Hey, baby.” “Max, I would like you to meet Lucas, lead singer of High Five.” “Hey. You’re a very lucky man to be marrying this beautiful woman. We met back in Miami.” “I know I am. I fell in love with her from the moment I saw her.” “Not hard to do, man.” This was awkward and I was very uncomfortable. Suddenly, Bradshaw called for everyone’s attention. “Carol and I would like to make a toast to the future Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton. We are so proud that our son has finally found the love of his life and wants to settle down. Much like I have the love of my life standing by my side. We have created a beautiful family and a successful family business, and we couldn’t ask for anything more. Emma is lovely and I do believe my son has made an outstanding choice. To Max and Emma. May your love be as eternal as ours is.” I wanted to throw up. Actually, I felt like I could have at that moment. That man was so full of bullshit he made my stomach turn. I looked over to the left and noticed the girl that I saw coming out of his office watching him. “Who is that girl over there with the blonde hair?” I asked Max. “That’s Rosalina, one of the interns at the office. Why?” “Is she the one?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. “No. Michelle isn’t here tonight.” I’ll be damned. He’s screwing two interns. I didn’t want to say anything to Max because he was upset enough about Michelle. “Why did you ask about Rosalina?” “No reason. She just keeps staring at me. That’s all.” Max leaned closer to my ear. “Maybe she thinks you’re hot.”

“Maybe we could have a threesome,” I whispered back. “You would actually do that?” I placed my hand on his chest. “Only in your dreams, Max.” The band began to play and I could see the excitement bursting out of Fiona. “I saw the way he looked at you,” Max spoke. “Who?” “Lucas. I think he wants you.” “I think he does too. He certainly made no secret about it back in Miami. I think once our engagement has come to an end, I’ll give him a call.” I could see the anger wash over Max’s face. “He’ll use you.” “Isn’t that what you’re doing?” I walked away with a grin on my face. Max took hold of my arm and led me inside the house. “What are you doing?” “You’ll see.” He took me upstairs to his old bedroom and shut the door, locking it behind him. He grabbed my wrists and held them above my head as his mouth crashed into mine and I fell back against the wall. His kiss was feral and exciting but full of anger. “Do you want me to fuck you up against this wall?” I stared into his beautiful eyes as he stared back, waiting for my answer. I swallowed hard. “Yes.” “Are you sure? Or do you want him to fuck you?” “You.” “Say it,” he growled as he lifted my dress, pulled down my panties, and then unbuttoned his pants, letting them fall down to his ankles. “I want you to fuck me right now.” My dress was getting in the way, so he let go of my wrists and turned me around so he could unzip it. As soon as it fell to the ground, he turned me around, leaning against me and pinning my wrists above my head with one hand.

“I wanted to fuck you from behind, but then I wouldn’t be able to watch you bite that beautiful lip when I make you come all over me.” He thrust deep and hard inside of me and I gasped. He brought my leg up around his waist as he moved sharply in and out of me, moaning in pleasure. I lifted my other leg and wrapped them both around him as he let go of my wrists and held me up while he pounded into me like an animal, bringing me to a magnificent orgasm. “That’s right, baby. Come for me and only me. I know you love it when I fuck you like this.” His lips brushed over mine as he pushed deeper inside me and filled me up with his come. “For now, you’re mine,” he whispered in my ear. He set me down and pulled out of me, bending down and pulling up his pants. He handed me my panties and my dress. “We better get back out there before people notice we’re gone and come looking for us.” I slipped on my panties and my dress and asked him to zip me up. “Would it be so bad that they knew we just fucked in your room? After all, isn’t perception everything?” I wiped my lips and walked out of the bedroom. From this day forth, I wasn’t going to play the emotion game anymore. Max Hamilton wanted nothing more than a physical relationship and that was what he was going to get. It was time I prepared myself for the day he walked out of my life.

Chapter 15 “I’m going to miss you,” I whined as I hugged Molly and Kara at the airport. “We’ll be back in less than two weeks and then the hunt is on for an apartment.” “If you want, I can start looking for you. It’s not like I have anything better to do.” Kara gave me a soft smile as she grabbed my hand. “Are you sure Max won’t stay after your arrangement is over?” “Yeah. I’m positive. I don’t know what his plans are and I don’t want to know. He has deep-rooted family issues and he has no intentions of settling with me. I can’t go through the emotional pain of hoping we have a future. It’s not fair to me.” “You’re right. Just hang in there, Emma. We’ll be back soon and then we’ll get your mind off of him.” I gave them each one last hug and waved goodbye as they went through security. I sighed as I hailed a cab back to my apartment. I put on my workout clothes and went down to the gym and jumped on the treadmill. As I was running, I couldn’t help but think about last night. The party was okay, but the best part was what took place in Max’s bedroom. The hunger he had for me when I told him that maybe I would contact Lucas after we split up was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I could tell he was jealous and didn’t want to hear of another man. But was he jealous enough to keep me? Could his jealousy overrule his non-commitment issues? Before I knew it, I had been running on the treadmill for over an hour. I was sweaty and desperately needed a shower. I grabbed the towel and wiped my face as I walked back up to my apartment. I turned on the hot water and let it run for a minute before stepping into the shower. I looked in the mirror and placed my finger on the butterfly pendant Max gave me. The words he spoke haunted me. “I always want you to dance, Emma. Promise me you’ll never stop dancing.” I didn’t think too much about it when he said it to me because I was overwhelmed and we were running late for the party. But after settling into bed last night, it was all I heard. I didn’t tell Molly or Kara what he said because they’d make a big deal about it. My feeling was that he gave it to me to keep as a memory of him and the times we spent together after he was gone. Just as I was stepping into the shower, my phone rang and it was my mom. I’d call her back after I was finished with my shower. If she only knew what the hell I was involved in, she’d be mortified. I stepped out of the shower and put on a pair of yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt. It was seven

o’clock and I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. I hadn’t heard from Max all day and I was feeling a bit lonely without Molly and Kara. I heated up a couple slices of leftover pizza, poured a glass of wine, and called my mom. “Hey, honey. How are you?” When I heard her voice, tears came to my eyes. I missed her. “I’m okay, Mom. How are you?” “I’m good. Is something wrong? You sound down.” The lump in my throat was getting worse because I just wanted to break down to her, but I didn’t want her to worry. “I’m fine. Kara and Molly left today, so I’m just feeling a little down.” “Aw, sweetheart. Haven’t you made any new friends yet?” “Yeah. I have. I’m just a little homesick.” “How are the men in New York City? Have you met anyone special yet?” “No. I really don’t have time for that right now with school.” “You have to have some fun, Emma. When is Macy coming back?” “Next week, I think.” “That’s good. Then you won’t be so lonely. Listen, baby girl, I have to go. We’re just on our way out to dinner. I love you and I’ll talk to you soon.” “Bye, Mom.” As I poured another glass of wine, there was a knock at the door. The only person it could have been was Max and, frankly, I wasn’t in the mood to see him. I got up and looked out the peephole and was shocked when I saw Fiona standing there. “Fiona, hi. What are you doing here?” “I didn’t know where else to go and I can’t go home.” She was totally wasted. She stumbled through the door and I grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling over. “You’re drunk.”

“Very observant.” She smiled. “Did something happen?” “Life,” she slurred. I took her over to the couch and made her sit down. I grabbed my wine glass from the table as I saw her reach for it. “You’re so pretty, Emma. I really wish Max would marry you for real. Can I spend the night?” “Of course you can, but why don’t you tell me what happened?” “Carol and Bradshaw Hamilton. That’s what happened. I’m sick of them trying to control my life and pretending we’re the perfect little happy family while my father is out fucking women who are barely out of high school. I hate them, Emma. They’re such hypocrites.” I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her as she cried. “I’m going to be sick. Where’s the bathroom?” “Around the corner. First door on your right.” I jumped up as she leaped off the couch with her hand over her mouth. I heard my phone beep and there was a text message from Max. “Fiona left home and I can’t find her anywhere. My parents are worried sick. You haven’t by chance heard from her, have you?” “She’s at my place.” “I’m on my way.” “No, Max. I don’t think she wants to see anyone.” “She’s my sister, Emma.” I sighed and walked into the bathroom. “Max is on his way over.” “You called him?” she cried. “No. He just texted me and asked me if I heard from you because you left home and your parents are worried about you. Just talk to him. If anyone understands, he does. I promise you don’t have to leave with him. You can still stay here.” Not too long after his text message, there was a knock on the door. I opened it and Max walked right in.

“Where is she?” “In the bathroom, throwing up. She’s drunk.” “Fuck!” He started to walk towards the bathroom. I grabbed his arm and he looked at me in shock. “Don’t yell at her. She’s hurting right now and needs your support. I mean it, Max.” He shook his head and went into the bathroom. I followed. He bent down and rubbed her back while I ran a washcloth under warm water and then headed to the kitchen to make some coffee. A few moments later, Max led his sister over to the couch and put his arm around her while they talked. “I told Fiona that she could stay here tonight.” “Thanks, Emma, but I’ll bring her home with me.” “But I want to stay with Emma.” I handed her a cup of coffee. “It’s fine, Max. Let her stay.” “I’ll call my parents and let her know she’s safe here with you.” “I’ll leave the two of you alone to talk. I’ll be in my room.” About an hour later, Max walked into my room and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Thanks for helping her out and letting her stay here.” “No problem. How is she?” “Passed out on the couch. I told her that I don’t condone her drinking like that at her age and she told me to fuck off.” He chuckled. “We were seventeen once.” He sighed. “We sure were. Did Molly and Kara get off okay?” “Yep.” “Is that all you can say?” His lips were dangerously close to mine. “Uh huh.” His scent lured me in. As much as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t. Our lips softly touched as he brought his hand up to my cheek. “I can’t stop thinking about last night.” “Yep.”

He smiled as he brushed his lips against mine and gently took my bottom lip between his teeth. His hand latched onto my breast as our kiss became more passionate. “I want to bury my cock deep inside you right now.” I struggled for air because that was what he did to me. He somehow had a way of taking my breath away when he was near. “I want to press my naked body against yours and feel the softness of your skin. All day, I’ve been thinking about how good it feels when your pussy is wrapped around my cock.” He stood up, kicked off his shoes, and removed his shirt and pants. I lifted my t-shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor as he hooked his thumbs into the sides of my yoga pants and panties and pulled them off. Climbing under the covers, Max joined me in bed and turned on his side, running his hand down my body and latching onto my breast with his mouth as his fingers dipped inside me. I took in a sharp breath while my hands ran through his hair. I threw my head back as his tongue slid up the flesh of my neck and his fingers manipulated my insides, hitting all the right spots that geared my body up for the ultimate orgasm. My breathing was shallow and my body was on fire. He placed his thumb on my clit and mastered the small circular motion that drove me insane. “God, I can’t wait to be inside of you and feel the warmth of your pussy. Come for me, baby. I won’t stop until you come.” I moaned softly and pressed my lips against his as my body seized with the fiery orgasm that took over my entire body, making my toes curl. “I love it when you come so fierce like that. You have no idea how much it turns me on.” He removed his fingers and flipped me over, spreading my legs as he thrust in and out of me while grabbing my ass and squeezing with such a grip that I was about to have another orgasm. His hands grasped my hips and pulled me up so I was on my hands and knees, taking me with long, deep strokes. He groaned as one hand reached around and firmly took hold of my breast, tugging at my hardened nipple, enhancing the sexual pleasure and sending me overboard as the wave was at its peak. I let out a low moan while saying his name as my legs tightened. His movements slowed as he pushed in deeper and moaned as he released himself inside of me. Once he finished, he brought his lips to my back and softly planted small, erotic kisses up and down it. I lowered my head in exhaustion as he pulled out of me and rolled on his back, trying to catch his breath. “Come here.” He held out his arm, motioning for me to snuggle against his warm and muscular chest. I lay there, wrapped in his arms, thinking about how soon this would all be over; the feeling of security and the feeling of being wanted and needed.

“Will you stay the night?” I asked. “I really can’t, Emma. I have to be up and out early for a meeting tomorrow.” He kissed the side of my head, as if that would make me feel better. I wiggled out of this grip and climbed out of bed. “Where are you going?” “I’m going to take a shower. You can let yourself out.” I walked in the bathroom and locked the door from behind. Having sex with him was getting to be too much and, being a woman, my emotions were taking over. I turned on the shower so I couldn’t hear if he talked to me. Once I finished, I stepped out, wrapped a towel around me, opened the bathroom door, and he was gone. The only thing I saw were the rumpled sheets from where I just had the most incredible sex with a man that I was falling in love with. A man that couldn’t love me in return.

Chapter 16 Over the next week, I kept myself busy between school, projects, and apartment hunting for Kara and Molly. Max hadn’t bothered to call or text me all week and I didn’t really care. As I was on my home from the library, I received a phone call from Macy. “Oh my God, Macy. How are you?” “I’m good. Where are you? I’m home!” Excitement ran through me as the cab pulled up in front of the apartment building. “I’m on my way up right now! I can’t wait to see you.” “Hurry and get up here.” As soon as I stepped off the elevator, Macy was standing in the doorway with the door open. We both squealed as I threw down my bag and hugged her. “Welcome home. It’s so good to see you!” “It’s good to see you too. Now get in here and tell me what’s been going on. I stopped on the way home and picked us up some grilled chicken salads and a bottle of wine. I hope you’re hungry.” “I’m starving,” I replied. Macy looked really good. She hadn’t changed a bit since I saw her last year back in Miami. Her blonde hair was still long and straight and she was as skinny as ever. We met three years ago when her mom started working at the diner with my mom. I was in there having lunch one day and she walked in and we got to talking and hit it off right away. She moved to New York a few months later to pursue her modeling career and we kept in touch almost every day. Our friendship grew and when I told her my plans to attend Parsons, she told me to come and stay at her place for as long as I wanted to. “So, tell me what’s been going on in your life since I’ve been away.” “Ugh. So much has happened you’re not even going to believe it. We have a mutual friend here in New York.” “Really?” She smiled. “Who?” “Max Hamilton.”

“How do you know Max? He tried hitting on me a few times when I had parties here.” “I believe it. Anyway, I’m engaged to him.” I felt bad for just blurting it out because she spit out her wine all over the table. Her eyes widened as she looked at me. “WHAT?! How? Max Hamilton doesn’t settle. He’s one of New York’s most eligible playboys. He’s right up there with Collin Black.” “Who?” I asked. “Another fucking hottie. But, anyway, how the hell did you snag Max Hamilton?” I explained to her the entire story and I knew she wouldn’t tell anyone. We had shared many secrets over the last three years and I knew things about her that would have made people’s head spin. “I’m speechless, Emma. I don’t know what to say. But I do understand where both of you are coming from and I completely understand why you agreed to it. I’m just really sorry that Parsons did that to you.” “Me too. My life would be completely different if they hadn’t taken back that loan.” “Are you falling for him?” she asked. I looked down. “Aw, sweetie. You are.” She reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “There’s something I need to tell you. The modeling agency is moving me to Paris.” “Oh my God! That’s wonderful. I’d love to live in Paris.” “Thanks. I’m pretty excited about it. They want me to leave next week and they’re selling the apartment, so I’m afraid you’ll have to move.” Panic settled in. Where was I going to go? I couldn’t afford an apartment on my own. I didn’t have a job yet. Shit. “No problem. I’ve been looking at apartments for Kara and Molly anyway and I’ve seen a few that I liked. I’m so happy for you, but it sucks because you just got home and now you’re moving away in a week.” “I know, sweetie. I’m sorry.” I stood up and gave her a hug. “Don’t be sorry. This is an amazing opportunity for you.” “Maybe you can stay with Max.” She smiled.

“Umm. No. That wouldn’t work out too well.” I laughed. We cleaned up, talked some more, and then headed off to bed. She’d had a long flight and was jet lagged, and I needed to call Molly and Kara and figure out what to do. **** The next day after class let out, I resumed my apartment hunt. I heard my phone ringing and I pulled it from my purse to see that Max was calling. I sighed. “Hello.” “Hey. What are you doing?” “Apartment hunting.” “Why?” “One, for Kara and Molly, and two, because I have to move.” “What do you mean? Wait. Explain to me over dinner. I’ll be by to pick you up at six o’clock.” “No. I don’t want to go to dinner.” “Sorry, Emma. You’re breaking up. I can’t hear you. Bad connection. See you at six.” Click. Damn him! The last thing I needed today was to see him. He hadn’t called all week and now he decided he wanted to see me. Fuck him. When I got home, Macy had just walked through the door. “Hey. How was school?” “It was okay. I have to hurry and change. Max is coming to pick me up for dinner.” “Oh. It’ll be nice to see him again. I think.” She laughed. I went to my bedroom and changed my clothes. As I was freshening up my makeup and running the brush through my hair, I heard a knock at the door. Macy answered it. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Hamilton. Do come in,” I heard Macy say. “Emma didn’t tell me that you had returned.” “Maybe because you hadn’t bothered to call me all week.” I glared at his sexiness as I walked past him. “I was out of town on business. Anyway, it’s good to see you again, Macy. Now, what’s this about you having to move?” he asked.

“The magazine I’m going to be doing exclusives with is in Paris. I’m moving next week, and my agency is selling the apartment. I feel really bad, but there’s nothing I can do.” “I told you last night that it’s fine. I’ll find something. In fact, I saw a couple of apartments today I’m going to inquire about.” I didn’t want to tell her or Max that I couldn’t afford it. If I had to, I’d use the money Max gave me for the next semester’s tuition and get a job right away. I was sure I’d have no problem finding a waitressing job at one of the upscale restaurants. Kara and Molly told me to move in with them, but trying to find a three-bedroom apartment at a reasonable price we all could afford was extremely difficult. Plus, the apartments were so small and the three of us would be too cramped. “I can help you find a place, Emma,” Max said as he gave me a small smile. “No. It’s fine. You’ve done enough and I can find one on my own. Now, let’s go to dinner. I need to get back. I have homework to do before tomorrow.” I grabbed my purse, kissed Macy on the cheek, and told her I’d see her later. Max placed his hand on the small of my back, which sent shivers throughout my body. I would never get over his touch and how it made me feel. I climbed in the Rolls Royce and said hello to Darren. He gave me a smile and a wink. It had been a while since I’d seen him. He dropped us off at the curb of a restaurant called Eleven Madison Park, where the menu was $225 a person. “Don’t you think this is a bit expensive?” “No. Not at all. They have some of the best food here. Don’t worry about the price.” “So where did you go on business this week?” I asked as I sipped my mojito. “California. I needed to meet with Ian Braxton regarding some property I’m interested in that he owns in Chicago.” “Chicago?” “Yeah. I’m looking at a building for my company.” He was confusing me. “What do you mean your company? What about your father’s company?” “What about it? I’m branching out on my own as soon as my trust fund comes through. I’m building a software company. This is between you and me. Nobody knows about this.” “And what is your father going to say about this?” “It’s none of my father’s business. Maybe if he spent more time being a father, I wouldn’t feel the need

to get out from under him. We got in an argument right before I left for California. I confronted him about his affairs and how it was affecting me and Fiona. I told him he was a hypocrite and the perfect Hamilton family was nothing but a joke. He told me to mind my own business and continue to act like the prodigal son. I swear I can’t stand that man. I want nothing to do with Hamilton Reality, Hamilton Development Group, or Hamilton Investments. I’m starting my own company and I’m building my own success out from underneath my father.” As I sat there and listened to his rant, which was very uncontrolled for even Max, I felt sorry for him. “Have you thought of talking to your mom?” He laughed. “There’s no talking to her. He has full control over her. She would never think about stepping out of line and defying Mr. Bradshaw Hamilton. She agrees with everything he says. She always has.” “Even if she found out about his affairs?” “My mother appears to be a strong woman, but in reality, she’s very weak. I hate him, Emma. I really do.” I reached across the table and took hold of his hand. “I’m sorry, Max.” “It’s funny because people think that when you have money and a high-powered established name, all is glorious in the world. It’s so far from the truth. I just want my trust fund and to get out of his shadow. The day I turn twenty-six is the day that I throw a wrench in all their perfect plans.” “Why Chicago? Why not stay in New York?” “Because I want as far away from my parents as possible.” The sadness in his eyes consumed me. I knew he had problems with his father, but I never knew it was to this extent. I guessed that after we broke up, he’d be moving to Chicago and I’d never see him again. He had no intentions of staying in New York. After we ate, he took me back to my apartment and walked me to the door. He placed his hand on my cheek and softly kissed my lips. “Thank you again for doing this for me.” “You’re welcome.” I smiled softly. “I’ll be in touch soon.” He kissed my forehead and turned and walked away. A feeling of comfort washed over me as I watched him walk down the hall. “Max!” I yelled.

He stopped and turned around. I threw my purse down and ran to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him the most passionate kiss possible. “Promise me you’ll always dance.” “Only if you will.” He smiled.

Chapter 17

All of Macy’s boxes were packed and sitting in the hallway for the company to come pick up and ship off to Paris. “You sure you have everything?” I asked as I gave her a pout. “Yep. I sure do. Here’s my key to the apartment.” “Are you sure I can stay an extra couple of weeks?” “Yeah. My agency said the new buyer isn’t in any hurry to move in and that he understands your situation.” I gave her a long hug as tears filled my eyes. “Good luck in Paris and I’ll be seeing you in all the magazines.” “I’ll let you know when I get there and we’ll skype just like we used to. Keep me posted on things with Max.” “I will. I love you, Macy. Have a safe trip.” “Love you too, girl. I’ll talk to you soon.” Just as she was walking out the door, Max, whom I hadn’t seen in over a week, walked in. “Hey, Macy. Have a good trip and be safe in Paris.” “Thanks, Max. Good luck with everything.” Max shut the door and looked at me before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a warm embrace. “You okay?” “Yeah. I’m just a little sad she’s gone. We barely got to spend any time together.” “I know. I’m sorry. How about we order in and then watch a movie? Maybe have a little sex to take your mind off things.” I lifted my head. “Did you just really say that?” He chuckled. “Yeah, I did. Sorry.” I smacked him on the chest and asked him what he wanted for dinner. “By the way, where were you all

week?” “Working. Between my dad’s company and trying to get things settled with my new company, it’s been crazy.” I understood and I was already getting used to the fact that he wasn’t around much. It was probably for the best anyway, since we only had two weeks left of our engagement. Max would turn twenty-six next week and we would break up a week later. “I bought you something.” He smiled as he pulled a tissue-wrapped item out of his pocket. “For what?” “Open it.” I slowly unwrapped the tissue paper and inside was a beautiful sterling silver crystal butterfly key ring. I held it up and smiled. “It’s beautiful, Max. You shouldn’t have. Thank you.” “You’re welcome. It’s for your new apartment key.” “Thank you. As soon as I get it, I’ll put it right on.” I reached up and kissed his lips. “You already have your new apartment key.” “What do you mean? I haven’t found an apartment yet.” “Yes, you have. This one.” “Huh?” I asked in confusion. He placed his hands on my hips. “You’re staying right here. I bought the apartment for you from Macy’s modeling agency. You get to live here rent free for as long as you need to. Now you don’t have to worry about being able to afford rent and moving.” Tears filled my eyes as I stared up at him. “No, Max. I can’t let you do that.” “It’s already done. Emma, I don’t want to have to worry about you and where you’re living when we’re no longer together. This is your apartment. You should be happy.” “I am happy. Very happy, but you’ve done enough for me already. This is just too much.” A tear fell down my face. “It’s not too much.” He wiped away the tear from my cheek and then gently brushed his lips against mine. “I want to make sweet love to you,” his soft voice spoke.

“Please do.” I smiled. He picked me up and carried me into the bedroom, where we spent the next hour making love. **** Max and I saw each other a couple of times over the next week. We had dinner with his parents, which was awkward because of the tension between Max and his dad, and then we attended the opening of a new restaurant that one of Max’s friends owned. I had found an apartment for Kara and Molly and sent them videos to get their thoughts. They loved it and the best part was that it was only about ten minutes from my apartment. I couldn’t wait for them to fly in tomorrow and I even decided to take the day off from school to help them move in. I moved into the master bedroom in my place and bought a new comforter and sheets for the bed. Max hung a few pictures for me and with the placement of a few candles, my bedroom was complete. The next morning, I picked up Kara and Molly at the airport. “I can’t believe the two of you are here for good!” I exclaimed as the three of us hugged. “We can’t believe it either. I’m so excited to see the apartment!” Molly smiled. “When are the movers coming with all your things?” “They said they’ll be here around noon.” Their apartment was located on the third floor with a private balcony. It had an oversized living room, hardwood floors throughout, and a decent-sized kitchen with a wraparound counter top. “This is amazing!” Kara said excitedly as we walked through the apartment. “Look at the closet space.” “You did good, Emma.” Molly smiled as she hooked her arm around me. “Thanks. I must say it’s a nice place and the rent is pretty decent for two people to split.” Just as they were unpacking their suitcases, there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” I yelled from the kitchen. When I opened the door, there were two men wearing blue jumpsuits standing there. “We have a TV delivery.” “Kara, Molly, your TV is here.” They emerged from their bedrooms and looked at the guys in blue suits.

“We didn’t order a TV. You must have the wrong apartment.” The heavyset man looked at the invoice and then at the apartment number on the door. “Nope. This is the right apartment. “We’ll go grab it off the truck and you need to tell us which wall you want it mounted on.” “What the fuck is going on?” Kara asked. A few moments later, the two men carried in the seventy-inch LED HD TV. “Where do you want it?” There was only one wall in the living room that it would fit on, opposite the door wall. “This wall right here, please,” Molly spoke. “Here’s a card that came with the TV for a Kara and Molly.” Kara took it from the deliveryman and opened the envelope. Happy housewarming and welcome to New York. You’re going to love it! Love, Max “Wow. It’s from Max.” “What? Let me see that.” I took the card from her and couldn’t believe it. “What a great guy.” Molly smiled. I gave her a small smile and went back to the kitchen. We spent the day getting all their stuff organized, and once the movers brought their furniture, we left and went shopping for some kitchen and bath essentials. By time I got back to my apartment, it was already eleven o’clock and I was exhausted. I changed into my pajamas, took off my makeup, and as I went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge, my phone beeped with a text message from Max. “Are you up?” “Yeah, just about to go to bed. I’m exhausted.” “Open your door.” I looked at his last message in confusion, set my phone down, and opened the door. “Hi.” He smiled.

“What are you doing here?” “I was hoping to spend the night with you. You look tired.” He walked in and wrapped his arms around me. “I am. It was a long day and, yes, I would like you to spend the night.” The tone in his voice seemed sad and I found it odd that he would drop by unannounced at eleven o’clock at night. I could tell something was bothering him, but I was too afraid to ask. We walked into the bedroom and I took off my nightshirt and climbed under the covers while he took off his shirt and pants. He climbed in next to me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him. “I just want to hold you and fall asleep. No sex tonight if that’s okay with you.” “It’s fine, Max. Good night.” I lifted my head and kissed him on the lips. He smiled as he pushed a strand of my hair away from my face. “Good night, Emma.” I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes as he reached over and turned off the light. What was going on with him?

Chapter 18 I opened my eyes and quickly jumped out of bed, running to the bathroom and hovering over the toilet. “Are you okay?” Max asked with concern. “I don’t think so.” I began vomiting. Max entered the bathroom and pulled back my hair, rubbing my back as I vomited a few more times. “Do you have the flu?” He handed me a tissue. “It’s possible. A few students at school had just had it, so I know it’s going around.” “You better go back to bed and get some rest.” “I can’t. I have that huge project to turn in today. I have to go to classes.” “But if you’re sick, you can’t.” I stood up and splashed some cold water on my face. “I’ll be fine. I have no choice.” “We have about an hour before we need to be up and ready, so let’s go back to bed for a bit.” He helped me into bed and climbed in next to me. I snuggled up against him and closed my eyes. Before I knew it, he was waking me up. “Emma, you have to get up or you’ll be late. Are you okay?” When I opened my eyes, Max was standing over me, fully dressed and ready to leave. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.” I climbed out of bed. I didn’t have the energy to shower, so I just threw my hair up in a ponytail, and pulled on a pair of black leggings and an oversized sweater. Fall had settled in New York and it was getting chillier by the day. I wasn’t used to November weather anywhere but Miami. Max gave me a kiss and said goodbye. “I’ll call you later to see how you’re doing. Try to take it easy today and come right home after school.” “I will. Have a good day at work.” I pulled the orange juice out of the fridge and poured myself a glass. My stomach still had that sick feeling, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. No matter how I felt later, I needed to stop by the

jewelers and pick up Max’s birthday gift. His birthday was in a couple of days and we were going out to dinner with his parents and Fiona. As the day went on, I could barely keep my eyes open in class. Hannah wasn’t in class today because she was sick with the flu. When my last class got out, I saw Darren waiting at the curb. He smiled. “How are you feeling, Emma? Max told me you were sick this morning.” “I’m not doing too well, Darren. What are you doing here?” “Max sent me to pick you up and make sure you go straight home.” I sighed. “That was nice of him, but I need you to take me to the jewelers first. I have to pick up his birthday present. It’ll only take a minute.” “Of course.” He opened the door for me and I slid in the back seat. As soon as Darren dropped me off at my apartment, I set down my purse and climbed into bed. I awoke to the ringing sound of my phone. “Hello.” “Were you sleeping?” Max asked. “Yeah. What time is it?” “Seven o’clock. I was going to bring you over some chicken soup. Are you up for some?” “That sounds good. Thank you.” “I’ll see you in a bit.” I couldn’t believe that I had slept for three hours. It was a good thing I didn’t have classes tomorrow because I just wanted to stay home and rest. “I’ve unlocked the door. I’m going to take a quick shower. Let yourself in.” Stripping out of my clothes, I stepped into the shower and stood under the hot water, hoping that it would wake me up. Once I was finished, I stepped out and heard Max talking from the living room. He must have been on the phone. After drying off and slipping into my pajamas, I followed the aroma of chicken soup to the kitchen. “Hey. How are you feeling?” he asked as he put his phone in his pocket. “Like crap.” I smiled. “You may feel like crap, but you don’t look like it.”

I gave him a small smile as he took down a bowl from the cabinet and filled it with soup. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down at the table. “Thanks for bringing this over. If you wouldn’t have called me, I don’t think I would have gotten up. Hannah wasn’t in school today. Apparently, she’s sick with the flu as well.” “Ah, it must be going around. I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning after you get a good night’s sleep.” “You’re a good friend, Hamilton.” I smiled as I held up my spoon. “So are you.” **** Max didn’t spend the night. He was flying out to Chicago first thing in the morning to meet some lawyers about his software company and said that he’d be back tonight. My stomach was feeling queasy as I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I couldn’t believe I’d slept until ten o’clock. As I started to brush my teeth, I could feel the vomit rise up in my throat. I threw my tooth brush down and leaned over the toilet. As I grabbed a tissue and wiped my mouth, I heard my phone from the bedroom ring. “Hi, Mom,” I answered as I climbed back into bed. “Hi, Emma. What’s wrong? Did I wake you?” “No. I was up. I have the flu.” “Oh no. When did that start?” “Yesterday.” “Make sure you drink plenty of fluids. You don’t want to get dehydrated.” “I know, Mom. Was there a reason why you called?” “No. Nothing in particular. I just wanted to catch up and see how you were doing. Give me a call when you’re feeling better.” “Okay, Mom. I’ll talk to you soon.” The overwhelming guilt that I hadn’t told her what was going on was still with me and I felt like shit for keeping it from her. But if I had told her, she’d worry, and that was the last thing I wanted. As I laid my head on the pillow, a text message from Max came through. “Good morning. How are you feeling today?”

“A little better.” “Good to hear. Make sure you rest all day. You have to be better for my birthday tomorrow.” “Don’t worry. I will be. Have a good day in Chicago.” “I will. I’ll be over later tonight when I get back and hopefully you’ll feel better for some great sex.” He sent me the winky face. “Looking forward to it.” I didn’t want to tell him that I was still sick because I didn’t want him to worry. As I lay on the couch and binge-watched Veronica Mars, I kept thinking about Max and how, in a week, my life would completely change. **** His hand cupped my breast as the warmth of his tongue slid up my throat. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he thrust inside me, moving slowly and passionately. Our mouths met with delight and my fingers played in his hair as he moved in and out of me fluently, bringing me to my second orgasm of the night. His sexy moans deepened as he exploded inside of me. “I hope that made you feel better.” He smiled as he placed his hand on my forehead. “It did.” He kissed my lips before rolling off of me and headed to the bathroom. “Someone has a big birthday coming up in a couple of hours.” He emerged from the bathroom with a smile on his face but still a hint of sadness in his eyes. He climbed into bed and wrapped his arms around me. “I can’t think of a better way to wake up on my birthday than with your perfect naked body wrapped around mine.” I gave his chest tiny kisses as I placed my hand down below, feeling his cock over the cotton of his underwear. “I think this big guy may get his own present in the morning.” I felt it twinge and I smiled. “I’m going to make sure you keep that promise.” He kissed my head and turned off the light. The next morning, I made good on my promise and gave him an amazing birthday present. “Happy birthday, big boy.” I smiled as I finished and kissed his lips.

“Damn. It sure is a happy birthday. Thank you.” He cupped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me into a passionate kiss. “I guess you’re feeling better.” “I am and I have something for you.” I reached in the drawer in the nightstand and pulled out the small gift bag. “Happy birthday, Max.” He sat up against the headboard and took the box from the bag. “You didn’t have to get me anything.” “I wanted to. Now open it.” He removed the lid and pulled out the stainless steel and black onyx pendant with his name engraved on a black leather rope. “Emma, this is amazing.” “Do you like it? I thought you could wear it when you dress a little more casually.” “I love it.” “Turn it over.” I smiled. He ran his finger over the small phoenix that I had engraved. “The phoenix, much like the butterfly, symbolizes transformation and rebirth. I thought it was appropriate since you’re embarking on a new adventure and renewing yourself out from under your father’s shadow.” “I’m speechless. No one has ever given me something like this before. I don’t know what to say.” “You don’t have to say anything. It’s a gift from me to you.” “Thank you. I’ll wear it every day.” “I have to get ready for school and you have to get ready for the office.” I smiled. “I’m going to call Darren to come get me and take me home real quick. I left some papers there that I need.” He kissed me. I got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. The feeling of nausea returned the minute I put the toothbrush in my mouth. I quickly removed it and placed my hands on the counter, waiting for it to pass. “Darren’s here and I’m heading out. I’ll be by to pick you up around five thirty,” he said through the door. “Okay. Have a great day and I’ll see you later. Happy birthday, Max!” “Thanks, babe. I’ll call you later.”

He couldn’t get out fast enough for me as I leaned over the toilet and started vomiting. Shit. What was going on? I didn’t have time for this. I got ready and headed out the door to school. When I arrived and sat down in my seat, Hannah came strolling in. “Hey, how are you feeling?” I asked her. “A little better. That flu really kicked my ass.” “Tell me about it. I’m still not feeling well and I have that dinner tonight with Max and his family. It’s his birthday.” “Oh yeah, that’s right. It’s almost over. How are you feeling about that?” “I’m okay,” I totally lied. “It’s hard to believe that the last three months went by so fast.” “I know. We’re almost done with this semester.” I sighed. “As soon as the semester ends, I have to find a job. My money is running out.” “The bookstore on campus is hiring. I don’t know how much they pay, but it’s worth a shot.” She smiled. “Maybe I’ll check it out. Thanks, Hannah.” “Hey, I’m not feeling so well,” Austin said as he leaned in between us. “I think I need to leave.” Hannah and I looked at him. He was as white as a ghost. “You better get home before you start puking all over us.” “I’ll talk to you girls later.” He grabbed his things and literally ran out of the classroom. We both laughed. “Poor Austin.”

Chapter 19 After dinner, we went back to Max’s parents’ house for cake and ice cream. Dinner was awkward because all Carol wanted to talk about was the wedding and all the things she thought I should do. I helped Carol put twenty-six candles on the large and beautifully decorated cake that she had made for Max. We lit each one and carried it into the dining room where Max, Fiona, and Bradshaw were waiting for us. “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Max. Happy birthday to you,” we sang as we walked in and set the cake down in front of him. I leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Make a wish.” He blew out the candles and we all clapped. Bradshaw stood up and left the room. A few moments later, he walked in and handed Max an envelope. “Happy birthday, son. I’ve signed off on your trust fund and now it’s all yours. I have no doubt that you’ll be responsible with it.” “Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Mom.” “We are so happy for you and Emma, darling. Now let’s set a date so we can get working on this wedding.” “Oh, Max and I have already set a date. We were waiting to tell you.” Max looked at me with surprise as I grabbed his hand. “We are getting married on September 10, 2016.” “Oh. A September wedding. How perfect!” Carol smiled. “Congratulations, you two.” Bradshaw winked at Max. “That’s less than a year. We better start planning.” Max put up his hand. “Whoa, Mom. We just set the date. Give us some time.” After finishing cake and ice cream, Max took me upstairs to his bedroom. “Are you okay? You look exhausted.” “I’m really tired. It’s been a long day and I don’t think I’m fully recovered yet.” “Then let’s get you home.” His thumb grazed over my cheek. “Nice touch about the wedding date.”

“Thanks. Your mom was getting on my nerves.” I laughed. **** “So how did it go last night at dinner?” Kara asked as she and Molly sat across from me in the restaurant. “I told them we set a date. September 10, 2016. I couldn’t stand Carol’s whining anymore.” “When are you breaking it off?” Molly frowned. “Next Friday night. We’re going to his parents’ house for dinner.” I picked at my salad. “What’s wrong? Are you still sick?” Kara asked. “You’re barely eating.” “Yeah. This flu is killing me.” “Maybe it’s not the flu. Maybe you’re making yourself sick over what’s to come. It happens, you know.” “I don’t know. I don’t want to end things with Max. I know we were never a real couple, but I like being with him.” “Maybe once all is said and done, he’ll change his mind and not want to let you go.” “I doubt it. I almost told him the other day that I loved him. I had to catch myself and then I started to panic. What if I would have said it?” “It’s a good thing you didn’t because there’s no telling how he might have reacted.” The two of them finished dinner and I had mine wrapped up to go. Maybe tomorrow I’d finish it. **** I’d spent the week going to school and then coming home and taking long naps. I hadn’t seen Max since his birthday but we talked a few times. We had put our plan in motion for tonight and I was a nervous wreck. Maybe the girls were right. Maybe I was making myself sick over this whole thing and depression seemed to be settling in. But I had a tiny piece of hope that I clung to that Max would tell me that he loved me and he’d call this whole break-up thing off. “You ready?” he asked as he took my hand. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” My stomach was twisted in the tightest knot possible. We sat down for dinner with Carol and Bradshaw and the game began as I looked at Max. “I don’t understand why you couldn’t have called today. You told me you would, but as usual, you can

never keep your word.” “Not now, Emma. I already explained to you how busy I was.” His parents looked uncomfortable as they kept their heads down while they ate. “So is this how it’s going to be, Max? Work before me?” “Emma, I’m not discussing this now,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “That’s your problem. You never want to discuss anything. Half the time, I feel shut out.” I threw my napkin down on the table and got up and walked away. Walking outside to the back patio like we planned, he followed. “Throw your hands around. Yell. Press your finger into my chest in case they’re watching.” I did just that. We yelled back and forth and put on a good show for his parents. I took the ring off, placed it in his hand, and stormed through the patio door. “It’s over, Max. I just can’t take it anymore. I can’t be with a man who puts his work before me. I should be the number one priority in your life. Me, Max. Your fiancée. The girl you supposedly love.” “Emma, please don’t do this. I’ll change. I promise.” “You’ve already shown me that you can’t keep your promises and I refuse to live my life with someone like that. I can’t. I just can’t!” I stormed out the front door and climbed into the Rolls Royce, where Darren was waiting for me. Tears started to stream down my face because the reality of what happened and what was to come hit me. I wanted to throw up. “I’m sorry, Emma,” Darren spoke as he handed me a tissue. “It’s okay. We knew this fucking day was coming and I thought I was prepared. But the truth is I love him, Darren.” “I know you do and I’m sorry.” My phone beeped with a text message from Max. “My parents are highly upset. Try to get some sleep and I’ll come by in the morning.” I couldn’t bring myself to answer him back. I continued to shake as Darren helped me from the car. “I have faith that things will work out, Emma.”

“I doubt it, Darren. Thanks for the ride.” “Have a good night.” I entered my apartment and headed straight to the bedroom. After changing into my pajamas, I climbed into bed and laid my head down as the uncontrollable tears fell. **** I could barely open my swollen eyes as I had to make my way to the bathroom to throw up. I tossed and turned all night from the nightmares I had. I splashed my face with cold water and grabbed my phone to see if Max had messaged me. He hadn’t. It was nine o’clock and I didn’t know what time he was coming over. I needed to talk to him and tell him that I was in love with him. I couldn’t just let him walk away from this not knowing. It was a risk, but I was willing to take it. As I walked to the kitchen to make some coffee, I stopped when I saw a white envelope lying in front of the door, almost as if someone had slipped it under. I walked over, picked it up, and ran my finger across my name, which was written on it. I nervously opened it and took out the white stationery that was folded inside. My dearest Emma, I’m writing you this letter because I can’t bear to say goodbye to you in person. Last night was one of the toughest nights of my life. Although we had this planned for the past three months, it still felt incredibly real. I’ll always cherish and never forget the time we spent together and getting to know one another. You are an incredible and loving person and you deserve only the best. And believe me, I wish I was the best, but I’m not. Not only are you the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever laid eyes on, you’re incredibly talented and smart. There’s something about you that makes people feel good when they’re around you. Even if I had the shittiest day, just knowing that I was going to see you made it all better. Call me a coward for hiding behind these words because that’s exactly what I am. I know I’ve hurt you and I’m sorry and I hope one day you can forgive me. It’s time for me to step out of the shadow of my father and discover the man who I truly am. I’ve always dreamed of starting my own company away from my father’s and now, thanks to you, I can do just that. I know this is probably as hard for you to read as it is for me to write. I’m a flawed man, Emma, and you deserve someone who’s flawless. Because that’s exactly what you are. Promise me you’ll never stop dancing and take full advantage of what life has to offer you. I’ve opened a bank account in your name in the sum of $250,000. I don’t want you to worry about having to find a job and living expenses. I’ve also set up an account at Parsons in your name with the rest of the tuition money until you graduate. Go to school and live your dream. You deserve it. Good-bye, my sweetest Emma. Love always, Max. I dropped the letter and fell to my knees, sobbing and shaking, trying to get hold of my emotions. The hope I had was gone and I had nothing left. I set myself up for agreeing to this proposed deal and I knew

the more we became involved, the harder it would be to let go. I got up from the floor and lay down on the couch, where I spent the rest of the day. Kara and Molly came over after they finished working at the salon, and as soon as they walked in, they saw the letter on the floor. Molly bent down and picked it up while Kara came over and wrapped her arms around me and I continued to cry on her shoulder.

Chapter 20 A week had passed and I wasn’t any better. Hannah and Austin dropped by a couple of times to check up on me because I hadn’t been in school. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the apartment. All I did was sleep. On a Thursday night, there was a knock at the door. Kara was supposed to come over, so I thought it was her. To my surprise, when I opened the door, I saw Bradshaw standing there. “We need to talk.” He stormed past me in anger. “I’m really not up to—” “I don’t give a fuck what you’re not up to!” he yelled. “Was this whole engagement a sham? Did you help Max out so he could collect his trust fund and leave?” “Talk to your son. Now I want you to leave.” I wasn’t about to talk to him about this. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me everything!” He walked up to me and grabbed my arms, gripping them tight. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You filthy little whore!” Suddenly, and out of nowhere, a strength rose inside of me as I got out of his grip. “Don’t you ever fucking touch me again or I swear to you that I will call the police. Imagine what the headlines would say. Imagine what Carol and Fiona would say. You disgusting pig! How dare you fucking blame me for Max’s behavior. It was because of YOU that he did what he did. Always walking in your shadow, expected to be the perfect son. Your dirty affairs with all your whores you’ve had over the years and then threatening your child if he told his mother! What kind of father are you? How do you feel that you’ve scarred your son from the age of thirteen when he saw you in Hawaii fucking another woman who wasn’t his mother?” The look on his face was complete shock. The door opened and Kara walked in. “What the fuck is going on in here? I can hear you all the way down the hall.” “Mr. Hamilton was just leaving,” I spewed. He turned and walked out the door without saying a word, shutting it behind him. I stood there, trying to calm down when, suddenly, I felt an intense cramping in my stomach. I doubled over in pain and Kara ran to me.

“Emma, what’s wrong?” “I don’t know. I having horrible cramps.” She lightly took hold of my arm and led me to the couch. “I was talking to a girl at the salon about how you can’t shake this flu and she said that you could be having appendicitis. That would explain your vomiting and nauseous feeling.” “Oh God, Kara. It hurts.” “That’s it. I’m taking you to the hospital.” **** I lay in the hospital bed with Kara by my side when Molly entered the room. “Hey. How are you feeling?” “Not so good,” I pouted. “Any news yet?” she asked with concern. “No. Not yet. I’ve only seen the nurse.” A few moments later, a woman wearing a white coat walked into my room. “Hi, Emma. I’m Dr. Edmonds and I’m going to do an abdominal ultrasound on you. We sent your blood work to the lab, but they’re very backed up, so this ultrasound will let me see what’s going on and whether or not you need to be taken into surgery right away. Can you lift up your gown to right below your breasts, please?” I did as she asked and she turned off the lights and placed the wand on my abdomen. She moved it back and forth across me and then suddenly stopped. “May I ask that your friends step out of the room, please?” “It’s okay, Dr. Edmonds. They’re my best friends. They can stay. Is something wrong?” She turned her head and looked at me with a smile. “You’re pregnant.” I gulped and Kara’s and Molly’s eyes widened as they looked at me. “I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. I can’t be pregnant. I’m on the pill.” “See this right here?” She pointed to the screen. “That’s the embryo and there’s the heartbeat.” I was in shock as I stared at the screen. I went numb. “When was your last period?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t remember. I’ve been so busy over the past few months that I didn’t really pay attention.” “The pill is only 99% effective if you take it correctly. If you skip a day or two, then double up, it can throw everything off and your chances of getting pregnant increase.” SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! “Have you been under a great deal of stress lately?” “Yes.” She smiled as she placed her hand on mine. “It’s important that you cut the stress out of your life immediately. From what I can tell, everything looks fine and I don’t see any problems. I am going to do a vaginal check, though, just to make sure you aren’t spotting. So I’ll need your friends to step out for a moment.” Kara and Molly walked out of the room and I placed my feet in the stirrups. Dr. Edmonds did the exam and said everything looked fine. “I’m going to go check and see if your blood work is ready yet. Once I confirm everything there, then you can leave.” “How far along am I?” “You’re about six weeks. Do you have an OB/GYN?” “No. I just moved to New York about three months ago.” “I’ll give you the card of a wonderful obstetrician. I want you to call him and make an appointment within the week. When you do, have his office call the hospital and we’ll send over your medical file. Is the dad in the picture?” she asked. I shook my head. “Well, you have options. I want you to go home, get off your feet for the rest of the weekend, and relax. Your baby was telling you to slow down. I’ll go tell your friends they can come back in. You can get dressed.” Kara and Molly walked back into the room and grabbed my hands. “You’re going to have a baby.” Molly smiled. Kara didn’t say a word. She just gave me a sympathetic look. The three of us took a cab back to my apartment. I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed.

“When are you going to tell Max?” Kara asked as she sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know. I still have to process the fact that I’m pregnant. I can’t believe this is happening to me.” I started to cry. “Aw, come here.” She wrapped her arms around me. “Everything will work out. You have me and Molly here plus Aubrey will be here in another month.” “How the hell am I going to tell my mom?” “Your mom will understand, Emma. You’re twenty-four years old. It’s not like you’re sixteen.” “Don’t you see? This is history repeating itself. This baby isn’t going to have a father just like I didn’t.” “You’re not going to tell Max?” “You read the letter, Kara. He left me. He couldn’t even say goodbye. He can’t even commit to one woman. Do you think he can be a father to a kid? And besides, he’s gone. He’s not even in New York anymore and I don’t think he has any plans on coming back.” Molly walked in the room and handed me a cup of tea. “Did I hear you right that you’re not going to tell Max? I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t tell that piece of shit either. You’re going to be fine, Emma. Oh my God, we’re going to have a baby!” “Who are you going to say the father is when people ask?” “I’ll just tell them that it was a one-night stand with some guy I met at a bar. Let people think I’m a whore. Whatever. Thanks you two for taking care of me, but I’m really tired right now and just want to go to sleep.” “Okay. Text us if you need anything.” Kara and Molly hugged me goodbye and left. As I lay in bed, sipping my tea, I placed my hand on my belly, still in shock there was a baby growing inside of me. I didn’t want to be like my mom and raise a kid alone. I had a vision where I was married and we’d find out together that I was pregnant. We’d go through the pregnancy together and the love of my life would be in the delivery room when his child was born. I wasn’t supposed to be a single parent. Was I even ready to be a mom? I could barely take care of myself, let alone a baby all on my own.

Chapter 21 Thanksgiving was in a few days and I booked a flight back to Miami. My mom had been bugging me to fly home for Thanksgiving because she desperately missed me. School had ended yesterday for break and I was more than ready to leave the cold weather behind, if only for a few days. I had told Hannah and Austin that I was pregnant and they flipped. When they asked who the father was, I told them with shame that it was a one-night stand. I packed my suitcase and took a cab to the airport. Kara and Molly were staying back in New York for Thanksgiving because they had to work on Friday. They were going to cook a turkey for the first time and I wished I was there to watch them. But I needed my mom more than ever now and I needed to tell her about the baby. I was so scared. When I stepped off the plane, I took in a deep breath as I walked through the airport. “Emma!” I heard my mom yell as she waved both hands in the air. The minute I saw her, I started to cry. “Oh, baby. Let me look at you.” She smiled as she placed her hands on my face. “Hi, Mom.” I hugged her tight. “I missed you.” “I missed you too, sweetheart. Come on; let’s go home.” To keep myself from having a total breakdown in the car, I asked my mom to tell me all about Danny. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about him made me happy. I had never seen her like this before over a guy. For everything she’d been through in life, she deserved to finally be happy. I took my bag to my room and sat down on the edge of the bed. I was exhausted. Exhaustion had become my best friend these days. As I sat there with my face cupped in my hands, my mom walked into the room. “Emma, what’s wrong with you? You don’t seem like yourself. Did something happen in New York that you’re not telling me about?” I could never keep anything from her, even if I wanted to. All she had to do was look at me and she knew when something was wrong. My shoulders began to move up and down as I started to cry in my hands.

“Oh, honey. What is it?” she consoled me as she wrapped her arm around me. I lifted my head and looked at her. Teary eyed, stuffy nose, and the overwhelming feeling of disappointment she’d have in me. “I’m pregnant, Mom.” She pursed her lips together and stared at me with her big brown eyes. It wasn’t a look of disappointment. It was a look of empathy. “Emma,” she whispered. “Who’s the father?” I laid my head on her shoulder. “It’s such a long story, Mom. There’s so much you don’t know.” “Then tell me.” She squeezed my hand. I told her how I had met Max at the club the night before I left and then about the email from Parsons. “All I had to do was pretend to be his fiancée and he would pay for my tuition at Parsons. It was only for three months, Mom.” I sobbed. “And then I had to go and fall in love with his dumb ass. He couldn’t even say goodbye. He slipped a letter under my door. Who does that, Mom?” I continued sobbing. “I really thought he loved me or at least cared enough to stay.” “Sweetheart, it probably hurt him too much to say goodbye in person. Men are cowards and they run. Look at your father.” “I don’t know what to do, Mom. I’m so scared.” “And so was I, sweet baby girl. But I never once regretted having you. You are the one good thing that happened in my life and this baby will be for you too, but you have to tell Max about the baby.” “I can’t. He’s gone and he’s starting over. He’s making something of himself on his own. If he truly loved me, he never would have left. But he did. I won’t destroy his dreams and life with the responsibility of a child.” “Emma, he has a right to know. Let him make his own decision.” “He made his decision the day he slipped that letter under my door and walked out of my life. I obviously didn’t mean anything to him and I won’t have him come back out of obligation. I couldn’t handle it. So it’s best that he never knows. You raised me alone and I can raise this baby alone too.” She placed her finger on the butterfly pendant that Max had given to me. “Did he give this to you?” I nodded my head as I continued to cry on her shoulder.

**** Thanksgiving came and went and it was time to fly back to New York. My mom and I had great conversations and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Danny, from what I could tell, was an amazing man and I could see why my mom was so in love with him. He treated her like a queen and she deserved nothing less. Watching the two of them over the past few days hit a sore spot with me because I missed Max so much. But it was time for me to forget about him and the time we shared and move on with my life; the life I was supposed to live when I moved to New York in the first place. Now it would be me plus one. Aubrey was graduating in a couple of weeks and then moving to New York. It was going to be great to have my three best friends by my side once again. “Goodbye, Mom. Thanks again for everything.” I gave a small smile as I hugged her. “You call me if you need anything. I’ll be in New York in a flash.” “Thanks, but I’ll be okay. I promise.” “I’m going to miss watching your tummy grow.” She pouted. “Go get yourself an iPhone and we’ll face time. Or learn how to use that computer of yours and we can skype.” Danny chuckled. “Don’t worry, Emma. We’re going to get her an iPhone right when we leave here. I don’t want her missing a thing.” “Thanks, Danny.” I hugged him tight. “Take care of her for me.” “You bet I will. I love this little lady.” My mom blushed. We gave one last hug and kiss and off I went, back home to New York to start my life on a fresh note. No more hiding in my apartment and away from life. This wasn’t about me anymore.

Chapter 22

Five Months Later… As I stood in the shower, I placed my hands on my rapidly growing belly. Last night was the first time I felt the baby kick. It was the most amazing feeling in the world, and the fact that another human being was growing inside of me had become more real. After showering, I got dressed and headed over to Kara and Molly’s apartment. They both took the day off to accompany me to my ultrasound. Since Aubrey had court, she was going to try and meet us there. The three of them had been so supportive of me, and even though I still thought about Max, it started to hurt less every day. I sometimes questioned myself whether or not I made the right decision by not telling him about the baby. Feelings of guilt settled inside of me from time to time, but I had to remember that he had left for a reason. I was finishing up my second semester at Parsons and things were going well. I had the support of Hannah and Austin and our circle of friends grew. I kept waiting for the day when I’d run into Fiona or Max’s parents. Thank God that hadn’t happened yet, but I did have my story all made up and ready to be delivered when the time came. Kara had met a man named Billy and they had been seeing each other for about a month. Aubrey had been on a few dates with Glenn, one of the lawyers from her firm. Molly was still waiting for her Prince Charming to show up and I had sworn off all men. I lay on the table with Molly, Kara, and Aubrey by my side as Dr. Richardson, my OB/GYN, pressed the wand across my abdomen. Seeing my baby at this stage for the first time brought tears to my eyes. That was my baby. The one person that I would nurture, love, and teach for the rest of my life. “Would you like to know the sex?” he asked. “Really? You know?” I asked in excitement. “Yes. I can tell you now if you’d like.” I looked at the girls as they squeezed my hand and nodded their heads. “Yes. I would like to know.” “Congratulations, Emma. You’re going to have a daughter.” Tears started to fall from my eyes as everyone in the room squealed. “Oh my God, we’re having a girl!” Molly exclaimed. “She looks very healthy and she’s growing right on schedule. I’ll see you in a month for your checkup.”

He smiled as he left the room. Kara took my hand and helped me up from the table. As happy as I was to find out that my baby was healthy, I was secretly excited that I was going to have a daughter. Having the girls with me made for a fun day, but I couldn’t help feel a little sad that Max wasn’t there to hear the news. “Now that you know what the baby is, we can start working on the nursery.” Aubrey smiled. “Just think about how fun it’s going to be to pick out girly things,” Kara spoke. **** I face timed my mom and held up the picture of the ultrasound. She started to cry when she saw it and even more when I told her she was going to have a granddaughter. Since the diner was short on waitresses, she couldn’t get to New York like she wanted to, but she promised she’d be here when the baby was born. As I sat up in bed, I placed my headphones on my stomach and played some classical lullabies by Mozart while I read my book What to Expect When You’re Expecting. My phone beeped, so I reached for it on the nightstand and my heart began to pound fiercely. “I miss you, Emma.” I stared at those four words for a long time before I deleted his message. Why was he messaging me now? I wasn’t going back down that road because I was finally healing and he wasn’t going to fuck with my life or my heart ever again. The next day, I met the girls for dinner at Carmine’s on 44th Street. I had a huge craving for pasta and it couldn’t be satisfied fast enough. When I walked in, they were already sitting in a booth, sipping on their wine. “Hey.” I smiled as I slid in next to Aubrey. The waitress walked over and I ordered a water. “God, I can’t wait to drink alcohol again. You’re never going to believe what happened last night.” “What? Are you okay?” Aubrey asked with concern. “Max sent me a text message telling me that he missed me.” “Shut up!” Molly exclaimed. “What did you say to him?” Kara asked. “Nothing. I deleted the message because I’m not responding.” Aubrey placed her hand on my arm. “Listen, Emma, and please don’t get mad at me for saying this. You

know how much I love you and you’re my very best friend. In fact, we’re all like sisters. You never confessed your feelings to Max. You never told him that you loved him and that you wanted him to stay. You never had that talk with him before the planned break up. Maybe if you would have told him how you felt, things would be different.” “He knew, Aubrey. He even said in his letter that he knew he hurt me and he hoped that one day I could forgive him. He knew I was falling in love with him and he said he wasn’t the man for me. He said he was flawed and I deserved someone flawless. His words, not mine. Why would he say that if he didn’t know?” “Maybe you’re right and maybe the two of you need to talk. You are having his baby.” I began to get mad. What the fuck was Aubrey’s problem? She was supposed to be on my side. Not his. “So you’re taking his side?” I snapped. “No, Emma. I’m not taking anyone’s side. I’m just saying the two of you need to talk about your feelings before you can just dismiss him from your life forever.” “Then he shouldn’t have been such a coward and left me a letter.” “At least he gave you that. What if he just disappeared without saying a word?” Kara and Molly sat across the table and didn’t say anything. They just watched us talk back and forth while they ate their dinner. “Do you agree with her?” I asked as I looked at them. “Well, do you?” “Some of things she said make sense,” Kara replied. “I still think he’s an asshole and I’m one hundred percent on your side, Emma,” Molly chimed in. “Thank you.” I held up my glass of water. I sighed. Maybe Aubrey had a point. “Listen, I get what you’re saying, but I knew how he felt about relationships. He point blank told me he had no desire to be tied down to one woman for the rest of his life and play the happy little married couple with the perfect family. He said he didn’t need some girl trying to control him. How would I have looked if I told him that I was falling in love with him? It would have made things awkward between us for the time we had left and he didn’t give me a chance to say anything. I was going to tell him that morning how I felt.” I wiped a tear that started to fall. “It’s not too late to tell him,” Aubrey said as she grabbed my hand. “He said he missed you. That should say something.”

“Things are different now. I’m over him and I have the baby to think about. I’m going to head home now. I’m really tired and my back is hurting.” Aubrey reached over and placed her arm around me, pulling me into her. “I’m sorry if I upset you. I’m just looking out for you.” “You didn’t and I’m fine. I just need some time to think, that’s all. I’ll talk to you all later.” As I walked down the street, the window display at Baby Bellini caught my eye. I walked inside the boutique and over to the crib set that was displayed in the window; a mix of soft pink, gray, and white. It was love at first sight and the thought of mixing vintage-inspired accessories in the room flooded my mind. The kind saleslady and I talked for several minutes about the quality of the bedding as well as the crib that displayed it. There was no doubt in my mind that this was what I wanted. I purchased the bedding as well as the Simmons White Ambiance crib and matching Simmons White Ambiance double dresser. The bedding was available to take home and the furniture would be delivered in a couple of weeks. I left the store and stood on the sidewalk, trying to hail a cab with my large bags in hand. A black limousine pulled up and the passenger’s window rolled down. “Emma?” I looked inside and swallowed hard. “Darren. Hi.” He got out of the limo and walked around to the other side. He looked at my bulging stomach and then up at me. Tears formed in my eyes. “Get in and I’ll drive you home.” He took the bags from me and put them in the trunk. I slid into the backseat and thought of at least fifty lies to tell him. “Is it his?” he asked as he pulled away from the curb. “Yes.” There go my lies. I couldn’t lie to him. He was Darren and I always liked him. I always felt we had a special connection. “You can’t tell him, Darren. Please,” I pleaded. “No worries, Emma. I won’t.” He didn’t say another word after that. Once he pulled up to my apartment building, he took my bags from the trunk and carried them upstairs to my apartment. “You can set them on the floor. Thanks again. Would you like some coffee?” I asked. He looked at his watch and then at me with a small smile. “Sure. I have some time before I have to

pick up Mr. and Mrs. Delaney.” “Is that who you’re working for now?” He took a seat on the stool at the counter and interlaced his fingers. “I work for a lot of people now. When they need rides, they call me directly. How are you truly doing, Emma?” “I’m okay.” I set the coffee down in front of him. “Did you take Max to the airport that morning?” He took a sip of his coffee and wrapped his hands around the mug. “Yes, I did, and believe me when I tell you that he was broken up. I’d never seen him like that before.” I rolled my eyes. “I doubt that. He left a letter, Darren. A damn letter.” “I know he did and I told him that it was the wrong thing to do and he should have spoken to you in person. But he’s Max Hamilton and nobody tells him anything. You’re not telling him about the baby?” “There’s no point now. I’m sure he’s living his dream in Chicago and running his successful new business. The last thing he needs is to be tied down with the responsibility of a kid.” “What about your dream?” “I’m living my dream one day at a time. I have great friends here who will help out and I have my classes. Believe it or not, Darren, things are really good,” I lied. “Max sent me a text message last night, telling me that he missed me.” “I see. Remember when I told you when I first met you that sometimes people need to fall on their own in order to learn a valuable life lesson?” “Yeah.” “I think Max fell the day he left that letter under your door.” “I don’t know, but I can’t worry about him anymore. If he wanted to stay and be with me, he would have.” He looked down at his coffee cup. “Do you know what you’re having?” I smiled. “I’m having a girl.” “Ah. She’ll be just as beautiful as her mother. I better go. I don’t want to be late picking up Mr. and Mrs. Delaney and then have them not hire me again.” “Thanks for the ride and the chat, Darren.” I gave him a hug. “Take care of yourself and that baby girl of yours. You have my number. Call me if you need anything

at all.” “I will.”

Chapter 23

Two Weeks Later… The couple that bought the bedroom furniture from my other room were at my door bright and early to pick it up. They were newlyweds and looking for a used bedroom set for their spare room. The husband didn’t really want it because he said it was for his mother-in-law when she came to visit. If they didn’t have another bed, then she wouldn’t stay with them. His wife politely told him that he’d be sleeping on the couch. I couldn’t help but laugh. After they left, I stood in the middle of the empty room and looked around. The furniture was on back order and would be delivered within the week. This was the perfect time to get the walls painted. I decided to paint the wall with the window and the wall to the right a gray color that was called “Knitting Needles,” and the opposite wall where the crib would sit a custom mix of two pinks: Cradle Pink and Almost Pink. I purchased the most adorable pink damask curtains that hung to the floor, matching the damask pattern on the bumper pads for the crib. I spent the whole day Saturday painting the ceiling, which killed my back, and the three walls. The ceiling was finished. Tomorrow, I’d put the second coat of paint on the walls. So far, it looked great and I was more than pleased. I didn’t tell the girls that I was starting the nursery because this was a project I wanted to do on my own. Maybe tomorrow, I’d give them a call. **** After eating breakfast, I sent a text message to Molly, asking her to stop by. Aubrey had plans for the day with Glenn, and Kara was going to New Jersey to meet Billy’s parents. Molly texted me back, saying that she’d be over after work because she was doing hair for a wedding party. I changed into my jean overalls and my short-sleeve white shirt. I threw my hair up into a high ponytail and began putting the second coat of paint on the gray walls. After a couple of hours, all three walls were finished. I stood back and smiled as the sun filtered in through the blinds, brightening the room that was fit for a princess. There was a knock at the door and I looked at my phone. Molly must have gotten off early. I ran to the door in excitement for her to see what I’d done so far. “I can’t wait for you to see—” I started to say as I quickly opened the door. I froze. My heart started pounding out of my chest and I felt sick to my stomach when I saw Max standing there. He looked at me and then at my belly. His eyes narrowed and he couldn’t speak. “Max, what are you doing here?” A tear was starting to form. “I— I came to see you.”

It was like time had stood still and the Earth had stopped spinning. Shit. Shit. Shit. He was nervous. I’d never seen him like this before. “Come in,” I said hesitantly. “No. It’s okay. I can see you’re busy. I’m going to go.” In that instant, I saw him break. He turned and started walking down the hallway. Oh no, he doesn’t. He’s not walking away this time. “Max. The baby is yours. You’re going to be a father,” I blurted out in the open hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks and waited a few moments before turning around. He slowly walked back to my door and stepped inside. The most awkward and scariest moment of my life was now happening. “I thought you were Molly.” “Sorry to drop by unannounced, but you hadn’t answered my text message, and I figured you wouldn’t answer my calls either.” “You’re right. I wouldn’t have.” I turned and walked to the kitchen and washed my hands under the warm water. “Were you painting?” he asked as I had my back turned to him. The emotions that were running through me were almost unbearable. I felt like it was getting harder to breathe. “Yeah. I was painting the nursery.” I took in a deep, long breath. I needed to remain calm for the baby’s sake. I dried my hands on the towel, waiting for the question I knew was coming. “Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?” And there it was. The question I had been waiting for. “You were already gone.” My voice quivered. He took a seat at the table and placed his face in his hands. “You could have called.” He slammed his fists down on the table and I flinched. “And you could have told me goodbye in person. Not in the form of a fucking letter! You coward!” I screamed. He ran his hand through his hair and lightly shook his head. “You can’t be yelling like that or getting upset. It’s not good for the baby. Please, Emma. Please come and sit down.”

“I don’t want to sit down! Who the hell do you think you are, coming back here to see me? I’ve moved on from you, Max. I got my shit together after you left and I’m doing what’s right for my baby.” “OUR baby!” he spoke in anger. “My baby! This is my baby!” I yelled as I walked over to him with a pointed finger. “I’m the one who’s been sick every day and exhausted, barely making it through my classes. The one who’s done all the shopping and planning and crying while trying to figure out how the hell I was going to raise a baby on my own while you were sitting in your plush luxury office in FUCKING Chicago!” He got up and lightly took hold of my arm. “Emma, please.” “Don’t. Don’t you touch me!” I jerked away from him and crossed my arms, walking over to the window and staring out at the Hudson River. This was my go-to place when I needed to think. “I left that note because I couldn’t bear to look into your beautiful eyes and say goodbye. Do you think I enjoyed writing that letter? Do you think it made me happy? NO! I’ve been miserable in Chicago. I buried myself so deep into my work and company that I barely slept and when I did sleep, I dreamt of you. Every fucking night, Emma! You haunted my dreams. I tried to forget about you. I wanted to forget about you because the way I felt scared the fuck out of me.” I wiped the tears that fell down my face, but I still wouldn’t turn around and look at him. “I needed to get out of New York and away from my father. That was my plan all along. I didn’t plan on falling for you. I knew the first time I met you at the club in Miami, I was already head over heels. I tried not to fall in love with you. Why the hell do you think you didn’t see me every day? Why do you think I would let a week go by without seeing you? I was trying to stop my feelings, but it was too hard while we were both in New York. You were too close and I thought that maybe, just maybe moving to Chicago and not seeing you would help, but it didn’t. The night I sent you that text message, I had been drinking. It was the only way I could muster up the courage to do it. When you didn’t text me back, I was hurt but I understood because I knew I had hurt you by leaving the way I did. For fuck sakes, Emma. Will you turn around and look at me?” I slowly turned around and stared at the wounded man across the room who possessed the same look I once had and maybe still had. “I spent too many months trying to forget you. You have no idea how scared and alone I was,” I spewed. “I’m sorry. Can we please, at least for tonight, just push all the anger away and talk? Just talk and catch up?” he spoke in a lowered voice. “I would do anything to change the past. I’m so sorry, Emma. You have

to believe me.” The truth was that I did believe him and being angry wasn’t helping the baby. “Fine. Let’s talk then.” “Can I see the nursery?” “You know where it’s at.” He walked in the room and flipped the light on the wall. “Pink? Does that mean we’re going to have a little girl?” “Yep. I’d be really concerned if it was a boy if I were you.” He let out a light chuckle. “A daughter. I can’t believe I’m going to have a daughter. I like how you painted these two walls gray. Did you do this all by yourself?” “Yeah. The furniture is coming next week and I’ve already bought some things for the walls and I still have to hang the curtains.” “When are you due?” He looked over at me. “Eight weeks.” “I’m sorry I have to ask this, but how did this happen?” “Really, Max?” “I don’t mean it like that. You were on the pill.” “I know and there were days when I forgot, but I always doubled up the next day or two. I’m sorry.” “Don’t be sorry. I’m not mad. I’m a little scared, but not mad.” I walked to my room and took the ultrasound picture from my dresser and handed it to Max. “Meet your daughter. You can keep that. I have another one.” He stared at her with such intensity and I could see the water creep up in his eyes. “She’s beautiful, Emma.” I felt a kick and flinched, placing my hand on my belly. “What’s wrong?” Max asked in a startled voice. “She kicked. She likes to do that.” “May I?” He held out his hand. I nodded.

He placed the palm of his hand on my belly and held it there. His touch, which I had longed for and my body craved, sent my body into overdrive. She kicked again and Max felt it. A smile crossed his lips as he looked into my eyes. “Oh my God. That is incredible.” I brought my hand and placed it on his. “Emma,” he whispered. “I—” I pulled back. “Don’t, Max. I don’t think I can do this. You need to leave.” “I don’t want to leave you again. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” I turned away because I couldn’t look in his eyes anymore. The sadness was overwhelming and I was confused. “No, I don’t and I don’t want to know. These past five months have been unbearable, but every day that you weren’t here, I grew stronger. Not only for me, but for the baby. You just can’t walk back into my life and expect things to be the same. You hurt me on such a level that I don’t know if I could ever trust you again. The only thing we share is a child.” “Were you ever going to tell me about her?” “I don’t know. Maybe someday I was going to. But you have to understand that you left. You started a new life, a new company, and I wasn’t about to ruin that for you by telling you about her.” “But I’m her father. I have a right to know that she exists!” he yelled. “I wasn’t about to let you ruin her life like your father did yours.” I slowly closed my eyes. I spoke the words that would hurt him the most. “That’s low, Emma. Even for you. If you want me to leave, then fine. I’ll leave. But this isn’t over.” He turned and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him. I flinched as I stood in the middle of the nursery and sobbed. I heard the door open and Molly came walking into the nursery. “Emma, I just saw Max in the lobby.” She wrapped her arms around me. “He just thinks he can walk back into my life like nothing ever happened.”

Chapter 24 A week passed and I didn’t hear a word from Max. But then again, that was his usual style, so I wasn’t surprised. I finished up the last semester of school and ended it with a 3.8 GPA. The nursery was finished and the furniture was set to be delivered this afternoon. I couldn’t wait to get it all set up. I had purchased a chandelier from Pottery Barn Kids with sweeping scrolls, life-like candles, and sparkling crystals. The maintenance man from the building, Jim, put it up for me and replaced the existing ceiling light that was already there. As I was unwrapping some of the accessories I bought, there was a knock at the door. I looked out the peephole to see if it was the deliverymen. My heart started pounding when I saw Max standing there. I hesitantly opened the door and he came barging in without so much as a “hi.” “I just wanted you to know that I’m moving my business from Chicago to New York so I can be near my daughter. I will be in her life, Emma. You cannot stop me from seeing her. You can hate me all you want, but I will be here for her. And regardless of what you think, I will not ruin her life. I will not make the same mistakes my parents did.” As I stood there and listened to him and his raised voice, there was another knock on the door. I turned around and opened it. “We have a furniture delivery for a Miss Emma Knight.” “Yes. Come in. I’ll show you where it goes.” Max placed his hands in his pockets and stood over by the window, looking out at the view while the two men brought in the furniture and placed it in the nursery. The first was a large cardboard box with the crib in it. The second was the double dresser with the hutch and the third was a glider and ottoman I had purchased in Valetti Silver. “If you’ll sign here, we’ll be on our way.” I signed the form and thanked the deliverymen. As soon as they left, Max turned around and looked at me. “Do you have anything to say?” “Okay. A little girl needs her daddy in her life. I didn’t have that and I don’t want that for my daughter. If you want to be involved, then we’ll have to make it work. You can be involved in her life but not in

mine.” A sharply distressed look swept across his face. “If that’s the way you want it, then fine.” “Fine,” I said. I walked into the nursery and looked at the cardboard box sitting against the wall. I sighed. “Is that the crib in there?” Max asked. “Yes. I sort of thought they would have delivered it built.” Max walked over to it and asked for a pair of scissors. “What are you doing?” I asked. “I’m going to put this crib together so we need to get it out of the box.” I busted out into laughter. “What’s so funny? You don’t think I can do it?” “Honestly, no. I don’t.” He gave me a small smile. “It’s going to give me great pleasure to prove you wrong, Emma. Now please get me some scissors so I can open this up and get started.” I shook my head and walked into the kitchen to fetch a pair of scissors from the drawer. I handed them to him and took a seat in the glider, putting my feet up on the ottoman. “That’s a nice chair,” he commented. “Thanks. I saw it and couldn’t resist.” He laid the box down and opened it, taking out the directions and the overly huge plastic bag with a million screws and springs in it. I smirked. He pulled out the directions and began reading them over. His face tightened. “It says we need a screwdriver, hammer, pliers, and a ratchet set. Do you have those things?” “No.” I smiled. “Well then, I guess we’re making a trip to the hardware store and buying them. Get your shoes on. I’ll call Darren and have him come pick us up.” “Darren? He’s working for you again?” I asked as I got up from the glider. “Yes. He’s working for me full-time again and I’ve given him a large raise.” He pulled his phone out

and gave Darren a call. “He’ll be here in about ten minutes. I should bring these directions with us.” This was going to be fun. Watching him trying to build the baby’s crib was something I’d have to record. “Have you ever built anything before?” “No. But how hard can it be? The directions seem simple enough.” “Okay. If you say so.” I smirked as I slipped on my shoes and we headed out the door. When we walked out of the building, Darren was standing at the curb next to the Rolls Royce. I smiled and gave him a light hug. “Drop us off at the closest hardware store. What’s that place called? Home Department or something?” I laughed and Darren smiled at me from the rearview mirror. “You mean Home Depot?” I lightly smacked his arm. “I guess.” We walked through Home Depot and I could tell that Max had no clue what he was doing or where he was going. “See the large signs throughout the store? They tell you which department you’re in. And see the signs at the end of each aisle? They tell you what kind of items are down that aisle.” “Ah, I didn’t notice those.” I laughed again. Finally, after an hour in the store, we found the tools we needed and then had to stop in the drill section so Max could play with them. “I think I’ll buy one of these.” “For what?” “You never know when you’ll need one and they’re pretty cool.” **** As I planted my tired self back in the ottoman, Max removed all the pieces to the crib and sat down in the middle of the cluttered floor. Watching him look over the directions and trying to figure out which piece was which was funny but also amazingly sweet. “Do you need some help?” I asked. “Would you like to help?” “Sure. If you weren’t here, I would be doing it anyway.” I got up and sat down next to him on the floor and studied the diagram. About halfway through building it, he stopped and looked at me.

“I think this piece is on backwards.” “I think you’re right. Listen, we’ve been doing this for three hours and I’m starving. This little one wants to eat.” I placed both hands on my belly. “I’m starving too. How about some Thai food?” “That sounds great.” He got up and held out his hand to help me up from the floor. The minute I placed mine in his, an overwhelming feeling washed over me. He helped me up and we walked to the kitchen, where I took the menu from the side of the fridge. After deciding what we wanted, Max called in the order for delivery. I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat down at the table. “Have you seen your father?” I asked. “Yes, and it didn’t go over well. He pretty much disowned me. His words.” He sat down across from me. “Why?” To think that a parent would disown their child saddened me, and I couldn’t even imagine it. “He told me I betrayed him and he doesn’t deal with traitors. We got into a huge fight and my mom just stood there and didn’t say a word. He told me to watch my back with my company because it could all come crashing down in the blink of an eye.” “Max, I’m sorry.” “He’s a ruthless son of a bitch. He always has been and he always will be. He told me that I was no longer a part of the family and he never wanted to see me again.” “And your mom just stood by and let him talk to you like that?” “Yep. I walked out of their house and I don’t have any intention of ever going back.” “Are you going to tell them about the baby?” “No, Emma. I’m no longer a part of their family, so, technically, they aren’t going to have a grandchild.” “What about Fiona?” “I’ll tell her. She hates them and she’s flying to Paris for the summer. She said she may not come back.” “What about college?” “She’ll study over there.”

My heart ached for him. It truly did because I could see the sadness in his eyes and the despair in his voice when he talked about them. This had to be incredibly hard for him. There was a knock at the door and Max got up and answered it and set our food on the table. I took a couple of plates down and set the table. As we sat there eating, I asked him about his company. “Where are you going to set up here in New York?” “Connor Black of Black Enterprises has the third floor of his building for rent. I met with him earlier in the week and signed the agreement. It’ll do for now until the company grows. Then I can move to my own building.” “What’s your company called?” I asked out of curiosity. “Hamilton Tech. I’ve hired the best of the best to develop new software and hi tech equipment that people are going to love. Or at least I hope they do.” “They will.” I gave a small smile. After we finished eating, it was back to building the crib. Many expletives later and two more hours, it was finally built and put in its proper place. “Good job, Hamilton.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “I couldn’t have done it without your help.” I opened up the closet and took out the large bag that held some of the wall hangings. I pulled out the silver letter S and held it up. “What’s that?” Max asked. “Her first initial.” “You’ve picked a name?” “Sarah. Sarah Renee Hamilton. The meaning of Sarah is princess.” Without even thinking about it, he walked over and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him. Or at least as much as he could without my belly getting in the way. I didn’t pull back because it felt so good to be held again. “I love that name and she truly will be a princess. I wasn’t sure if you were going to give her my last name.” “Well, I wasn’t going to at first, but since you’re back and you’ve made it very clear that you’re going to be in her life, I thought I’d better. She should have the Hamilton name.”

“Thank you, Emma. You have no idea what that means to me.” He kissed the top of my head. “I bought something else.” I broke our embrace and pulled two silver butterflies from the bag. He smiled. “I always want our little girl to dance. Even on her saddest days.” “She will. She’ll have your strength and, with you as her mother, she’ll dance her whole life. Would you like me to hang them?” “Yes. Please.” He hung the oval silver mirror first and then the butterflies on each side. It was perfect. “I better get going. You look exhausted and it’s getting late,” he spoke. “Okay. Thank you for everything today.” “You’re welcome, Emma. Thank you too.” I gave him a smile as I walked him to the door. “I’ll be in touch. I promise.” “Bye, Max.” “Bye, Emma. Bye, Sarah.” He placed his hand on my belly.

Chapter 25 “Emma, how are you? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” “Mom. Calm down. I called to say hi. Everything is fine.” I heard her sigh. “Thank God. You know I get very nervous every time I see your name pop up.” “I have something to tell you, Mom. Max is back in New York and he knows about the baby. He told me that he wants to be in her life. So…” “Are you okay?” “Yeah, Mom. I’m okay.” “It’s best that he’s in her life. You know that, right? You didn’t get to grow up with a father and you didn’t have a choice. My granddaughter has a choice because her father wants to be in her life. It’s the best gift you can give her.” “I know. Listen, Mom, I have to go now. I’ll talk to you soon.” As I sat on the mushroom and looked up at the bright blue sky, I took in the warmth of the sun upon my skin. Watching the mothers pushing their babies in their strollers, I smiled because, before too long, that would be me and Sarah. The girls were happy that Max was taking responsibility for his daughter, but Molly still wasn’t convinced. She said a man like him doesn’t change overnight. Who knows? Maybe they do or maybe they don’t. I hadn’t heard from Max in a few days and I was okay with that. We were friends who were sharing a child. My phone rang and when I looked at the screen, I saw that Max was calling. I smiled. “Hello.” “Hi.” “Hi.” “Are you home?” “No.” “Where are you?” “Sitting on a mushroom in Central Park.” I smiled.

“Ah. Alice In Wonderland. Stay there. I’m on my way.” “Why?” “You’ll see. Be there soon.” Hannah and I were texting each other back and forth and, when I looked up, I saw Max walking towards me. My heart fluttered every time I saw him in one of his business suits. “Smile.” He held up his phone and snapped a picture of me. He held out his hand and helped me up. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of being in your company today, Mr. Hamilton?” “Sorry I’ve been MIA the past few days. I’ve been getting things moved from Chicago and to my new office.” “That’s good. I’m surprised you’re not at the office now.” “I was, but I really want you to see it, so that’s why I called you. I thought maybe we could go to my office and then go to lunch. Plus, I saw this really cool stroller in the window at Baby Bellini that I wanted to show you.” I gave him a small smile. “That sounds like fun.” “Great. Let’s go.” He held out his arm. We walked to the Rolls Royce where Darren was waiting for us and he drove us to Max’s office. We walked into the lobby of Black Enterprises and took the elevator up to the third floor. When the doors opened, we were greeted by a woman with long, black hair, a slender waist, and legs that any woman would die for. Not to mention the fact that when you looked at her, all you saw was her cleavage. It made me very insecure. “Hello, Mr. Hamilton.” “Hello, Brazil.” He smiled. I rolled my eyes as he led me to his office. He pushed open the large dark wood doors and we stepped inside. In front of the wall of windows sat a long, rectangular glass desk with a black executive chair behind it. “This is great, Max. It suits you.” I winked. “It’s very corporate.” “I’m glad you approve, considering I’m a corporate man.” I walked around his desk and noticed the double picture frame sitting on it. On the left side was me

sitting in the ottoman in the nursery, looking out the window with my hand on my belly, and on the right side was the ultrasound picture I gave him. “When did you take this picture of me? I look horrible.” “The day we built the crib, and I think you look beautiful. Do you have a problem with me having your picture on my desk? You are the mother of my child.” “You don’t think it’s a bit odd since we’re not together?” I arched my eyebrow. “No. That’s you pregnant and our baby girl on the other side. What’s so odd about that?” I sighed. I wasn’t about to get in an argument over it. “Nothing.” I set the picture frame down on the desk and quickly changed the subject. “Brazil? Really?” “What about her?” he asked. “I take it that cleavage is part of your employee dress code.” He chuckled. “She’s not my type.” “What is your type?” I asked unwillingly. He placed his hands on my hips. “I didn’t even know I had one until I met you.” His eyes stared into mine. I gulped. “Why don’t we head over to Baby Bellini and you can show me that really cool stroller.” He brought his finger up to my chin and then lightly ran it across my jawline. His eyes were seductive and his lips were dangerously close to mine as he leaned in closer to me. I broke our moment. I knew he was about to kiss me and I couldn’t let it happen. I was a hormonal mess and very vulnerable. “We better go.” I walked towards the door and I heard him sigh. We stepped inside Baby Bellini and, instantly, the saleslady recognized me. “Hello there. Did your furniture get delivered on time?” she asked with a smile. “Yes, and it’s just as beautiful in the nursery as it was in your window display.” “We’re here to look at that stroller you have in the window,” Max spoke. “Ah, yes. That’s our new arrival. Come with me and I’ll show the special features.” Suddenly, I felt like we were buying a car. “As you can see, the seat is reversible and it’s a simple one-step fold. This stroller is the only one

you’ll ever need. The shock and suspension is unlike any other stroller, which makes for a smooth ride. It will keep baby very happy and a happy baby makes for happy parents.” She grinned. “It also comes with this bassinet, which attaches right here. Easy on, easy off.” I glanced at the price tag. It was eight hundred dollars. “What do you think, Emma?” Max asked. “I think it’s great but a little on the expensive side for a stroller.” “But, honey, your baby will be so comfortable in it. It also has an extra-large basket for the diaper bag and any other bags you may have. And the sunshade is extendable to shield that precious little one from the sun.” “Sounds good to me. We’ll take it.” Max smiled. As soon as the Max paid for the stroller, he turned and looked at me. “Are you ready for lunch?” “Do you think you can take me home? I’m not feeling well.” “What’s wrong?” he asked with concern. “My stomach hurts a bit and I just want to lie down.” “Of course. Let’s get you home right away.” **** I stepped inside the apartment and walked straight to my bedroom and lay on the bed. Max walked in and set a bottle of water on the nightstand. “Thanks.” “You’re welcome. Do I need to call your doctor?” he asked as he placed his hand on my forehead. “No. I think I just need to sleep for a while.” “Okay. I’ll be out there if you need anything.” “You’re staying?” “Yeah. I’m not leaving you alone. I have some work to do, so I’ll just sit on the couch and do it. Now close your eyes.” He smiled. A couple of hours later, I awoke to a severe cramping in my stomach. Cramping so bad that I could barely breathe.

“MAX!” I screamed. Within a second, he came running into the room. “What’s wrong?” He leaned over me. “I don’t know. I’m cramping really bad. Something’s wrong.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Darren to get here as fast as he could. “I’m taking you to the hospital.” Tears were streaming down my face as I tried to get up with Max’s help. “Come on, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be okay.” “No, Max. Something’s wrong.” I doubled over and he grabbed me. “Okay. Let’s just get you to the hospital.” I struggled to get down to the lobby. The pain was intense. I slid into the back seat, and as soon as Max climbed in next to me, I laid my head on his shoulder and he took hold of my hand. Darren pulled up to the emergency entrance and Max flew out of the car and ran inside, getting a nurse to come outside. “What’s going on, honey?” the blonde-haired woman asked. “How far along are you?” “Twenty-eight weeks and I’m cramping really bad.” “Okay. Let’s get you out of the car and up to the labor and delivery unit.” She helped me out of the car while Max held the wheelchair and I sat down. “How far apart are the cramps?” the nurse asked. “They’re constant.” As she wheeled me up, Max held my hand. Once we arrived to the labor and delivery unit, I was immediately put into a room and two nurses helped me into a gown and quickly hooked me up to the fetal monitor. I looked at Max and grabbed his arm. “You need to call the girls and tell them I’m here.” “I will in a bit. Let’s wait and see what the doctor says.” Within minutes, Dr. Richardson walked in the room. “I’m glad I was here, Emma. What’s going on?” “I think I’m in labor, Dr. Richardson, and it’s way too soon.” He put my feet in the stirrups and looked at Max. “It’s okay. He’s the baby’s father.”

Dr. Richardson nodded and examined me. He looked at me and pursed his lips. “It’s time, Emma. We need to do a C-Section now.” I looked at Max and shook my head as my lips trembled and the tears ran down my face. “No. It’s too soon.” “We don’t have a choice.” The door flew open and two men came in with a gurney. They helped me from the bed and rushed me down the hall and into the operating room. Max followed behind and changed into scrubs and a mask. As I lay there while the nurses prepped me, horrific thoughts flooded my mind. It was too soon and I wasn’t prepared for what might happen to her. “It’s okay,” Max spoke as he pressed my hand against his lips. “I’m making the incision, Emma,” Dr. Richardson said. “Just look at me,” Max softly spoke. “She’s going to be fine. You have to believe that.” He was trying so hard to stay strong for me, but I could tell he was about to break. He held my hand and, for a moment, buried his face in my shoulder. “Get her to the NICU stat,” Dr. Richardson yelled at the nurses as he handed them Sarah. “She’s about two pounds, Emma, and we have to get her to the NICU.” “Can’t I see her?” I cried. “I’m sorry, but not yet. We have to get her the proper medical care immediately.” My mind couldn’t wrap itself around the fact that my baby was born two months early. What did I do wrong? Could I have prevented this? Random questions flooded my mind as I turned away from Max because I couldn’t bear looking at how distraught he was. He didn’t say a word and he didn’t have to. I didn’t want him to. Dr. Richardson finished stitching me up and walked over and placed his hand on mine. “Your little girl is in the best hands and is getting the best care. With today’s medical advances, babies born this early have way better survival rates than they did ten years ago. Plus, she’s a girl and girls are strong.” He winked. “You’ve been through an ordeal today and you need to rest. Not only for your baby, but for your body to start healing. It’s important, Emma, that you get as much rest as possible. You have to be strong for your daughter.” I nodded my head as tears continued to fall from my eyes. He walked out of the room and the nurses wheeled me back to mine. After getting me settled, a different nurse walked in. “Hi, Emma, my name is Lila and I’m going to be taking care of you for the rest of my shift. I’m going to

give you a little something to help you relax.” She pushed a needle into my IV line. “I promise to keep you both updated on your daughter.” Before I knew it, my eyes had closed and I was fast asleep.

Chapter 26 My eyes opened, and Max wasn’t in the room. Nobody was in the room but me. I was in pain. The numbing medication must have worn off and I was feeling it big time. As I lay there, flat on my back, looking up at the ceiling, the fear for my daughter’s life overwhelmed me and the tears started up again. A few moments later, Max walked in and came to my bedside. “Hey,” he said as he ran his thumb across my forehead. “Hey.” I swallowed hard. “I called Kara and she was going to tell Molly and Aubrey. They’ll be here later. They wanted to come now and I told them that you needed to rest first. They also said they would call your mom.” “Have you seen her?” I asked. He looked down and softly nodded. “And?” I spoke sharply. “She’s doing as well as can be expected and she’s beautiful. I talked to the specialist and he’ll be in to talk to you soon.” “What did he say?” Just then, a man who appeared to be in his forties with sandy brown long hair and green eyes stepped into the room. “Hi, Emma. I’m Dr. Cooper and I’ll be taking care of Sarah. I know what you’re going through right now both emotionally and physically, but I want you to know that the outlook for Sarah is good. Her heart is perfect and she looks as good as can be expected for a twenty-eight-week-old preemie. I don’t see any abnormalities at all. The only problem is her breathing is a little unstable and we have her hooked up to a ventilator to help her. This is common in babies born this early and I don’t want you to be alarmed. I have a special team of nurses that are the best in the field and they’re going to take care of her around the clock.” “When can I see her?” “As soon as you’re able to get out of bed. Probably tomorrow. I know it’s hard, but try to focus on healing yourself because I won’t lie to you. This is going to be one of the toughest and most exhausting

journeys you will ever face, and you need to be at your best and one hundred percent. Sarah is fighting and she’s going to need you to help her.” He gave a small smile. “I’m going to go back and check on her and I’ll talk to you both soon. Until then, rest up.” After Dr. Cooper left, Lila, the nurse, walked in. “Did you have a nice nap?” She smiled. “I see you’ve met Dr. Cooper. He’s one of the top neonatal doctors in the country. We are so fortunate to have him working here. Your daughter is in the best hands. Do you need some more pain medication?” “Yes, please.” “Okay. I’ll be right back.” “Can I get you anything, Emma?” Max kindly asked. “Maybe some water?” He took the cup from the table and brought the straw up to my lips. I slowly took a few sips. He sat down in the chair and took hold of my hand. “I believe Sarah is going to be just fine. She’s a fighter like her mom.” “I hope so because if anything happens to her, Max, it’ll destroy me.” “I know, baby. But she’ll be fine.” “Don’t you think you should tell your parents?” “I don’t want to talk about that right now and I don’t want you thinking about them.” I turned my head and looked out the window. I didn’t want to talk, period. Lila walked back in and pushed the pain meds through my IV. “There you go. You should start feeling some relief soon. Try to get some more rest and, first thing tomorrow morning, we’ll get you up and walking around. If you need anything, just press this button.” I looked over at Max, who was checking his phone. “Is something wrong?” I asked. “No. I was just looking over some emails.” “You don’t have to stay, Max. I know you’re busy.” He gave me a look of disappointment. “How could you even say that? Sarah is my child too and I’m not going to abandon her. I don’t care how busy I am. I have people that can handle work at the office for me while I’m gone.” He was extremely upset when I said that and it hadn’t been my intention to upset him. There was

nothing he could do here and he had a business to run. “Max, I’m sorry. It’s just that you don’t need to sit here with me. You have a company to run and I don’t want it to suffer.” “Don’t worry about my company, Emma. I’m staying right where I belong and that’s here with you and our daughter.” I turned away because I couldn’t look at him. I blamed myself for Sarah being born early and if something happened to her, he would never forgive me and I would never forgive myself. **** Despite me telling Max to go home last night, he stayed and slept on a cot in the room next to my bed. The morning nurse, Kayla, walked in and told me that I had to get up and try to walk around. “I need to see my baby,” I said with desperation. “Okay. Let me just call down and tell them you’re coming.” As soon as she walked out of the room, Max took hold of both my hands. “Listen, Emma, I want you to be prepared when you go and see her. She’s hooked up to different machines and tubes and I don’t want you to be scared.” “I know.” “No, baby, you don’t. It’s one thing to think about it and another when you actually see it.” Kayla walked back in the room with a wheelchair. “Are you ready?” I took in a deep, long breath and sat down in the chair. Max told the nurse that he would take me and bring me back to the room. We approached the neonatal unit and got buzzed in. My heart began to beat rapidly as he pushed me down the hallway and to the large room where Sarah was. The room was so cold and the beeping sounds of the high-calibrated machines were the only sounds I could hear. The sounds that were keeping all the sick and premature babies alive. “You must be Emma. I’m Laney and I’ve been taking care of Sarah.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. I nodded my head, unable to speak from the lump in my throat that was constricting my breathing as fear swept throughout my body. Max pushed the wheelchair up to the incubator where my baby girl lay helpless with a tube down her tiny little throat, helping her breathe. I placed my hand over my mouth as the tears fell down my face and I began to sob uncontrollably. Max knelt down beside me and wrapped his arm around me.

“I know it’s hard, but she’s going to be okay.” I felt as if I was hyperventilating. Seeing her so helpless and fighting for her life was too much. I couldn’t take it. I had to leave. “Take me back to the room, Max,” I cried as I shook uncontrollably. “Emma.” “Take me back now!” He looked at Laney, the nurse, and I heard her say that this was completely normal and that it would take a bit of time for me to adjust to seeing her like that. Max stood up and wheeled me back to the room. I was hysterical and couldn’t stop crying. This wasn’t fair to Sarah and it was all my fault. As I climbed back into the bed, Kayla came in and pushed some medication through my IV. “This is going to help you relax and calm down, Emma. Don’t fight it.” Max held my hand and stared at me with tears in his eyes as I slowly closed mine and drifted to sleep.

Chapter 27 I awoke to the sounds of whispering. When I opened my eyes, I saw my mom standing over me. “Emma,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Mom. What are you doing here?” “I took the first flight out of Miami. I needed to be here for my girls. I’m so sorry you’re going through this.” She sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on my cheek. “Sarah is going to be just fine. She’s going to pull through this. She’s a Knight and we Knight women are fighters.” “You met Max?” “Yes.” She smiled at him. Max walked over to the other side of the bed. “You need to eat something. I took the liberty of ordering your dinner because you were asleep. If you want me to go get you something else, I will.” “I’m not hungry. I can’t eat.” “Emma, you have to. You have to keep your strength up for your daughter,” my mom spoke. “Now that your mom is here, I’m going to step outside and make a few phone calls.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead and walked out of the room. “That man loves you, Emma.” “Mom. I don’t want to talk about him right now. I totally freaked out when I saw her lying in that incubator. I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to get away as fast as I could. What kind of mother am I?” I began to sob. “The kind of mother who is scared to death for her child. Emma, you have to believe that she’s going to pull through. If you don’t have hope or faith, then neither does she.” “It’s so hard seeing her like that. I don’t know if I can do this. I’m not strong enough.” “Nonsense. Now you listen to me. You are strong and you will be strong for that little girl. Remember what I always told you: God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. If God didn’t think you could do this, then he would have already taken her.” There was a knock on the door and, when it opened, a young girl walked in with my dinner tray and set

it on my table. She gave me a small smile and, as she walked out, Max walked back in. My mom took the lid off and stared at the chicken breast that lay on the plate. “Good choice, Max.” She smiled. “You can’t go wrong with chicken, right?” “Let’s hope not.” She winked. I took a couple of bites and pushed it away. “I’m not hungry.” I felt broken beyond repair. I was helpless to my daughter and my emotions were all over the place. After a few hours, my mom looked tired and I told her to go to my apartment and get some rest. The truth was that I just wanted to be alone. “I’m going to take your mom back to your place. Do you need me to get you anything while I’m there?” “Can you bring me my pink nightgown and matching robe that’s hanging on the bathroom door? My hairbrush, toothbrush, rubber bands, deodorant.” He smiled. “Of course I can. I’ll be back in a while. Are you going to be okay?” “Yeah. I just want to be alone for a while.” My mom lightly hugged me and kissed my head. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, sweetheart.” “Bye, Mom.” As soon as they left, I lay there; confused, helpless, and overwhelmed. Lila was back on shift and when she walked into the room, she smiled at me. “Have you been up and around?” “Not really. I’ve been asleep most of the day.” “Well, come on, Emma. Let’s do this.” “I can’t,” I said as I turned my head. “Yes, you can and you will. You aren’t getting a pity party from me. You’re going to get up and you’re going to walk around. You’re going to get stronger and then you’re going to help that little girl of yours.” She helped me up from the bed and lightly held on to me as I slowly walked up and down the hall. About two hours later, Max returned and set my bag on the chair in the corner. “How are you?” he asked as he walked over to the bed.

“I need a shower.” “Are you allowed?” “Yeah, but I’m going to need your help because I can’t lift my arms to wash my hair.” “Of course I’ll help you.” Suddenly, the raw emotion of him seeing me naked terrified me. The last time he saw me, I was slender and toned. “You know what? Forget it. I can take it some other time.” “Why? I think taking a shower will help you feel a little better. Maybe even clear your mind a bit.” “No. It’s okay.” I crossed my arms over my chest. He gave me a strange look and narrowed his eye. “Are you afraid to be naked in front of me? Have you forgotten that I’ve seen all of you and that’s what got us here in the first place?” “No. I haven’t forgotten. But the last time you saw me naked, I was thin and we were having sex.” “It doesn’t matter. You were beautiful then and you’re just as beautiful now.” “I know this may sound crazy to you but sometimes, when I look at you, I feel like you’re a stranger.” “I’m sorry, Emma. I truly am. Please let me help you. Please.” “Fine.” He helped me to the bathroom and closed the door. He turned on the water and made sure it was nice and hot, but not too hot. He rolled up his sleeves and untied the back of my gown, taking it off of me and setting it on the sink. He didn’t look at me any differently than he used to. I stepped into the tub and stood there as he removed the handheld showerhead and let it run down my blonde hair. “I brought your shampoo and conditioner. I left it in the bag. Hold this and I’ll be right back.” A few seconds later, he entered the bathroom with my bottles of shampoo and conditioner from home. He poured some in his hand and slowly massaged it into my hair. Oh my God, his fingers felt so good on my scalp. After rinsing, he ran some conditioner through my hair and then helped me wash my body. “Did my mom get settled okay?” “Yeah. She’s a great woman, Emma. You’re lucky to have her as a mother.” “Thanks. She is pretty awesome.”

“Darren sends his love. He said he’ll stop by tomorrow if you’re feeling up to it.” “That would be great.” Once my shower was finished, I stepped out and Max wrapped the towel around me. After changing into my nightgown and robe, I walked over to the bed and sat down. “I want to see her again, Max.” “Now?” “Yeah.” “Maybe you should wait until the morning.” I shook my head. “No. I want to see her now.” “Okay. I’ll go grab a wheelchair.” “I can walk.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah.” We went to the neonatal unit and walked into the cold room. Laney, the nurse I met earlier, smiled when she saw me. “You’re back.” “I’m sorry about earlier.” She placed her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t apologize. It’s hard to see your baby like that the first time. I walked over to where she was lying and Laney pulled up a chair. I sat down as a few tears filled my eyes. “You can touch her.” Laney smiled. “Really?” I looked up at her. “Babies need their mother’s touch and she can hear you too, so make sure to talk to her. Trust in your abilities to start parenting. She needs you now more than ever.” I placed my hand through the large hole of the incubator and felt the warmth on my skin as my finger softly stroked her little hand.

“She’s beautiful.” I began to cry as I looked up at Max. “I know she is. Would it be wrong of me to say she’s the most beautiful baby in this hospital?” I let out a light laugh. “When will I be able to hold her?” I asked Laney. “Probably in a couple of days. She’s doing really well and she may be able to come off the ventilator soon. She is a little anemic, which is common in babies born this early, so tomorrow morning, we’re going to give her a blood transfusion. It’s nothing to worry about and just about every baby in here has had one. I’ll leave the two of you alone to visit with your daughter. If you need anything, I’ll be right across the room.” As I stared at Sarah and stroked her tiny arm, I still couldn’t believe that she was here. Max knelt down next to me and I removed my hand so he could touch her. “Go ahead.” I gave a small smile. When he touched her hand, she splayed her little fingers. “She moved.” He smiled. I laid my head on his shoulder as I stared at my beautiful tiny baby girl. We took turns touching and comforting her until Laney told us that we had to leave because they were about to do a shift change. We walked back to the room and I could tell how tired Max was. “I want you to go home, Max. You need to get some proper sleep in your own bed.” “I’m fine, Emma.” “Seriously, Max. Go. I’m fine and you can come back first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll wait for you to go and see her.” “Are you sure?” “I’m positive.” “All right then. I’ll be here first thing in the morning.” He leaned over and kissed my head. As soon as he left the room, I lay down and buzzed the nurse for some more pain meds. Max and I had a long road ahead of us as far as Sarah was concerned. He was so attentive to me and my needs and a feeling of confusion settled inside of me. I kept thinking about my father and how he just left us without any explanation at all. As I lay there, I heard the sounds of the crying babies who were with their mothers in their rooms. I stayed in the hospital a couple of more days and, on my last day there, I was able to hold my little girl for a few minutes. When the nurse put her in my arms, I began to cry when she opened her eyes and looked

at me. Dr. Cooper had walked over to us and told us how well she was doing and that tomorrow they would be taking her off the ventilator. The hardest part was yet to come. The moment I had to step outside the hospital doors and leave my daughter behind. My mom stayed with me the entire day yesterday and then had to catch a flight back to Miami to go back to work at the diner. They were down a waitress because Maureen’s husband had passed away. Max and I went back to my room and the nurse brought in the discharge papers for me to sign. “Since you don’t have any insurance, we’ll need a partial payment today,” she spoke. “I will pay for Emma’s stay, but my daughter is covered under my insurance plan through my company.” She nodded and left the room. “Max, you don’t need to do that.” “Yes, I do. Now no arguing. Are you ready to go home?” “No. I’m not,” I replied as I walked over to the window and stared out into the courtyard. He walked over and placed his hands on my shoulders. “I know how hard this is because I’m feeling it too, but we have no choice.” I sighed. “I know.” Darren had come up and taken the flowers that my friends sent me down to the car while Max grabbed my bag. We were supposed to wait for a wheelchair, hospital policy, but I didn’t want to go down in one. I was more than capable of walking.

Chapter 28 Max and I looked like ordinary people walking out of the hospital. We didn’t appear to be new parents, holding our baby and putting her in her car seat for the first time. We left holding only the bag Max had packed for me. I gulped as I watched a new mom smiling down at her baby as she handed him to his father to be put in the car. Tears started to fill my eyes and the overwhelming feeling of loneliness crept inside me. “Come on, Emma. Get inside the car.” I slid inside and wiped the tear that fell from my eye. Max took hold of my hand and kissed the side of my head without saying a word. I stepped inside my apartment first while Max followed behind with my bag and Darren carried up the flowers. I walked straight to the nursery and looked at the empty crib that was waiting for Sarah. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I was supposed to bring her home and show her how beautiful her room is.” I wiped another tear that fell. “I know, sweetheart, but you will be bringing her home and we need to be thankful for that.” “Every new mother is supposed to bring her baby home. Not leave her alone in a hospital!” I yelled. “She’s not alone, Emma. She’s being well taken care of and looked after.” He lightly gripped my shoulders and I jerked away from him. “I’m her mother. She’s supposed to be with me! With me.” I began to cry. Max cautiously wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him, holding my head tightly against his firm chest as I continued to sob. We both slowly fell to the ground and he continued to hold me without saying a word. Once I calmed down, Max told me he had something for me. He got up and said that he’d be right back. A few moments later, he walked back in the room and handed me a long, velvet red box with gold trim. I slowly opened the lid, and inside sat a silver bracelet with three dainty silver charms. One of the charms was round and had a baby’s footprint and Sarah’s name engraved underneath. The other round charm said “Mom” and the third charm was of a beautiful silver butterfly. “Max, it’s beautiful.” “Do you really like it?” “I love it. But you didn’t have to do this.”

“You’re right. I didn’t have to. I wanted to.” He smiled. He took the bracelet out of the box and placed it around my wrist. I looked up at him as he softly wiped away my tears and placed his hands on either side of my face. “We’re in this together, Emma. You don’t have to do it alone. I’ll be there every step of the way. I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but I came back for you because I love you. I’m so madly in love with you and being away for five months drove me insane. I’m here for you whether you want me to be or not.” I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him, burying my face in his neck. I didn’t know where this was going and I was scared. So scared that I couldn’t even tell him that I loved him too. “Why did you leave me?” I blurted out unexpectedly. “Because at the time, I thought it was the right thing to do. I was trying to save you from me. I was scared, Emma; frightened of my feelings for you. I was confused and unsure. I was so focused on getting out of New York and getting out from under my father’s control, I couldn’t see straight. Had I known you were pregnant, I never would have left. Did you know you were pregnant?” “No. I didn’t find out until a week later, the night your father paid me a visit.” He broke our embrace and looked at me. “What? He came here?” “Yes. We got into it and he grabbed my arm and called me a filthy whore.” “WHAT?!” he shouted and I flinched. “He put his hands on you?” “I found out I was pregnant that night after he left. I started having really bad cramping and Kara took me to the hospital. I thought it was appendicitis because I had been sick prior to that. It was when the doctor did an ultrasound that I found out.” Max got up. “I need to leave for a while, but I’ll be back. Go lie down and get some rest.” “Max, no. Don’t confront him.” “I have to, Emma. He won’t get away with this. He had no right.” He walked out of the room and out of my apartment. ****

Max The rage I felt inside me was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. How dare that man harass Emma like he did. I took a cab over to my parents’ house and called Darren to meet me there and wait outside. I ran up the steps and threw open the door. My mom came running down the stairs.

“Max. What the hell is going on?” “Where is he?!” I yelled. “Who?” “Bradshaw. Who else?” “What the hell are you doing here?” my father asked as he stepped into the living room. Just the mere sight of him made me sick. I lunged at him and threw a punch, hitting him hard as he went down. “Oh my God, Max. Stop!” My mom grabbed my arm and tried to hold me back. “Did he tell you, Mom? Did he tell you how he went over to Emma’s apartment and grabbed her arms, calling her a filthy whore?” “What? Bradshaw, did you do that?” He lay there on the ground, holding his jaw. “Yes. I did.” “Why?” my mom asked in anger. “Because she wouldn’t cooperate and tell me the truth.” “You son-of-a-bitch.” I lunged at him again and grabbed him by the shirt. “Don’t you ever fucking go near her again. After you left, she had to go to the hospital for severe stomach pains due to the stress you caused her. You know what she found out? That she was pregnant with my child.” My mom placed her hand over her mouth and lightly touched my arm. I jerked away from her. “Don’t you dare touch me,” I snapped at her. “A few days ago, Emma gave birth to our baby, two months early, and now my daughter is fighting for her life in the NICU.” “A girl? I have a granddaughter?” She started to cry. “No. You have nothing because you will never ever meet her and she will never know that the two of you exist.” “You can’t do that,” my father spoke. I sharply turned towards him and saw the fear in his eyes. “You’re no father. You’re nothing but a filthy rich depressed man who’s so unhappy with his life that you have to go and fuck every young woman you can get your hands on.” “Max! That’s enough!” my mom screamed.

“Turn the other cheek, Mom. Because God knows you’re so damn good at it. Stay by his side all you want. You both are dead to me and I will never raise my child in a home like I was raised in.” I stormed out of the living room and my mom ran after me, grabbing hold of my arm. “Don’t go. You’re obviously upset and hurting. Let’s talk about this and about your daughter.” “No. I tried to talk to you for years and you always took his side. Well, now you can be alone with him because you no longer have a son and I suspect, before too long, you won’t have a daughter either. How does it feel to lose both your children?” I opened the door and walked out as my mom screamed my name from the doorway. I hopped in the front seat of the Rolls Royce and told Darren to pull away immediately. “I’m sorry, Max.” “It’s fine, Darren. I’ve said what I came to say and now I’m going back to Emma. I have my company and my own family to focus on. I told her that I loved her today.” “How did she respond?” “She didn’t.” I sighed. “I’m just going to wait for her for as long as it takes and I pray to God she still loves me.” ****

Emma I heard the door open as I lay on the couch. I sat up and looked at Max as he walked towards me. “Are you okay?” I asked as he sat down next to me. “I’m fine. I said what needed to be said and I told them about Sarah, but also that they will never meet her.” “Max.” “No, Emma. Don’t. I don’t want to think or talk about them. They no longer exist in my life. The only thing that matters to me is you and Sarah.” He put his arm around me and pulled me into him, kissing the top of my head. “How are you feeling?” “Okay, I guess. I can’t stop thinking about Sarah and I want to see her so badly.” “I know. Me too. We’ll see her first thing tomorrow morning.” There was silence for a while before I decided to bring something up. “I never talked to you about how

I felt before we called off the engagement.” “What do you mean?” “I never told you how I felt about you. I never told you that I was falling in love with you because I was scared that you didn’t feel the same way and I didn’t want you to feel guilty. Maybe I should have told you, but you were so excited about going to Chicago and starting your own business and I didn’t want to ruin that for you. It was your opportunity to shine and I wasn’t going to take that away. But when you left, I hated you for leaving me, even though you didn’t know how I felt.” “But I knew, Emma. I knew you were in love with me. Why do you think I wrote you that letter? I swear to you I never meant to hurt you and the more time I spent away from you, the more I drank to get you off my mind, until one day I couldn’t take it anymore. I missed everything about you. I missed your smile, your cute laugh, the way you smelled, kissing your beautiful lips, and waking up to your body wrapped around mine. You had dreams here in New York and I couldn’t risk you losing them for someone like me. I would never ask you to give up your dream of going to Parsons. When I finally came back home and saw you were pregnant, the worst feeling in the world washed over me. I was so scared that she wasn’t mine. If you’re scared that I’ll become my father, you don’t have to be. I would never do that.” I needed to ask him a question, but I was too scared to know the truth, if he would even tell me the truth. I took in a deep breath. “Did you sleep with anyone while you were in Chicago?” “No,” he replied without hesitation. “I didn’t want anyone else. Only you.” “You’re a guy and guys have needs.” “Yes, I do have needs and it wasn’t a problem every time I looked at your picture, and there may have been some porn involved.” He winked. I couldn’t help but smile. I stared into his eyes as he stared back. I stared so hard that I could see his soul. His beautiful, apologetic soul. “I love you, Emma.” “I love you too, Max. I never stopped.” “I’m going to kiss your soft lips that I’ve missed so badly.” “Please do because I’ve missed yours too.” He brought his lips to mine and softly kissed me. It felt good to touch him again and even better to be loved by him.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” I asked. “I’m never leaving you again.” He smiled. “We can’t have sex for at least six weeks.” I pouted. “I know, and I’m okay with that because as long as I can kiss your lips, hold your hand, and wrap my arms around you, I’m good and I can wait.”

Chapter 29

The days went by slowly and the countdown was on until we were able to bring our baby home. I spent all my days sitting with Sarah, holding her, watching her stare at me and wrapping her tiny hand around my finger. It had been four weeks since I delivered her and every day she was getting stronger. She was no longer in the incubator because her body was able to regulate its own temperature, which meant she was in an open crib where I had more access to her. She was my tiny miracle and I loved her so much. I didn’t think it was possible to love someone so much. She had gained approximately two pounds since her birth, putting her at four pounds. She was thriving and I couldn’t wait to bring her home. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen for about two to three more weeks. As I was holding her and trying to feed her, Max walked in. “How are my girls?” he asked as he kissed my cheek. “We’re doing great. She’s having a good day.” I smiled. Since I had been there all day with her, I got up from the chair and carefully handed her to Max. It was his turn to spend some time with his daughter. His company was taking off better than he expected and he spent most days at the office, but he always came to the hospital midday and at night. Since the girls couldn’t visit Sarah, they would come to the hospital and we’d have lunch together and catch up. “Guess what?” I said to Max. “What?” “I didn’t tell you this earlier because I wanted to wait. I had my post-baby checkup today and I received the okay.” His eyes widened. “Are you sure?” “Yes, and there’s something else.” “What?” “I want to go out on a date tonight.” “Just the two of us?” he asked. “Did you want anyone else to go?” I laughed. “No. I mean. God. I don’t know what I mean.” He smiled. “Of course we can go out on a date. Are you

sure you’re up to it?” “The question is, Mr. Hamilton, are you up to it?” I winked. “Emma, don’t. I’m holding our daughter.” As soon as she was finished eating, we kissed her goodbye and went home to change and go on our date. Max had been staying at my place every night. I’d longed to make love to him. My longing had gotten so bad, I started dreaming about it. Thank God he never noticed. I took care of him every now and again and he was happy with that. But tonight, tonight was going to be the night that our bodies would connect again and become one. “You look so beautiful.” He smiled as he stared at me in my fitted black low cut dress and my black heels. “Thank you. Can you put this on, please?” I handed him the butterfly necklace he gave me. After putting it around me, he leaned in and planted tiny light kisses on my neck. “Sorry, Mr. Hamilton, you’ll have to wait until later.” “I’m just sampling.” He smiled. We left the apartment and had dinner at Per Se. As we were eating, Max stunned me with what he said. “I have a proposed deal for you.” I cocked my head and slyly smiled at him. “What kind of deal?” “I found a new apartment today and I need you and Sarah to move in with me, but I promise it’s only for a specific amount of time.” “Really? And how much time are we talking?” I asked. “Forever.” He smiled. “Hmm. If I do that for you, what’s in it for me?” “Me, of course. For a lifetime.” He winked. “I think that’s a fair deal. Where’s this apartment at?” “I’ll take you there tomorrow.” He reached across the table and took my hand. “Listen, Emma. I want us both to start somewhere new. I could have easily asked you to move into my place, but since we’re starting fresh and with Sarah, I thought it would be best to move. If you like the penthouse, then I would hire decorators to paint the nursery exactly how you already have it. Nothing would be changed.”

“Penthouse? I like that idea, Max. I can’t wait to see it.” “Good. I was hoping you’d be excited about it. We can go tomorrow morning before heading to the hospital.” After we finished eating, Max held his arm out and I took hold of it as we walked out of the restaurant. “Where to now?” he asked. “Home.” I smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He kissed my lips. **** His hands swept over my body as if he had never touched me before. Slowly unzipping the back of my dress, Max pressed his lips against mine and took down each strap, letting it fall to the ground. My hand traveled to the front of him, feeling his already hard cock through the fabric of his pants. He moaned as my fingers deftly moved up and down him. He laid me down gently on the bed and hooked his fingers on each side of my panties, sliding them down and removing them. Unbuttoning his pants and sliding them off his hips, he climbed on the bed in between my legs as his tongue slowly slid up the inside of my thigh. I was already pulsating for him. I missed him so much and I missed his erotic touches. He set my body on fire with each flick of his tongue against my clit. When he slipped his finger inside of me, we both gasped. His mouth made its way up my torso, over my breasts, and up to my mouth, where his lips passionately kissed me as he manipulated my insides. “I need to be inside of you now, Emma. I can’t wait any longer. It’s been far too long.” He grabbed hold of his manhood and slowly entered me. He was gentle and passionate and taking his time, savoring every moment with each long, deep thrust. I threw my head back in pleasure and wrapped my arms around him, pulling his naked body down onto mine. “I love you so much,” he whispered as his lips explored my neck. “I love you too,” I panted as his thrusts became faster and brought me to climax. “You feel so good, baby. God, I’ve wanted you for so long.” He moved faster in and out of me, his cock swelling with delight as he thrust one last time, pulling out and releasing himself all over my stomach. He looked at me and smiled as he softly kissed my lips. “I’ll be right back.” He walked into the bathroom to grab some tissues as I lay there in my happy place, my body relaxed

and the burning desire to fuck him again, but confused as to why he pulled out instead of coming inside of me. Max climbed in bed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. “Okay, we need to talk.” “About what?” he asked. “Why didn’t you come in me?” He chuckled. “I’m sorry, but I got scared.” I laughed. “Scared of what?” “That you’d get pregnant again.” “Well, I’ve been back on the pill for three weeks, but you’re right. Now I’m a little nervous. Maybe we should get some latex-free condoms to use for the next couple of weeks or so. Just in case.” “We could or maybe I can just keep pulling out until we’re one hundred percent sure it’s safe. I have a feeling we’ll be going through way too many condoms too fast because I plan on making love to you at least three times a day. We have a lot of catching up to do.” “We sure do, Mr. Hamilton, and I think I’m ready for round two.” “I love it when you say things like that.” He smiled as he pulled me on top of him.

Chapter 30

Max and I got up bright and early the next morning. After showering together, we got dressed and headed to the penthouse that Max was dying to show me. “So where exactly is this penthouse?” I asked as I took hold of his hand when he slid in next to me. “East 61st Street. About eleven minutes from my other apartment. It’s closer to my office and only one minute further to Parsons for you.” Darren pulled up to the curb and Max slid out, holding out his hand to me. I looked up and saw the name Trump Towers splayed across the front of the thirty-nine-story building. I gasped. “This is Trump Towers.” “I know.” Max chuckled. “Wait until you see the penthouse.” We took the elevator up to the thirty-second floor to apartment 32BC. When Max opened the door, an older lady approached us. “Good morning, Mr. Hamilton.” “Good morning, Maggie. I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Emma Knight.” “It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled as she held out her hand. “Let’s take a look around, shall we?” Just stepping through the front door, I already knew this was the perfect place for the three of us. “This penthouse offers three bedrooms and four bathrooms, a separate den, and two private wraparound terraces. But the best part of this home is the views of Central Park from every room.” I was blown away by the elegance of the light stained oak flooring and the over-sized picture windows throughout the entire place. “Let’s start in the kitchen area. You can see this is a chef’s kitchen with a pristine window over the sink, white stone countertops and top-of-the-line appliances by Miele, Wolf, and Subzero. I can envision you cooking many wonderful meals here.” I looked at Max and he smiled because he knew all too well that I wasn’t all that great of a cook. “This is the dining area, which will seat eight people comfortably. Next, we have the large living area, which features one of the generous wraparound terraces, which faces the west, a beautiful feature for

when you throw elegant parties. Next, we’ll move onto the master suite, which features a private den off the back as well as the second wraparound private terrace. The best feature of this room is his and her bathrooms because we ladies know we need our own bathroom to accommodate all of our beauty products.” I stepped into the extremely large oversized walk-in closet and swallowed hard. I’d never seen anything like it. It was triple the size of the one I had at my apartment. “Nice, isn’t it?” Maggie smiled. “Now, if you open this door right here, it leads to the second walk-in closet for Mr. Hamilton. That way, you don’t have to worry about space for your collection of clothes, shoes, jewelry, and handbags,” she whispered. “Max has more clothes and shoes than I have.” I laughed. “Not for long, sweetheart.” He winked. We stepped out of the room and into the hallway, where Maggie showed us the additional two guestrooms, each having their own bathroom. “Well, what do you think?” Maggie asked. “I love it. I’m speechless at how amazing this place is.” I looked over at Max and placed my arm around his waist. “I can totally see us living here and making it our home.” “So you love it?” he asked. “Yes. It goes beyond love.” He let out a sign of relief. “Thank God because I already bought it.” “What? When?” I laughed. “Yesterday. I knew you’d love it and I was afraid it would sell before you had the chance to see it.” “I do love it, Max. Thank you.” I reached up and gave him a kiss on his lips. “You’re welcome. I think the three of us will be very happy here.” “Congratulations to the both of you. You’ve made the right decision.” Maggie smiled as she walked away. “Yeah, of course we did because now she gets a huge commission,” Max whispered in my ear. “We’ll need to go furniture shopping,” I said. “Unless you just want to bring your furniture from your apartment.”

“Nah. If we’re starting new, then everything is going to be new and I want us to pick out furniture we both like together. Especially our bedroom set.” He winked. “The only furniture coming here will be Sarah’s from her nursery and I’ve already hired the decorators to duplicate the room.” “Have I told you how much I love you?” I asked with a smile. “Not today, you haven’t.” We stopped in front of the doorway and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love you to the moon and back, Mr. Hamilton.” “I love you more, Miss Knight. Now let’s go see our baby girl.” **** After scrubbing up and stepping inside the NICU, Max and I walked over to Sarah. She was awake. “There’s my baby girl.” I smiled as I picked up her tiny body and cradled her in my arms. “She looks so good, Max.” “Yes, she does.” He bent down and kissed her head. “Good news.” Laney the nurse walked over and said with a huge smile. “You will get to take Sarah home in one week.” “Really?” Excitement overtook me. There was finally light at the end of the tunnel for us. “Yep. She’s doing better every day and getting stronger. She’s drinking full bottles now and she’s holding her own. Dr. Cooper will talk to you later when he gets here.” “Oh my God, Max. We’ll finally get to bring her home. I’m so excited.” “Me too, baby. That means we have exactly one week to move and get everything in order.” “It’s not possible,” I said as I looked at him. “Sure it is. We can do it. If you’ll excuse me, I have several phone calls to make.” I smiled as he kissed me and walked out. “Did you hear that, Sarah? You get to come home with Mommy and Daddy in one week.” I smiled as I kissed her head and cuddled her against my chest. We spent the next day traveling from furniture store to furniture store, picking out every piece of furniture we needed. I had the best ideas of how to decorate and Max agreed with me. “You’re the interior designer, so anything you pick out will be amazing.”

“Not an interior designer yet, my love.” “Well, consider our home your first project.” We picked out everything we needed to fill our space while the movers were at both my apartment and Max’s, packing everything up. Max had to pull some strings to get the furniture delivered within a couple of days. Things were moving so fast that it was making my head spin. The nursery was being painted and the furniture was being moved over to the penthouse. I had given the colors to the painters to ensure they bought the right color paint. It was now day six and tomorrow was the big day. Sarah was coming home. We spent our first night at our new place last night and christened our new bed more than once. Furniture wise, everything was in its place, including the nursery and all of Sarah’s things I had purchased. Cardboard boxes filled most of the wall space with our things in them from the other apartments and I had planned to start unpacking after I went to the hospital to visit Sarah. It was a Saturday and Max told me he had to stop by the office for a bit to catch up on some work and that he’d meet me at the hospital. As I was feeding Sarah her bottle and rocking her in the chair, Max walked in with a big smile on his face. “Hi.” He bent down and gave us both a kiss. “Hi. Did you get some work done?” “I sure did. Let’s go to lunch. I’m starving.” “Okay. We can grab something to eat in the cafeteria.” “Emma, I was thinking of a nice restaurant. Aren’t you sick of eating this hospital food?” “A little, but I don’t want to leave her.” He gave me a small smile as he knelt down beside me. “We’ll come back later and she’ll be home tomorrow.” “Okay.” After I fed her, Max took her from me and burped her. Watching him with her was one of the most precious moments of my life. He was a natural and he loved her more than anything in the world. After we laid her down and said goodbye, Max took me to a place called Anassa Taverna. “What restaurant is this?” I asked as we stepped out of the Rolls Royce. “A place with really good food.” He smiled.

We walked through the large doors and Max led me up the stairs. When I reached the top step, everyone yelled, “Surprise!” I was taken back as I placed my hand over chest. “Oh my God. What is this?” I asked in excitement as I looked around at all the people staring at me. “It’s your baby shower!” Molly exclaimed as she hugged me. I looked at Max and he had a big grin on his face. “Did you do this?” “I helped.” He winked. I looked around at the tables that were covered in white tablecloths with a light pink overlay. White and pink balloons with Sarah’s name were scattered everywhere and centerpieces made of white and pink roses filled each table. Tears sprang to my eyes as Kara and Aubrey hugged me. “You didn’t think we’d let you go without a shower, did you?” “I didn’t think about it, actually.” I was overwhelmed and overjoyed. “I have another surprise for you.” Max smiled as he took my hand and led me over to the corner of the bar, where I saw my mom and Danny sitting. I could no longer hold back the tears as she walked over to me and gave me a hug. “Oh, my baby girl. I’ve missed you so much.” “Mom. I’m so happy you’re here. I can’t wait for you to meet Sarah.” “You look amazing, Emma.” Danny smiled as he hugged me. “When did you two get in?” I asked. “Last night. Thanks to Max here.” She placed her hand on his chest. “Oh my.” She smiled. I let out a laugh and then walked around to the hundred guests that had attended. A majority were Max’s friends and coworkers and my friends from school. “Fiona wished she could be here, but she’s in the middle of a job in Paris and couldn’t fly out.” “She couldn’t get out, but I could!” I heard a familiar voice behind me. “Macy!” I turned and hugged her. “Congratulations, Emma. I’m so happy for you and Max.” “Thank you.” I spent some time talking to Hannah and Austin before it was time to sit down and eat. Max sat beside

me and took hold of my hand. “Are you happy?” “Incredibly. Thank you so much for this, Max. I think I’ll keep you around.” I winked. “I hope so.” He brushed his lips against mine. After I opened the mounds of presents ranging from baby books, toys, equipment, and clothes, everyone was beginning to leave. “How are we going to get all this stuff home?” I asked. “I have a truck outside, waiting for my signal to come up and start loading.” “You think of everything, Mr. Hamilton.” “I try, Miss Knight.” I was excited to get home and show the girls and my mom our new home. As soon as we walked through the doors, everyone gasped. “Holy shit! Look at this place!” Molly exclaimed. “Absolutely stunning,” Kara chimed. “Oh, Emma, this is gorgeous,” my mom said with tears in her eyes. She took hold of my hands. “You are so lucky to have Max in your life. He’s a good man, Emma. He’s got a heart of gold. I can tell.” “Where did he put you up at?” I asked with a smile. “The Trump Hotel.” “And what a hell of a hotel it is,” Danny spoke. Max laughed as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. “I’m happy you like it there.” My mom put her arm around Danny and looked at both Max and me. “We have some news of our own. We’re getting married!” I put my hands over my mouth. “Mom! That’s wonderful news. Congratulations.” I hugged them both tightly. “When?” “We decided to wait about six months. We’re going to do it right with a wedding and all. I wanted to wait until it was safe for Sarah to travel and I want you to be my maid of honor.” Tears sprang to my eyes as I looked at her. “Of course I’ll be your maid of honor,” I squealed.

We spent the early evening talking and catching up. As soon as they left, Max and I went to the hospital to visit Sarah. We held her, played with her, talked to her, and gave her lots of little kisses. Our little bundle of joy was finally coming home tomorrow and we couldn’t be happier.

Chapter 31 As Max and I walked out of the hospital with our baby girl, we finally looked like new parents. I had bought little gifts of thank you to give to all the nurses who took special care of her in the NICU. They had become like family to us. Being there every day, talking to them, and getting to know each of them personally, we felt that they had a special place in our hearts and we couldn’t thank them enough for all they’d done for our little girl. Stepping into our apartment, I was shocked when I walked in and the mess that consumed us between all the things from the baby shower and our move was suddenly gone. “Max, what happened here?” “I had people come in and organize everything. We couldn’t bring our daughter home to a mess.” “That was so sweet of you. But how are we going to know where everything is?” “You’ll learn, baby. Don’t sweat the small stuff.” He winked. We took Sarah to the nursery and laid her down in her crib. She stared up at us with her beautiful eyes and kicked her little legs. “She likes her new bed.” I smiled. “Anything is better than what she was sleeping in all those weeks.” I gently smacked Max on the arm and laughed. My mom and Danny came over that evening and when my mom saw Sarah, she started to cry. “She’s beautiful, Emma. She looks just like you.” “You think?” “Yes. I do. I can see some of Max in her as well. You two make beautiful babies.” “We do, don’t we?” Max said as he clasped my shoulders. After visiting for a while, they left because they had an early flight back to Miami in the morning. I was sad to see her go but more than ready to be alone with Max and Sarah. The past months had been the hardest and it was going to be nice to finally start living a normal life again.

**** The first week was rough. Sarah only slept a couple hours each time, so she was up most of the night. When she awoke at three a.m., Max said that he’d feed her. I didn’t argue because I was exhausted. As I lay there, I could hear him talking to her over the baby monitor. “You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on, well, except for your mommy. Since we’re going to be here a while, Daddy has a story to tell you about butterflies.” I smiled as I listened to him tell her all about the butterflies. I got out of bed and stood in the doorway of the nursery. “I’ll always make sure you dance, princess. You will never have to worry about anything. Your life will be filled with love and happiness and no matter what obstacles you face, your mom and dad will always be here to make sure you get through it and continue to dance throughout your life.” I walked over to him and sat on the arm of the chair, placing my arm around his neck. When he looked up at me, I leaned down and softly kissed his lips. We both looked at Sarah, who was now fast asleep. “I love you both so much,” he said. “We love you too, baby. More than anyone else in the entire world.” I carefully took her from his arms and laid her down in her crib. Max walked over and picked me up, carrying me to the bedroom. “I need to make love to you right now. If that’s okay.” “It’s more than okay and believe me when I tell you that I’m more than ready for you.” He raised his eyebrow as he laid me down on the bed, pushing the edge of my panties to the side and feeling how wet I was for him. “You sure are, my love.” He smiled. **** Another week had passed and it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Max was so excited to take Sarah for a walk to Central Park. He was all smiles as he put her in her new stroller. “Look at how amazing this stroller is. Doesn’t she look beautiful in it? Push it, Emma. Feel how smooth the ride is.” I couldn’t help but laugh at him. He was like a kid with a new toy. As we were walking down the street, Max abruptly stopped. I didn’t know why at first because I had my head turned, looking at some of

the window displays. When I turned my head, I saw his mother standing in front of the stroller. He didn’t say a word. He just glared at her. “Carol,” I spoke. She looked down at Sarah and tears filled her eyes. “Let’s go, Emma,” Max said sternly as he attempted to push the stroller. “Max.” I placed my hand on his arm. “Carol, this is your granddaughter, Sarah.” “She’s beautiful. What a beautiful name. She’s okay?” “Yes. She’s doing great. She’s very healthy.” “Thank God.” She sighed. “Max, we need to talk.” “I have nothing to say to you. Now if you’ll excuse me, we have somewhere we need to be.” “I want to apologize to you for everything. I’ve left your father. Please say we can all have dinner and talk.” “It’s too late for that. Now excuse us.” I looked at Carol and could feel her pain. “I’ll talk to him,” I whispered as I touched her arm.” We walked away. “Don’t, Emma. Don’t say a word. I’m not having this day with our daughter ruined. We’ll talk about it later.” “Okay.” He was hurting. I could tell and I respected him enough to wait and talk about it later. We reached Central Park and headed over to the Alice in Wonderland statue. “Go sit down on the mushroom with Sarah and I’ll take your picture.” I smiled as I took her from her stroller and held her. As I sat on the mushroom, Max took our picture. “Now you come join us for a selfie.” I scooted over and he sat down next to me, taking Sarah from my arms and holding her up so she was in the picture. “Smile,” I said as I took our picture a couple of times. Max got up, and as he held Sarah, he bent down on one knee in front of me. “What are you doing?”

He swallowed hard. “Emma, I love you and Sarah so much that I never thought it could be possible. My love for you is so overwhelming that it makes me incredibly happy. You make me incredibly happy and I can’t imagine life without you and Sarah. You’ve completed my entire world. Hell, you’ve completed my entire universe. You have brought so much good into my life and have taught me so many things. I need you and want you to be my forever. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” My teary eyes stared into his as my heart began racing. This was so unexpected and the fact that he proposed to me while holding our daughter made me the happiest woman in the world. “Yes, Max, I will marry you!” “Really?” “Yes!” I smiled. “Did you hear that, Sarah? Your mom said yes!” He leaned over and kissed me passionately. “Here, take her for a second.” I took Sarah from him as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring. “This ring is a new one because we’re starting over, and I never want you to take it off. It symbolizes my love for you and a new beginning. This isn’t a proposed deal, Emma. It’s the real thing and I wanted you to have something new. Not something that was a reminder of what the old ring represented. I hope you like it.” He slipped the ring on my finger. “It’s beautiful and stunning. I love it.” I smiled. We both stood up and I put Sarah back in her stroller, then Max and I hugged tightly as he picked me up and spun me around. “I love you, Emma. More than words could ever say.” “I love you too, Max. I love you so much.” His lips locked with mine as we passionately kissed until Sarah decided to cry. We both laughed as we pushed her around Central Park, taking in the summer warmth and the beauty of nature that surrounded us. Not all that long ago, Max Hamilton and I made a deal. A deal that neither one of us thought would change our lives forever. Fate stepped in that night we first met in Miami and led us on a journey that got us to where we were today. It wasn’t an easy journey, but I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. Max and Sarah were my entire life and I loved them both with my heart and soul. We were married a year later. Sarah was my flower girl and looked like a princess as she walked

down the aisle to her daddy. Darren walked me down the aisle and gave my hand to Max. As we stood there in front of our family and friends, we said our vows to each other while our daughter stood in front of us and watched. She had her moments, but it was all good. Max eventually reconciled with his mother, but not his father. The scars were too deep, and I couldn’t really blame him. Fiona flew back from Paris to attend the wedding, and my mom and stepdad, Danny, also flew in. Max once again put them up at The Trump because he knew how much they loved it there. I was now Mrs. Emma Hamilton and married to the love of my life. I never would have thought that the hot and sexy man I stared at across the bar at a nightclub in Miami would become my husband and that we’d have a beautiful healthy daughter. Max’s proposed deal turned out to be the best deal of a lifetime and I couldn’t image my life any other way.



Something About Lorelei

Sandi Lynn

Table of Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-One Chapter Forty-Two Chapter Forty-Three Chapter Forty-Four Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six Chapter Forty-Seven Chapter Forty-Eight Chapter Forty-Nine Chapter Fifty Chapter Fifty-One Epilogue

Chapter One Jack “Have you found someone yet?” I asked my friend and Human Resources Director, Garrett. He took a seat across from my desk and sighed. “Not yet. Your reputation sucks, Jack. You go through personal assistants faster than I can change my underwear.” I shrugged. “It’s not my fault you hire incompetent women who can’t do a simple task.” Garrett rolled his eyes. “The women I hire are more than capable of fulfilling the tasks necessary for the job. It’s you who scares them off. Amber was in my office a few days ago crying her eyes out because you were so mean to her. You told her that if she didn’t correct the mistake she made, you were going to bury her alive. You can’t say shit like that, Jack. Are you looking to get sued?” I picked up my coffee mug, sipped from it, and chuckled. “My thought is if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I’m a perfectionist and I want things done right. If these women can’t do exactly as I say, then to hell with them. Why is it so hard to understand a simple task?” “People make mistakes, Jack. How many times do I have to tell you that?” “There’s no room for error in this business. My mother never put up with it and neither will I. Now find me someone competent, quick. I hate using Coco’s secretary because she’s not any better than the last employees that have worked for me. I pay these people well. More than the average industry pays, and I expect them to do a good job.” He shook his head as he got up from his seat. “Will anyone ever do a good job in your eyes?” I shrugged. “Probably not.” “Fine. I’ll go find your next victim.” He sighed as he walked out of my office. I chuckled because that was exactly what my previous personal assistants were. Every time I’d walk past their desks, they’d cower and look down in fear. I loved that control over them. But if they had done their jobs correctly in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to be so mean. As I was looking over the magazine layout for approval, my sister Coco walked in. “Franny tells me you have her running around town doing your personal errands,” she spoke in irritation.

“Good morning to you too, sis.” “I’m not having a good morning, so let’s hash this out now. Just because you’re a dick to your PAs and force them to quit, it doesn’t give you the right to use my secretary for your own personal satisfaction. She is one of the best ones I’ve had in a long time and I’m not going to lose her because of your pompous ass.” “Calm down. I won’t let her quit. I’m just really busy and I need her to pick up a few things for me. I promise if you let me use her until Garrett finds me a new personal assistant, I’ll be as sweet as pie to her. So does this bad morning have anything to do with Joshua?” I asked with the hopes that she broke it off with that asshole. “Maybe.” She looked down. “He didn’t come home last night.” “Where the hell was he?” I asked as I leaned back in my chair. “I asked him that this morning when he finally decided to walk through the door. He said that he fell asleep on the couch at his office.” “Do you believe him?” I scowled. “A part of me does. He’s been working long hours and I know he’s really stressed about making partner at the law firm.” I waved my hand in front of my face. “Believe what you will, sis. You’ve known my feelings about him from day one. He’s no good for you. He’s a cheater, a liar, and a scum-sucking moron who continually hurts you.” “Hmph. Sounds like someone else I know.” She glared at me. “That wasn’t nice and I have never hurt you. I tell you like I see it so you’ll wake up and realize that you’re making a mistake by staying with him.” “Face it, Jack. You’ll never approve of anyone I date. You never have.” “True. So you need to stop picking the wrong guys.” I smirked. Rolling her eyes, she walked out of my office. I loved my sister and all I wanted was for her to be happy. She wasn’t happy with Joshua, as much as she tried to convince herself she was. She was a beautiful woman who stood five foot eight inches tall with long brown hair and big brown eyes. She was slender and fit and could have any guy she wanted. So why the hell was she settling for Joshua? The man was a lawyer and as crooked as they came. I knew for a fact he cheated on her because I saw him once coming out of a hotel room with another woman. I threatened his life after I punched him and he begged me not to tell Coco. He told me that he loved her, but

they were having problems and he made a mistake. I gave him one chance and he knew never to cross me again. As for me, I didn’t get involved in relationships. They never worked and they weren’t worth the hassle of the fights, jealousy, and anger. My mother was a prime example of that after she married and divorced her sixth husband. Women to me were merely toys. They were meant to be played with for my own personal pleasure and, when I was done playing, they got tossed to the side. They knew exactly what they were getting into by getting into bed with me. Some cared, some didn’t. Those who didn’t got fucked by me more than the ones who cared.

Chapter Two Lorelei “Now it’s time for you to go to sleep. You have school in the morning.” I smiled as I tapped Hope on the nose. “One more story, Mommy. Please,” she whined. “Story time is over for tonight, baby.” I leaned down and kissed her head. “Go to sleep and when you wake up, I’ll have chocolate chip pancakes waiting for you.” “Okay.” She smiled. “I love you. Good night.” “I love you too, baby. Good night.” I got up from her bed, turned off the light, and pulled her door, leaving it open a crack. I poured myself a glass of wine and took it over to the couch, where I opened up my laptop and began searching again for a job. It had been two months since I lost my job at Praline Inc. The company was going under and they had to cut expenses; me being one of those expenses. My bank account was drained and I had to borrow the rent money from my mom and Nick. I felt bad asking them because they had done so much for me over the past seven years since Hope was born. I was holding my own for the past couple of years until this sudden layoff occurred. I hadn’t been able to find a job since because the fashion industry was flooded with people who had the same ideas I did. As I was looking online, my phone rang. It was my best friend, Stella. “Hello,” I answered. “I found something that you might be interested in,” she spoke in excitement. “Oh? What?” “A girl I work with was saying that there was an opening for a PA job over at Sutton Magazine.” “Seriously? Why haven’t I seen that online?” “It just became available a couple of days ago. Maybe they haven’t posted it yet.” “How does she know this?” I asked. “A friend of hers is one of the secretaries there and told her that the last PA just up and walked out

without any notice or anything. I guess the guy is a real asshole to work for.” “I don’t care about that. I need a job now. I had to ask my mom and Nick if I could borrow money to pay the rent.” “Shit. I know that must have been hard for you. You should have asked me. I would have lent it to you.” “Thanks, and I know you would have, but I didn’t want to ask. You know I try to do everything on my own.” “I know you do, sweetie. Here’s the number to Sutton Magazine. Call their Human Resources department tomorrow and see what happens.” “I will. Thank you, Stella.” “You’re welcome and if you need anything, you better call me.” “I will. I’ll talk to you later.” Stella Bay and I had been best friends since we were ten years old and pulled each other’s hair on the playground in elementary school. It was hate at first sight, but then after the principal of our school made us sit down and talk to each other, we hadn’t left each other’s side since. Stella became like a second daughter to my mom and she spent a lot of time at our house since her father was an abusive alcoholic. He passed away a few years ago from liver failure and she didn’t even attend his funeral. She said if she had, she would have spit on his grave. As soon as we graduated high school, she attended NYU, worked two jobs, paid her own tuition, lived on campus, and had been on her own ever since. Until she met Sebastian, the love of her life who appeared three years ago and rescued her. She had the kind of love I once had, which was quickly taken away from me at the age of eighteen. Then, a new love of my life appeared; my daughter, Hope. She was everything to me and my life revolved around her and her only. **** The next morning, after dropping Hope off at school, I decided to head to Sutton Magazine in person rather than calling them on the phone. As I stepped into the large building, the nice man at the door smiled at me. “How may I help you, miss?” “I’m looking for Sutton Magazine. Their human resources department, to be exact.” “Take the elevator up to the tenth floor. That’s where Human Resources is located.” “Thank you.” I smiled as I walked towards the elevator.

Stepping off onto the tenth floor, I opened the door that was labeled “Human Resources” and stepped inside. When I walked over to the redhead who sported some really tight curls, she smiled. “How may I help you?” “I’m here to inquire about the personal assistant job that is available.” “Do you have an appointment?” she asked. “No. A friend of mine told me that there was an opening, so I thought I would come down here and apply in person.” “I’m sorry—” She blankly stared at me. “Lorelei Flynn.” “I’m sorry, Lorelei, but you must call for an appointment. We don’t take walk-ins.” Suddenly, a man appeared and shoved a file inside the filing cabinet. “What’s going on here, Amanda?” he asked. “This woman was inquiring about the personal assistant job and I told her she has to call and make an appointment.” “I see.” He smiled as he stared at me. “Did you just walk in here?” “Yes. I thought maybe I could apply in person. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” I began to walk away and he stopped me. “Wait. Lorelei, correct?” “Yes.” I turned around. “Come with me. I’ll have you fill out an application and then I’ll interview you. Since you’re already here, why have you come back?” He winked. “Thank you, sir.” He held out his hand. I shook it. “I’m Garrett Sullivan. Amanda, get the application and bring it to my office. “Follow me, Lorelei.” I followed him down the long hallway and into his office. “Please have a seat at the table and as soon as Amanda brings in the application, you can fill it out.” “I appreciate this, Mr. Sullivan. It really means a lot.”

“No problem, and you can call me Garrett.” The redhead named Amanda walked in and handed me the application and a pen. Garrett took a seat behind his desk while I filled it out. Once I was finished, I got up from my chair and handed it to him. “Have a seat, please.” He motioned for me to sit across from him. He studied my application for a few moments before speaking. Garrett Sullivan was a handsomelooking man. He stood about six feet tall with short blonde hair and green eyes. He looked to be in his early thirties and he was dressed in a nicely tailored dark blue suit. There was something about him that made me feel comfortable. “What exactly did you do over at Praline?” he asked with a smile. “I was the administrative secretary. I did just about everything.” “How organized are you?” “I’m a bit OCD when it comes to organization.” “Are you a perfectionist?” He smirked. “My mom says I am. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a perfectionist,” I spoke as I reached over and straightened the Statue of Liberty paperweight that sat on his desk. The grin on his face grew wide. “You studied fashion design at Parsons?” “Yes. I love fashion and I love to design clothes.” “And you were working as an administrative assistant. Why?” “I had to drop out of Parsons because my daughter got sick and I needed to be with her at all times.” “You have a daughter?” “Yes, she’s seven. Her name is Hope.” “I hope she’s better now,” he spoke. “She is. That was a couple of years ago. I wanted to go back to Parsons, but I had lost my scholarship when I left. I’m a single mom and every penny counts when you’re raising a kid.” “I understand. You’re twenty-five, correct?” “Yes.” “I’m going to be blunt here, Lorelei. This job is working for Jack Sutton, CEO of Sutton Magazine. You

seem like a great woman with a good head on your shoulders and it seems you’ve had to grow up quick. I’m not sure Mr. Sutton is the right person for you to be working for.” “Mr.—Garrett, I’ve heard about Mr. Sutton and, to be honest, he doesn’t scare me. I’m not a weak and frail girl. Like you said, I had to grow up quick since I had my daughter at eighteen. I only want what’s best for her and, right now, I’m in desperate need of a job. It’s been two months and my bank account is nearly depleted.” “You live in Harlem, which is forty-five minutes away. You’d have to be here by eight a.m. and your shift would end at five p.m. with an hour lunch. Would that be possible for you with a daughter?” “I would do whatever I had to do to make sure my daughter was taken care of. So to answer your question, yes, it would be possible. In a perfect world, I’d love to be able to stay home and devote every single minute to my daughter, but we don’t live in a perfect world, do we? So I have to do whatever I have to in order to give Hope everything she needs.” He studied me for a few moments before speaking. “I’m sure you get child support from Hope’s father. That should help some.” I gently smiled at him. “Hope doesn’t have a father. He was killed in a car accident before she was born.” He looked down and then back up at me with pity. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” “Thank you.” I looked down at my sweaty palms. “You’re hired, Lorelei.” My eyes darted up at him with excitement. “Thank you. Thank you very much, Garrett!” I exclaimed. “You’re welcome. Listen, I’m going to give you a separate monthly check for cab fare. It’s for your own good. Trust me. If you take the subway in, you’ll probably end up being late. This is between me and you, and Mr. Sutton is not to know.” “I promise I won’t tell him. That’s very kind of you.” “Good. Can you start tomorrow? He’s really anxious to have a personal assistant again.” “Yes. Tomorrow will be perfect.” I smiled as I got up from my seat and shook his hand.

Chapter Three Jack I met Garrett at Ai Fiori on Fifth Avenue for dinner. When I walked in, he was already seated in a booth. “So what is this urgent dinner about?” I asked as I sat down. “I’ve hired you a personal assistant and she starts tomorrow.” “Excellent. Maybe I should have met her first before you hired her. Your track record isn’t very good.” I smirked. A waitress with a low cut black top and perky tits walked over. “May I start you off with a drink?” She smiled. She may start me off with something, but a drink wasn’t what I had in mind. “Yes. I’ll have a scotch on the rocks, please.” “Coming right up, sir.” I looked at Garrett as he began to speak. “My track record is just fine. It’s you, Jack, that has the problem.” I sighed. “You do know that if we hadn’t been best friends since the third grade, I would have fired you by now.” He rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle. “I’m sure you would have. But to let you know, if we hadn’t been best friends since the third grade, I would have quit.” “Touché, my friend.” The perky tits waitress set my drink down in front of me and proceeded to take our dinner order. “So tell me about my next victim.” I smiled. “Her name is Lorelei Flynn and she has exceptional organizational skills. She even straightened the paperweight on my desk.” “Oh. I think I like her already. Is she hot?” He cocked his head at me with a glare. I smiled. “She’s a very attractive woman.”

“How old is she?” “She’s twenty-five. Why?” I shrugged. “No reason. Twenty-five is good. Is there a husband or a boyfriend?” “I know she’s not married. As for a boyfriend, I have no clue. Why are you asking?” “Because I don’t need some asshole coming after me when I send her home in uncontrollable tears like two PAs ago.” “Then maybe you shouldn’t be such a dick.” He smirked. “Can’t be helped. It’s in my nature.” I held up my glass. “Actually, it’s not in your nature. I knew you when you weren’t such a dick.” **** After having dinner with Garrett, I arrived at my penthouse and poured myself a drink. I was feeling stressed from the day and needed to unwind. I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Adriane. “Can you come over?” “Sure. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” “Looking forward to it.” “Me too.” Adriane was my go-to girl when I needed last-minute sex. She was the type that didn’t care and she was always looking for a good time. I went upstairs to my bedroom and opened the drawer in my nightstand making sure I had condoms. I was down to two and I needed to get some more ASAP. I heard the elevator ding, so I walked downstairs as she stepped off. “Good evening. Thank you for coming on such short notice.” I smiled. “My pleasure, Jack. But we have to talk about something after.” Uh-oh. I didn’t like the sound of that and, instantly, she killed my mood. “You just killed my mood, Adriane. What’s up?” She walked over to me and began unbuttoning my shirt, running her finger down my chest. “Sex first. Talk later.” Her lips brushed against mine. I needed to know what she wanted to talk about because I was afraid she wanted something from me.

Fear swept through my body, making an erection impossible. “Sorry, Adriane. You killed it. You need to tell me what you want to talk about.” She sighed. “Fine. I’ve started seeing someone and I think I really like him. So after tonight, we can’t do this anymore as long as I’m with him.” I shook my head. “Wait. You’ve met someone and you still came here? Why?” “I don’t know. One last good fuck with you for old time’s sake.” I had one rule that I always stood by. Never fuck another man’s girl. And if I fucked her tonight, I’d be breaking my rule and I wasn’t about to do that no matter how much I wanted sex. “Sorry, Adriane. If you’re with someone, we can’t. I thought you weren’t into relationships,” I spoke and walked over to the bar and poured us each a scotch. As I handed her the glass, she spoke, “I’m not. I mean, I wasn’t, but Riley came along and sort of swept me off my feet, I guess you could say. He’s a good man and I really like him.” “If you really liked him, you wouldn’t be here wanting to fuck me now, would you?” “I’m confused, Jack. Maybe I was using you as the opportunity to see what my true feelings for Riley really are.” “Thanks a lot, Adriane.” I smirked. She threw back her drink and handed me the glass. “Have a good night, Jack. I’ll see you around some time.” “You too. I hope things work out with the two of you.” “Thanks.” She threw me a smile as she stepped on the elevator. I sighed and threw back my scotch. “Looks like it’s just me, you, and porn tonight,” I spoke as I looked down at my cock. ****

Lorelei After I left Sutton Magazine, I headed to my mom’s house to tell her about the job. “Hi, honey.” She smiled as she kissed my cheek. “I just put on a fresh pot of coffee and I made an apple pie.”

“Sounds good, Mom.” I followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. “So what brings you by?” “I got a job.” “Oh, Lorelei, that’s wonderful. Where?” “Sutton Magazine. Full-time, more money than I made at Praline, and I even get health benefits.” “Congratulations. I’m so happy for you. Are you going to need help with Hope?” I looked down because asking them for help was so hard for me. “I think so. I have to be there at eight o’clock and I don’t get off until five. I can put her in latch key in the mornings before school, but I was wondering if you could pick her up after school.” “Of course I can, honey. That’s the perk of working from home. I can set my own hours.” She smiled. “Wish I could.” She set a cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie down in front of me. “You will someday.” My emotions were running at an all-time high because the past two months with Hope had been the best and it was going to be hard being away from her again. “Listen, Lorelei.” My mom placed her hand on mine. “You are an excellent mother and Hope knows that. She understands you have to work hard to give her everything she needs.” “I know she does, but I still feel guilty.” “I know you do because I felt guilty too leaving you when I had to work. But you turned out just fine and so will Hope. She has a loving family that will take care of her.” After finishing my coffee and pie, I had to leave to go pick up Hope from school. “Maybe with this pay increase, I can find an apartment closer to my job and to you.” “I still wish you’d move in with me and Nick.” “I can’t, Mom. Hope and I need our own place.” She walked over and gave me a hug. “I know you do and I’m very proud of you.” **** I stood outside the doors of Hope’s classroom, waiting for school to let out. As soon as the bell rang,

the doors opened and a flood of children emerged. Hope saw me and ran into my arms. “Hey, pumpkin.” I kissed the top of her head. “How was school today?” “It was good. How was your day?” “It was good and I’ll tell you all about it over pizza.” I smiled. “Yes!” she exclaimed. We walked hand in hand to our favorite pizza place and took a seat at a small round table. After placing our order, I looked into the happy eyes of my daughter. “I got a job today.” “You did?!” “Yes. I start work tomorrow, and you’re going to have to go to latch key in the mornings before school starts, but Grandma will be there to pick you up every day after school. How do you feel about that, baby?” She shrugged. “I don’t mind going to latch key. Addison goes to latch key in the morning and she says it’s fun.” “You’ll have to start getting up earlier because I can’t be late for this job. I don’t have the flexibility like I did over at Praline.” “Stop worrying so much, Mommy. I’ll be fine.” She grinned. The one thing about Hope was that she was really smart for her age. But she was just a child and I didn’t want her worrying or growing up too fast. I heard my phone ringing in my purse. It was Stella, so I answered it. “Hello.” “Sorry I missed your call earlier. I was in meetings all day discussing a new shoe line.” “That’s okay. Can you come over later?” “Sure. I’ll be over after six. Sound good?” “Six is great. I’ll see you then.” “Hi, Aunt Stella!” Hope voiced over the table. “Tell that sweetie pie ‘hi’ and I’ll see her soon.”

“I will. See you soon.” Click. Our pizza was finally ready and I took a slice and placed it on Hope’s plate. “Why don’t you date?” she asked out of the clear blue. I looked at her in surprise because she had never asked me that before. “Why are you asking me that?” “I don’t know. Addison’s mom started seeing someone and Addison really likes him. I just want you to know that I wouldn’t mind if you started seeing someone.” It felt like a hurricane ripped through me when she said that. The thought of dating terrified me and it was something I hadn’t even thought of since Brett. He was the love of my life and I couldn’t see anyone ever replacing him. “I haven’t met anyone worth dating, I guess,” I spoke as I stared into her baby blue eyes. “I don’t think you try.” “That’s because you’re all I need.” I smiled. “Maybe you should try a dating site. That’s where Addison’s mom met her boyfriend.” I was floored at this conversation my seven-year-old daughter was having with me. “Okay. Enough talk about that. Let’s start eating our dinner so we can be home in time for when Auntie Stella comes over.”

Chapter Four Lorelei As soon as we arrived home, Hope climbed into the bathtub while I cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast. Stella had a key and let herself in. “Hello there.” She smiled. “I hope you still have that bottle of wine we opened the other night because I need a drink.” I smiled. “It’s in the fridge.” I reached in the cabinet and took down the only two wine glasses I had while Stella grabbed the bottle of wine from the refrigerator. “Did you call Sutton Magazine today?” she asked as she poured the wine. “I did more than that. I got the job!” I shrieked. “What?! Oh my God, congratulations!” She hugged me. “Thank you. I start tomorrow.” “Wow. That was fast. Did you bat those pretty blue eyes at him or something?” “I didn’t meet Mr. Sutton. I only met with the human resources manager and he hired me on the spot.” “That is awesome. Did you tell Hope yet?” “Yes. We talked about it over pizza and she’s excited.” Hope came running into the room and hugged Stella. “Auntie Stella!” “Hey, Hopester. How’s my darling doll?” “I’m good. Did my mom tell you she got a job today?” “She sure did. I’m so happy for her.” “Me too!” Hope exclaimed. “I’ll talk to you later. I have homework to do.” “Okay, you little brainiac.” Stella patted her on the butt. We took our wine and sat down on the couch. “I’ve heard Jack Sutton is a total asshole and very hard to work for. Are you sure you can handle it?”

she asked with concern. “I can handle Mr. Sutton. What I can’t handle is my seven-year-old daughter telling me to join a dating site to meet a man.” “What?” Stella laughed. “Apparently, her friend Addison’s mom met this guy on a dating site and Addison really likes him.” Stella shrugged. “Maybe Hope has a point. You haven’t been on a date since Charlie, and that was over three years ago.” “It was one time and you forced me to go out with him. It wasn’t even a date and I wouldn’t have bothered if you didn’t keep hounding me.” “He was a nice guy.” “He was gay!” “Well, I didn’t know that at the time.” She smirked. We finished our glasses of wine and Stella had to leave. She was meeting Sebastian for a late dinner. “Hope, Auntie Stella is leaving,” I yelled from the living room. She came running out of her room and gave Stella a hug goodbye. “See you later, alligator.” Stella smiled as she held up her fist. “After a while, crocodile.” Hope fist bumped her. It was their thing that always made me smile. I thanked Stella for coming over, and as I walked her to the door, I gave her a hug. “You better call me tomorrow and let me know how your first day went. I’m dying to hear all about Mr. Asshole Sutton.” I laughed. “I will.” ****

Jack I awoke with a good feeling. Today I had a new PA and I couldn’t be happier. First thing on the agenda was condoms. I hoped she wouldn’t be offended. But if she was, who cared. I put on my Armani suit and headed downstairs where Madeline, my maid, had breakfast waiting for me. “Good morning, Madeline.” I smiled.

“Good morning, Jack. You seem to be in a good mood this morning.” “That’s because I am. My new personal assistant starts today.” She sighed. “Would you like to take bets on how long she’ll last?” “Now, now, Madeline. Let’s not be negative. Not today. Garrett told me she’s extremely organized and she even straightened the paperweight on his desk. So, that right there tells me that she’ll be good.” “Great. She possesses the same qualities as you.” She rolled her eyes. Madeline was a good woman with a good heart. She was in her early fifties and she had worked for me for about three years. She didn’t put up with my shit and I respected her for that. She reminded me of my mother but nicer. Tony, my personal driver and friend, stepped into the kitchen and glanced over at Madeline. I was pretty sure he had a thing for her. I shuddered at the thought. I would catch the two of them chatting it up early in the morning before I would come in for breakfast. I once asked him about it and he said I was imagining things. I knew damn well I wasn’t imagining anything. Both of them had never been married and, outside of working for me, I didn’t think they had lives. As he was driving me to my office, I had him stop at Starbucks so I could grab a coffee. I called Coco before leaving the house and asked her to stop for me and she told me to stop myself and that I better not call her secretary. Her voice was threatening, which told me she was in another mood. Standing in line at Starbucks was not the way I wanted to start my morning. In fact, this would be the last time, since my new PA would be fetching my coffee for me from now on. When I looked down at my phone, my eyes fixated on a pair of lean, long legs in front of me as well as the sculpted ass that was attached to them. I stared this woman up and down in her slim black skirt and matching jacket. Her long, blonde, wavy hair lay perfectly over her shoulders. It was the kind of hair that was perfect for pulling during sex. I wanted to get a glimpse of her from the front, but I couldn’t very well say, “Excuse me, but you’re smoking hot and delicious from the back, so please turn around so I can see the rest of your package.” I tried not to think about it. She placed her order and stepped to the side. After placing my order, I glanced at her before taking my place behind her. She was beautiful. She stood about five foot seven with a very petite frame. I couldn’t quite catch the color of her eyes because she was looking down as the barista prepared her coffee. When he set her cup on the counter, she grabbed it and quickly turned around, spilling some coffee on my new Armani suit. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.” Her captivating blue eyes stared into mine. Captivating or not, I was pissed as hell. I took a step back and examined my suit. She quickly grabbed a napkin and began to dab my suit with it.

“Stop!” I commanded. You’ll leave the lint from the napkin all over my suit coat.” “I am so sorry. Please let me pay to have that cleaned for you.” “Don’t worry about it. Just take your coffee and go,” I spoke with irritation. I could tell she was embarrassed, but I didn’t care. She was clumsy and I wanted her out of my sight. “Again, I’m so sorry.” “Just go.” I waved my hand. I mumbled under my breath as I climbed into the limo. “Tony, you need to take me back home so I can change my suit. Some clumsy blonde spilled coffee on me.” “That wouldn’t be the blonde I just saw practically running out the door, was it?” “Yeah, that was her.” I sighed. “At least she was a beautiful blonde that spilled coffee on you.” He smirked.

Chapter Five Lorelei What a way to start the morning. I couldn’t believe I spilled coffee on that guy’s suit. Oh well, he shouldn’t have been standing so close to me and he didn’t have to be so rude about it. In all the madness, I did notice how amazingly hot he was. There was something about him that sent my stomach into a flutter. He was tall, probably a little over six feet with short brown hair, sea blue eyes, perfectly shaped lips and a strong masculine jawline that sported a five o’clock shadow. God, he was probably one of the sexiest men I’d seen in a long time. He was pissed and I prayed to God that I would never see him again. I had a feeling he’d never forget me and how I spilled coffee all over his designer suit. Walking into the building, I met Garrett, who took me up to the twelfth floor and showed me to my desk. “Here is your desk and right across from it is Mr. Sutton’s office. Hang on a sec and let me see if he’s in there.” I set my things down and waited. “Hmm. He’s never this late. He should have been here by now.” “Hello,” a friendly female voice spoke to me. “You must be Jack’s new PA.” She smiled as she extended her petite hand. “I’m Lorelei Flynn.” I smiled as I lightly shook it. “I’m Coco Sutton. Jack’s sister. It’s nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you as well. I love your name.” “Thank you. I bet you can’t guess where it came from.” She grinned. “I’m thinking Coco Chanel.” “Very good. My mother was, or should I say, is obsessed with her.” “There you are,” Garrett spoke to the man stomping down the hall. “Meet your new PA, Lorelei.” I looked over Coco’s shoulder and froze. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. My knees began to shake. “You!” He pointed at me. “Again. I’m sorry.” I bit down on my bottom lip as my stomach started doing flips.

“In my office, now!” he commanded. “What the hell, Jack?” Coco expressed. He stormed into his office and I looked at Coco. “I may have accidentally spilled coffee on him this morning at Starbucks. I didn’t know he was my boss. Shit!” She laughed. “Lorelei, we are going to become best friends!” She patted me on the shoulder as I walked into Jack’s office. “Shut the door!” he yelled. I gulped as I turned around and shut the door. “Sit!” He pointed to the chair in front of his desk. I was literally shaking as I sat down. He took a seat and folded his hands on his desk, staring at me without saying a word; just staring at me with those sea blue eyes that displayed so much anger. “I had to go home and change because of that little mishap this morning. Are you always that clumsy?” “I’m sorry, sir. It was an accident.” I looked down. “Look at me when you speak.” Okay, this guy was fucking crazy and who the hell did he think he was? He acted like I committed murder. Suddenly, rage came over me as I stood up and planted my finger on his desk. “Maybe you shouldn’t have been standing so close to me. If you hadn’t invaded my personal space, I wouldn’t have spilled coffee on you. Like I said, it was an accident and I’m sorry. I will pay for your suit to be cleaned.” He looked at me in shock as he leaned back in his chair. He studied me for a moment, his eyes raking over me from head to toe. “You’re right. You will pay for the suit to be cleaned. In fact, that is your first job as my personal assistant. You are to take my suit to the cleaners down the street.” “Yes, sir,” I calmly spoke. “Now sit back down. I want to go over some things with you.” He reached in his desk drawer, pulled out a cellphone, and handed it to me. “This is for you. It’s not for personal use. It’s for me to get a hold of you when you’re not in the office. My number is already programmed in it. This is for business purposes only. When it rings, I expect you to answer it. If I send you a text message, you are to respond immediately. Do you understand, Miss Flynn?”

“Yes, sir. I understand.” “Good. You will also be here at eight a.m. sharp. In fact, I would prefer you here a few minutes early and you are to be available at all times. Even after work hours.” “But, sir—” “No buts, Miss Flynn. You accepted this job as my personal assistant and I take that very seriously. If this is going to be a problem for you, then maybe you should reconsider.” “It won’t be a problem, sir.” “For the love of God, please stop calling me ‘sir.’ Just call me Mr. Sutton.” “Yes, Mr. Sutton,” I spoke. “Okay. Now that we have cleared the air, my suit is over on the chair. Take it to the cleaners and hurry back.” I got up from my chair and grabbed his suit. Opening his office door, I noticed Garrett standing near my desk with a look of panic on his face. I smiled. “Don’t worry. I can handle Mr. Sutton.” He let out a sigh of relief. “I was preparing myself to have to find a replacement for you.” ****

Jack I watched as her long, lean legs and sculpted ass walked out of my office. Damn, she was beautiful and she was my PA. I wasn’t too sure how that was going to work out. My other PAs were okay, but really nothing to look at. But Lorelei Flynn; she was definitely something to look at. What fucking sucked was that I was getting hard when she stood up, placed her finger on my desk, and took a tone with me. Garrett walked in shaking his head. “You have some serious explaining to do,” I spoke as I pointed my finger at him. “Me? What the fuck, Jack. She wasn’t here two minutes and you already yelled at her like that? The whole damn office could hear you.” “You said she was attractive. You didn’t say she was sexy as hell. That could very well pose a problem for me and my cock.” He put his hand up. “Don’t you even think about it. Jesus Christ, Jack, do you know the lawsuit she

could file if you even think about fucking her? She’s a nice girl. Leave her alone.” I cocked my head at him. “Do you have a thing for her?” “No. Absolutely not. She needs this job, man. She really needs it.” “Why does she need it so bad?” I glared at him. I got the feeling there was something he wasn’t telling me. “Why does anyone need a job? She’s supporting herself and she lives in New York. Enough said. Listen, in the past year, you’ve gone through fourteen PAs. I think that may be some kind of world record. You’ve got a reputation, Jack. Let’s try to turn that around and keep this one around for a while.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll do my best.” He sighed and walked out.

Chapter Six Lorelei I stepped inside the cleaners and handed the man Jack’s suit. “This is for Mr. Sutton.” “Ah. You aren’t Amber,” he spoke. “No. I’m Lorelei, Mr. Sutton’s new personal assistant.” “I see. Another one, eh? That man sure knows how to go through assistants. I’ll have this ready tomorrow afternoon. Good luck to you Lorelei.” He smiled. I gave him a small smile back and heard the phone that Jack gave me ding. I pulled it from my purse and shock swept over my face as I read his text message. “I forgot to tell you. On your way back, stop at the drugstore and pick me up a box of condoms.” This was a joke, right? He seriously wouldn’t have me buy him condoms. Would he? “Are you serious?” I typed quickly. “Dead serious. Do you have a problem with that?” Shit. He was serious. This was a nightmare. “No. No problem at all, Mr. Sutton.” Walking into the drugstore, I headed to the aisle where the condoms were kept and stared at the overwhelming display that stood before me. It had been years since I looked at condoms. In fact, I didn’t think I ever had. Brett always bought them. Why the hell were there so many different types? My mind was overcrowded, so I called Stella. “Hey there. Why are you calling me already? You didn’t quit, did you?” “No,” I whispered. “He sent me to buy him a box of condoms and I don’t know which ones to get. There’s so many different damn kinds it’s making my head hurt.” An explosion of laughter came through the phone. “This isn’t funny, Stella. I need your help.” “I’m sorry, Lorelei, but we don’t use condoms. I have an IUD, remember?”

“Shit. I forgot.” “You’re either going to have to pick a box or ask him which ones he prefers.” She laughed uncontrollably. “Thanks.” “Sorry. I’m really sorry.” She continued to laugh. “I’ll call you later.” Click. Okay, so did he want thin, sensitive, or maybe stronger? Textured or non-textured? Was he a freak and into colored condoms? Desensitizing condoms? Lubed or non-lubed? Fuck if I knew. Damn him for making me do this. I grabbed the ultra-ribbed Ecstasy ones and took the box up to the counter. “If these aren’t the right ones, may I return them?” I asked the sales clerk. “You don’t know if you’re buying the right condoms?” he asked with a smile. “They aren’t for me. They’re for my boss, a man I just started working for about an hour ago. My first mission was to take his suit to the cleaners and then he sends me to buy his condoms.” The clerk cocked his head. “These wouldn’t happen to be for Mr. Sutton, would they?” My heart started racing. You have got to be kidding me. “Yes, they are.” I frowned. The clerk nodded his head. “I’ll be right back.” He took the box with him and, a few seconds later, he returned with a box of Magnum XL. “These are the ones Mr. Sutton uses.” I shook my head in disgust. “And how do you know this?” He laughed. “You’re not the first PA of his that he’s sent to buy his condoms.” “Thank you.” I paid for the condoms, shoved them in my purse, and walked out. XL? Now I was curious but quickly got that disgusting thought out of my head. He was my boss and I shouldn’t be thinking about his penis. When I arrived back to the office, I knocked on the door and he told me to come in. Reaching into my purse, I pulled out the box of condoms and set them on his desk. “Thank you, and you got the right ones.” He smiled. “How did you know?” “The nice man behind the counter told me.”

“Ah, you must have met Juan. Good guy.” I began to walk out of his office and stopped when I reached the door. Turning around, I spoke, “Extralarge?” He arched his brow and smirked at me. I took in a deep breath and quietly went to my desk. ****

Jack She was thinking about my cock and that made me happy, but my happy thoughts fell away as soon as my mother walked into my office. “Hello, Jack. Did you approve the final layout for the editorial spread for next month’s issue?” “Yes, I did.” “Good. Now who’s that outside your office?” “She’s my new PA and her name is Lorelei.” “What happened to Amber?” I shrugged. “She quit.” “Good grief. You’re just as bad as I am. Anyway, I want to do a launch of next month’s magazine featuring Vidal. So set something up. This is important because he’s a new, up and coming designer with an amazing eye and his work should be noticed. It’s our job to make that happen.” “Of course. I’ll get on that right away.” “Good. Also, I’m having dinner at the house tonight and I want you there. Coco and Joshua will be there as well. Seven o’clock sharp.” “I have plans tonight.” “Cancel them. Family is more important. Ta-ta, darling.” I rolled my eyes and called Lorelei into my office. “We’re going to be doing a launch for a designer next month. Here is a list of venues we normally use. Call them and see if anything is available for Friday, October 2nd. Once we have the venue in place, you’ll need to order invitations. There’s a list of people you are to invite in a file on your computer.” “Yes, Mr. Sutton.”

“That’s all, Lorelei. You may go back to your desk.” She gave me a small nod and, as she was walking out of my office, I couldn’t help myself. “Ahem, Lorelei.” “Yes.” She turned and looked at me with her gorgeous blue eyes. “Are you still thinking about my cock?” I smirked. “Actually, I’ve already forgotten about it and I don’t care to think about it again.” The small smile on my face quickly dissipated when she said that. She was going to be a challenge. But soon enough, she’d break.

Chapter Seven Lorelei I took my sketchbook to Central Park and sat under the tree to sketch and eat my lunch. It was a beautiful September day and I needed to get out of the office. Between the spilt coffee and the condom buying, I was already exhausted and my day was only half over. I couldn’t stop thinking about Hope and how I wished I could be there after school to pick her up. Getting back into the work routine after being off for two months was hard. As I was sketching, my business phone rang. “Hello.” “Where are you?” Jack asked. “I’m on lunch. I told you I was leaving.” “That’s right. I forgot. On your way back, stop at Pickle Deli and pick me up a corned beef sandwich. Just tell them it’s for me. They know exactly how I like it.” “Yes, Mr. Sutton.” Click. I took the phone from my ear and looked at it. He couldn’t say thank you or goodbye? This job was going to be challenging. Correction, Jack Sutton was going to be challenging, but I had no choice. I needed this job, especially if I was thinking about moving. I arrived back at the office and set the brown paper bag on his desk. “Thank you, Lorelei.” He smiled. Hmm. Why was he being so nice? Maybe he was feeling bad about earlier, but I doubted it. “You’re welcome.” “How was your lunch?” he asked. “Fine.” “What did you do?” “Went to Central Park.” Why was he concerned what I did on my own time?

“And did what?” “Ate my lunch.” I frowned. “So you brought your own lunch?” “Yes. Is there a rule against that?” “No.” He shook his head. “I was just curious.” “Why?” “I don’t know. Now go back to your desk and let me eat.” I walked out in confusion. He was the one who started asking me questions. It was finally five o’clock and I couldn’t have been happier. I raced over to my mom’s house. The three of them had just sat down to dinner. “Mommy!” Hope shouted as she got up from the table and ran over to me. “Hi, baby. How was your day?” “It was good. Grandma took me for ice cream after school.” “She spoils you.” I smiled. “Sit down and have some dinner,” Nick spoke to me. I walked over, kissed his cheek, and then went over to my mom. “You look tired, honey.” “I am. It was a long first day.” After finishing dinner, I took Hope home and put her in the bathtub. Once I read her a bedtime story, I kissed her good night and went to my room. After changing into my pajamas, I climbed into bed and thumbed through the Sutton Magazine I had bought on the way home. Suddenly, my phone dinged. I reached over and grabbed it from the nightstand. Shit. It was my business phone that went off. I got out of bed and reached into my purse. Pulling it out and climbing back into bed, I noticed a text message from Jack. “Before you come in to the office tomorrow, in fact, make it every morning, I want you to stop at Starbucks and get me a Venti Americano with a triple shot of espresso. But make sure you’re at the office at eight sharp.” “Yes, Mr. Sutton.”

“Enjoy the rest of your evening, Lorelei.” “You too.” “Try not to spill coffee on me tomorrow.” He was never going to let that one go. “Don’t invade my personal space and I won’t.” Good. That remark shut him up. I’d had my fill of Mr. Jack Sutton for the day and all I wanted to do was go to sleep and forget about him. ****

Jack I couldn’t help but smile when I saw her reply. She was the first of any one of my PAs to talk back to me and it turned me on. She wasn’t like the others. The numerous times I walked past her desk, she would smile at me. But I wasn’t quite sure if it was a genuine smile or a fuck-you smile. Even after yelling at her the way I did, she still smiled at me. She had a beautiful smile that matched her cute little nose and her beautiful face. “Who, may I ask, are you texting?” my mother asked as she walked into the living room. “My PA. I need to make sure she gets my coffee in the morning.” “You better be nice to her,” Coco spoke as she followed behind my mother. “Why does everyone keep telling me that? I am nice.” “Ha. Not after what I saw today.” “That was just a misunderstanding, sis.” “Some misunderstanding when the entire floor heard you yelling at the poor girl. Franny was practically hiding under her desk.” “Jesus, stop exaggerating. Anyway, I’m going to go.” I kissed Coco and my mother on their cheeks and met Tony outside. **** The next morning, at approximately seven fifty-eight, I was sitting at my desk waiting for my coffee to be delivered. She had exactly two minutes or else. I left my office door open so she could just bring it in without knocking. It was eight o’clock when she pranced through the door.

“Good morning. Here’s your coffee.” She smiled as she set the cup down on my desk. “I was starting to get worried that you’d be late.” “Really? I’ve been here for at least ten minutes.” I cocked my head at her and narrowed my eyes. “Where? You weren’t at your desk.” “No, I wasn’t. You said to be here at eight sharp.” She looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s eight sharp.” She smirked. “Then where were you?” I asked with irritation. “Around.” “So you’ve been walking around with my coffee for the last ten minutes?” “Yep.” She slowly nodded her head. I pursed my lips together tightly and inhaled a sharp breath. “It better not be cold, Lorelei.” “It’s not.” She smiled as she walked out and shut the door behind her. I was trying my best not to yell. I picked up my coffee and took a sip. It was still hot. Good thing for her it was.

Chapter Eight Lorelei As I was sitting at my desk looking over invitations for the launch, Coco walked over. “How are things going with my brother?” she asked as she sat on the corner of my desk. I gave a small smile. “Okay. He’s demanding, crude, rude, and a little demeaning, but nothing I can’t handle.” She let out a light laugh. “I like you, Lorelei. Has Jack shown you the rest of what makes up Sutton Magazine?” “No.” I shook my head. “Come on, then. I’ll give you the grand tour.” “But he’ll wonder where I am. What if he needs something?” She waved her hand in front of her face, got up from my desk, and opened his office door. “I can’t believe how rude you are not to have given Lorelei the grand tour. If you need something, you’ll have to do it yourself because I’m stealing her away for a while.” She shut the door before he had a chance to respond and smiled at me. Sutton Magazine started on the tenth floor and went up all the way to the fifteenth floor. There was everything from the art department to photography. A floor filled with clothes and designs, a beauty salon, the finance department, and the editorial floor, which was located at the top where Jack’s mother had her office. I was enthralled by everything fashion and I was in heaven. We approached a large office with glass doors, and on those doors, it read “Kit Sutton.” “This is my mother’s office. Have you been introduced yet?” “No.” We stepped inside and Kit looked up at us. “Mother, this is Lorelei Flynn, Jack’s new personal assistant.” She got up from her seat and extended her hand, but not before looking me up and down. “It’s nice to meet you. I hope you stick around a lot longer than the last fourteen.”

I gulped. I had no idea Jack had had that many assistants. “I plan on it and it’s nice to meet you.” I smiled as I lightly shook her hand. “I hope you enjoy working for us here at Sutton Magazine.” “Thank you.” I could tell Kit Sutton was not a force to be reckoned with. She was poised with high self-esteem and had a business manner like no one I’d ever met; well, except for her son. She stood about five feet eight inches tall with a voluptuous figure. Her blonde hair was cut into a bob that sported wavy ends and she had serious-looking brown eyes. I would be lying if I didn’t say she completely intimidated me. But we did have one thing in common; we both shared a love for Coco Chanel. After the tour, Coco and I headed back to the twelfth floor. As I was walking back to my desk, Jack was standing in the doorway of his office. “Do you need something?” I asked. “Yes. I need you to come into my office.” Stepping inside his office, I took a seat in the chair across from his desk. “You haven’t told me if you secured a venue yet for the launch next month.” “I have. It’ll be at the Lincoln Center starting at seven o’clock. I’m in the process of getting the invitations printed and the envelopes addressed to the people on the guest list.” He narrowed his eyes at me as he leaned back in his chair. My God, he was sexy, and every time I looked at him, it felt like I got lost in his eyes. What the hell was the matter with me? He might have been something special to look at, but his overall mannerisms definitely sucked. “You did all that without telling me?” “Yes. You asked me to do something, so I did. Did you want me to bother you with all the little details? Do you not trust my ability to complete something you asked me to do?” “To be honest, no, I don’t. I’ve had bad experiences with my previous PAs.” “I see. Well, I can assure you, Mr. Sutton, that I won’t disappoint you. If you ask me to do something, I will do it with perfection. If I have a question, I will come to you and speak to you about it.” The corners of his mouth slightly curved upwards. “Until I can totally trust you and your abilities, I want everything run by me first. Do you understand?”

“Completely.” My lips gave way to a forced smile. “Is there anything else?” I asked. “No. That’ll be all.” ****

Jack There was something about Lorelei Flynn that was driving me to want to get to know her better. Maybe it was how beautiful she was. Maybe it was what I envisioned she had underneath those clothes she wore. Maybe it was her Joe Malone scent that filtered through the air whenever she was near. I will give her credit; she did know how to pick her perfume. My last PA, Amber, always smelled like some cheap drugstore body spray. I shuddered every time she walked into my office. Whatever it was that made me have this aching need to get to know her better was getting the best of me, and it was driving me crazy. I shouldn’t have felt this way. She was my personal assistant but all I could think about was a thousand ways for her to personally assist me other than at the office. See, it was that kind of thinking that had to stop. Later that night, I took a friend of mine, Jamie Walters, to dinner and then back to my place to fuck her. I never took the women I brought home upstairs to my bed. I had a spare bedroom on the first floor that I used and I never allowed them to spend the night. I wasn’t interested in cuddling, holding, stroking their hair; none of that romantic bullshit. The only thing I wanted was good sex that left me satisfied and then I sent them on their way. Some left crying and some left as pissed as hell. That was their problem, not mine.



Chapter Nine Lorelei Thank God it was Friday. My last day of work for two days and then I would be able to spend the entire weekend with my daughter. Jack wasn’t in the office most of the morning because he was in backto-back meetings. It was finally lunchtime, so I grabbed my sketchbook, which was bound in a leather zipped case, my lunch, and headed to Central Park. Sitting under the same tree I had been, I worked on my sketches and ate my lunch. It wasn’t too long before my business phone dinged with a text message from Jack. “I know you’re at lunch, but when you’re done, I need you to go to Banana Republic and pick up the outfits I had them put together. Call Tony when you have them and he’ll pick you up. Also, stop at Starbucks and get my coffee.” “Yes, Mr. Sutton.” When my lunch break was over, I did as Jack asked. After collecting the outfits and stopping at Starbucks, I walked into his office and set the cup on his desk. “Hang the clothes on that rack over there.” He pointed. He got up from his desk and took the plastic off each of the outfits. “What the fuck?! This isn’t what I asked for,” he shouted. “Who the fuck put these outfits together?” He paced around the room in anger. I stood and looked at the outfits and then walked over to them and changed a few things around. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked. “Rearranging a few things. I think it looks better this way.” He stood back with his hands on his hips and stared at the outfits I put together and then looked at me. “You think that looks better?” “Yes,” I softly spoke. “Well, I don’t.” Coco walked into the office. “Oh, perfect. You got the outfits from Banana Republic. Looks good,

Jack.” She smiled as she took the rack from his office. I looked at him and shrugged. “Told you they looked good.” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Get out of my office.” I didn’t know what the hell his problem was, but he didn’t need to take it out on me. It was finally five o’clock. I grabbed my sketchbook and my purse and walked out of the building. As I was trying to hail a cab, my business phone rang. It was Jack. I cringed. “Hello.” “I need you to meet me for dinner tonight. I have some things I want to go over with you regarding the launch party.” “It can’t wait until Monday?” “No, Miss Flynn. It can’t. Meet me at The Four Seasons at eight o’clock sharp.” “But, Mr.—” “No buts, Lorelei. Be there or else.” Click. I couldn’t believe this and the nerve of him. I quickly dialed Stella. “Hello, best friend. What’s up?” “I am so sorry to ask this, but do you think you and Sebastian can come over and babysit Hope tonight? My asshole boss is making me meet him for dinner at The Four Seasons.” “Nice place. But why is he making you meet him on a Friday night?” “He said he needs to go over some things with me regarding the launch party.” I finally hailed a cab and climbed in. “Hmm. Sounds to me like he’s using that as an excuse to see you.” “Oh, please. I just threw up in my mouth, I want you to know.” She laughed. “Of course we’ll come babysit Hope. I’ll bring some board games. It’ll be fun.” “Thanks. I owe you.” “No, you don’t. What time do you want us there?” “I have to meet him at eight sharp. So be at my place at seven fifteen.” “Okay, sweetie. We’ll see you later.”

I picked up Hope from my mom’s house and waited until we got home to tell her about my dinner plans. “Baby, I have to meet my boss for dinner tonight, but Auntie Stella and Uncle Sebastian are going to come over and stay with you.” “Okay.” She looked down in disappointment. “Why are you meeting him?” “He wants to go over some planning for an event his magazine is hosting.” I ran the back of my hand down her cheek. “He sounds mean.” “He is. But don’t worry. We have the whole weekend to ourselves.” “Okay.” “You understand, right?” “Yeah. I know it’s your job.” “Thanks, baby. I’ll make it up to you.” She went and sat on my bed while I got ready for dinner. The Four Seasons was a fancy place and I needed to dress appropriately. I went to the back of my closet and pulled out a short black dress I had made a few months ago but never had the occasion to wear. “What do you think?” I asked Hope as I held it up to me. “I like it.” She smiled. After slipping into the dress, I twisted my hair up in a clip and freshened up my makeup. I heard the front door open and Hope leaped off the bed to run and see Stella and Sebastian. “Look at you, fancy girl.” Stella smiled as she walked into the bedroom. “Looking all hot for the boss.” “Oh, please. You know The Four Seasons is fancy.” “I know, but somehow, I have a feeling Mr. Sutton’s jaw is going to drop when you walk in.” “Oh, it will drop, and I’m sure some yelling will be coming out when it does.” She laughed and I put on my heels. “Thanks again for coming over.” I walked into the living room and Sebastian whistled when he saw me. I smacked him on the chest with

a smile, kissed Hope goodbye, and headed to The Four Seasons. When I arrived at the restaurant, the hostess led me to the table where Jack was already seated. “Wow,” he spoke. “You look great. I like that dress. Where did you get it?” “I made it,” I replied as I sat down in the seat across from him. His eyes widened. “You made that?” “Yes.” He tilted his head. “Is there something I don’t know about you?” I let out a light laugh. “What do you mean?” “You rearranged the outfits in my office to make them look better and now you’re wearing a spectacular-looking dress that you yourself made.” I picked up the glass of water that was in front of me and took a sip. “I studied at Parsons for a couple of years.” “Interesting. You didn’t graduate?” he asked. “No. I had to drop out due to a family emergency, so I lost my scholarship. I couldn’t afford to go back.” “I see. How did I not know you were a fashion girl?” “You never asked, I guess.” “Then I’m going to have to start asking more questions.” He winked. Narrowing my eye at him, I spoke, “You said you didn’t like the outfits I put together.” “My sister did and that’s all that matters. And it’s not that I didn’t like them. I was pissed they weren’t exactly what I asked for.”

Chapter Ten Jack I used the launch party as an excuse to have dinner with Lorelei. After she said good night to me, and when I watched her walk down the hallway and step onto the elevator, the thought of not seeing her again until Monday bothered me. I already had plans tonight with Kate but cancelled them so I could have dinner with Lorelei, even though I knew sex wouldn’t be part of the evening plans. “Can I see your hand?” I asked. “Excuse me?” She cocked her head. My lips gave way to a small smile. “Let me see your hand.” I placed my palm face up on the table. “Why?” “Lorelei, I don’t bite.” She hesitantly reached across the table and placed her hand in mine. Fuck. Her hand was so soft and my cock was on the rise. I ran my fingers softly along hers. “You have long, slender fingers, which indicates creativity.” I smiled. The only thing at that moment I could think of was how good those long fingers would feel wrapped around my cock. Shit. “I’ve heard that before.” She smiled back. Touching her was too much and the rage of fire erupting through my body was unbearable. I let go of her hand and took a sip of my drink. “Garrett didn’t tell you anything about me?” she asked. “No, and he knows he doesn’t have to. I trust him to hire the best people for me.” “But you’ve already been through fourteen assistants.” “And how do you know that?” I casually smiled. “Your mother told me. She said she hopes I stay longer than your last fourteen PAs.” I chuckled. “Well, Garrett wasn’t to blame, or maybe he was. Who knows. But I have a feeling he made the right choice this time.”

“We’ll see. Won’t we?” She smirked and my cock reached its full rise. “What else is there about you that I should know?” “Mr. Sutton, you asked me here tonight to talk about the launch party, not about my personal life. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to get to it.” Arching my brow, I stared into her beautiful blue eyes. “You seem to be in a hurry. Is there a boyfriend waiting at home for you?” “No.” I silently let out a sigh of relief. No husband and no boyfriend. This was good, but shocking. Why didn’t someone as beautiful and smart as she was have a boyfriend? As we were eating our dinner, I pulled my ringing phone from my pocket and saw my mother was calling. “Hello.” “Jack, you need to come to the office right away. Vidal just put together the clothing line for December’s spread and we need to go over them. Coco is here too.” “I’m in the middle of dinner. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” “Box it up and eat it later. And no, it can’t wait until tomorrow. In case you have forgotten, I’m leaving for Los Angeles.” I sighed. “Fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Click. “I’m sorry, Lorelei, but we’ll have to discuss the rest of the details on Monday. My mother needs me.” “Is everything okay?” she asked. “Yes. She needs me at the office. This is the reason why the woman has been divorced six times.” She tried not laugh, but she did anyway. I smiled. “Ride with me to the office and then I’ll have Tony drive you home.” “It’s okay, Mr. Sutton. I can take the subway.” “You aren’t taking the subway this late. It’s not safe. Actually, it’s not safe ever.” I waved my hand for the waitress and had her box up our dinners. Lorelei climbed out of the booth and I placed my hand on the small of her back as we left the restaurant. Climbing into the limo, I told Tony to take us to the office and then instructed him to drive

Lorelei home. When we reached the office, I stepped out of the limo and then bent over to see Lorelei one last time. “By the way, you can call me Jack.” I smiled and shut the door. ****

Lorelei I sat there with a confused look on my face as he shut the door. He wanted me to call him Jack? Why? The way he ran his fingers across mine at dinner sent a storm through me. His touch and the sensation I felt made my head spin. I began to sweat and my heart started to beat rapidly. I had even lost my breath for a moment and I couldn’t explain why. Maybe it was because he was so damn sexy. He was confident, too confident. He was the type of person who liked control. I hated people like that. But there was something about Jack Sutton that created an ache between my legs. An ache I hadn’t felt in so many years. The type of ache that scared me and could potentially become dangerous. He was attracted to me. That much I could tell, but did I want that? Who wouldn’t want a hot and sexy millionaire corporate man attracted to her? But we were total opposites and I was pretty sure that he was only attracted to me from the outside. Another notch in his belt was something I wouldn’t become. “Tony, has Jack ever had you drive one of his PAs home?” “No, Lorelei. You’re the first.” He smiled through the rearview mirror. “I see.” I looked down at my hands. Tony pulled up to my building and opened the door for me. Climbing out, I thanked him and went up to my apartment. “You’re back early.” Stella smiled as I walked in the door. “He had to go to the office and meet his mother. Something about the December issue.” “Oh. So what did you talk about?” She smirked. I rolled my eyes as I walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of wine. “Is Hope in bed?” “Yes. She’s been asleep for about an hour,” Sebastian replied. “He wanted to talk about me and my personal life.” I took a sip from the glass. “I think someone has a crush on our little Lorelei.” Stella smiled as she hooked her arm around me.

“He can crush all he wants. He’s a womanizer and all he thinks about is sex.” “So? You haven’t had sex in seven years and he does wear extra-large condoms.” “Hold on a second!” Sebastian put his hand up. “How the fuck do you know that?” “Didn’t I tell you?” She laughed. “He had her buy him a box.” Sebastian rolled his eyes. “The guy sounds like an asshole. Who does that shit?” “Jack Sutton. That’s who,” I spoke.

Chapter Eleven Jack I arrived at the office at six a.m., and at about seven, Garrett came strolling in, taking a seat across from me. “How was your weekend?” he asked. “It was okay. I worked most of it. You know I’m leaving for Paris Fashion Week in a few days and it’s always hectic around this time.” He gave me a light nod as he crossed his hands and brought them up to his lips. “I’m afraid to ask how Lorelei’s working out.” “She’s working out fine. She’s very talented. Why didn’t you tell me she studied at Parsons?” “Would it have mattered? You never gave a shit what your PAs did as long as they were capable of working for you.” I shrugged. “I still think you should have told me. What else do you know about her?” “Nothing. That’s it. Why?” “No reason. I took her to dinner Friday night to discuss the details for the launch party and I tried to get her to talk about her personal life and she wouldn’t.” He cocked his head at me, narrowing his eyes. “You, Jack Sutton, took your PA to dinner? You’ve never done that.” I shrugged again. “I wanted to get the details out of the way.” He sat there and glared at me for few moments, his eyes searching deep inside me for something. “Jesus Christ, Jack. No! No fucking way!” “What?” I raised my hands. “You are not even going to think about getting her into bed with you. Fuck, Jack! What the hell is the matter with you?” “Did I say I wanted to sleep with her? I just said I wanted to get to know her better.” “And you getting to know her better will ultimately end up with the two of you in bed and, before I

know it, she’ll be hurt and she doesn’t deserve that.” Coco walked in and, instantly, Garrett changed his tone and a smile graced his face. I had been noticing that a lot lately and it was starting to bother me. “What’s going on in here, gentlemen?” Coco smirked. “Nothing. We’re just having a little business conversation,” I replied. “Jack wants to get to know Lorelei better,” Garrett blabbed. Coco raised her brow at me. “Why? You don’t ever want to get to know anyone personally.” I leaned back in my chair. “For God’s sake. She’s a good PA so far and I would like to get to know her better. That’s all.” “Hmm. Stay away from her, Jack. She’s a great girl and I happen to personally like her, which is more than I could say for the other women you keep company with.” “What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Coco?” “I’m just saying that the superficial women you choose to sleep with are just that. Fake and plastic. Lorelei is a real person and she doesn’t deserve to be treated with disrespect by the likes of you.” “You two may leave my office right now. In fact, I’ll show you how nice I can be to her. I’m telling her she’s going to Paris with us. I’ll need a PA there to handle a few things.” Coco laughed. “You have never had a PA with you in Paris or anywhere, for that matter. The only thing you need her to handle is your cock.” Garrett busted out into laughter. “Okay. Okay. You both had your fun. Now get the hell out of my office!” I looked at the clock. It was seven fifty. I grabbed my phone and sent Lorelei a text message. “You aren’t by any chance walking around the building with my coffee are you?” “No. I’ll be there in five. Starbucks was crazy this morning.” “And how is that different from any other morning?” As I was looking down at my phone, waiting for a response, I heard Lorelei’s voice. “Fine. When I went to pick up the coffee from the counter, I accidentally spilled it and they had to make me a new one,” she spoke as she stood in the doorway.

“Well, at least it wasn’t on my suit.” I held out my hand for my coffee. “Go get settled and then come back in here and have a seat. I need to talk to you about something.” ****

Lorelei After handing Jack his coffee, I went to my desk and put my things away. I spent the whole weekend thinking about him and I couldn’t tell you why. All I knew was that he was on my mind when he shouldn’t have been and it really irritated me. After turning on my computer and grabbing my notepad, a cute little boy around the age of five came up to my desk. “Why, hello there.” I smiled. “You’re pretty,” he spoke. “Thank you. You are a very handsome little boy.” “What’s this?” he asked as he touched the paperweight on my desk. “Something you shouldn’t be touching,” Jack spoke in irritation as he walked out of his office. The little boy ran down the hall and to his mom. “That wasn’t very nice. He’s just a child.” “I don’t like children. Bring the confirmed guest list in my office and we’ll go over the seating chart.” Grabbing guest list from my desk, I followed him into his office. “What do you mean you don’t like children?” “Exactly what I meant. I don’t like kids.” His tone was flat. “You were a child once.” “And I didn’t like myself. Now that I’m an adult, I like myself much better.” He winked. “That’s a terrible thing to say, Jack.” I handed him the guest list and he looked it over. “Do you like sharks?” he asked. “No. Not particularly.” “And I don’t like kids.”

I shook my head and sat there in disbelief that he would even compare a child to a shark. “So you never plan on having a family?” He laughed. “Who me? Do I look like a family man to you?” “I guess not.” “Okay, now that we’ve established that I’m not a family kind of man, let’s get this seating chart finished.” Once the seating chart was arranged, Jack glanced up at me. “I have some good news for you.” He smiled. “Oh? And what would that be?” “You’re going to Paris with me. Well, with us. Me, my mother and Coco, and a couple of other people.” I swear the color from my face drained. Shit. Shit. Shit. There was no way I could go to Paris. He was leaving in a few days and I couldn’t leave Hope. I couldn’t tell him that because he had just gone on a rant about how much he hated children and he wouldn’t understand. “I’m sorry, Jack. I can’t.” “Excuse me?” He cocked his head. “I would love to but...” Think, Lorelei, and make it good. “My mother is ill and I can’t leave her right now.” “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it’s nothing serious.” “We don’t know yet. That’s why I can’t leave the country.” “I understand. Maybe next year. That’ll be all,” he spoke. I walked out of his office and, when I sat down at my desk, I sank low into my chair. I couldn’t believe I lied to him about my mother being ill. What the hell was the matter with me? There was no way I could leave my daughter behind and fly off to Paris. As the day went on, his attitude towards me was different. He was in and out of meetings all day and barely spoke two words to me.

Chapter Twelve Lorelei Instead of going to Central Park for lunch, I met Stella at a coffee shop down the street. As she was talking about how shitty her day was going, I blurted out, “Can you believe he hates kids?” “Huh?” She gave me a blank stare as she bit into her croissant sandwich. “Jack. He told me today that he hates kids.” “Why does he hate kids?” “I don’t know. He wouldn’t say. He just said he doesn’t like them.” “You never told him about Hope, did you?” Taking a sip of my coffee, I sighed. “No. Why would I?” “Why wouldn’t you? He’s your boss and I sort of think he should know you have a kid. But then again, since he hates kids, he may fire you just because you have one.” She smirked. “Just keep Hope to yourself.” “You don’t have to worry about that. I have no intentions of telling him anything about my personal life.” “Good girl.” She grabbed her purse and threw it over shoulder. “I have to run. I have a meeting in ten minutes.” She gave me light kiss on the cheek. “Try not to kill him.” “I won’t, because if I did, then I wouldn’t have a job.” I smiled. Before heading back to the office, I stopped at Starbucks and got Jack his usual lunchtime coffee. When I walked into his office, he was on the phone, so I set it on his desk. “Hold on, James,” I heard him say. “Lorelei?” “Yes.” I stopped and turned around. “Did I ask you to get me this?” “No, but you always want one at this time.” “Today I don’t, so please take it away.”

My God, the man was an idiot. I took the cup from his desk and took it back to mine. If he didn’t want it, then I did. Ever since I told him I couldn’t go to Paris, he had the worst attitude with me. It was like he was holding a grudge against me for not being able to go. He walked out of his office and didn’t say a word where he was going. Good riddance was what I thought. The less he was around, the better off I was. In fact, I couldn’t wait for his dumb ass to leave for Paris. Garrett smiled at me as he walked towards Jack’s office. “He’s not in there,” I spoke. “Where is he?” “I don’t know. He isn’t talking to me at the moment.” Garrett let out a laugh. “Why? Did you spill coffee on him again?” “No. He wanted me to go to Paris with him and I told him I couldn’t. So now he’s all pissed off.” “Did you tell him why you couldn’t go?” “I lied and told him my mother wasn’t feeling well and I couldn’t leave the country.” “You really can’t go because of your daughter, right?” “Yes. You never told Jack about Hope. Why?” I asked. “There are some things Jack doesn’t need to know and I felt if I told him about your daughter, he would have told me to fire you. He’s not exactly fond of children and he would have felt that you having a kid would get in the way of business.” “I know. We already had that discussion about him not liking kids.” “Listen, Lorelei. Don’t let Jack get to you. Just come in, do your job, and all will be good. Jack will talk to you again when he comes back from Paris.” “Really? Because I like it when he doesn’t talk to me.” He laughed. “You’re the best PA yet. I have to run. I have a meeting. If you see Jack, tell him I stopped by.” “That means I’ll have to talk to him.” I smirked. Garrett pointed his finger at me and winked before walking away. ****

Jack As I was at the airport checking in, I noticed my boarding pass said “Economy seating.” What the fuck? I pulled out my phone and called Lorelei. “Mr. Sutton’s office.” “It’s me. Why the fuck am I sitting in economy?” “I don’t know. I didn’t make your reservations.” Shit. That’s right. Amber did. That bitch. “I can get it changed for my flight going there. Call the airlines and get it switched for the return flight. I don’t have time to deal with this.” “I’m sorry about that, Jack. Maybe your last PA did it because she was planning on quitting and you pissed her off,” Lorelei spoke. “Excuse me?” “Just an observation. I’ll get the return flight changed over.” “You better!” Click. I had been on edge all week because Lorelei wasn’t joining us in Paris. This would have been a fantastic experience for her and everything would have been paid. Since she loved fashion and the industry, she could have learned a few things on this trip, plus I would have been with her and been able to spend a lot of time with her. Maybe get to know her better. As I was talking to the girl at the ticket counter, she informed me that all first class seats were booked. Now I was really pissed and I needed to figure a way to get a seat in first class. Damn that bitch, Amber. Lorelei was right. I bet she did this on purpose and she was probably sitting at home right now laughing her ass off knowing that I’d be stuck in economy. I took a seat at my gate in between my mother and an older gentleman. I glanced over at his boarding pass that was in his hand and saw he was in first class. “Excuse me, sir.” “Yes.” He looked over at me. “I see you’re sitting in first class. I will reimburse you for your ticket, plus I’ll give you an extra five thousand dollars if you switch seats with me.”

He arched his brow as he stared at me. “Seriously?” “Yes. I will call my assistant right now and have her wire you the money.” “You just bought a very expensive seat in first class, son.” He smiled. I smiled back and pulled out my phone, dialing Lorelei. “Mr. Sutton’s office.” “It’s me again. I need you to wire sixty-five hundred dollars to a Mr. Thomas Burkhart. I’ll put him on the phone so he can give you his account number.” “Umm. Okay.” Once he finished giving Lorelei his account number, he handed my phone back to me. “Make sure it’s done ASAP. Like right now, Lorelei.” “I am doing it now. So let me guess. You just bought the man’s seat in first class, right?” “Yes.” “Have a nice flight, Jack.” “I will now.” Click.

Chapter Thirteen Lorelei What a pleasant and quiet week with Jack gone. Such a shame it was coming to an end and he’d be back in the office on Monday. I even snuck out early a few days and picked up Hope from school. It was Sunday afternoon and Hope and I packed our last picnic lunch of the year and met my mom, Nick, Stella, and Sebastian in Central Park. The weather was starting to change and it was getting chilly. After eating lunch, Sebastian and Nick took Hope over to the swings. “When is Jack expected back?” Stella asked. “His flight gets in tonight and he’ll be back in the office tomorrow.” I sighed. “That man sounds like a horrible person,” my mother spoke. “I don’t know how you can stand working for him.” “I have no choice, Mom. He can be a handful, but he’s nothing I can’t handle.” “I think Mr. Sutton has a crush on your daughter.” Stella smiled. “Stop that! He does not.” “Well, if he does, Lorelei isn’t that stupid to get involved with a man like that. Right, honey?” “Yes, Mom.” “But…maybe a little casual sex wouldn’t hurt.” She smirked. “MOM! He’s my boss.” She shrugged. “So what. Sex is sex. It doesn’t have to mean anything. I had plenty of sex with different guys after your father died.” I covered my ears with my hands. “STOP IT!” Stella fell back on the grass in hysterics. “Relax, Lorelei. Did you really think I didn’t have sex until Nick?” “She hasn’t,” Stella spoke as she sat up. The look on my mom’s face displayed a great deal of shock as she looked at me.

“For real? You haven’t had sex since Brett?” “I am not talking about this.” “Sweetheart.” She reached over and grabbed my hand. “You’re too young to go without sex for that long. What is wrong with you?” “What? How could you ask that? Nothing is wrong with me. I just haven’t had any interest in men since Brett died. Hope is my life and I’m not going to screw it up by going out and having meaningless sex with strange men.” “You’re not screwed up, are you?” She winked. Thank God that Nick, Sebastian, and Hope walked over because I couldn’t take any more of this conversation with my mother. “Are you ready to go, baby? We need to get you in the bath.” “Are you going to pick me up again tomorrow?” she asked as she put her arms around my neck. “No, sweetie. Mr. Sutton will be back in the office tomorrow,” I spoke as I ran my hand down her hair. “Hey, Hope, I have an idea,” Stella spoke as she took hold of her hand. “I happen to be off of work tomorrow, so how about if I pick you up from school and we can go shopping. I need some new makeup and I would like you to help me pick out some new colors.” Hope’s eyes lit up and I gave Stella a small smile. “I would love that. Is it okay with you, Grandma?” she asked. “Of course it is, baby girl.” “Thank you.” I mouthed to Stella. **** After Hope’s bath, we sat down at the kitchen table and I began sketching a new dress while Hope did her homework. Suddenly, I heard my phone beep from my purse. It was my business phone and there was a text message from Jack. “I’m back in New York. I hope you didn’t miss me too much. We have a lot to go over tomorrow, so be prepared for a very busy day.” Great. “Welcome back. I will see you in the morning.”

“Don’t forget my coffee.” I rolled my eyes. “I won’t. It’s become part of my morning routine.” “Good. Try not to spill it this time.” “I’ll do my best. Have a good evening, Jack.” “You too, Lorelei.” “Who were you texting Mommy?” Hope asked as she looked at me. “My boss.” “Oh. Addison’s mom and her boyfriend took Addison to the zoo yesterday. She told me on Friday how she couldn’t wait to go.” “That was nice. We can go to the zoo if you want.” She shrugged and went back to doing her homework. I could tell something was off with her and it bothered me. I prepared myself the next morning to get ready to walk into the lion’s den. Walking into Jack’s office, I noticed he wasn’t in there, so I set his coffee on his desk, and as I was walking out, I ran into him in the doorway. I mean, literally ran into him. He lightly took hold of my arm. “Good morning.” He smiled. “Good morning. I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. I love it when beautiful women run into me.” He winked. Shit. Vibrations down below were starting and my stomach began to flutter. He called me beautiful. The mere sight of him was intoxicating. I guess not seeing him for a week really heightened his sexy factor. “How was Paris?” I asked. “Paris was good, but it would have been even better if you were there,” he spoke as he took a seat behind his desk. “How is your mother?” “Oh, she’s feeling much better.” “I see. Was it just a virus or something?”

“Yeah. We think so.” His eyes glared at me. A glare that told me he knew I was lying. “Hey, Jack,” Coco spoke as she poked her head in his office. “Mom needs us upstairs now. Good morning, Lorelei.” She smiled. “Good morning.” Jack sighed as he got up from his desk. “Lorelei, we’ll go over a few things when I get back.” I gave him a small nod and followed him out of the office. Taking a seat at my desk, I turned on my computer. Curiosity got the best of me so I googled Paris Fashion Week and a shitload of pictures popped up with one Mr. Jack Sutton and a glamorous-looking brunette. Something inside me sparked. A touch of anger, jealousy perhaps. I didn’t really know and I didn’t like it. My mind began to fill with images of him and her in bed. Some of the pictures were of them sitting on the balcony sipping coffee in their white robes in the early morning hours overlooking the beautiful city of Paris. ‘It would have been even better if you were there’ kept playing over in my head. If he was with her the whole time, how the fuck would it have been better? I shook my head, came to my senses, and closed down the browser. As I was trying to focus on my actual job, Jack strutted down the hall and asked me to come into his office. “First thing on the agenda is I need you to go over to Chanel and pick up their new flap handbag in burgundy. Also pick up matching gloves and a scarf. Then you are to head over to Ralph Lauren and pick up one of their wool down men’s jackets in black. Also pick up a scarf, but make sure it has a design on it, and black leather gloves.” “Is that all?” I asked. “Yes. You may leave now.” I got up from my seat, and as I was about to walk out of his office, Jack called my name. “Oh, Lorelei, I need another box of condoms.” I stopped dead in my tracks and didn’t turn around. “Okay.” I bet he needed another box of condoms after his week in Paris with that skinny bitch. After Chanel and Ralph Lauren, I stopped at the drugstore and went straight to the counter. “Hello, Lorelei.” Juan smiled. “Hello, Juan. Mr. Sutton needs more condoms.”

“I’ll be right back.” “Do me a favor and grab ten boxes.” “Ten?” he asked with surprise. “Yes.” A few moments later, he returned with the condoms, rang them up, and bagged them. Grabbing the bag, I walked out and headed back to the office. Throwing the bags on my desk, except for the one that the condoms were in, I walked into Jack’s office, where he was having a conversation with Garrett. I dumped the bag on his desk and let all ten boxes fall upon it. “There. Now you should be set for a while.” I turned around, said hello to Garrett, who was sitting there with a wide grin across his face, and stomped out of Jack’s office.

Chapter Fourteen Jack “What the fuck just happened?” Garrett couldn’t contain his laughter. “That’s what you get for sending your assistant to buy your condoms. I guess she’s just making sure she doesn’t have to do that again for a while.” I sighed as I picked up the boxes and placed them back in the bag. “Is everything all set for Coco’s birthday party Friday night?” “Yes. My mother has taken care of everything. Or should I say her assistants have. You’ll be there, right?” “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Are you inviting Lorelei?” “Yes, and she better come.” “I’m sure she will. I have a meeting. I’ll talk to you later, Jack.” After Garrett walked out, I yelled for Lorelei to come into my office. Walking in with bags, she set them down on the table and looked at me. “I didn’t appreciate your sense of humor as far as my condoms were concerned.” “I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was just making sure that you were fully stocked and you didn’t have to worry about running out any time soon.” “Whatever, Lorelei. Coco’s birthday is Friday and we’re having a birthday party for her and you’re invited. It’s at the 48 Lounge in the Theater District at seven o’clock.” “Okay. Sounds fun.” “Really? You can actually go?” I asked in surprise. “Yes, Jack. It’s Coco’s birthday. I wouldn’t miss that.” “Good. I know she really likes you and it would mean a lot to her if you were there. You can bring someone if you’d like.” “Like who?” she asked in confusion. “A date, perhaps?”

“I don’t have a date. I already told you that I don’t have a boyfriend.” “That’s right. I forgot.” I lied. I hadn’t forgotten. I just wanted to make sure someone didn’t walk into her life while I was away in Paris. I thought about her every moment I was there. She would have loved it and I would have enjoyed spending time with her. That just meant that we would have to spend time together here in New York, starting with Coco’s birthday party. Looking at my watch, I got up from my desk. “I have a meeting, so I’ll see you later.” “Okay.” She gently smiled as I followed her out of my office. **** The week went by pretty smoothly. Every time Lorelei went to lunch, she always carried an 11x14 leather-bound book of some sort in her arms. It was Friday and I decided to follow her to lunch. I saw her walk into a deli and take a seat by the window. She didn’t know I was following her, so I had to make it look like I was going to the same deli for lunch. Walking in the door, I pretended not to notice her and I placed my order for a carry out. Grabbing the bag from the counter, I turned around and tried to play it casually. “Lorelei?” I spoke as I walked up to her table. She quickly closed her book as she looked up at me in shock. “Jack. What are you doing here?” “Getting lunch.” I looked at my watch. “I have some time. Would you mind if I joined you?” She shook her head and placed her black leather-bound book in her tote. “Since when do you get your own lunch?” she asked with a raised brow. “I was starving and I knew you were at lunch and I didn’t want to wait. You know I don’t like waiting for things.” I smirked. “I didn’t know you came here for lunch. I thought you always ate in Central Park.” “It’s getting cooler now and I didn’t pack a lunch today.” “I see. Well, this is nice, the two of us having lunch together.” I smiled. “What are you up to, Jack?” Her face twisted. “Nothing. Why would you ask that?” “Because since I’ve started working for you, you have never ordered your own lunch, let alone picked

it up.” “There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?” I grinned. Shit. She wasn’t buying it. I could tell by the expression on her beautiful face. “Anyway, I was thinking that I could pick you up tonight for the party.” “Thanks, Jack, but I’ll just take a cab.” “But, Lorelei, I insist,” I persisted. “I’m going to my mom’s house before heading to the party. So I’ll just grab a cab.” I sighed. She was one tough girl and I didn’t understand why. Women didn’t turn me down. EVER. I sat there and intently stared at her, trying to figure her out. “Why are you staring at me like that?” She frowned. “Because you’re beautiful, Lorelei, and I’m trying to figure you out.” “There’s nothing to figure out, Jack, and thank you.” “You’re welcome.” I looked at my watch. “Lunch is over in a few minutes. Shall we head back to the office?” “Yes. Would you like me to stop at Starbucks for your afternoon fix?” She smiled brightly. “Nah. I don’t need it today.” She picked up her tote and we both walked out of the deli. “Are you going tell me what’s in that black book you’re always carrying around?” “No.” I chuckled. “I didn’t think so.” ****

Lorelei “How do I look?” I asked Hope as I did a twirl in my crème-colored sheer triple-tier baby doll dress with spaghetti straps and an under-bust corsage in light pink. “Pretty.” She smiled. “Can you make me a dress like that? We can match.” “I sure will.” I tapped her on the nose. “Do you have your bag packed to spend the night at Grandma

and Grandpa’s?” “Yep. It’s already waiting by the front door.” I ran my fingers through the curled ends of my blonde hair one last time before dabbing on my Joe Malone perfume and slipping into my crème-colored heels. I grabbed Hope’s bag and we walked out the door. Before leaving my mom’s house, I bent down and gave Hope a tight hug. “I want you to be good for Grandma and Grandpa. They’ll bring you back home tomorrow afternoon.” “I will, Mommy. Have fun at your party.” “Thanks, baby.” I took in a deep breath as I stood up and hugged my mom and Nick goodbye. “Well, here I go.” “You’ll have fun, sweetie, and don’t worry about Hope. We have a great night planned.” “Thanks, Mom.” “Tonight, you’re not a mother. Go be that young girl who always liked to have a good time.” “I will.” I gently smiled. I climbed into the cab that was waiting at the curb and headed to the party.

Chapter Fifteen Lorelei My stomach was a bundle of nerves as I entered the 48 Lounge. Why? I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like I didn’t know anyone. Then I saw him, Jack Sutton, leaning against the bar and talking to some woman, smiling and laughing. My stomach fluttered, but something more crept up inside me. If he was talking to someone I knew from the office, the feeling wouldn’t exist. But she wasn’t from the office and she wasn’t someone I knew. I didn’t come here tonight for him. I came for Coco. He was just the added bonus. Why the hell was I even thinking that? I walked the opposite way from the bar to avoid him when I saw Coco sitting on one of the couches, talking to Franny. Her face lit up when she saw me. “Oh my God, you came!” she exclaimed as she got up and gave me a hug. “Happy birthday, Coco.” I handed her the small, pink glittery bag I had brought. “Look at that dress. Turn around.” She smiled. “Which designer? It looks like a Betsy Johnson design.” I laughed. “I made it. I guess you could call it a Lorelei Couture.” “You made this? Seriously? You designed and made this dress yourself?” She put her hand on her hip as she held her drink in her other. “Yes.” I smiled as I nodded my head. “It’s fabulous. I had no idea you designed clothes. Mother!” Coco yelled and held up her hand, waving Kit over. “Yes, darling.” “Look at this dress Lorelei is wearing. She designed and made it herself.” Kit looked me up and down and then reached out and felt the fabric of my dress. “Beautiful. Simply beautiful.” She smiled. “You have quite a talent, Lorelei.” “Thank you.” Coco took me by the hand. “Come on; let’s go get you a drink,” she spoke as she led me over to the bar. Before we reached the bar, Jack looked up and his eyes locked onto mine. My heart started to beat rapidly as I saw the corners of his mouth curve up into a handsome smile. My belly flipped a couple of

times and, suddenly, I felt like a high school girl all over again. When we reached the bar, he left the woman he was talking to and walked over to where we were standing. “You look stunning.” He smiled. His woodsy man scent filled up my personal space and the ache between my legs hit hard. “Thank you.” “Is this another Lorelei creation?” he asked. “Yes. It is.” “I highly approve.” He winked. I gulped. “Doesn’t she look gorgeous?” Coco asked him as she handed me a cosmopolitan. “She sure does.” His sultry glare burned into me. “Please excuse me,” Coco spoke. “It looks like Joshua needs rescuing.” Jack rolled his eyes as she walked away. “So who’s your date?” I asked. “What do you mean?” “That woman over there you were talking to.” I pointed. “She’s not my date. She’s Coco’s friend. I’ve known her since she was twelve years old.” Oops. I assumed and I shouldn’t have. Nope. I should have because he was Jack Sutton. But my whole attitude and mood changed when he said that. There was a part of me that was pleased he wasn’t here with a date. Jack leaned against the bar and wouldn’t stop staring at me. It was sort of making me uncomfortable. “Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked with a small smile. “Because you’re incredibly beautiful and I can’t seem to take my eyes off you.” My cheeks became heated as I looked down at my drink. He was my boss and he shouldn’t be saying those things to me. “Jack, you’re my boss. I don’t think you’re allowed to say those things.”

“Not tonight I’m not. Tonight, I am just a man and you are a beautiful woman with whom I’m having a conversation.” He smiled and my panties became a little wetter. I finished off my cosmopolitan and signaled the bartender for another. When I turned around, Garrett was standing next to Jack. “Good evening, Lorelei. You look beautiful.” “Thank you, Garrett.” “Doesn’t she?” Jack grinned. I took note of the glare that Garrett gave him. “Do you mind if I steal him away for a moment?” Garrett asked. “No. Go right ahead. I’m just going to mix and mingle for a bit.” I smiled as I got up from the barstool and walked away. ****

Jack “What the hell, Garrett?” I asked in irritation. “We have a problem, Jack.” “What is it?” “Lindsey, Bradley’s secretary, told me that he has been embezzling money from the company. She found some documents he left on his desk. When she tried to ask him about it, she said he became nervous. So I started to do some digging. Sutton Magazine is in real trouble. Bills haven’t been paid in months and creditors are threatening to sue.” “Does my mother know about this?” “No. I came to you first. He’s already embezzled over eight million dollars. Do you know what will happen if this gets out to the press?” “Where the fuck is he?” I asked in anger. “That’s the problem. Nobody knows. Lindsey said he hasn’t been in the past couple of days and he hasn’t called. When she tried to reach him, his cellphone was disconnected.” “Get in touch with our private investigator and call Finn, Muir, & Abernathy. We’re going to need a lawyer to calm these creditors down. Don’t mention any more of this tonight. I don’t want to ruin Coco’s

birthday. We’ll discuss this Monday morning when we’re all back in the office.” “Will do. I’ll go make a few phone calls now.” An anger started to roar throughout my body like a wild beast. I flagged down the bartender and ordered a double scotch. As soon as he set it down, I threw it back as fast as I could. “Everything okay?” Lorelei asked as she walked up to me. “Yeah. Everything’s fine. Are you enjoying yourself?” “Yes, I am. It’s a great party.” Feeling the way I was, I couldn’t stand not touching her. It became an obsession and not only did I desperately want her, I needed her. I grabbed her hand without saying a word and led her to a private room down a hallway. “Where are we going?” she asked as I pulled her behind me. “You’ll see.” I opened the door and we stepped inside. “Why are we in here?” she asked nervously. “I just needed to get away from everyone for a while. I thought maybe we could talk in here in private.” “About what?” “I don’t know. Whatever you want to.” I sighed as I paced around the room. “Listen, Lorelei, I’m going to be completely honest with you. I hate games and I don’t play them. I am extremely attracted to you and you have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now.” “Oh,” she said. “Oh? Is that all you’re going to say?”

Chapter Sixteen Lorelei As I stood there nervously, I didn’t know what to think. Okay, I lied. I was beyond happy that Jack was interested in me. I was attracted to him just as much as he was attracted to me. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, it was a losing battle. Every day I saw him, the attraction grew stronger. I kept hearing my mother’s voice inside my head. “Tonight, you’re not a mother. Go be that young girl who always liked to have a good time.” I walked over to where he was standing. His eyes were pleading and had a look of distress. It was a look I hadn’t seen since I’d met him. Courage found its way to me as I wrapped my arms around his neck and softly brushed my lips against his, a move that would ultimately lead to a bad ending. He placed his hand on my cheek as our eyes locked intently on each other. Tilting his head and lowering it, his lips gently met mine. He was unsure. I could tell. But I started it and he was going to damn well finish it. Our soft and gentle kiss turned into a passionate one before too long. His hand wrapped around the nape of my neck as he pulled me closer. His lips were soft and warm, the type that sent the most exhilarating sensation between my legs. It was done. The line had been crossed and there was no going back. ****

Jack Kissing her was everything I dreamed it would be. The way our lips moved together in sync and the way our tongues tangled against each other overwhelmed me. I’d kissed a million women in my lifetime, but kissing Lorelei was different. My cock immediately rose to the occasion without hesitation. I needed to be inside her. I needed to feel her naked body against mine. I was willing to forsake everything for this one night. One night with her was all I needed. But not yet. Not now. Not here. I broke our kiss and placed my palm on her cheek. With a smile, I spoke, “We better get back out there before someone notices we’re missing.” “Good idea.” She gently smiled. “You go first so no one suspects anything. I’ll be out in a few minutes.” “Okay.” She nodded her head and, as she was about to walk away, I grabbed her hand. She turned around and looked at me. Our eyes stared into each other’s and no words were needed. I let go of her

hand and she left. I took in a sharp breath and waited for my cock to go down. I felt winded. If she made me feel like this with one kiss, I couldn’t wait to find out how she made me feel while I was buried deep inside her. I walked out of the room and saw Garrett at the end of the hall. He looked at me with concern. “What were you doing in there?” he asked. “I just had to get away from everyone and collect my thoughts after what you told me.” “I called Ron Lee, the private investigator. He’s going to start on this right away and find that son of a bitch.” “Good. And what about Finn, Muir, & Abernathy?” “I called Tim and he’s putting us in touch with Avery Lewis, an associate there.” “Why the fuck isn’t one of the partners handling it?” “He said if anyone could get the job done, it’s her.” I sighed. “He better be right.” We walked to the bar together just as the staff brought out Coco’s birthday cake and everyone gathered around and sang “Happy Birthday.” I looked across the room at Lorelei as her smile shined brighter than the twenty-nine birthday candles that lit up the cake. Once the candles were blown out and everyone clapped, I walked over to Lorelei and handed her a drink. “I figured you could probably use one more.” “Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Sutton?” The corners of her mouth curved upwards. “Of course not. Why would I do such a thing?” I winked. ****

Lorelei Liquid courage. It was what I needed after that intense kiss we shared. He took my breath away and left my body craving more. A craving that I hadn’t felt in so long; if ever, to be honest. There was something about Jack Sutton that mesmerized me. He was the magnetic field and I was the electrical charge that was drawn to him. “I think I need some fresh air,” I spoke. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s just a little warm in here.” I began to walk out of the club and Jack followed behind. Once the doors opened and I stepped out into the cool air, I felt like I could breathe again. “Better?” “Yes. Much better.” I smiled. “You don’t have to stay out here. Go back inside and enjoy the party.” “Nah. I’m good. How about if I call Tony to pull the car around and we go back to my place for a drink?” “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Jack. I think I’m just going to catch a cab and head home. It’s getting late.” He placed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. But please let me take you home. I think I’ll head home myself.” “Are you sure? I don’t mind taking a cab.” He looked at me with a small smile. “I’m positive.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Tony to bring the car around. After slipping his phone back in his pocket, he took off his suitcoat and wrapped it around my shoulders. “You look like you’re cold,” he spoke with his hands clasped around my arms. “Thank you.” I brought my hand up to his and, instantly, my body heated. He felt it too as he took in a sharp breath. A few moments later, Tony pulled up and Jack opened the door for me. After climbing inside, he shut the door, walked around to the other side, and slid in next to me. “I think we should talk about what happened earlier,” I spoke as I looked at him. “Okay. If you would like.” He swept his hand over my cheek. I gulped. “I—I—” I fumbled with my words. “You liked it and you enjoyed it,” he spoke as I saw the corners of his mouth slightly curve upwards. “Well, yes. I did. But—” “Shh.” He ran his thumb across my lips. “I did too and I want to do it again.” He leaned closer to me and my breath hitched. My heart started to pound and my skin began to heat up

as if someone had set me on fire. I didn’t tell him no. I couldn’t tell him no because the truth was that I wanted him to kiss me. His lips gently brushed against mine, and soon, his gentle kiss became passionate. Our lips locked and moved together as if we’d been kissing each other forever. His hands cupped my face as his tongue met mine. A low growl escaped him, heightening my desire to want more. Breaking our kiss, he stared into my eyes. “Please come home with me,” he whispered. I wanted nothing more than to make love to him, but I was scared. It had been so long and I was afraid I’d disappoint him. But I nodded my head, telling him that I would. He smiled. “Tony, change of plans. We’re going back to the penthouse.” He kissed me one last time and pulled me into him. Laying my head on his shoulder, I couldn’t shake the fear that resided inside me. He was used to having sex and I was sure all the women he had been with were experienced. Unlike me, who had only had sex with one person in my lifetime. I was caught up in him, mesmerized by this man like I had never been before. The limo pulled up to the Park Avenue building. Stepping out, Jack opened the door for me and held out his hand. After helping me out, he never let go and led me inside the large double glass doors. “Good evening, Mr. Sutton,” a distinguished man spoke. “Good evening, Blaine. This is Miss Flynn.” Blaine gave me a nod and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Flynn.” “Thank you. Nice to meet you too.” Jack led me to the elevator and inserted his key, which took us up to the fiftieth floor. Once the doors opened, we stepped into the beautiful dimly lit foyer. “Is the elevator the only way up here?” “No. I have a front door right over there. This elevator is a private one with a key or a code. Welcome to my home, Lorelei.” I looked around at the light gray walls that were graced elegantly with white crown molding throughout. Taking his suitcoat off my shoulders, I handed it to him and he threw it across the chair as we stepped into the living room. Gray modern furniture, which was placed perfectly, surrounded the area. Ceiling-to-floor windows took up the entire room, creating a panoramic view of New York City. It was probably the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

Chapter Seventeen Jack Seeing Lorelei standing in my living room made me happy. I made the right decision bringing her to my home. Walking over to her, I softly kissed her bare shoulder from behind as she stood in front of the window and looked out into the brightly lit city. Her head tilted to the side, allowing me access to her beautiful neck. My lips traveled around her soft skin as she brought her hand up and placed it on the back of my neck. My hands could no longer control themselves as they roamed up and down her side, feeling her slender body and aching to feel her naked skin against them. “You’re so beautiful, Lorelei,” I whispered as I kissed the tip of her ear. When she turned around to face me, I got lost in her blue eyes. Our lips met once again and I bent down and picked her up, carrying her upstairs to my bedroom. This was a first for me and my instincts told me that it was okay. Setting her down in front of the bed, I reached around and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the ground. I gasped when I saw her perfectly round supple breasts and my mouth instantly traveled to them. When I wrapped my lips around her hardened nipple, she moaned. “There’s something I need to tell you, Jack,” she spoke. “What is it, baby?” I continued to explore her breast. “I’m really nervous.” I looked at her with concern. “About what?” “This. What’s going to happen in a few moments if we keep doing this.” “You mean sex? Why would you be nervous about having sex?” “Because it’s been a while.” She frowned. “How long?” I tilted my head. ****

Lorelei I stood there nervously debating whether or not I should tell him the honest truth. I could just say a year. That wouldn’t sound so bad. But instead, I opted just to lay it all out on the table. “Seven years.”

His eyes widened as they stared into mine. “You haven’t had sex since you were...” He stopped for a moment. “Eighteen?” I took my bottom lip between my teeth as I slowly nodded my head. “Why?” he asked as he placed his hand on my cheek. “It’s a long story and I’d rather not get into it now.” “We don’t have to do this, Lorelei. I mean, if you’re not ready. I understand.” “I am. I think I’ve waited long enough.” The corners of his mouth curved into a beautiful smile as he ran his fingers through my hair. “I promise to be very gentle with you. If at any time you want to stop, just tell me and I will.” My hands reached for his belt as I undid it and took it off him. His lips kissed mine and my hands took down his pants. Breaking our soft kiss, I took down my panties while he unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his shoulders. Holy shit, his rock hard abs alone almost made me orgasm. Kicking off his shoes, he stepped out of his pants and tossed them to the side. His hands roamed my body as his lips traveled across my neck. “You have no idea how bad I want you.” “I want you too,” I spoke with bated breath. He pulled back the sheets and laid me down. Hovering over me, his hand swept over my breast, down my torso, and to my aching wet spot. He hissed as he cupped me and then slowly dipped a finger inside. My body jolted with excitement as I spread my legs wider apart and thrust my hips up. He smiled down at me and his lips clamped around my breast. “You’re so wet and you feel so good,” he moaned as his thumb made circles around my swollen clit. This feeling, sensation, and euphoria that ripped through my body was mind blowing. It had been so long since I’d felt this. His finger moved inside of me, then slowly in and out. I threw my head back as an orgasm stormed through me and moaned like never before. As I placed my hands on his head, his tongue slid down my abdomen and down to my pussy, where he skillfully explored my soaking wet area with his mouth. I took in a sharp breath and then moaned out his name. “Oh God, Jack.” I forgot everything about myself in that moment. I was lost in him and I couldn’t find my way back. He stood up and took down his silk boxers, releasing his large, throbbing, hard cock. He wasn’t kidding about the XL condom size. Jesus. What a gift this man was blessed with. I stared at it as he reached into

his nightstand and pulled out a condom. My hand extended out and my fingers softly wrapped around his girth. A groan rumbled from his chest as his breath hitched. As he tore the wrapper with his teeth, I let go of his manhood and he carefully slipped the condom on. Hovering over me once again, he leaned down and passionately kissed me. “Are you ready?” he asked. “Yes.” I brought my hand up to his face. He placed his cock at my entrance and slowly pushed inside me. We both moaned. “Fuck, Lorelei. You feel so fucking good.” “So do you,” I spoke as I wrapped my legs around his waist, forcing him deeper inside me. I won’t lie and say it didn’t hurt because it did. But it was a good hurt and one I’d be feeling for a while. He moved in and out of me with ease while his mouth explored my neck. My arms wrapped around him tightly as if I was afraid to let go. Light moans escaped me as my heart raced and my skin became dewy. His rhythm, his movement, and his overall passion sent my body into another orgasm. “Ah, Lorelei. That’s what I love to feel, baby. Give me everything you have,” he panted as I yelped and released myself to him. He slowed his thrusting and pushed one last time deep inside me while straining and calling out my name. His body collapsed on top of mine and our soaked skin melted us into one. I could feel his heart racing with mine as he interlaced our fingers and brought them over my head. We lay there in silence as we regained our normal breathing. ****

Jack I wanted nothing more than to stay buried deep inside her. It bothered me that she hadn’t had sex in seven years. It shouldn’t have, but it did. What secret was she hiding? What was it that she wasn’t telling me? Nobody goes that long without having sex. It isn’t humanly possible. I lifted my head and looked into her blue eyes. They displayed a happiness inside. Smiling at her, I let go of her hands and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “How are you feeling?” She took in a deep breath. “Wonderful.” “Good. That’s how I want you feel.”

I pulled out of her, climbed off the bed, and walked into the bathroom. After disposing of the condom and walking back into the bedroom, I stopped and stared at her as she lay on her side, her back to me and with the sheet covering her. This was the part I was dreading; kicking her out and sending her home. Walking over to the other side of the bed, I sat down and ran my finger down her arm. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” “No.” She smiled. “Not at all. You were amazing.” You can do it, Jack. Tell her you had a good time. Thank her for coming over and send her home in a cab. “Thank you. You were equally amazing.” I stroked her hair. She sat up, letting the sheet fall down. “I should go,” she spoke. “Yeah. I guess so.” This didn’t mean anything. I’d wanted to fuck her since the moment I saw her, and now that I had, she could leave like the rest of the women did. She climbed out of my bed and picked up her panties off the floor. I watched her as she slipped them on and then grabbed her dress. I’d brought her up to my room. That meant something. I didn’t want her to leave and I didn’t want to be alone. The thought of her leaving did something to me inside. It created an ache that I didn’t like. “Lorelei.” “Yes?” She turned around. “Don’t go. Please spend the night with me.” “Are you sure, Jack?” I held out my hand to her. “I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life.” She gave me a small smile as she set her dress down on the lounge chair and climbed back into bed. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her into me as she snuggled tightly against my chest. She fit perfectly into me. Almost as if she was made to be there. Kissing the top of her head, I asked the question that I was sure she wouldn’t answer. “Why haven’t you had sex in seven years?”

Chapter Eighteen Lorelei I wanted to tell him so badly about Hope. He needed to know, but I was scared. He hated kids and what we had just shared was beyond magical. I’d never felt this kind of connection before. Don’t get me wrong; I loved Brett with every fiber of my being. He was the love of my life. But this connection I had with Jack was something different. Something I couldn’t explain. Did I want to open up the wound that never fully healed seven years later? Not tonight. “Can we talk about it in the morning? I’m really tired right now.” “Of course. Get some sleep.” I lifted my head from his chest and kissed his lips. He gave me a small smile and my insides filled with happiness. This was the tender side of Jack Sutton. A side I hadn’t been so sure existed. The next morning, I opened my eyes and looked around the room, trying to focus where I was at, forgetting at the moment that I wasn’t in my bed in my apartment. Rolling over, I stared at the empty spot where Jack had laid last night. Regret started to settle inside me as I lay there. What the hell did I do? Now what? I sat up, holding the sheet over me as my eyes looked around his bedroom. The gray walls were the same as the rest of the house, as were the white crown molding that accented them. His bedroom furniture was black and very much the same style as the downstairs. Climbing out of bed, I used the bathroom and then grabbed a blue t-shirt Jack had lying on the chair. After slipping it over my head, I walked downstairs and into the kitchen where the aroma of coffee awoke my senses. “Good morning.” Jack smiled. “Coffee?” he asked as he held up the pot. “Yes. Please. Coffee is very much needed right now.” He poured coffee into the mug and handed it to me. His eyes raked over me from head to toe. “You look great in my t-shirt. Very sexy.” He leaned over and kissed my lips. “Thanks. I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want to get back into that dress.” “I don’t mind at all. I really like the view.” He winked. Sitting down on the black stool at the island, I took a sip of my coffee. Jack set down a small brown basket filled with croissants, muffins, and small pastries.

“Dig in.” He smiled as he took a croissant. “My maid, Madeline, is off on the weekends so she makes sure to pick these up every Friday.” “You have a maid?” “Yeah. She’s great. She’s more than just a maid, though. She’s my chef, my friend, my confidant, my tailor if something needs mending, and she’s just an overall great woman. Between you and me, I think she and Tony have a thing for each other.” I laughed. “Really?” “Yeah. Even though they won’t admit it, I know something’s going on.” He set down his coffee and sat on the stool next to me. “How did you sleep?” “Great. How about you?” “Good.” He slowly nodded his head. “Are you ready to tell me why you hadn’t had sex in seven years?” I tilted my head as I stared at him. “You’re just dying to know, aren’t you?” “Actually, I am, because I can’t imagine someone as beautiful as you not having sex for all those years.” Taking another drink from my cup, I sighed. “When I was sixteen, I met this guy named Brett. We fell in love and had big plans for our future together. We were going to go away to college, graduate, get married, start a family, and live happily ever after until he was killed in a car crash two years later by a drunk driver.” “Lorelei, I’m sorry.” He reached over and placed his hand on mine. “After he died, I had no interest in meeting other guys. Brett wasn’t just my boyfriend and my lover; he was my best friend and I couldn’t see myself with anyone else.” I looked down. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “I can’t even imagine what you went through but not to have sex for seven years seems a little ridiculous.” There was no way he could understand. He was Jack Sutton and apparently not a very emotional man. I turned my head and glared at him for a few moments. Our eyes locked on each other. “Have you ever been in love, Jack?” “No. I can’t say that I have.” “Then you could never understand. Do me a favor. When you do fall in love at some point in your life,

get back to me on how you’d feel if something happened to that person. How your whole world comes crashing down in a split second and you find it hard to breathe and go on without them in your life.” I got up from the stool and went upstairs to get dressed and leave. As I put on my dress, Jack walked into the bedroom and clasped my shoulders. “Lorelei, I’m sorry. I was being insensitive. To be honest with you, I’m not a very sensitive person. Let me ask you something. Why me? After seven years, why did you finally choose to have sex with me?” “If you would have asked me that last night, I would have told you something different from what I’m about to say now. The truth is, I don’t know. I have to go.” I grabbed my shoes from the floor, my purse from the nightstand, and walked down the stairs. I expected him to follow me down, but he didn’t. Walking down the street and trying to put on my shoes, I waited until I reached the corner to hail a cab. My stomach felt sick and my feelings were hurt. Maybe Jack wasn’t the man I thought he was. Or actually, maybe he really was and I just chose to see him as someone different. Who the hell knew and who the hell cared? I was happy I didn’t tell him about Hope. Jack Sutton was nothing to me but a one-night stand who happened to be my boss. ****

Jack Lorelei left in anger and I just let her leave. I should have gone after her, but I didn’t like what she said to me. I still didn’t understand why she wouldn’t have sex. I guess it was a woman’s thing. I knew that I would never go without having sex for seven years. Good grief, I couldn’t even make through a week. I sighed as I stepped into the shower. Once I was finished, I went into my closet to get some clothes. As I was getting dressed, I looked at the crumpled sheets where Lorelei lay in my arms and slept last night. She didn’t know it, but I lay there for a while and watched her as she slept. She looked so peaceful and so angelic. She made me feel things last night as we were making love that I’d never felt before, and for her to just walk out like she did today really bothered me. Great. She was mad and now things were going to be tense at the office on Monday. I needed to rectify things and I needed to do it now. I walked down the street to the florist. As I was looking in their cooler at the beautiful arrangement of flowers, a woman approached me. “Hello, there. Is there something I can help you with?” “I need to send some flowers to a woman I pissed off.” “Ah. Apology flowers. I understand. We send a lot of those. I would suggest our apology bouquet, which consists of red and white roses arranged in a glass vase with greens and sprigs of baby’s breath.”

“Okay. That sounds nice. I’ll send one of those.” “Very good. If you would follow me to the counter, I’ll get some information from you.” When I approached the counter, the woman showed me the cards they had on display. “Here are your choice of cards to send with the flowers and here’s a pen.” She smiled. “The name of the recipient is?” she asked. “Lorelei Flynn,” I replied as I took one of the white cards from the display. “Address, please.” “Oh shit. I don’t know her address. Hold on a second.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, dialing Garrett. “Hey, what happened to you last night?” he answered. “We’ll discuss that later. I don’t have time right now. I need Lorelei’s address. Do you have it?” “It’s at the office and why do you need her address?” “I just do. I can’t explain now. But I need to send her some flowers.” “Jesus Christ, Jack. NO!” he yelled and the woman looked at me. Then it hit me. Tony had driven her home so he would have her address. “Just remembered something. I’ll call you back later.” Click. I dialed Tony. “Hello, Jack.” “Tony, I need Lorelei’s address. You have it, right?” “Yes. Hold on a second and I’ll get it for you.” After a moment, he rattled off her address as I wrote it down on the white card. “Thank you.” Click. I handed the woman the card and pulled another one from the display. She glared at me. “What? You can charge me for that card.” She typed the information into her computer and I handed her my credit card as I wrote an apology to Lorelei.

Lorelei, I’m sorry for what I said. I hope you can forgive me. I don’t want things to be tense between us in the office on Monday. Jack “I need these delivered today and as soon as possible.” “Very well, Mr. Sutton. I hope she accepts your apology.” She smirked. “So do I.”

Chapter Nineteen Lorelei When I arrived home, the first thing on my mind was taking a hot, relaxing bath. My mom and Nick wouldn’t be bringing Hope home for a few more hours, so I had a little time to myself. Walking into the bathroom, I started the water and poured some vanilla-scented bubble bath under the stream. Twisting up my hair, I looked at myself in the mirror. Who did I see staring back at me? A stupid woman full of regret. Before climbing into the tub, my phone rang. It was Stella. “Hello.” “I’ve been waiting all morning with my phone glued to my hand for your call telling me all about last night.” “I’m sorry. It’s been a crazy morning. I’m just getting into the tub. Come over. I need to talk to you.” “Are you okay?” “I don’t know. I slept with Jack.” “Oh shit! I’m on my way!” Click. I climbed into the bubbly water and sank down until it reached the top of my neck. It wasn’t too long before Stella came over, running into the bathroom, and out of breath. “What did you do? Run here?” I asked. “Pretty much,” she spoke breathlessly. Setting her purse down on the bathroom counter, she pulled up the stool I had in the bathroom and sat down next to the tub. “Tell me everything. I want every last fucking juicy detail.” I sighed. “One minute we were at the bar talking and the next we were in a private room kissing. Then we went back to his place and had some serious mind-blowing sex.” “Eeek! How big was he? Was he really extra-large worthy?” She grinned. “Yes. He is extremely blessed in the goods department. I was really nervous that it wasn’t going to fit.” She waved her hand in front of her face. “Oh please. You popped out a kid. Speaking of which, did you tell him about Hope?” “No. I couldn’t.”

There was a knock on the door and Stella looked at me. “Are you expecting anyone?” “No. My mom won’t be bringing Hope home for a few more hours.” “I’ll go see who it is, and then, when I get back, I want to hear more about this amazing night.” She got up from the stool and left the bathroom. Grabbing the loofah from the shelf, I soaked it in the bubbly water and ran it across my arm. “Look what you got!” She smiled as she walked into the bathroom holding a beautiful arrangement of red and white roses. “Who are those from?” “Hmm. I wonder.” She smiled. “Here’s the card.” “You open it. My hands are wet.” You’d think I had just given her a gift by her giddy reaction. “Lorelei, I’m sorry for what I said. I hope you can forgive me. I don’t want things to be tense between us in the office on Monday. Jack. What the hell did he say? Oh my God, did you leave angry? Did you two have a fight? You just had sex. How could you have a fight?” Taking in a deep breath, I told her to calm down. “I told him about Brett and how I hadn’t had sex in seven years.” “Oy. Why did you tell him about the not having sex part?” She looked at me as she crossed her eyes. She knew I hated when she did that. “First of all, stop doing that, and second of all, I just told him. He proceeded to tell me how ridiculous that was. So I asked him if he’d ever been in love and he told me no. Which I’m not surprised because I don’t think the man is capable of love. He even admitted he was a little insensitive. I just told him that when he does fall in love with someone in his lifetime, to get back to me about how he would feel if something were to happen to that person. Then I left.” “Damn. What an asshole. But he did send you flowers and apologized.” She scrunched her face. “Only because he doesn’t want things to be tense at the office on Monday. He said so himself.” “True. But he could have just sent you a text message saying that. He took the extra step and sent flowers, and you know his PA didn’t do it for him.” She smiled. “He did it himself.” “Why are you defending him?”

“I’m not. He’s a total douchebag. You had sex. First time in seven years, may I add, and you said it was mind blowing. Take it for what it is and move on.” “Easy for you to say. You don’t have to sit and look at him all day.” Stella sighed. “I’ll meet you out there in a minute. I’m going to get out of the tub before I turn into a prune. Can you pour us a glass of wine and get those flowers out of here?” “Of course.” She placed her hand in the water and flicked a bubble at me. ****

Jack She should have received the flowers by now. Why wasn’t she calling me? I threw my phone across my desk. It rang. I grabbed it. It was Garrett. “What?” I answered. “Were you expecting someone else?” he asked. “Sorry, man. What’s up?” “I’m on my way over to your place with a pizza. We’re going to sit down and talk about why you needed to send Lorelei flowers.” “Garrett, now isn’t a good time.” “Sorry. What did you say? I can’t hear you. Seems like we have a bad connection.” Click. Shaking my head, I set my phone down and sank back into my chair. He was going to kill me. It wasn’t too long after he hung up on me that I heard the elevator doors open. I stepped into the foyer only to catch Garrett glaring at me as he took the pizza to the kitchen. “I’m going to assume that the flowers you sent Lorelei were a nice gesture for a job well done.” He reached into the cupboard and pulled out two plates. Reaching into the refrigerator, I took out two bottles of beer and set them on the table. “A job well done indeed, my friend. But no, they were apology flowers.” “What the hell did you do now, Jack?” We took the pizza over to the table and sat down. “I was insensitive and said something I probably

shouldn’t have.” “Doesn’t surprise me. But anyway, go on. What did you say?” “She told me this morning that she hadn’t had sex in seven years since her boyfriend was killed in a car crash. I might have said that it was ridiculous to go that long without sex.” Garrett shook his head. “Wait a minute. You said that to her this morning?” “Yeah.” I bit into my pizza. “And what was she doing here this morning?” I gulped and shrugged. “For fuck sake, Jack! You had sex with her?!!” “Yeah, and then I said that, and she left here all pissed off.” He set down his pizza and placed his hand on his forehead. “Why for the love of God can’t you keep your dick in your pants? Just once, Jack. This one time was all I asked.” “Because I wanted her and she wanted me. It was completely mutual.” “You, my friend, have crossed the line. She’s your assistant. You’re her boss.” “So what? I like Lorelei. I sent her flowers and told her I was sorry.” “Did she call you?” “No.” “Great. I better start placing an ad first thing Monday morning.” “Stop jumping to conclusions. She’s not going anywhere. And why didn’t you tell me she lived in Harlem. My God, the area she’s in isn’t safe.” “It’s not my place to tell you.” He narrowed his eye at me. “Did she tell you anything else?” “Like what?” “I don’t know. I was just wondering if she told you more about her boyfriend.” “She just said that she loved him and he was her best friend and she couldn’t see herself with anyone else.” “That’s terrible that she suffered such a loss. So you’re the first man she’s had sex with since him and you go and open your dumb-ass, rude, insensitive mouth.”

“Yeah. Pretty much. I told her I didn’t want things awkward between us on Monday.” “You slept with her, so it’s a little too late for that.” He kicked back his beer.

Chapter Twenty Lorelei My mom and Nick brought Hope home just as Stella was about to leave. “Hey there, Hopester.” She high-fived her. “Hey, Auntie Stella. What are you doing here?” “Just visiting with your mom.” She bent down and gave her a kiss on the head. “I have to run. I’ll see you soon.” “Okay.” She giggled and then ran into my arms. “Hi, Mommy.” “Hey, baby. How was your day?” “Good. We had a lot of fun.” “That makes me happy. Why don’t you go put your bag in your room?” “Okay.” She smiled. I looked at my mom, who was grinning at me. “So how did your night go?” There was no way in hell I was going to tell her what happened with me and Jack. “The party was a lot of fun.” “So you had a good time?” Nick asked. “I did. It was a wonderful night out. Thank you again for keeping Hope overnight.” My mom walked over and gave me a hug. “You’re welcome. You know how much we love that little girl. We have to get going, sweetheart. We’re meeting some friends for dinner.” “Have a nice dinner and thank you again.” I kissed both their cheeks. “Hope, Grandma and Grandpa are leaving. Come say goodbye.” She came running from her room and into their arms, hugging and kissing them goodbye. After we ate dinner, I helped Hope with her bath and we sat down on the couch and watched Cinderella. As she was snuggled against me, she looked up. “Cinderella got her prince.” She smiled. “She sure did.” I kissed the top of her head.

“Prince Charming never gave up until he found her.” “Nope. He didn’t.” “I wish you would find a Prince Charming.” I tilted my head as I stared into her blue eyes. “Why, Hope?” “Because you deserve one.” My heart ached when she said that. “I had my Prince Charming, baby. Your daddy.” “I know, but he’s not here anymore, so maybe there’s another Prince Charming somewhere out there. You don’t believe he was the only Prince Charming in the world, do you?” “I don’t know what I believe, baby. But I do know that it’s time for you to go to bed.” I tapped her on her nose. I tucked Hope into bed and kissed her good night. “Sweet dreams, little one.” I smiled. “Good night, Mommy.” I walked into my room and climbed into bed. I lay there and stared at the flowers that were sitting on my dresser. Picking up my phone from the nightstand, I sent Jack a text message. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re pretty.” I didn’t expect him to reply since it was a Saturday night and I was sure he was out. I was wrong. “You’re welcome. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I’ll see you on Monday.” “You too.” “Lorelei….” “Yes, Jack?” “I just want you to know that I really enjoyed our time together last night and I don’t regret what happened.” “Me too. Have a good night.” He said he had never been in love and that made me feel sorry for him. To be thirty-two years old and to have never experienced the beauty of love with someone was tragic. I couldn’t think about him anymore. Last night was a mistake; a beautiful mistake, but I wanted nothing more than to put it out of my mind and move on.

**** As I nervously walked down the street to the office building, the only thing I could hear was the sound of my heels clicking against the pavement. My belly was already flipping around at the thought of seeing Jack. Taking in a deep breath, I stepped onto the elevator and looked at my watch. It was seven fifty-five a.m. When the doors opened, I gulped as I stepped out and headed down the hallway to my desk. After setting my things down, I stepped into Jack’s office and let out a sigh of relief when he wasn’t in there. Setting his coffee on his desk, I took in a sharp inhale when I heard his voice from behind. “Good morning, Lorelei.” “Good morning, Jack.” As I walked past him to leave his office, he reached out and lightly took hold of my arm. I stopped, looked at his hand on my arm, and then up at him. “Again, I’m sorry.” Was he sincere? I was eighty-five percent sure he was. Hearing him say he was sorry versus reading it on a card were two different things. “You’re forgiven.” I gave a small nod. He let go of my arm and I walked to my desk. ****

Jack Sitting down at my desk, I picked up my coffee cup and, when I took a sip, I spit it out. “Lorelei!” I yelled. “Why are you yelling?” she asked as she walked into my office. “What is this?” I held up the cup. “Your Americano with a triple shot of espresso. Like you get every morning.” “This is NOT an AMERICANO! It’s sweet and sickening. Taste it.” I held out the cup to her. She brought it up to her lips and took a sip. “Oh. You’re right. This isn’t an Americano. It tastes like a caramel macchiato. You can clearly see on the cup it says ‘Americano Triple shot espresso.’” “I see that. Obviously, they fucked up.”

“Would you like me to go get you a new one?” “No. I have a meeting to get to.” “I’m sorry, Jack. I guess from now on, I’ll have to taste it before I leave.” “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry I yelled your name like that.” She gave me a small smile and walked out of my office. After grabbing my phone from my desk, I headed upstairs to my mother’s office. ****

Lorelei As Jack walked down the hallway to his meeting, I sat there with a smile splayed across my face. Starbucks didn’t screw up Jack’s coffee. I did. I ordered a caramel macchiato but had them write “Americano” on the cup. I considered it a small payback for him being an insensitive jerk. Even though the day had just started, for me, it was now complete.

Chapter Twenty-One Jack Stepping into my mother’s office, I took a seat across from Coco, who was sitting at the round table with Garrett and our mother. “What is going on?” my mother asked as she took off her glasses and glared at me. “I had a very important meeting this morning with the editorial staff, which I had to cancel due to your ‘emergency’ meeting. These two won’t tell me a thing.” “I don’t even know what this is about, Mother,” Coco expressed as she took a sip of her coffee. “We’re here to talk about Bradley Shaw,” I spoke. “What about him?” my mother asked. “He’s embezzled money from this company.” Coco choked on her coffee as her eyes grew wide. “What?!” “You know this for sure, Jack?” My mother glared at me but spoke with a calm tone. “Yes. His secretary found some papers on his desk and when she asked him about it, he became very nervous and hasn’t been seen since. I have a private investigator trying to find him and we’re meeting with a lawyer from Finn, Muir, & Abernathy. I have someone upstairs right now hacking into his damn computer to try and find out where the money is.” “How much did he take?” Coco asked. “Over eight million dollars.” “WHAT?!” she shouted so loud that it made my ears hurt. I stared at my mother, who took in a deep breath and sat there with her arms folded. “Keep me posted and keep this quiet. Make sure Lindsey doesn’t speak a word of this to anyone.” She got up from her seat and walked out of the office. Garrett looked at me and narrowed his eye. He was thinking the same thing I was. I got up from my seat and tilted my head to the side, alerting Garrett to follow me out of the office. “Don’t worry, Coco. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Garrett followed behind, and as we stepped onto the elevator, he looked at me. “What’s up with Kit?” “If you mean why she didn’t seem upset, I have no clue.” “Maybe she’s in shock?” Garrett asked. “Doubt it. I’ll talk to you later.” I placed my hand on his shoulder as I stepped out of the elevator. “Lorelei, call accounting and have the last six months’ reports brought down,” I spoke as I scurried past her desk and went into my office. I sighed as I sat down and turned to my computer. Cupping my face in my hands, I heard Lorelei’s voice. “Here are your reports,” she announced as she set them on my desk. Running my hand down my face, I looked up at her. “Thank you.” “Are you okay?” With a small grin, I spoke, “I will be if you give me a kiss.” “No thanks, Jack. Been there, done that, and we saw how that turned out.” “I think it turned out perfectly.” The corners of my mouth curved upwards. “Really?” She stood in front of my desk with her hands on her hips, turning me on more than I already was. I got up from my chair and slowly walked over to where she was standing. Running the back of my hand down her cheek, I spoke, “Yes. Really.” ****

Lorelei My body was on fire at the mere touch of his hand on my cheek and the ache down below that I’d been feeling since our night together escalated. I swallowed hard as our eyes locked. “I’ll never forget the way your body trembled under the tips of my fingers or how your eyes danced with delight when my cock thrust deep inside you.” He leaned in closer to me until his lips were millimeters from mine. “I’ll never forget the way your lips felt against mine. I want to feel that again, Lorelei.”

I was trapped in his gaze as he ran his thumb across my lips. His hand reached around to the nape of my neck as he gently kissed me and I kissed him back. “I said something I shouldn’t have. I sent you apology flowers and you forgave me. Now I know you want to feel my cock inside you again,” he whispered. “No I don’t,” I panted. “Yes you do. I can tell by the way you’re trembling right now.” My panties were soaked already and my heart was rapidly beating. He was right. I did want to feel him inside me again. When he touched me, I forgot about what an asshole he could be. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Damn it. WHAT!” he shouted. I hurried and took a seat across from his desk. He walked over to the door and when he opened it, Coco walked in. “Why did you yell like that? Was I interrupting something?” She glared at him. “Yes. Actually, you were. Can’t you see I’m in a meeting?” She rolled her eyes at him and I snickered. “Hello, Lorelei.” “Hi, Coco.” “Sorry to interrupt your meeting, but I need to talk to my brother.” I got up from my chair, still trembling on the inside from his touch. “No problem.” I smiled as I walked out of his office. It was lunchtime, so I grabbed my sketchbook and walked down the street to a café called LaRue. As I sat down at a table by the window, my business phone rang. It was Jack. I rolled my eyes as I answered it. “Hello.” “Where are you?” “Lunch. You know I go to lunch every day at this time.” “Yes, I know. But where are you having lunch?” “Why?”

“Because I’m your boss and I want to know, damn it.” I pulled my phone from my ear and looked at it like I couldn’t believe he just said that. “I’m down the street at LaRue’s.” “Good. I’m joining you. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Click. For fuck sake. Why the hell did he have to join me for lunch? I needed to get over the fact that my body was still craving him from earlier. Since he felt the need to ruin my lunch, I put my sketchbook in my bag and looked out the window. “Good afternoon. Are you ready to order?” the waitress named Jennifer asked. “Hi. I’ll have the Cobb salad, please, and I have someone joining me.” “Cobb salad it is. I’ll grab another place setting for your guest.” She smiled. A few moments later, Jack walked into the café and I immediately crossed my legs. The ache between them had to stop. “Did you order yet?” he asked as he sat down across from me. “Yes.” “What did you order?” He picked up a menu from behind the napkin holder. “Cobb salad.” “Sounds good. I think I’ll get the same.” He winked. “So why are you here, Jack?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “To have lunch with my beautiful personal assistant and to talk about the launch party. It is in a few days.” “Everything is all set. All you have to do is show up.” I smiled. “I figured as much. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s discuss what almost happened earlier.” Shit. Why can’t he drop it? “Saved by Coco.” I grinned. “Have dinner with me tonight and we can go back to my place after so I can make you tremble again.” “I can’t. I’m sorry. I have plans.”

“Doing what?” “My best friend, Stella, is coming over for dinner tonight,” I lied. “Oh. Well, can’t you have her over for dinner another time? I’m sure you see her all the time since she’s your best friend.” “And I see you every day.” I smirked. The waitress walked over and set my salad down in front of me. “What can I get you, Mr. Sutton?” she asked with a wide smile. “I’ll have what she’s having.” “One Cobb salad coming right up.” She winked at him.

Chapter Twenty-Two Lorelei “So you know our waitress?” I asked. “Not personally. I come in here a lot. Are you jealous?” He smirked. “Why would I be jealous?” I frowned. “Why wouldn’t you be?” Ugh. He was really testing me. I wasn’t feeling well as it was and he was getting on my last nerve with his cocky attitude. I leaned across the table. “Listen, Jack. Just because we slept together doesn’t mean anything. If you have it somewhere in that thick skull of yours that I’m smitten, head-over-heels in love with you, you’re wrong. It was sex.” “It was more than just sex, Lorelei.” The corners of his mouth curved up. “No. It wasn’t.” “Yes. It was.” I took in a sharp inhalation. “Then why don’t you enlighten me on how it was more than just sex.” “I know for a fact you can’t stop thinking about that night. I see it in your eyes every time you look at me. You want more and so do I.” Oh my God, he was so full of himself. I sat there in shock at his words. “You’re a player, Jack. You have girls lining up at the door who want to have sex with you.” “True. But I want more sex with you.” He smiled. “Why?” I cocked my head. “Because there’s something about you, Lorelei.” His phone rang and he reached in his pocket. “I need to take this. I’ll be right back.” I slumped in my chair. He was right. I did want more sex with him, but it was too dangerous. Dangerous in the fact that I hadn’t told him about Hope and I was afraid of his reaction when he found out. I was scared for my job. A job that I really liked. I was falling for Jack Sutton more and more every day, even though I fought like hell not to.

“Okay, now back to talking about having sex.” He reached across the table and took hold of my hand, rubbing his thumb softly against my skin. “Like I said, there’s something about you that intrigues me. You’re different and I think more sex is necessary. Let’s just say you’ve gotten under my skin, Lorelei.” “And you’ve gotten under my skin, Jack. But not in a good way.” I smiled. “You go right ahead and keep denying it. Since your friend, Stella, is coming over tonight, I’m going to let you get off work at three o’clock today. When you leave the office, I want you to go to the Trump Hotel and get the key to my room. Wait for me and I’ll be there shortly after you arrive.” “You have a room at the Trump?” “Not yet. But I will in a few minutes.” He winked. Damn it! My body was spinning out of control with sexual desire and I wanted him. I tried everything to resist. My heart was screaming at me from the inside to stop, but my body was screaming to go…go… go. “So let me get this straight. You’re letting me leave work two hours early so we can have sex?” “Yes,” he replied with a smirk. This was against my better judgement, but the way his hand was holding mine drove me crazy. I already knew what his hands were capable of and I wanted them all over me. “Okay. I’ll be waiting for you at the Trump.” “I promise you won’t be disappointed.” Looking at my watch, lunch was over. “I need to get back. Are you coming?” I asked. “I’ll meet you at the office. I have a couple things I need to do before I go back.” He removed his hand from mine. ****

Jack Lorelei left the café and I dialed Trump International Hotel. “Good afternoon, thank you for calling Trump International Hotel. This is Natasha. How may I help you?” “Good afternoon, Natasha. This is Jack Sutton. Is your Executive Parkview Suite available right

now?” “Let me check for you, Mr. Sutton. Yes. That room is available.” “Excellent. I want to book that for the rest of the day. Also, please have chocolate-dipped strawberries and a bottle of your best champagne in the room.” “Certainly, sir. When will you be checking in?” “Check me in now. You have my credit card on file. A woman named Lorelei Flynn will be arriving shortly after three o’clock.” “We look forward to your visit, Mr. Sutton.” “Thank you.” Click. Walking out of the café, I climbed into the limo and told Tony to take me to Victoria’s Secret. “Jack?” He arched his brow as he looked back at me. I sighed. “Just take me there. I need to pick something out for Lorelei.” “You’ve never stepped foot into Victoria’s Secret.” He smirked. “I know I haven’t,” I spoke with irritation. “Miss Lorelei must be something pretty special.” “That she is, Tony. That she is.” He pulled up to the curb and I climbed out. When I walked into the store, blinded by sexy lingerie, a woman named Ashley walked up to me. “Hello. Is there something I can help you find?” I cleared my throat as I could feel the embarrassment take over me. “I’m looking for some lingerie.” “Well, you’ve come to the right place.” She smiled. “Would this be for your wife?” “No. I’m not married.” “Oh, your girlfriend, then.” “No. She’s not my girlfriend. She’s my personal assistant.” Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. “Oh,” she spoke as she looked down. Now she was the one who was embarrassed. “Listen, I need something sexy for her to wear while with me. If you know what I mean.”

“Of course. Follow me.” She led me to the section where they displayed baby-doll nighties. All I wanted was to get the hell out of the store before I embarrassed myself even further. “Are you looking for a specific color?” she asked. “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.” She pulled a nightie from the rack and held it up. “This is our new Very Sexy Chantilly Lace baby-doll. We just got these in a few days ago. As you can see, it’s very sheer with revealing cutouts and traces of lace.” “Perfect. I’ll take it.” “This particular one comes in six colors. Which color would you prefer?” “I don’t know. What color is that you’re holding up?” “This is called Bare All.” “I can see why it’s named that. That color is fine.” “Great. We do have a matching V-string panty. Would you like that as well?” “Umm. Yes. That would be great.” “What size in the baby-doll and panty?” she asked. “Small.” “Excellent. Will that be all?” “Yes.” I followed her to the register and handed the cashier my credit card. “I would like that boxed up and delivered over to the Trump Hotel as soon as possible.” “I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t deliver.” I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Just box it up and hand it to me. I’ll deliver it myself.” When I climbed into the limo, Tony started to laugh. “Did you have fun in there, Jack?” “So humiliating. Take me to the Trump before heading back to the office.”

Tony pulled up to the Trump and I climbed out with the Victoria’s Secret box in my hand. “May I have the key to my room? In fact, give me two keys.” “Certainly, Mr. Sutton. Enjoy your stay and welcome back.” “Thank you. I intend to.” I winked. As soon as I entered the suite, I set the box on the bed in the bedroom and took a piece of paper from the desk. Lorelei, A little something for you to put on before I get here. Jack

Chapter Twenty-Three Lorelei Stepping into the Trump Hotel, I took the elevator up to the suite that Jack had reserved. Nerves settled inside me as I opened the door and stepped inside. I felt like a prostitute and I couldn’t believe that I had agreed to this. After I left the office, I phoned my mom to let her know that I would be a little late picking up Hope because I was working on something and I wouldn’t get out on time. Another lie. What was happening to me? It seemed as though lately, everything that came out of my mouth was a lie. Looking around the suite, I was enthralled by the class and beauty of it. Taking note of the chocolatecovered strawberries sitting on the counter, I picked one up and bit into it with a smile. Walking into the bedroom, I noticed a box that said Victoria’s Secret on it sitting on the bed with a note. I sat down, read the note, and looked at the box. I was too scared to open it. I was afraid to see what was inside. I pulled my phone from my purse and dialed Stella. “What’s up, chicky?” she answered. “I don’t have time to explain, so I need you to listen to me. Don’t ask any questions. I’m in a suite that Jack reserved for us at the Trump Hotel. Sitting on the bed next to me is a box from Victoria’s Secret and I’m scared to open it.” “I’m sorry, but I have to ask. Why are you at the Trump? Are you two having sex again?” “Yes, and I said no questions. He’s not here yet. He wanted me to come to his place tonight, but I told him I was meeting you. So he booked this room and let me off work two hours early.” A sudden burst of laughter flowed through the phone. “I’m sorry. That is just awesome. Open the damn box, Lorelei. I’m sure it’s some sexy lingerie he wants you to wear. What a kinky fucker he is.” “Oh my God. Stop it!” “Lorelei, open the box and take a pic and send it to me. I want to see what he bought you.” “Fine. I’m going now. I’ll send you a picture.” I took in a deep breath as I lifted the lid and unwrapped the pink tissue paper that revealed a sexy nightie. I gulped as I removed it from the box and held it up. Laying it on the bed with the matching panties, I took a picture and sent it to Stella. “Oh. I love that! He has great taste. Go put it on and feel sexy! Text me later tonight. I want all the

juicy details.” Stepping into the bathroom, I changed out of my business clothes and slipped into the nightie Jack bought. As I stood and stared at myself in the full-length mirror, I ran my hands down my sides. This piece of lingerie, what little there was to it, was beautiful. I especially loved the matching V-string panties. I heard the hotel door open and Jack call my name. My insides twisted and, suddenly, I became very embarrassed. I shouldn’t have been because he had already seen me completely naked. As I stepped out of the bathroom and turned off the light, Jack walked into the bedroom. “Wow,” he spoke as his eyes raked over me from head to toe. “You look amazing in that.” “Thank you. It’s beautiful. You didn’t have to buy it.” He slowly walked over to me with a smile on his face and placed his hand on my cheek. “I wanted to see you in lingerie. Damn.” He slowly shook his head. “It was worth the extreme embarrassment of walking into Victoria’s Secret.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “You had never been in that store before?” “Never,” he spoke as he took off his suit coat and tie. All of my embarrassment about wearing the lingerie in front of him melted away when he said that. I was pretty sure I had just fallen a little bit harder for Jack Sutton. His smile captivated me as his hands cupped my ass tightly. His lips softly brushed against mine and, suddenly, I felt breathless. “You smell so good,” he whispered as his tongue slid up my neck. “I’ve been dreaming about this since our first night together.” His hands moved from my behind and swept over my breast. His fingers teased my already hardened nipples with the sheer fabric of the lingerie. The ache between my legs was pulsating with desire as he slowly moved one hand down and rubbed the silk material of the panties against me. Sliding his finger and moving the silk edge to the side, he slowly and gently dipped a finger inside of me while a low moan escaped him. “You’re so damn wet already. Do I turn you on, Lorelei?” he asked breathlessly. “Yes.” I tilted my head back as his tongue stroked my throat. My hands reached for his shirt and began unbuttoning it. Sliding it off his shoulders, my fingers took in every inch of his well-defined muscular arms. While his finger explored me, his other hand untied the

bow on my nightie and he bent down to let his tongue explore my naked breasts. Vibrations shot through me as his lips wrapped themselves around my nipple, sucking at first and then gently nipping. When he placed his thumb on my clit and made tiny circles, my legs felt as if they were going to buckle out from under me. The pleasure my body felt was incredible and I never wanted it to end. “Before I go down and taste that sweet pussy of yours, I need you to come for me,” he spoke as his mouth planted small kisses down my torso. “You’re so close. I can feel it.” He was right, and a couple of more strokes later, my body gave way to an amazing orgasm. My body began to shake as it ripped through me while his hand held the small of my back. “That’s what I like.” He smiled as his finger that was inside me swept over my lips. Picking me up in one swoop and carrying me over to the bed, he lay me down and stood in front of me while he kicked off his shoes and took down his pants, releasing his solid hard cock. I moved back across the bed as he slithered his way between my legs and moved his tongue delicately up my inner thigh. The anticipation was exciting and I wanted nothing more than to feel his mouth on me. ****

Jack She tasted even better than before and I was more than ready to be inside her and feel the warmth envelope my cock. I was so hard, it almost hurt, and I needed to be inside her. After exploring her pussy with my mouth, I climbed up and hovered over her. “Your turn.” She smiled. I looked down at her in surprise. “Are you sure?” “Yes.” She licked her lips and I almost came. Standing up in front of the bed, she sat up and wrapped her warm lips around my cock and began sucking up and down my shaft. I threw my head back as my hands fisted her hair. Her rhythmic movement was unbelievable and she had me on the brink of an orgasm. “Ah, baby. You’re going to make me come. That’s it. Oh God. You feel so good.” She sped up her movement as her head bobbed up and down effortlessly. She sent me into oblivion as she wrapped her hand around the base of my cock and her sucking motion became flawless. The pressure built and I was there. Pulling me out of her mouth, she stroked me up and down as my come exploded all over her hand. Closing my eyes for a moment, I took in a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” She lightly laughed. “I’m incredibly wonderful,” I responded as I looked down at her. I walked to the bathroom and grabbed a towel from the rack. I wrapped it around her hand and kissed her lips as I cleaned her up. “You have one very talented mouth, Lorelei. My God, that was amazing.” “So do you, Jack.” She grinned. I tossed the towel to the side and stood her up while caressing her perfectly round breasts. My cock was once again rising quickly and the need to be inside her grew stronger. Pulling back the sheets, she climbed in on her hands and knees and all I saw was her beautiful ass staring at me. She turned her head and looked back at me as her lips gave way to a small smile. That was the way she wanted it and I was more than happy to accommodate her request. Tearing open the condom wrapper with my teeth, I slipped it over my cock and thrust inside her. After we finished, we both lay on our sides and stared at each other. “Do you have any regrets about coming here today?” I asked as I stroked her hair. “Not at all.” She ran her finger in circles around my chest. “Good. Because I don’t want you to ever have any regrets. Listen, I know you need to go and meet your friend, so maybe we should have a quick glass of champagne and a couple strawberries first.” “Okay.” We climbed out of bed and put on the robes that the Trump so nicely supplied. Walking out into the living room of the suite, I opened the champagne and poured us each a glass. As I handed Lorelei some champagne, she picked up a chocolate-dipped strawberry and brought it up to my lips. It was at that very moment when I took a bite and watched the beautiful smile cross her lips that Lorelei Flynn became more to me than just my personal assistant.

Chapter Twenty-Four Lorelei I kissed Jack goodbye and hailed a cab to my mom’s house to pick up Hope. On the way home, we stopped and picked up a carryout of Chinese food to take back with us. “You seem different, Mommy.” Hope smiled as she bit into her egg roll. “I do?” “Yeah. You seem happier.” Crap. I guess that’s what mind blowing sex will do to you. “I’ve always been happy, baby.” “I know. But today, you seem extra happy.” “That’s because I’m here with you.” I tapped her on the nose. She giggled. Once we finished dinner, I told Hope to sit on the couch and watch TV while I took a shower. After undressing, I stood and looked at myself in the mirror. Hope was right, I did look extra happy today. I needed to tell Jack about my daughter and tomorrow would be the day I would. He would understand, especially after today. The first time we had sex, something happened between us, but today, it grew stronger and he became more to me than just my boss. I completely fell head over heels for him and now there was no turning back. He made himself a place in my heart and he made me happy. ****

Jack As I was getting ready to leave the hotel, I saw Lorelei’s book lying on the floor next to the chair. It must have fallen out of her bag. I picked it up and sat down on the couch. Opening it, my eyes scanned the designs of various dresses; some casual and some very elegant. I smiled as I flipped through the pages. She was extremely talented and her designs were stunning. It made me wonder why she kept this a secret from me. I closed the book and dialed Tony. “Are you close? I’m ready to leave.” “I will be there in about five minutes, Jack.” “Okay. Thanks, Tony.”

I grabbed my suitcoat and went down to the lobby and checked out. As I stepped out of the hotel, Tony pulled up. “I need you to drive me to Lorelei’s apartment. She left something behind and she’ll probably want it tonight.” “Are you sure she’s home?” he asked. “She said her friend was coming over for dinner tonight, so that would mean she’d be home.” “Very well, Jack.” When Tony pulled up to the curb of Lorelei’s apartment building, I looked around the sketchy area. It bothered me that she lived in this part of Harlem. As I walked up the steps to the building, an elderly lady was walking out the door with her walker. I ran and grabbed the door for her and held it open. “Thank you, young man.” She smiled. “You’re welcome. Do you know which apartment is Lorelei Flynn’s?” “Who wants to know?” She glared at me. “I’m Jack Sutton, her boss over at Sutton Magazine.” I reached in my pocket, pulled out my business card, and handed it to her. “She left her sketchbook behind at the office and I’m bringing it to her.” She studied my business card and then looked at me. “She’s in apartment 2C. That’s very nice of you to bring that to her. That book is one of her most prized possessions.” “I know.” I gave her a smile. “Thank you.” She simply nodded and walked away. I took the elevator up to the second floor and her apartment. Knocking on the door, I heard a voice on the other side. “Who is it?” I frowned. It didn’t sound like Lorelei. “It’s Jack Sutton.” I could hear the locks unlocking and then the door opened. I stood there in shock as I stared down at a little girl. “I’m sorry. I must have the wrong apartment. I’m looking for Lorelei Flynn.” “That’s my mom.” She smiled. I swallowed hard and suddenly became very heated as I stared at the little girl with long blonde hair

and big blue eyes. “My name is Hope. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out her small hand. I was confused and I think I was in shock. I lightly shook her hand and she invited me inside. “You can come in and wait. My mom is in the shower, but she’ll be out soon. Come sit down on the couch. I’m watching one of my favorite movies: Cinderella.” I was at a loss for words, but I stepped inside the small apartment anyway. Hope ran and plopped herself down on the couch, patting the cushion next to her. I took a seat and looked at her as she stared at me. “How old are you, Hope?” “Seven. How old are you?” “Thirty-two. You shouldn’t be answering the door when you don’t know who is on the other side. That’s very dangerous.” “I know you. You’re my mom’s boss at work. She says you’re mean.” I arched my brow at her. “She told you that?” “Yes.” She giggled. Suddenly, I heard Lorelei’s voice behind me. “Who are you talking — Jack?” Her eyes widened as she stood there in her silk robe and dripping wet hair, looking at me. I stood up from the couch. “This must have fallen out of your bag. I didn’t want you to worry that you’d lost it, so I decided to bring it over.” “Jack, I can—” I put my hand up. “Don’t, Lorelei. Please. Just don’t.” I set her sketchbook down on the coffee table and headed towards the door. “You’re leaving already, Mr. Sutton?” Hope’s small voice spoke to me. “Yes. I have somewhere I need to be. It was nice to meet you, Hope.” I opened the door and walked out of the apartment, shutting it behind me. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I climbed into the limo and, instantly, Tony knew something was wrong.

“What’s wrong, Jack? Was she home?” “Yeah. She was home. She has a kid.” “What? Lorelei has a child?” “Yep. Her name is Hope and she’s seven years old.” “She never mentioned that to you?” “No. Not one word. This changes everything, Tony. Take me home. I need a drink.”

Chapter Twenty-Five Lorelei I stood there practically shaking. “Mommy, are you okay?” “Yes, baby. I’m fine. It’s time for bed. Okay?” “Okay.” “Go to your room and I’ll be there in a few minutes to tuck you in.” As soon as Hope went to her room, I went into the kitchen and poured a glass of wine, downing it within seconds. Taking my phone from the counter, I sent Jack a text message. “I’m sorry, Jack. Please let me explain.” “There’s nothing to explain, Lorelei. What happened between us was a mistake and it won’t happen again. I suggest we forget about it and move forward.” Tears sprang to my eyes as I wiped them dry before going into Hope’s room. After tucking her in and kissing her good night, I poured another glass of wine and took it to my bedroom. “Please, Jack. Just listen to me.” “If you’re worried about your job, don’t be. You’re a good personal assistant and I won’t fire you. There’s nothing between us, Lorelei, except a professional working relationship. Have a good night.” I was broken and the tears began to fall uncontrollably as I lay in bed. I dialed Stella. “It’s about time you called.” “Stella,” I cried into the phone. “Lorelei. Oh my God, what’s wrong?” “Jack came over tonight unannounced and he met Hope. Now he’s pissed at me and told me that what happened between us was a mistake.” “What a douchebag. Do you need me to come over?” “No. Hope is in bed and I’m going to try and get some sleep. How the hell am I supposed to face him tomorrow? Being with him earlier was amazing and we both felt something. I’ve fallen for him, Stella,” I

sobbed. “Sweetie, calm down. Listen, I’m coming over and I don’t want to hear another word about it. I’ll be over in fifteen. Just sit tight.” Click. I lay in bed, clutching the sheets that covered me. About fifteen minutes had passed and I heard the front door open and Stella walked into the room. She climbed in next to me and wrapped her arms around me. “Everything’s going to be okay,” she said as she kissed the top of my head. “I don’t think so. He told me that he wouldn’t fire me because I’m a good assistant but that there’s nothing between us but a professional working relationship.” “Well, then he’s more of an asshole than we gave him credit for. Lorelei, he’s showing his true colors. You don’t want to be with a man like that. You deserve so much better.” “But I really like him. My God, I slept with him. The first man in seven years and look what happens. It’s all my fault for not telling him about Hope. I was going to tell him tomorrow. I swear I was,” I sobbed. “I know. He’s not worth it, Lorelei. Once you calm down, you’ll see that.” I cried on Stella’s shoulder for the next hour and then I fell asleep. ****

Jack I barely slept all night. Thoughts of Lorelei plagued my mind. How could she not tell me she had a kid? She had plenty of chances but chose to keep it a secret. Damn her. I climbed out of bed, showered, and headed straight to the office. Pulling out my phone, I sent a text message to Garrett. “Are you in the office yet?” “On my way, why?” “I need to talk to you. Come straight to my office.” “Sure thing, Jack. I’ll be there soon.” As I walked by Lorelei’s desk, I shook my head. Maybe I should fire her. I didn’t know if I could stand to even be around her after what she did. Or didn’t do, I should say. Shortly after I sat down, Garrett walked in.

“What’s up?” “Did you know that Lorelei has a kid?” He stood there and blankly stared at me. The expression on his face told me he knew. “FUCK! You did know and you didn’t tell me!” “Jack, calm down.” “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down. How the hell could you keep something like that from me?” “It wasn’t my place to tell you.” “Did she ask you not to tell me?” “No. Did she tell you?” “No. We had a beautiful afternoon at the Trump yesterday and she left her sketchbook at the hotel, so I had Tony take me to her apartment so I could give it to her. That’s when I met Hope.” “Oh. How did that turn out?” “How the fuck do you think it turned out?” I threw my pen across my desk. “I was shocked. Do you know how betrayed I feel right now knowing that she lied to me all this time.” “Did you ever ask her if she had a kid, Jack?” “No. Why the fuck would I? She’s twenty-five years old. She shouldn’t have kids yet.” “Did you just hear yourself?” Garrett yelled. “You didn’t ask and she didn’t volunteer. Didn’t you tell her that you hated kids?” “Maybe.” “Then why the hell would she tell you about hers? The poor girl was probably scared to death that she was going to get fired.” “Yeah, well, now that I’m thinking about it, I just might fire her lying ass.” “For what? Having a kid? You can’t do that, Jack. Not to mention the fact that you fucked her more than once. Do you know the fucking lawsuit she’ll slap on this company if you fire her? The magazine is in trouble as it is. If you fire her, you might as well kiss this company goodbye. I warned you to stay away from her, Jack. I warned you! You made your bed, now you can lie in it.” He pointed at me. “You have no one to blame but yourself.” “You should have told me, Garrett. You’re my best friend. I wouldn’t have done what I did if I knew

she had a kid.” “Like I said, you have no one to blame but yourself. Now calm down and I’ll talk to you later.” He stormed out of my office. I ran my hands through my hair and took in a deep breath. I was angry. So angry. But there was another feeling that resided inside me: hurt. Garrett was right; I couldn’t fire Lorelei. Not only would that be bad for the company if she decided to sue me, but she had a kid to support. Things from now on would only consist of a professional relationship.

Chapter Twenty-Six Lorelei My eyes were swollen from all the crying I had done last night. I dreaded going into the office and seeing Jack. If I never had to see him again, I’d be happy. What I needed to do was start looking for another job and get the hell out of Sutton Magazine. The line that never should have been crossed was, and now I was paying the price. “What’s wrong with your eyes, Mommy?” Hope asked as she stepped into my bathroom. I bent down and kissed her head. “Good morning, baby. Nothing’s wrong. They’re just a little puffy. It must be my allergies.” “I thought I heard you crying last night.” She pouted. “You must have been dreaming. I wasn’t crying. I have nothing to cry about. Now go get dressed and ready for school. I’ll go make your breakfast.” I couldn’t let my daughter see me like this. It had always been just me and her from the start and I wasn’t about to let any man, especially Jack Sutton, destroy me in front of my kid. After getting dressed, I made Hope her breakfast and then dropped her off at latch key. As I was on my way to Starbucks to get the asshole his morning coffee, my phone rang. It was Stella. “Hello.” “How are you today?” “I’m trying to be okay. I need to be for Hope. I can’t let her see me fall apart over a guy.” “I understand, but don’t force it. If you need time to yourself to think about things or get yourself together, let me know and Sebastian and I will watch Hope for a few days.” “Thanks, Stella, but I’ll be okay. Hey, listen, I just got to Starbucks. I’ll talk to you later.” “Okay, sweetie. Call me and make sure you either get him the wrong coffee or spill it on his dumb ass.” I smiled. “I will.” I ordered his damn Americano just the way he liked it and headed to the office. My stomach was twisted and I felt sick. The anger and disappointment in his eyes last night were unbearable to see. I saw

another side of Jack when we spent time alone together. He was tender and sweet. He only wanted to please me and I let him down. As I walked down the hallway with his coffee in my hand, I was literally shaking. I prayed he wouldn’t be in his office, but he was. FUCK! I took in a deep breath as I stepped inside and set his coffee on his desk. “Is it right this time?” he asked in an abrupt tone. “I didn’t taste it. So hopefully, it is.” I walked out of his office and sat down at my desk. The launch was in a few days and I needed to finish the dress I was making. I just needed to get through this day. As I was sitting at my desk, the office phone rang. “Jack Sutton’s office.” “Lorelei, it’s Garrett. I want you to come down to my office in about thirty minutes. Jack has a meeting to go to, so he won’t know you’re gone.” “He told you, didn’t he?” “Yes. Just come down to my office and we’ll talk.” “Okay.” Click. Jack stormed out of his office without saying a word to me about his meeting. He always told me where he was going. But not today. I could still see the anger in his eyes and it bothered me. I got up from my desk and went down to Garrett’s office. “Hey,” I spoke as I poked my head through the door. “Hey.” He smiled. “Come on in and have a seat.” I sighed as I sat down across from his desk. Looking down, I played with my hands. “How are you doing?” “Not good, Garrett. I feel awful because of how he found out about Hope. I was going to tell him today.” “Well, I want you to forget about Jack. He can be a real asshole sometimes. He’ll get over this, Lorelei. You just need to move on. Do your job and everything will be fine. He can’t stay mad at you forever.” “It doesn’t matter if he does or not. I want you to know that I’m going to start looking for another job.”

“I don’t want to see you go. Maybe I can transfer you to another department.” “That would make Jack even madder. It’s best if I leave the company altogether.” “I understand, but you need to stand up to Jack. He’s not going to fire you. That I can promise. You have leverage with him and you can do some great damage to him and this company if he let you go.” “Thanks, Garrett, but I don’t want to use anything against him. I’m not that kind of person. I’ll just start looking for another job and, if I find one, I’ll let you know.” I got up from my seat. “Okay, Lorelei. If that’s what you feel is necessary. Hang in there. He’ll come around eventually.” I gave Garrett a small smile and went back up to my desk. When I got back, Jack was in his office. Shit. His meeting didn’t last too long. “Where were you?” he yelled from his desk. “Bathroom. Is that okay or did you want me to pee all over my desk?” I blurted out. “Get in my office NOW!” he commanded. Shit. Shit. Shit. Taking in a deep inhalation, I walked into his office. “Shut the damn door.” I shut the door and then turned and looked at his angry face. “I don’t need your smart-ass mouth. Do you understand me?” He pointed directly at me. “Yes. I understand.” “Is Hope the reason why you didn’t go to Paris?” I needed to sit down because my knees were shaking something terrible. “Yes. I couldn’t leave her.” “So you fucking lied to me again?” “Yes.” I looked down as I crossed my hands. “So your mother was never sick?” I shook my head without saying a word. “You’re quite the little liar, aren’t you?” Tears started to fill my eyes. Oh hell no, there was no way I was going to let him see me cry.

“I guess I am and I’m sorry, Jack.” “You’re sorry? Sorry for what? Lying to me? Letting me fuck you and get close to you? What? What are you sorry for, Lorelei?” Suddenly, rage started to fill my body when he asked me that. A rage I never knew existed until now. My head shot up at him like I was possessed and my eyes stared directly into his. “I’m sorry that you’re angry and I’m sorry that you can’t understand why I didn’t tell you about Hope. But I was going to tell you today.” “Of course you were. How convenient now that I already found out. Was your boyfriend who was killed Hope’s father?” “Yes, and you know what the hardest part of all that was? He didn’t even know I was pregnant. He was on his way over to my house the night I was going to tell him. I made his favorite dinner and I bought a pair of baby booties and set them on his plate at the table. I kept trying to call him because he was taking longer than usual, but all I kept getting was his voicemail. I knew deep down inside something had happened. I got in my car and drove the route from the shop he worked at to my house. That was when I saw the flashing lights of the police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. As I got closer to the scene, I saw his car.” I wiped a single tear that fell from my eye. “I screamed his name and began to run towards the accident. A cop grabbed me and held me back, telling me that they were trying to get him out of the car. All I wanted to do was go to him, but they wouldn’t let me. That was when I heard the paramedic say he was dead. So there are three things in my life that I’m sorry for. Not getting the chance to tell my boyfriend, whom I loved deeply, that he was going to be a father, for not telling you about Hope from the beginning, and for you never finding out what it’s like to truly love someone. But the one thing I’m NOT sorry for is having her. She is my life and my world and I love her more than life itself. She was a gift from God that got me through his death. She gave me the strength to go on and move on with my life and I would do anything to protect her.” I got up from my seat, leaned over his desk, and pointed my finger at him. “So if you want to hold me having a daughter against me, then go right ahead. I DON’T GIVE A FUCK!” I yelled. “I’m not holding it against you.” His voice was calm. “I just wish you would have told me from the start. That’s all. I told you before that I hate games and I don’t play them. So, let’s both calm down and just try to move on with our professional relationship.” “Can you do that, Jack?” “Yes, Lorelei. I can. We had our words and now we can go about our business.” “Fine,” I spoke with attitude.

“Okay. You may go back to your desk. Or do you need to leave? Maybe collect yourself or something?” “No. I’m fine.” “Okay. You may leave now.” I walked out of his office and took a seat at my desk. Now that Jack and I had it out, I felt somewhat better, but I was angry at myself for telling him everything I did about the accident.

Chapter Twenty-Seven Jack Damn her. Hearing her story upset me. Why the fuck would I be upset? Maybe because I cared about her and I shouldn’t. Throwing a kid in the mix changed everything. There was no way in hell I could get involved with her when she had a child. I planned to move past all of this, to go about my life and my business like I did before I ever laid my eyes on Lorelei. I got up from my desk and told her that I was going to the accounting department. When I stepped into Bradley’s office, I asked Wes, the person working on Bradley’s computer, if he found anything yet. “I did, Mr. Sutton. I was just coming down to your office. Something doesn’t seem right. The offshore accounts that Bradley put the money into are in the name of Kit Sutton, your mother.” “What? Are you sure?” “Yeah. I was able to hack into the bank’s system and the accounts are in her name. So technically, Bradley hasn’t embezzled anything. He’s been putting the money away for your mom.” I stood there in disbelief as I stared at the computer screen, pondering why my mother would do such a thing. “Thank you. I appreciate your hard work.” “No problem, Mr. Sutton. It’s my job.” He smiled. I took a seat behind Bradley’s desk and called Lindsey into the office. “Yes, Mr. Sutton.” “Has my mother been down here to see Bradley?” “A couple of times. But I know they’ve met outside the company.” “How do you know that?” “I saw them one night having dinner at Sage and they were arguing. Your mother was pointing her finger at him. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I could tell she was angry.” “Did they see you?” “No. They didn’t.”

“How long ago was this?” “About a month ago. I remember because I took my boyfriend there for his birthday. I’m not going to get in trouble, am I?” “Of course not. I appreciate you telling me. You have nothing to worry about.” “Thank you, Mr. Sutton.” As I was walking back to my office, I saw Lorelei come out of the bathroom. “Are you okay?” I asked. “I’m fine. Are you?” “Yes.” “Good,” she spoke with a hint of an attitude and sat down at her desk while I went into my office and shut the door. **** A few days passed and I still hadn’t talked to my mother about the accounts. Nor did I tell Coco what I found out. I was waiting for the private investigator with the hopes he’d find Bradley first. Lorelei and I held very small conversations during the day and they mainly concerned work. I had some paperwork to give her, and when I opened my office door, I saw Hope run to Lorelei and give her a hug. “Hey, baby, what are you doing here?” she asked. “We wanted to know if you want to go to lunch with us. Auntie Stella said it would be okay to come here and ask you. Plus, I wanted to see where you worked. Hi, Mr. Sutton.” She smiled as she looked at me with her blue eyes. “Hello.” “This is my Auntie Stella. She picked me up from school today because I got out early.” “Nice to meet you, Stella.” I nodded. Her eyes shot daggers at me and I knew right then and there that Lorelei told her everything. She looked at Hope, who was staring up at her, and then she looked back at me. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Sutton. Lorelei has told me a lot about you,” she spoke deadpan. “I bet she has.” I set the papers on Lorelei’s desk. “I need you to look these over and make the corrections.”

“Sure thing.” I walked back into my office and by the time I reached my desk, Hope had followed me in. “I like your office, Mr. Sutton. It’s so big.” I sighed. “Thank you, Hope.” “Hope, leave Mr. Sutton alone. Sorry, Jack. I’m heading to lunch now,” Lorelei spoke. “No need to apologize. Enjoy your lunch.” “Can Mr. Sutton come with us?” Hope asked as she took hold of Lorelei’s hand. “No, Hope.” “Why?” She looked up at her. “Thank you for the offer, but I have a meeting to attend. Maybe another time, Hope.” “Okay.” Before walking out of my office, Hope turned her head and looked at me over her shoulder. “It was nice to see you again.” She smiled as she gave me a small wave. “It was nice to see you too.” I leaned back in my chair and watched them leave. She was the spitting image of Lorelei and she even had the same smile as she did. Even though I was still hurt by Lorelei for not telling me she had a daughter, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Especially at night. “Who was that little girl with Lorelei?” Coco asked as she walked into my office. “That would be Hope, Lorelei’s daughter.” “Excuse me?” She sat down across from my desk. “Her daughter.” “I didn’t know she had a daughter.” “I didn’t either until a few days ago,” I spoke. She narrowed her eye at me as she chewed on her bottom lip. “What’s wrong? I can tell something’s bothering you.” “Nothing,” I replied.

“Shit, Jack.” She shook her head. “You slept with her.” I looked down, picked up a paperclip from my desk, and began playing with it. “Yep. I did. I made a horrible mistake.” Coco arched her brow. “You’ve never said you made a mistake sleeping with a woman.” She paused for a moment when I looked up at her. “Oh no, Jack. You have feelings for her, don’t you?” “It doesn’t matter if I do. I can’t get involved with her.” “Why? Because she has a child?” “Yes, Coco.” “Why? I don’t understand.” “Because children ruin relationships. You of all people should know that.” “Huh?” she asked in confusion. “Is that the reason you aren’t fond of children?” “Maybe. I don’t know.” Coco’s phone rang. “I have to go and take this call. We’ll talk about this again. But if you want my honest opinion, I think Lorelei is exactly what you need, regardless if she has a kid or not. I’ll see you tonight at the launch party.” I picked up my phone and sent a text message to Isla. “I will pick you up tonight at six thirty.” “I’ll be ready and waiting for you, Jack. I bought the most spectacular Valentino dress. You’re going to love it.” “I’m sure I will.” As I set my phone down, Lorelei walked in with my coffee. “Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” As she started to walk away, I spoke, “How was your lunch?” “It was nice.” “Good. By the way, you may leave at four o’clock today.”

“Really?” she asked in surprise. “I want to make sure you have plenty of time to get ready for the launch party tonight.” “Thank you, Jack. I appreciate it.” “You’re welcome. Just make sure you have those corrections done before you leave.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight Lorelei “Thanks again for picking up Hope from school today,” I spoke as I swept a gray color of eyeshadow across my eye. “No problem. I told you that Sebastian and I could babysit her tonight while you’re at the launch party.” “I know, but my mom and Nick are really looking forward to it. In fact, they should be here soon.” After painting my face and pinning up the sides of my hair while the rest of it fell over my shoulder in curls, I slipped into the red wine-colored dress I made. “Well?” I turned around and faced Stella. “You’re going to make every cock in that damn place spring up to action. It’s gorgeous.” I smiled. “Thanks.” “So are you and Jack being civilized to one another now?” Walking into the bathroom, I picked up a tube of my wine-colored lipstick and swept it across my lips. “I guess. To be honest, he’s been okay the past few days. But I still miss him, if you know what I mean.” “You don’t need someone like him, Lorelei.” “You’re right. I don’t. I don’t need anyone because I will never get that close to someone again.” “Now don’t say shit like that. You’ll meet the man of your dreams sooner or later.” Walking out of the bathroom, I slipped my feet into a pair of silver rhinestone heels. “I thought I already did, twice, and look what happened. One was killed and the other hates me for having a kid.” She fell back on the bed and then sat up on her elbows. “Jack Sutton isn’t the man of your dreams. You had sex with him, so you thought he was. We’re women. We get emotionally involved at the first sign of a man paying attention to us.” “I liked him first and that’s why I chose to have sex with him.” ****

Walking into the Lincoln Center, I smiled. So far, everything looked perfect and I prayed that I pulled this off flawlessly. I spotted Coco talking to Garrett and, when she saw me, her mouth dropped. “You look amazing. Oh my God. Is this another Lorelei original?” she asked as she walked around me, checking me out from head to toe. “Yes it is and thank you.” “You look gorgeous, Lorelei.” Garrett smiled as he kissed my cheek. “Thank you.” Coco’s hand reached out and lightly touched my dress. “I love the strapless look and the way you notched the sweetheart neckline. Look at these seams and the way the bottom slightly flares out. It’s like a mermaid style but not quite. This is gorgeous, Lorelei. You really need to show off your work more. You’re very talented.” “Thank you, Coco.” When I glanced over to my left, my stomach fell at the sight of Jack with his hand on some brunette’s back. Coco noticed my reaction and put her arm around me, turning me the other way. “Ignore him, Lorelei. He’s a manwhore and not worthy of you or your attention. He told me you two slept together and he told me about your daughter.” I looked down in shame. “Listen to me. You put this whole launch party together and you should be proud. Hold your head up high and let everyone know exactly who you are. Don’t let my brother ruin your night just because he decided to bring a skank with him. There are plenty of eligible hot and sexy men here that would love to get to know you.” “I won’t let him ruin my night, and as for men, I’m not interested. I made a mistake where your brother is concerned and I won’t make that same mistake again.” “Sweetie, don’t let one rotten fish spoil the rest of the ocean for you.” She winked. “Oh, there’s Vidal.” She grabbed my hand and led me over to him. “Vidal, darling.” She kissed both his cheeks. He looked at me and then at my dress. “Lorelei, that dress is classic. Who is it?” he asked. “Thank you. I made it.” His brow raised as he looked over at Coco.

“You designed and made this dress yourself?” he asked. “Yes.” “Fabulous. I didn’t know you designed.” “It’s something I do in my spare time.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “Working for Jack, I’m surprised you have any spare time at all.” “She also has a daughter,” Coco spoke. “Oh? I bet she’s just as beautiful as her mommy. Do you have a picture?” I pulled my phone from my clutch and showed him a picture of Hope. “Spitting image. She’s gorgeous, Lorelei.” “Thank you, Vidal.” “Her daddy is one lucky man to have two beautiful women in his life.” I pursed my lips together. “Her father was killed before she was born.” He placed his hand on my arm. “I’m so sorry. Me and my big mouth.” “Don’t apologize. You couldn’t have known.” “Well, anyway, I need to catch up with Kit. I will talk to both of you beauties later. Lorelei, we should collaborate some time.” I needed a drink, so I walked up to the bar, knowing that Jack and his skank were standing there. I didn’t care. I was taking Coco’s advice and holding my head up high, even though it hurt me to see him with her. After ordering a cosmopolitan, I felt a hand lightly touch my arm. “Lorelei,” Jack spoke. “Hi, Jack.” “You look—” “Beautiful? So I’ve been told quite a few times already.” The corners of his mouth curved into a sweet smile. A smile I hadn’t seen since that afternoon at the hotel. A smile that always made my panties wet. “Yes, beautiful. Is this another one of your designs?”

“Yes.” “It looks great on you.” “Jack, darling.” The skank hooked her arm in his. “Isla, this is Lorelei, my personal assistant. She’s responsible for putting this evening together. Lorelei, this is Isla.” “Nice to meet you, Lorelei. I love your dress.” She extended her bony hand. Extending mine to be cordial, I spoke, “Nice to meet you too.” I really wanted to claw her eyes out. The bartender finally set my cosmopolitan on the bar. Picking it up, I looked at Jack and Isla. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go make sure everything is set.” I walked away, holding my head up and pretending that I wasn’t broken inside. ****

Jack I watched and sipped my scotch as she walked away. She looked incredible and fuck if I wasn’t starting to get hard. She had done everything perfectly for the party and, so far, it was a huge success. It was almost time for Vidal to show off his collection, so everyone began to take their assigned seats at their tables. I escorted Isla over to my table and took my seat next to Lorelei. I had to make a last-minute change to the seating arrangement to ensure there was enough room for my date. Lorelei leaned over and whispered in my ear. “I see you changed the seating arrangement.” “I did.” “I would have done it for you.” “I know.” She picked up her drink and took a sip. Isla excused herself to the restroom. “She’s pretty,” Lorelei spoke. “I guess.” She was making me uncomfortable. “Did you make sure she didn’t have a kid before asking her here?” “That’s enough,” I whispered in a stern voice.

Lorelei began to cough and she turned her head the other way. “Are you okay? Here, have my water.” I picked up my glass and handed it to her. “I don’t want your water. But thank you anyway.” Isla returned from the restroom and my mother stood up on the runway and introduced Vidal before taking her seat across from me. The showing was a success, and afterwards, Coco and I stood with my mother and Vidal while people chatted and congratulated us. I couldn’t help but glance over at Lorelei as she was talking to Stiles Lang, CEO of Lang Industries. She was smiling and touching his arm. I could feel an anger brewing inside me as I clenched my jaw. “Excuse me for a moment,” I spoke as I looked at my mother. I was going to find out what the hell they were talking about. Walking over to where they were standing, Stiles held out his hand. “Jack, excellent launch.” I shook his hand instead of punching him like I wanted to. “Thanks for coming, Stiles. I see you’ve met my personal assistant, Lorelei.” “Yes. She quite a talented young woman. I’d keep my eye on her if I were you. Someone may come and snatch her up right from under you.” He winked at her, which infuriated me even more. I chuckled. “She’s not going anywhere, Stiles. I do need to speak with Lorelei for a minute, so if you’ll excuse us.” “Of course. It was wonderful to meet you, Lorelei.” He smiled as he took hold of her hand and brought it up to his lips. Hopefully, our paths will cross again soon.” I watched him walk away and then looked at Lorelei. “I don’t want you talking to him.” “Why?” She began to cough again. “Because he’s a snake.” “Aren’t you all?” She arched her brow and walked away from me. Isla walked over and placed her hand on my back. “How about we get out of here and go back to my place?” “I can’t, Isla. I need to stay after with my mother and Coco. I’ll have a car service take you home.” “Are you serious, Jack?”

“Yes. I’m dead serious.” I glared at her. “Fine. Thanks for nothing.” She stomped on her heels and walked away. I saw Lorelei standing at the bar drinking a glass of water, so I walked over to her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” “I’m just really tired. I think I may be coming down with a cold or something. I’m going to go home.” “Let me drive you. I don’t want you taking a cab.” “No, Jack. I can get home by myself.” “I know you can, but Tony is driving you home. End of discussion, Lorelei.” She sighed as she set her glass down on the bar. “Fine.” She made her rounds and said goodbye to everyone before walking outside to the limo. I slid in next to her. “Thank you,” I spoke. “For what?” She turned and looked at me. “For doing such a great job with the launch party.” “You’re welcome.” She coughed a couple of times. “If you’re not better in a couple of days, you should see a doctor.” “I’ll be fine, Jack.” She looked out the window.

Chapter Twenty-Nine Lorelei I thanked Tony for the ride home and said goodbye to Jack. “Good night, Jack. I’ll see you on Monday.” “Get some rest, Lorelei.” I stepped inside my apartment and relieved my mom and Nick of their babysitting duties. They had a lot to do over the weekend since they were leaving for their cruise on Monday. “Are you sure you have things covered for Hope while we’re gone? I feel bad.” “Don’t worry, Mom. Stella is picking her up a couple of days and then she’s going to latch key after school. She understands and she’ll be fine.” “I know, honey, but I still feel bad. You didn’t have a job when Nick and I booked this trip.” “Stop worrying. We’ll be fine.” I grasped her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Have fun on your trip and we’ll see you when you get back.” I couldn’t get them out fast enough. All I wanted to do was go to bed. **** I woke up Monday morning with a full blown cold. Runny nose, cough, chest congestion, and headache. Stella had called me yesterday to tell me that she and Sebastian had to fly out to Arizona because Sebastian’s father had taken a turn for the worse and the doctor only gave him a few more days. She apologized up and down about not being able to pick up Hope from school. I told her not to worry about it and that Hope could go to latch key a couple of extra days. Walking into the office, coughing and sniffling, I set Jack’s coffee on his desk. “You’re worse,” he spoke. “Did you see a doctor over the weekend?” “No. It really just hit me hard last night. I’ll be okay. I just took some cold medicine.” “Maybe you should go see a doctor on your lunch.” “Jack, it’s a cold. A common cold. I don’t need to see a doctor.” “If you say so. I need you to run these up to my mother’s office.” He handed me a couple of file

folders. As I was walking out of his office, I was a little stunned by what he said. “I hope that Hope doesn’t catch your cold.” I turned around and gave him a small smile. “I hope she doesn’t either.” After picking Hope up from latch key, I decided to take her to dinner since I didn’t feel well enough to cook when we got home. “Can we go to Ellen’s to eat?” “That’s pretty far, Hope. Why don’t you pick something closer to home?” “Please, Mama. We can take the subway.” As I looked down at her blue eyes, I felt bad because she had such a long day and she would continue to have those days the rest of the week. “Okay. Ellen’s it is.” After we finished our dinner, Hope and I stepped outside onto Broadway. As we were heading down the street to the subway station, I heard someone call my name. “Lorelei!” I looked across the street and saw Jack standing outside his limo. He held his finger up, signaling us to stay put as he crossed the street. “Hi, Mr. Sutton.” Hope smiled. “Hello, Hope. Lorelei. What are you two doing in Times Square?” “We had dinner at Ellen’s.” I coughed. “What are you doing here?” “I just had a meeting with someone about the magazine. Are you on your way home?” “Yeah. We were just heading to the subway station.” He sighed. “Come on. Tony will take you home.” I put up my hand. “We can take the subway, Jack.” “Lorelei. It’s cold out and you’re not taking the subway.” He bent down and spoke to Hope. “Would you rather ride the subway or in that black car across the street?” He pointed. “Is that your car?” she asked.

“Yes. That is my car.” “Your car is better than the subway.” She giggled. He stood up and looked at me. “It’s settled. Tony will drive you home.” I rolled my eyes and took hold of Hope’s hand as we crossed the street and climbed into the limo with Hope sitting in between me and Jack. ****

Jack I looked down and noticed a pair of blue eyes staring up at me. “What?” “Did you have a good day?” she asked. Lorelei glanced over at me. “Yes. Did you?” “Yes. I got an A on my math test. I was the only one in the class who got all the problems right.” “Congratulations.” “Thank you. You remind me of Prince Charming from Cinderella.” She smiled. Was this little girl for real? I couldn’t believe she just said that. I heard Tony snicker. “I can assure you a Prince Charming I am not.” “You can say that again,” Lorelei mumbled and I shot her a look. “Why?” she asked. “Why what?” “Why aren’t you a Prince Charming?” Lorelei began to cough uncontrollably. “You really should go see a doctor about that cough.” “If it doesn’t clear up in a couple of days, I will,” she spoke. Tony pulled up to Lorelei’s apartment building and I let out a sigh of relief. How was I supposed to answer Hope’s question? How would I explain to a seven-year-old that I was far from ever being a Prince Charming?

“Thank you for the ride.” Lorelei gave a small smile. “Thank you, Mr. Sutton. It was fun talking to you.” Hope placed her small hand on mine and Lorelei looked at me with fear in her eyes. “It was nice talking to you, Hope, and you’re welcome.” I watched out the window as the two of them walked hand in hand up the steps of the apartment building. “She’s an adorable little girl,” Tony said. “She’s okay.”

Chapter Thirty Jack The next morning, I had a phone conversation with the private investigator regarding Bradley. He had a lead as of his whereabouts and he was going to call me back later. I looked at the clock. It was ten minutes after eight. I opened my office door and noticed Lorelei wasn’t at her desk. I walked down to Coco’s office and asked Franny if she’d heard from her. “No, Mr. Sutton. She hasn’t called?” “No. She hasn’t and this isn’t like her to be late.” I walked to my office and pulled my phone from my pocket. I dialed the business phone I gave her. No answer. I called down to Garrett. “What’s up, Jack?” “Do you have Lorelei’s cell phone number? She hasn’t shown up for work and she hasn’t called. I tried calling the business phone I gave her and she didn’t answer.” “That’s odd. Hold on; let me pull her file.” A few moments later, he rattled off her number as I wrote it down on a piece of paper. I dialed it. “Hello,” a soft voice answered. “Lorelei?” “No. This is Hope.” “Hope. It’s Mr. Sutton. Where’s your mom?” “She’s sleeping. When I went into her room, she was lying on the floor, so I helped her back to bed. She’s really sick, Mr. Sutton.” Suddenly, a wave of fear overtook me. “Hope, I’m on my way over. So when you hear a knock at the door, you ask who it is first. Do you understand?” “Yes, Mr. Sutton.” “I’ll see you soon.”

I grabbed my suitcoat and flew out of the building. Tony was already waiting for me. “We need to get to Lorelei’s apartment fast.” “I’ll do my best, Jack, but it’s rush hour.” “I don’t give a damn whether it’s rush hour or not, get to Lorelei’s as fast as you can.” Despite the traffic, Tony got me to Lorelei’s in a decent amount of time. Shit. I forgot about the security door. I pushed the button to Lorelei’s apartment. The door buzzed and I pulled it open, flying up the steps to Lorelei’s apartment. “Hope, it’s Mr. Sutton.” I knocked. She unlocked the door and let me in. “Can you show me where your mom’s bedroom is?” I followed her down the hallway, and when I reached Lorelei’s room, I ran to her side and placed my hand on her forehead. “Oh my God, you’re burning up.” Lorelei slowly opened her eyes. “Jack?” she whispered. “Shh. You’re going to be okay. I’m taking you the hospital. Hope, go get dressed. We’re going to take your mom to the hospital so the doctors can check her out.” “Is she going to be okay?” “Yes. She’s going to be fine. Go get dressed and hurry up.” I placed my arms underneath her and picked her up from the bed. She laid her head against my chest. “Hope, are you ready?” “Yes.” She came running into the living room. As I was on my way out the door, I noticed Lorelei’s keys sitting on the table. I grabbed them, and as soon as we stepped out of the apartment, I had Hope lock the door. By the time I got down to the limo, Tony was standing there with the passenger door opened. “Hope, I need you to sit up front with Mr. Tony. Okay?” “Okay.” Tony helped me place Lorelei in the back seat and I climbed in next to her as she laid her head in my

lap. “I told you to go to the doctor. Now look at you.” She moaned. “Hope.” “She’s with us. She’s up front with Tony.” I stroked her hair. Tony pulled up to the doors of the emergency room. I climbed out and went inside, telling them I needed help. Two nurses brought out a stretcher as I picked up Lorelei and laid her down. “What’s going on with her?” one of the nurses asked. “She’s been coughing really bad the past couple of days and not feeling well. She’s burning up.” “Are you her husband?” “No. I’m her boss. This is her daughter.” They wheeled her inside and down the hall. One of the nurses told me and Hope to have a seat in the waiting room and that they’d be out shortly. Hope wrapped her small hand around mine and when I looked at her, all I could see were eyes filled with fear. I led her over to the chairs in the waiting room. “She’s going to be just fine, Hope. I don’t want you to worry. The doctors will take good care of her and get her better.” “I want my grandma and grandpa.” “I can call them. Do you by chance have their number?” “No, you can’t. They’re on a cruise.” “Oh. Okay. Is there anyone else I can call?” “My Auntie Stella is out of town visiting her boyfriend’s father who’s really sick.” “Okay. What about your other grandparents?” “I don’t have any other grandparents.” I pulled my ringing phone from my pocket. It was Coco. “Hello,” I answered. “Jack, where the hell are you?” “At the hospital. I had to bring Lorelei in. She’s very sick.”

“Oh no. What’s wrong?” “I’m not sure yet. I’ll call you when I know more.” “Okay.” Click. I put my phone in my pocket and looked over at Hope. “Are you hungry or thirsty?” I asked. “Kind of. I didn’t eat breakfast.” I looked around and saw a vending machine. “Let’s go see what they have in the machine.” We stood in front of it and Hope looked through the glass. “There’s Pop Tarts.” “I only like strawberry. Those are blueberry.” “How about a granola bar?” “Ew. Those are gross.” “Okay. How about those little muffins? They look good,” I lied. “Sure. I like chocolate chip muffins.” She smiled. I reached inside my pocket and pulled out my wallet, taking out two one-dollar bills and putting them in the machine. “Press the buttons for the muffins,” I told her. She did and reached inside and grabbed them. “How about a drink? There’s orange juice over here in this machine.” “I want apple.” “They don’t have apple. How about some cranberry juice?” “Yuck.” She made a face at me and I smiled. “Go sit down. I’ll track down some apple juice.” I walked over to the nurses’ station. “Excuse me, but I need someone to go find me some apple juice for that little girl over there.” “We have apple juice in the cafeteria,” one of the nurses spoke.

“Well, I can’t very well leave at the moment.” I reached in my pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “Whoever goes and gets that little girl some apple juice can keep the change.” The nurse named Samantha took the twenty from my hand. “I’ll go get some apple juice for you.” “Thank you.” I smiled. I took a seat next to Hope as she sat there and ate her muffins. “Your apple juice is on its way.” “Want one?” she asked as she held the mini muffin up to my face. “Umm. No thanks.” “Just try it. They’re good. I know you’ll like it.” “No. No.” I waved my hand. “You eat them all.” “Please, Mr. Sutton,” she whined. “Just taste it.” I sighed as I took the muffin from her hand and put it in my mouth. God that was the worst thing I ever tasted. Hope watched me eat it. “You like it, don’t you?” She giggled. I nodded my head. “Yes,” I lied. The nurse came back and handed Hope her bottle of apple juice. A few moments later, a man in blue scrubs came into the waiting room. “For Lorelei Flynn?” He looked around. “Yes.” I stood up. “Lorelei has pneumonia, and a pretty serious case of it. We have stabilized her and we’re trying to get her fever down. She’s very weak and dehydrated. It’s a good thing you brought her in when you did. I’m going to admit her. She will be here the next few days.” “May we see her? This is her daughter.” “You can visit with her but only for a few minutes. She needs total rest.” “Thank you, doctor.” “Follow me. I’ll take you to her.” Hope once again wrapped her hand around mine as we followed the doctor down the hall and to the

room where Lorelei was. When we walked in, she opened her eyes and tried to smile when Hope ran up to her. “You’re in a good place, Mommy. They’re going to make you all better.” I stood in the doorway and stared at Lorelei lying in that hospital bed. My heart ached seeing her like that. Then I thought of something else. If she was being admitted to the hospital, who was going to look after Hope? Shit. Walking over to Lorelei’s bed, I placed my hand on her arm. “I want to go,” she whispered in a weak voice. “You need to get better first.” “Hope.” “Don’t worry about Hope. I’m going to see that she’s taken care of while you’re here.” Lorelei shook her head no at me. I was offended. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave now. Our patient needs her rest,” the nurse spoke. “Don’t worry. I’ll be okay,” Hope spoke as she laid her head on Lorelei’s arm. “Get better, Mommy.” A tear ran down Lorelei’s cheek. I pulled a dollar from my pocket and handed it to the nurse. “Could you take Hope to the vending machine and buy her a candy bar?” “Sure, thing.” She smiled. When they walked out, I placed my hand on Lorelei’s head and leaned closer to her, wiping the tear from her cheek. “I don’t want you to worry about anything. Hope is going to be well taken care of. I’ll see to that. You just focus on getting better. I need my personal assistant back in the office.” I smiled. She slowly nodded her head and then closed her eyes. I pressed my lips against her forehead. “We’ll be back to visit you as soon as they say we can.”

Chapter Thirty-One Jack I had Tony drive us back to Lorelei’s apartment. As soon as I unlocked the door, I told Hope to go and pack a bag. “Where am I going?” she asked. “You’re coming home with me for a few days since your grandparents and Stella are out of town.” She went to her bedroom and I stood in the living room wondering if I had made the right decision. I had no choice, but I knew absolutely nothing about kids. I took in a deep breath. I couldn’t let Lorelei down. I cared about her and she needed my help regardless if she wanted it or not. I dialed Madeline. “Hello.” “Madeline, make sure the guest room is ready. We’re going to have a visitor for a few days.” “Sure thing, Jack. I’ll see to it now.” “Thank you. We’ll be arriving shortly.” Click. “I’m all packed,” Hope said as she emerged from her room holding her pink bag and a rag doll. I grabbed her bag and we went down to the limo. As we were on our way to my penthouse, I looked at Hope’s doll. “What’s her name?” I asked. “Luna. I’ve had her since I was a baby. My mommy said it was a gift from my daddy and that he’ll always be with me.” “She’s a special doll.” I smiled and she hugged her. When we arrived at the penthouse, Hope’s eye widened as soon as we stepped off the elevator. Madeline walked into the foyer and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hope. “Hope, this is my maid, Madeline. Madeline, this is our house guest, Hope. She’s Lorelei’s daughter.” “It’s very nice to meet you, Hope.” “It’s nice to meet you too.” She giggled. “Why don’t you show Hope to her room?”

They walked up the stairs and I poured myself a drink. Hope would be okay here with Madeline. She knew a thing or two about kids, so she’d be the perfect babysitter for her. As I walked into the kitchen, Madeline followed me in. “She’s adorable. But I’m really confused, Jack.” “Lorelei is in the hospital with pneumonia. She’ll be there for a few days, so I need you to look after Hope for me.” “Umm. Have you forgotten that I’m leaving tomorrow morning to go visit my sister in New Orleans? I’ve had this vacation planned for two months, Jack.” “For fuck sake. I did forget. Can’t you change it? Please, Madeline. I need you.” “Sorry, but no. You know she’s not doing well. We talked about this and you said it was okay for me to go.” “What the hell is with everyone not feeling well? I’m sorry, Madeline. You’re right. You go visit your sister. I’ll call Coco to help out.” She laughed. “I’m not sure she’ll be any better than you. Listen, Jack, it’s instincts. You can do this. It’s not like she’s a baby. Hell, that little girl could probably take better care of you.” “Very funny. Could you at least look after her while I go into the office for a couple of hours?” “Of course.” She smiled. Hope came into the kitchen and I knelt down in front of her. “I have to go to work for a while, but Madeline is going to look after you.” “Okay. Will you be back later?” “Yes.” “Okay.” She smiled. Just as I was about to walk out of the kitchen, Hope called my name. “Mr. Sutton?” “Yes.” I turned and looked at her. “I don’t think you’re mean at all.” I gave her a small smile and left for the office.

**** I walked into Coco’s office and shut the door. “Hey, how’s Lorelei?” she asked with concern. “She has pneumonia. She’s going to be in the hospital for a few days.” “She’s going to be okay, right?” “Yeah. They’re taking good care of her. Listen, I need to talk to you about Bradley.” “Has he been found?” “No. Not yet. But Ron has a lead. Bradley wasn’t the one who was stealing the money from the company.” She looked at me in confusion as she tilted her head to the side. “He was putting it in offshore accounts for our mother.” “What? That’s absurd.” “I saw the accounts, Coco. They’re in her name.” “Why would she have him do that?” “I think she’s running this company into the ground for some reason.” “Have you confronted her about this yet?” “No. I’m waiting until Ron finds Bradley and we talk to him. I want you with me when I confront her.” “This doesn’t make any sense.” “I know. But we’ll get to the bottom of it. On another matter, I have Lorelei’s daughter, Hope, staying with me while she’s in the hospital.” Coco busted into laughter. “Yeah, right. You and a kid? I find that hard to believe.” “I had no choice. Both of Lorelei’s parents and best friend are out of the state. There was nobody else to take care of her.” “You don’t know how to take care of a kid, Jack. Shit. You hate kids.” “I guess I’m going to have to wing it the next few days. Would you like to come over and help?” I grinned.

“Umm. No. I’m leaving for LA tomorrow. Did you forget?” “Damn it. I did. What the hell is with everyone leaving town but me?” She laughed again. “You can do it. How old is she again?” “Seven.” “She’s self-sufficient. You just need to keep an eye on her. She can keep herself entertained. We did it as kids.” I sighed as I got up from my chair. “Have fun in LA. I’ll see you when you get back.” “Oh, I will. Have fun playing daddy!” She smiled. “That’s not even funny!” I pointed at her as I walked out the door. After spending a couple of hours doing some work, I called the hospital to check on Lorelei. The nurse said she had been sleeping all day and that Hope and I could visit tonight but only for a short time. I hated leaving her there all alone. I left the office around four o’clock and, when I arrived home, Hope and Madeline were in the kitchen baking Halloween cookies. “Isn’t it a bit early for Halloween?” I asked as I set my briefcase down. “Halloween is in two and a half weeks. It’s never too early. Is it, Hope?” Madeline asked. “Nope. Never too early for Halloween. I can’t wait to try on my costume.” “What are you dressing up as?” I asked. “Cinderella. My mom is making my costume.” “I bet it’ll be very nice. Did you cook dinner?” I asked Madeline. “No. I’m sorry, Jack. We got so involved with these cookies that I forgot about dinner and I have to leave in about a half hour to get ready to leave tomorrow.” “No worries. Hope and I will stop and get something before heading to the hospital to see Lorelei. I’m going to head upstairs to change.” “Mr. Sutton,” Hope spoke. “Yes.” I turned around. “Would you like a cookie?” She held one out to me.

I stood there for a moment and looked at Madeline, who was smiling at me. “Sure, Hope. I’d love one. Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” she spoke as I took the cookie from her.

Chapter Thirty-Two Jack I took Hope to one of my favorite Italian restaurants called Maialino, which wasn’t too far from the hospital. As the hostess seated us, she gave me an odd look. What the hell was her problem? Hope picked up her menu and looked it over. “Do you know how to read?” I asked. “I’m seven. Of course I can read.” She shook her head as she looked at me. I couldn’t help but smile, because at that moment, she reminded me so much of Lorelei. She set down her menu and looked at me. “I can’t read this menu. The words are too big.” “Okay. Let me help you.” Just as I said that, our waiter walked over. “May I start you off with something to drink?” “I’ll have a scotch on the rocks, please.” “And for you, Madame?” he asked as he smiled at Hope. Hope looked at me for a second and then at the waiter. “May I have a coke, please?” “Of course.” The waiter gave a small bow. “So what would you like to eat?” I asked as I set down my menu. “Spaghetti with plain sauce.” “Oh. Well, I’m not quite sure if they have that here. How about a spaghetti with clams and a white wine garlic sauce?” “Yuck.” She scrunched up her nose. “Okay. The pasta with the lamb ragu, tomato, and grana Padano?” “Huh?” The waiter set our drinks down and asked to take our order. After placing mine, I asked him about spaghetti with plain sauce for Hope. “Do you have spaghetti with just plain sauce?”

“Umm. I’m not quite sure. I’ll have to go ask the chef if he can do that.” “Thank you and please tell him that I will pay whatever it costs for him to make a plain sauce.” “Very well, sir.” He smiled. I pulled my phone from my pocket and started checking my emails and messages. “My mom said that it’s very rude to have your phone out during dinner and that you should be talking to the people who are with you face to face instead of being on the phone.” I looked up, gave her a blank stare, and slowly slipped my phone back into my pocket. “Are you driving me to school tomorrow?” she asked. “I suppose I have to.” “Do I have to go to latch key?” “What’s latch key?” I frowned. “I go there in the mornings before school starts because my mom has to be at work by eight o’clock and school doesn’t start until eight fifteen. The ladies there watch us until school starts.” “I see. Well, I suppose you won’t have to go to latch key while you’re staying with me. I can drop you off when school starts.” She gave me a smile and the waiter walked over and placed our food in front of us. “One spaghetti with plain sauce for the little lady.” He smiled. “Thank you.” She giggled. As we were eating our dinner, I heard a voice behind me. “I don’t believe it.” I looked up from my plate and saw Coco and Garrett standing there. I narrowed my eyes at both of them. “What are you two doing here?” I asked. “We just came from visiting Lorelei and decided to get something to eat,” Garrett replied. “How is she? We’re heading over there as soon as we’re finished.” “She’s still very sleepy and not feeling good. We were only there about fifteen minutes. We brought her some flowers,” Coco spoke. She looked at Hope. “Hi there, sweetie. I’m Coco, Jack’s sister. This is our

friend, Garrett.” “Hi.” She smiled. “I need a picture.” Coco grinned as she handed her purse to Garrett. “Hope, do me a favor and go sit next to Jack so I can take your picture.” “Coco, stop!” Jack commanded. “Oh no, big brother. This is too good of an opportunity to pass up.” Hope slid next to me and turned so she was facing Coco. “Jack, lean in a little.” “Coco, I’m warning you.” I gritted my teeth. Hope looked up at me, smiled, and Coco snapped the picture. “That was lovely. One more with both of you looking at the camera.” I took in a sharp breath. “Smile, Jack.” Hope placed her hand on my cheek. I looked at Coco and forced a smile as she took another picture. “Okay. Our table awaits us,” she spoke as she took her purse from Garrett. “It was nice to meet you, Hope.” **** We entered Lorelei’s room and she was sleeping. I told Hope to be very quiet so we didn’t wake her. She looked pale and it hurt me to see her like that. Suddenly, I didn’t care about anything else but her. I didn’t care about the company, what was going on, nothing. I only wanted her to get better. “Hope, come with me,” I spoke as we stepped out into the hallway. “We have to go home now. It’s getting late. I’ll tell the nurse to tell your mom that we were here and I promise I’ll bring you back to visit her tomorrow after school.” She gave me a sad look as she slowly nodded her head. “Wait,” she spoke. “Can I lay Luna next to her?” “You sure can but make sure you don’t wake her up. Your mom needs all the rest she can get right now so she can get better.” I followed Hope back inside Lorelei’s room and she carefully placed Luna beside her.

“Now my daddy can be with her while she gets better.” My heart ached when she said that. A feeling washed over me that I’d never felt before. This little girl, Lorelei’s little girl, was probably the most thoughtful person I’d ever known. Walking up to the nurse’s desk, I told Lorelei’s nurse to be sure to tell her that we had been there when she woke up. We met Tony outside and headed home. I sent Hope upstairs to get into her pajamas. As I was pouring myself a scotch, she came down and sat on the couch. “All ready for bed?” I asked. “Yep. Can you read me a bedtime story? My mom reads to me every night.” Oh shit. She’s kidding, right? “Umm. Sure. Did you bring any books?” “Yeah. I brought Charlotte’s Web. Wilbur just met Charlotte.” She smiled. “Shouldn’t you be reading that yourself? Practicing?” “I read a lot of other books, but every night, my mom reads me to sleep. She said it’s our quiet time together.” This was something I didn’t want to do. The only thing I read was the newspaper or the internet. I sighed. “Only a couple of pages, okay?” “Okay.” I walked up the stairs and Hope followed behind. When we reached her room, she pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. I looked at her and narrowed my eye. “Did you brush your teeth?” I asked. “Yes. Right after I changed into my pajamas.” She handed me Charlotte’s Web and I opened to the page that was bookmarked. “I’ve never read this book.” Hope laid her head on her pillow and I sat down on the edge of the bed and started reading from the pages. I had read ten pages of the book when Hope asked me to stop. “I’m going to sleep now.”

I placed the bookmark on the page where I left off and pulled the covers up over her. As I got up from the bed, she reached her hand out and grabbed mine. I turned and looked at her. “Good night, Mr. Sutton,” she sleepily spoke. I stared at her for a moment as she closed her eyes. “Good night, Hope.”

Chapter Thirty-Three Jack The next morning, I got up, showered, and woke Hope up to get ready for school. I headed downstairs and made a pot of coffee. A few moments later, she walked into the kitchen. “What’s for breakfast?” she asked. Oh shit. “Umm…what do you want?” Of all times for Madeline to be gone. “Pancakes,” she spoke as she climbed up on the stool in front of the island. “I don’t have pancakes.” “What do you have?” She propped her elbows on the counter. “Let me look.” Opening the pantry, I found it was pretty bare. I walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. “I have eggs.” “Okay. I’ll have scrambled eggs and toast.” “I only have wheat bread.” “Yuck.” She made a face. “Just eggs then.” She sighed. I took out the carton of eggs and grabbed a frying pan from the bottom cabinet. After cracking them in a bowl, I heated the pan and poured them in. “Coffee?” I asked as I held up the pot. “I don’t drink coffee.” She giggled. “You don’t? I thought all kids drank coffee.” I smiled. “I’ll have orange juice please because I’m sure you don’t have apple.” A burnt smell suddenly filled the air. “Oh shit! The eggs!” I ran over to the pan. “You said a bad word.” “Sorry. Don’t tell your mom.” I tried to scrape the eggs from the pan. “Did you put butter in the pan before pouring the eggs in?” she asked. “No.” I sighed and looked at my watch. “Grab your school stuff. We’re going out to breakfast.”

“But I’ll be late for school.” “No you won’t. Hurry up.” I threw the pan in the sink and grabbed my phone from the counter. “Hello, Jack.” “Tony, I’m taking Hope down the street to that diner for breakfast. Pick us up there in about forty-five minutes. We have to hurry or she’ll be late for school.” I heard snickering on the other end. “I will be there.” “Ready,” Hope said as she walked into the kitchen with her coat on and her backpack over her shoulder. We walked out of the building and down to the diner. When we were seated, I told the waitress that we were in a hurry and I slipped her a twenty-dollar bill to expedite our breakfast. Hope got her pancakes and orange juice and I just ordered a bagel and coffee. “I’m going to pick you up from school today and we’ll go visit your mom, but we have to go to the grocery store after to get some food.” “Okay. Mr. Sutton?” “Yes, Hope.” “You didn’t pack me a lunch.” “Shit!” “You said a bad word again.” “I’m stressed, Hope. I can say that when I’m stressed. Just don’t tell your mom. Can you buy lunch?” “I don’t like the school’s food.” “Just this once? Please?” I begged. She sat across from me shaking her head no. “Okay. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your lunch is delivered. What do you like?” “Peanut butter and jelly is fine. Or I like ham and cheese.” After rushing through breakfast, I told Tony to step on it. “We’re going to be late,” Hope said.

“No, we aren’t.” “Yes, we are.” “Hope, we won’t be late.” We were late. Just as Tony pulled up to the building, the doors shut and we were locked out. “Ugh!” I placed my hand on my head. “Told ya we were going to be late. Just push this button.” I did and the door unlocked. As we stepped inside, there was a manly looking woman standing at the entrance with her arms folded. “I apologize. Traffic was bad.” The woman glared at me and then looked down at Hope. “You may go to your classroom, honey.” “Bye, Mr. Sutton.” Hope smiled as she waved. “Bye, Hope. Have a good day.” **** By time I got to the hospital, I was exhausted. I had no idea how Lorelei did this full-time and by herself. I carefully opened the door to her room and saw she was awake. As I stepped inside, she looked at me. “Jack,” she softly spoke. Walking over to her bed, I placed my hand on hers. “How are you feeling?” She shrugged. “Like shit.” I gave her a small smile. “How’s Hope?” “She’s good. I just dropped her off at school.” “Thank you.” She picked up Luna. “I’m sorry I missed you both last night.” “Don’t apologize. You need your rest. I’ll be bringing her by after school.” “She isn’t giving you a hard time, is she?” “Nah. She’s a good kid.”

“Good. Words can’t express how grateful I am that you’re looking after her. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.” I gave her a tender smile as I lightly squeezed her hand. “It’s the least I can do since you do so much for me.” “What do I do for you, Jack?” “God, I don’t think there’s enough time to list everything. You get my coffee every morning, you put up with my yelling, you pick up my clothes from the cleaners. Hell, Lorelei, you even buy my condoms.” “All those things are part of my job.” “Maybe so, but this is my way of repaying you.” “Can you do me a favor?” she asked. “Anything.” “Could you go back to my apartment and get my phone. It’s on my nightstand.” “Of course. I’ll bring it by later. I better get going. You need your rest and I have to get to the office.” I leaned over and pressed my lips against her forehead. “I’ll see you later, Lorelei.” “Bye, Jack.” After Tony dropped me off at the office, I handed him the keys to Lorelei’s apartment and asked him to get her phone and bring it to me. I also asked him to grab her sketchbook. Maybe once she started to feel a little better, she would want it. My first mission was to get Hope’s lunch to her. Sitting at my desk, I called the deli down the street. “I need to order a ham and cheese sandwich on white bread. Also, throw in a bag of chips.” “Is there anything else, Mr. Sutton?” “Do you have any fruit?” “We have apples.” “Put an apple in the bag and one of your fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I need it delivered to Hope Flynn at Sunnyview Elementary School in Harlem.” “We don’t deliver that far.” I sighed. “Okay. Have it delivered here to my office at eleven fifteen sharp.”

“Will do, Mr. Sutton.” After ending the call, a text message from Coco came through. “On my way to LA. I thought you like to have these. They’re sweet, Jack.” She sent the two pictures she took of me and Hope. I closed out of it as Garrett walked in my office. “How’s Hope?” he asked. “She’s fine.” “She’s an adorable little girl.” I smiled. “Yeah. She looks so much like Lorelei.” “Anyway, do you need me to call the temp agency to send over someone until Lorelei gets back?” “Nah. Lorelei is such a good PA, I’m afraid she’s spoiled me. Anyone that would replace her wouldn’t be good enough and I’d end up making them cry.” “Okay. That’s all I wanted to know.” “How was dinner with my sister last night?” “It was good. Why?” I shrugged. “I was just curious. That’s all. It was odd running into the two of you there.” He narrowed his eye at me. “We talked earlier in the day and I told her I was going to visit Lorelei. She said she was going as well and that we should go together. Neither one of us had eaten, so we decided to stop and have dinner after. Is that a problem, Jack?” “No. No problem.” Shortly after Garrett walked out of my office, Tony walked in with Lorelei’s phone. “Ah, good. I’m going to need you to drop off Hope’s lunch to her at school as soon as it gets here.” Tony gave me a small smile. “What? What’s that look for?” I asked. “Nothing, Jack.” He continued smiling.

Chapter Thirty-Four Jack Hope walked out of the school and approached me with a sad look on her face. Patting her head, I asked, “What’s wrong?” “I’m one of the top ten students in the school who made the final spelling bee round. It’s tomorrow for all the parents and my mom can’t be there because she’s in the hospital.” She looked down and slumped her shoulders as we headed to the car. I didn’t know what to say to her. She looked so sad. “What time is the spelling bee? Maybe I can come and watch you.” Tony looked at me through the rearview mirror. She reached inside her backpack and pulled out a note, handing it to me. “It says here that the spelling bee is at one o’clock. One o’clock is a good time for me. I’ll schedule you in.” I gave her a wink. “Really?” she said in excitement. “You’ll really come?” “Sure. Since your mom can’t be there, I will be. But do me a favor, let’s not mention this to her because she’ll feel really bad that she can’t be there and we don’t want her worrying about it.” “Deal.” She smiled. “Will you study the words with me after we visit my mom?” “I think I can do that. But after we visit your mom, we’re going to have Mr. Tony take us to the store. We need to get some food for the house.” “Okay.” We arrived at the hospital and Hope ran to Lorelei’s bedside and gave her a hug. “I’ve missed you so much, baby.” She kissed her head. “Thank you for leaving Luna here to keep me company.” “You’re welcome. How are you feeling?” “A little bit better. How was school today?” “It was great. Mr. Sutton forgot to pack me a lunch, but he sent one over to the school and it had a

cookie in it.” Lorelei glanced up at me and a small smile crossed her lips. “He burnt the eggs this morning, so we had to hurry and get breakfast from a diner down the street. We were late for school.” She giggled. “I see. Well, at least you made it there.” Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out Lorelei’s phone and handed it to her. “Thanks, Jack.” “You’re welcome. Any more news from the doctor?” “He said I’ll still be in here for a couple of more days.” She coughed as she rested her hand on her chest. “It’s better that way, Lorelei. You need to get a hundred percent better. You don’t want a relapse.” “That’s what the doctor said. How’s everything going at the office?” “The office is fine. I don’t want you worrying about that. I brought you something else.” “You did?” “Hold on a second and I’ll go grab it.” I walked out of the room and met Tony in the hall where he handed me Lorelei’s sketchbook. Her face lit up as I walked back into the room and handed it to her. “I thought you would like to have this in case you get bored.” “Thank you, Jack. I can’t believe you brought this.” After visiting Lorelei for a while, Hope and I headed to the store. I knew nothing about grocery stores because I never shopped. Madeline always took care of that for me. I grabbed a basket and Hope and I walked around as she threw some snacks into it. “What do you want for dinner?” I asked. “Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.” “A hot dog I can make. As for macaroni and cheese, I don’t know how to do that.” She picked up the blue box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and handed it to me. “The directions are on the side. All you have to do is follow them.”

I raised my brow as I looked down at her. “Is this stuff any good?” “Yes. It’s one of my favorites.” She smiled. “You never had that before?” “No. I haven’t. But if you say it’s good, I’ll take your word for it.” I winked. When we arrived back at the penthouse, I grilled a couple of hot dogs and made the macaroni and cheese according to the box while Hope sat at the island and looked over her spelling bee words. I set our plates down and took a seat next to her while we ate and I helped her with her words. Suddenly, I heard the elevator doors open, and when I turned around, my mother walked into the kitchen with a shocked expression on her face. “What is going on here? And who’s that?” she asked. “Mother this is Hope, Lorelei’s daughter. Hope, this is my mother.” She walked over to the island and stared down at our plates. “Are you eating hot dogs and macaroni and cheese?” she asked with a look of disgust on her face. “Yes, we are.” I took a spoonful of macaroni and shoved it in my mouth with a smile on my face. “Oh for God’s sake, Jack. May I ask why this child is here in your home? Where’s Lorelei?” “My name is Hope and my mom is in the hospital with pneumonia.” “Oh. Sorry to hear that.” “Mr. Sutton is looking after me while she’s getting better.” “He is?” My mother looked at me. “I am.” She slowly shook her head in disbelief and then asked to speak with me in my office. Following behind her, I shut the door. “What’s going on?” “Bradley didn’t steal the money from the company. I had him put the money in an offshore account for Joshua.” “Joshua? What the hell does he have to do with this?” “He’s blackmailing me.” There was a light knock at the door. “Mr. Sutton?” I heard Hope speak.

“We’ll be finished in a minute, Hope. Go study your words.” “Okay.” I turned back to my mother. “You better tell me what’s going on now!” She took in a deep breath and took a seat behind my desk. “He found out about something I did.” I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes at her. “And what did he find out?” She looked down and crossed her hands. “Mother?” “He found out that I had hired someone to go to work for Flourishing Fashion Magazine. I had them spy on Dee Sanders and then report back to me about their plans for their seasonal debuts.” “What?” I gasped. “You sent in a mole to steal their ideas and report back to you?” “I’m not proud. But you need to understand that they were a new, upcoming magazine that was taking off way too quickly and Sutton magazine was suffering because of them. I wasn’t about to let my company that I built from the ground up go into ruins.” Anger riveted throughout my body. “So you stole their ideas and made sure that Sutton Magazine’s issues went out first?” “Yes, and I don’t have any regrets.” “So you were responsible for Flourishing closing their doors.” “Yes. I suppose so.” “My God, Mother. How can you live with yourself?” “This is a cut throat business, Jack. You know that. I’ve sacrificed my entire life for this company.” “I know, and you also sacrificed your children.” “That’s not fair, son.” I ran my hand through my hair as I paced around my office. “So Joshua’s blackmailing you to keep quiet?” “Yes. He said if I don’t pay him the money, he will go to the press.” “I can’t talk to you about this right now. I have a little girl out there that needs me to help her study for

her spelling bee. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.” “Our company could be at stake here, and all you can think about is that child and a spelling bee?” “Yes. Because her mom is in the hospital and she needs someone. Just like I needed someone growing up. But unfortunately, Coco and I were always pushed to the side.” “That child isn’t your responsibility, Jack. She’s your PA’s child, for God’s sake.” “It doesn’t matter whose child she is. Now I suggest you leave. We’ll talk about this further as soon as Coco gets back from LA.” I opened the door and walked out into the living room. Hope was sitting on the couch with her spelling list in her hand. “It was nice to meet you,” Hope spoke. My mother turned around, frowned at her, and stepped into the elevator. “She seems kind of mean,” Hope spoke as she looked at me. “She is.”

Chapter Thirty-Five Jack I looked at my watch. It was almost twelve thirty. Shit. I grabbed my briefcase and just caught the elevator going down before the doors closed. Running through the lobby and out the building doors, I slid into the back of the limo and told Tony to step on it. There was no way I could be late for Hope’s spelling bee competition. I arrived at approximately twelve fifty-five and there were only seats left in the very back row. I scanned the people sitting in their seats, looking for someone who might be nice enough to give up theirs and move to the back. Walking down the aisle, my eyes diverted to the second row where a young man was sitting. “Excuse me, sir.” “Yes.” He looked up at me through his brown-rimmed glasses. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. “If you let me have your seat, this is yours.” I flashed the bill at him. “There are plenty of seats in the back.” “It’s all yours.” He grinned as he got up from his chair and I handed him the money. “Thank you.” I nodded and took my seat just as the ten students walked out on stage. I pulled my phone from my pocket and set it to video so I could record this for Lorelei. Hope saw me sitting in the second row and smiled as she excitedly waved to me. One child down. Two children down. Three children down. Four children down. Five children down. Six children down. Seven children down. This was utterly nerve wracking. Hope was one of the last three students standing.

Eight children down. It was Hope’s turn and the word she was given was one she struggled with last night. I clenched my fist and brought it up to my lips. She looked frightened and unsure and I was terrified she’d get it wrong. I was holding my breath and my phone up. She spelled the word correctly and I let out a sigh of relief. This round went on for another fifteen minutes until the other kid messed up on a word and Hope spelled it correctly. There was silence in the room until I stood up and yelled, “YES!” Everyone clapped as they announced Hope as the winner and placed a gold medal around her neck. I don’t think I had ever been more proud of anyone in my life as I was of Hope. “You did it!” I bent down and held out my arms. “I know! I can’t believe I won.” She wrapped her small arms around my neck. “Your mom is going to be so proud of you.” I kissed her head. “Mr. Sutton?” “Yes, Hope.” “Can we go see her now?” “We sure can, but one thing first. I want you to call me Jack. No more Mr. Sutton.” “Okay, Jack.” She smiled. **** Later that night after I tucked Hope into bed, I took Charlotte’s Web from the nightstand and opened to the page where I had left off. I had reached the part where Charlotte was dying and I won’t lie and say I didn’t get choked up. Looking over at Hope, I saw that tears were streaming down her face as I read. “Why did she have to die?” She sniffled. I didn’t know what to say to her, but I was just as broken up as she was. “Let’s continue the book and see how it ends,” I spoke as I wiped the tears from her face. “So Wilbur took care of Charlotte’s children and became friends with them. Kind of like you, Jack.” I closed the book and looked at her. “Yeah, I guess so.” I smiled. I turned off the light and headed to my bedroom. Climbing into bed, I took my phone and dialed Lorelei. “Hello,” she answered in a low voice.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” “I’m feeling a little better. The doctor was in here earlier and said I can go home in a couple of days.” “That’s great news. I’m sure you’re anxious to get out of there.” “I am. I just want to go home. I miss my bed and my daughter.” “I know you do. Hey, listen, I was thinking that I would stick around for a while tomorrow after I drop Hope off at school.” “You don’t have to, Jack. I know you’re a busy man.” “I know I don’t have to. I want to. And as for the office, the work can wait. I’ll let you go so you can get your rest. You sound tired.” “Good night, Jack.” “Good night, Lorelei.” I set my phone down and sighed. I missed her and I couldn’t wait to spend time with her tomorrow, even if it was in a hospital.

Chapter Thirty-Six Lorelei Jack walked in and I smiled when I saw the Starbucks cup in his hand. “I thought you could use some real coffee.” He smiled as he handed me the cup. “You are the best. Thank you,” I spoke as I brought the cup up to my lips. “How’s Hope?” “She’s good. We finished reading Charlotte’s Web last night.” I cocked my head as I stared into his eyes. “You read Charlotte’s Web to her?” “Yeah. She asked me to read to her while she fell asleep. Did you want me to tell her no?” “Of course not.” I laughed. “Have you read that book before?” he asked with seriousness. “Yes. I read it all the time when I was a kid.” “That’s quite a tearjerker. I was choked up, Hope was crying. It was a sad night last night.” “You, Mr. Jack Sutton, got choked up over Charlotte’s Web.” “Yes, I did. When Charlotte died, it was a little too much for me to handle. Wilbur losing his best friend like that and all. Such a shame. She was a great spider.” “She was wasn’t she?” I tilted my head at him, trying to hold back the laughter. “Are you making fun of me, Lorelei?” “No.” I snorted. As we were both laughing, the doctor walked in. “Good news, Lorelei. I’m sending you home today.” “Really?” I smiled. “Yes. Really. Your chest x-ray came back good and your blood work is good. Your fever is gone and you can finish getting better at home but with restrictions. No going out anywhere. That includes work. I’m writing you a note for the rest of the week. You may return on Monday if you’re feeling better.” “You won’t have to write a note, doctor. This is my boss right here.”

“Ah. Well, Lorelei is to be off the rest of the week.” “I wouldn’t let her back anyway until she was one hundred percent better.” “I’ll go get your discharge papers ready.” When he walked out of the room, I did a little wiggle in my bed. “I can’t believe I get to go home.” “It’s a good thing I stayed here with you today.” “I can’t wait to be at home with Hope. I miss her so much.” “She misses you too.” An hour later, I was discharged from the hospital. The first thing I did was change into my warm twopiece cotton pajamas and curled up in a blanket on the couch. “Can I make you anything? Coffee? Tea? Do you even drink tea?” Jack asked. “I do drink tea and I would love some chamomile. The tea bags are in the cabinet above the stove.” “Have you heard from your parents?” he asked as he reached up and took down the box of tea. “My mom sent me a text message saying they’re having a blast, but they miss me and Hope. I didn’t text her back because of the charges and because I didn’t want them to worry.” “Good idea. What about Stella?” “I was going to tell her about my illness yesterday, but she sent me a text message saying that Sebastian’s father passed away and they had so much funeral planning to do that she’d talk to me when she got the chance.” Snuggled up on the couch, I watched as Jack stood in my kitchen and put the tea kettle on the stove. The fact that he took care of Hope, read to her at night, went to her spelling bee so someone would be there for her, overwhelmed me. This wasn’t the man I worked for. This wasn’t the man that I slept with and then was told that it was a mistake and to forget about it and move on. He was different on so many levels that it sort of worried me. “Here’s your tea.” Jack smiled as he handed me the cup. “Are you hungry?” “No. Not really.” He walked back into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and then looked inside the cabinets. “What are you doing?” I asked. “You don’t have any food. When was the last time you went shopping?”

“I was going to go this past weekend, but then I felt so lousy that I didn’t have a chance.” “Then I guess a trip back to the grocery store is in order. After I pick up Hope from school, we’ll go and bring some groceries back.” “You don’t have to do that, Jack. You’ve done enough already.” “You need food, Lorelei. Especially for Hope. It’s not a big deal. Why don’t you make me a list of the things you want?” “Fine. There’s paper and a pen in the drawer over there.” I pointed. He walked over to the table and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and handed it to me. As soon as I wrote down a few things, I handed it back to him. “That should be good. Let Hope pick out a few things she wants. Can you hand me my purse please? I’ll give you some money.” He put his hand up. “You aren’t giving me money. I can buy your groceries.” “No, Jack.” “End of discussion, Lorelei. Now I’m going to go and collect Hope’s things from my place so when I pick her up, we can just go to the store and head back here. Do you need anything before I leave?” “No. I’ve got my tea, so I’m good.” I gave a small smile. As soon as he left, I got up and grabbed my sketchbook to finish working on the two-piece outfit I had started in the hospital. Suddenly, the door opened and Jack walked back inside. “Did you forget something?” I asked. “No. I want to run an idea by you.” “Okay.” “I think you should pack a bag and come stay at my penthouse. At least until Sunday.” “Why?” I frowned. “Because you can’t take Hope to and from school. She’s going to need help in the mornings, especially with breakfast and at night with dinner. You’re still recovering, so it would just be easier to stay at my place. That way, I can still take her to school in the morning and pick her up. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner would be covered, so you wouldn’t have to worry about that.” I sighed. As much as it all made sense, I wasn’t so sure.

“I don’t know, Jack. This is our home and I’m comfortable here.” “And you’ll be comfortable at my house. I’ll make sure of it. Things would just be easier. Plus I have a lot of food.” He smiled. “Do you have any tea?” I narrowed my eye at him. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed the three boxes I had sitting in the cabinet. “I do now.” He winked. The fact of the matter was I really didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t get Hope to school in the mornings and I couldn’t pick her up. With Stella and my parents being out of town, Jack was my only option at the moment and he knew it. “Fine. I’ll go pack a bag.” “Do you need any help?” he asked. “No. I can do it myself.” I got up from the couch and stumbled to the bedroom.

Chapter Thirty-Seven Jack When we reached my penthouse, I showed Lorelei to the other guest room upstairs. “Here’s your room.” I set her bag down on the bed. “Hope’s is right across the hall. Make yourself comfortable.” “Thanks, Jack.” She gave me a small smile. Looking at my watch, I noticed it was almost time to pick up Hope. “Hope will be out of school soon, so I’m going to head out now.” “Okay. I can’t wait to see her.” “We’ll be back soon.” I walked down to the limo and climbed in. “Good job getting Lorelei to stay with you,” Tony spoke. “It was the easiest way. She’s in no condition to take care of Hope on her own right now.” I stood outside the front doors of the school and Hope walked out with a smile on her face. A smile that made me smile. “How was school today?” I patted her head and took her backpack from her. “Good. Are we going to visit my mom now?” she asked. “Yes. But we’re not going to the hospital,” I replied as I slid in next to her in the back seat. “Where are we going?” She looked up at me with her blue eyes. “Your mom got out of the hospital today and she’s staying with us at my house until she’s fully recovered and she can take care of you on her own.” Her eyes widened. “She’s home?” “Yes, and she can’t wait to see you.” “So I’ll be staying with you and her until she’s better?” “Yes, Hope.”

She reached over and threw her arms around my neck. “That’s the best news ever!” she exclaimed. When we stepped out of the elevator, Hope ran into the living room and found Lorelei sitting on the couch with her sketchbook. “Mommy!” she yelled as she ran to her and hugged her tightly. “Hey, baby. How was school today?” “It was good. How are you feeling?” “I’m feeling better, sweetie. I missed you so much and so did Luna.” “I missed you too. I’m so happy you’re out of the hospital.” She climbed onto her lap. My phone rang, and when I looked at it, I saw that Coco was calling. I excused myself and went into my office. “Hello.” “Hey. My trip got cut short, so I’m on the next flight out. How’s everything going?” “Fine. Lorelei got out of the hospital today and she’s staying with me for a few days until she’s fully recovered.” “Who are you and where’s my brother?” She laughed. “Very funny. We need to talk tomorrow, so come straight to my office. No, in fact, come straight to my penthouse in the morning. I don’t want anyone in the office to overhear us.” “You’re scaring me, Jack. What’s going on? Does this have anything to do with Bradley?” “Yes. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” “Okay. I’ll be there.” I walked into the living room and took a seat next to Hope and Lorelei on the couch. “What does everyone want for dinner?” Lorelei arched her brow at me. “Are you cooking?” I shrugged. “I can maybe cook something. I make a mean hot dog and macaroni and cheese.” I grinned. “He does,” Hope spoke.

“But, how about we order something in? Maybe a pizza, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Mexican. You name it.” “I want tacos!” Hope expressed. “Tacos sound good, Miss Hope. What do you think, Lorelei?” “Tacos it is.” “Are you hungry now or should we wait a while?” I asked them. “We can eat later. I’m going to get a snack and then do my homework now so we can watch a movie later. Just the three of us.” Hope smiled. “And what movie would that be?” I asked. “Cinderella.” I raised my brow. “Haven’t you seen that like a billion times?” “Yes.” She giggled. “But I love it and you never watched it, have you?” “No. I haven’t.” “Good. Then we can all watch it together later.” She took Luna and walked away. I followed her into the kitchen and cut her up an apple. I placed the slices on a plate with some peanut butter as she sat down at the table and started her homework. I took another plate of apples and handed it to Lorelei. “Apples?” I asked. She smiled as she took one from the plate and bit into it. After dinner, Hope changed into her pajamas and summoned me to sit down to watch Cinderella. “You can sit next to me, Jack.” She smiled as she patted the couch. Lorelei fell asleep more than halfway through the movie. I wish I could have done the same thing. “Isn’t Prince Charming the best?” Hope asked as she looked at me. “He’s not all that.” I grinned. She giggled. “Yes he is. He never gave up finding Cinderella, his true love. Then he made her his princess. That’s why he’s the best.” “Do you have a crush on Prince Charming?” I asked.

“Maybe.” She giggled. Just as the movie ended, Lorelei woke up. She looked like an angel while she slept and I couldn’t help but steal glances at her from time to time. “Okay, kiddo. It’s time for bed. Go brush your teeth and I’ll be up there to tuck you in.” “Okay, Jack, but I want my mom to tuck me in too.” She went upstairs and I looked at Lorelei. “You missed half the movie.” “I’ve seen it a million times.” She smiled. “I can practically recite every line.” “I bet you can.” We both got up and went to tuck Hope in. When we reached her bedroom, she was already in bed. Lorelei pulled the covers over her and kissed her good night. “Good night, kiddo.” I patted her head. “Don’t forget to say good night to Luna.” She held her doll out to me. “Good night, Luna.” I shook her small cloth arm. Hope giggled as we turned off the light and stepped out of the room. I followed Lorelei into her room to make sure she settled in comfortably. “Are you tucking me into bed, Jack?” She raised her brow. “Do you want me to?” I smirked as I stood in front of her. “I’m more than capable of tucking myself in.” I ran my thumb across her cheek and stared into her tired eyes. “Thank you for staying here. I know you wanted your own bed, but this way was easier for everyone.” All I wanted to do was to climb into bed with her and hold her for the rest of the night. These emotions that consumed me were new and I wasn’t quite sure how to handle them. “I’m sorry, Lorelei,” I whispered as I stroked her hair. “For what?” “Everything.” I leaned in closer and softly brushed my lips against hers.

She placed her hand on my chest and pulled away. “I’m tired, Jack. Good night.” “Good night.” I walked out of her room, frustrated as fuck, and went downstairs and poured myself a scotch.



Chapter Thirty-Eight Lorelei Climbing into bed, I placed my fingers on my lips, still feeling the tingling sensation of his soft kiss. I forgot to take my last antibiotic pill for the night, so I climbed out of bed and went downstairs where I saw Jack sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace, holding a drink. “I thought you went to bed.” “Why are you up?” he asked. “I forgot to take my pill.” I walked into the kitchen and took a pill from the bottle that was sitting on the counter. Jack followed behind, opened the refrigerator and handed me a bottle of water. “Thanks.” He nodded his head and went back to the living room, pouring himself another scotch. “What’s wrong, Jack? I can tell something is bothering you.” “Nothing. Go to bed, Lorelei,” he spoke in a harsh tone. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.” He took in a sharp breath. “Fine. Sit down.” I sat down on the couch and he proceeded to tell me about what his mother had done. I was in shock to say the least. “Now I have to tell Coco tomorrow and I’m not sure how she’s going to react. Unfortunately, she’s in love with that asshole.” “I don’t know what to say.” “You and me both.” He paced around the room, throwing back his drink. “Listen, I’m sorry for kissing you earlier. It was a mistake and I got caught up in the moment. I’m just happy you’re feeling better. I’ll see you in the morning.” He set down his glass on the bar and walked up the stairs. A mistake? Another mistake he made with me. The only reason I pulled away was because I couldn’t

let myself get wrapped up in him again. If I had kissed him back, I would have. I was still trying to deal with the fact that I didn’t tell him about Hope from the beginning. I’d never forget the look on his face that night he came to my apartment. The disappointment that his eyes displayed as they stared at me played over and over in my head. I fucked up, but so did he with the things he said, and I wasn’t sure if we could ever get past that. **** The next morning, I showered and threw on a pair of leggings and a long t-shirt. When I walked into the kitchen, Hope was sitting at the table eating waffles and Jack was pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Good morning, baby.” I kissed Hope on her head. “Morning, Mommy. Jack made me waffles.” “I see that.” “Coffee?” he asked in a bitter tone. “Yes, please.” I walked over to where he was standing. “Would you like breakfast? I make some pretty mean waffles. Just ask Hope.” She giggled. “He burnt the first two waffles and had to throw them out.” “I can make my own breakfast. You’ve done enough.” I lightly touched his arm and he pulled away. “Let me. You go sit down and I don’t want to hear another word about it.” “You better do as he says, Mommy.” Hope smiled. I sighed and took my coffee to the table, where I sat down next to Hope. After setting the plate of waffles down in front of me, Jack took a seat across from us. “Coco may be here before I get back,” he spoke as he sipped his coffee. “All right. I’ll be on the lookout for her.” As soon as Hope was finished eating, I kissed her goodbye and walked her and Jack to the elevator. “Have a good day, baby.” “I will, Mommy. You too.” I stood and watched as Jack took Hope’s backpack from her and placed his hand on the top of her head. A feeling washed over me that I couldn’t describe. For a brief moment, it felt like we were a family. He was still angry with me for last night and his attitude still carried on this morning. He wasn’t happy

when I pulled away from him. I shook off the feeling, went back to the kitchen, and poured another cup of coffee. A few moments later, I heard the elevator doors open and Coco walked in. “Lorelei, so happy to see you out of the hospital.” She walked over and lightly hugged me. “It’s good to see you, Coco. How’s everything going?” “Meh. As well as could be expected, I guess.” She took down a cup from the cupboard and poured some coffee into it. “Where’s Jack?” “He took Hope to school. He’ll be back soon.” “Ah. Okay. Do I smell waffles?” “Yes. Would you like some?” “I would love some. I haven’t had waffles in years.” She smiled. I took two waffles from the freezer and placed them in the toaster. “I must say, it’s nice to see you here in Jack’s kitchen. The only woman I’ve ever seen here is Madeline.” “Really?” I cocked my head in disbelief. “Yeah. Jack never let the women he was with spend the night. It was always sex and goodbye. A swift kick out the door.” She smiled. “We aren’t having sex any more. I’m just a guest in his home.” “You may not be having sex now, but I’m sure you will be again.” She winked. I could feel my cheeks redden as she stared at me. “Don’t be embarrassed, sweetie. Between you and me, I think you’re a breath of fresh air for Jack and he knows it.” Putting the waffles on a plate, I took them over to the table. “Well, Jack screwed up when he found out about Hope and told me that he had made a terrible mistake and to forget about what happened between us.” Just as I said that, I heard the elevator doors open and Jack walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Coco.” He walked over and kissed her cheek.

“Hey, Jack. So tell me what’s going on.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine Jack Pouring a cup of coffee, I sat down at the table across from Coco. I didn’t know how to tell her. This was going to be a double blow. It didn’t only involve our mother, but her boyfriend, who, for some unknown fucked-up reason, she loved. “Our mother is being blackmailed. That’s why she had Bradley take the money from the company and put them in the offshore accounts.” She cocked her head as a shocked look settled in her eyes. “Who would blackmail our mother? And better yet, why?” I glanced over at Lorelei, who gave me a pained look. She knew this was something I couldn’t bear to tell my sister. This would hurt her deeply and I dreaded the words leaving my mouth. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. “Jack?” She paused as she looked over at Lorelei and then back at me. “What the fuck is going on?” I took in a deep breath as I prepared to deliver the devastating news to my sister. “Joshua is blackmailing her.” “What?” Her lips gave way to a small unsure smile. “Why? Why would my boyfriend blackmail our mother?” “Joshua found out something about her and he threatened to go public with it unless she paid him off to keep quiet.” “This doesn’t make any sense. What did he find out about her?” “Apparently, our mother hired someone to go work for Flourishing Fashions Magazine to spy on them. They reported back to her and she stole their ideas, used them in our magazine, and put out the editions before Flourishing could.” “That’s crazy. Mother would never do anything like that. Where the fuck are you getting your information from? You are way out of line, Jack.” She got up from her seat and headed towards the living room. “I got the information from our dear mother herself. She came over here the other night and told me. She knew it was only a matter of time before I found out, so she decided to come clean.”

She stood in the middle of the living room with her arms crossed, shaking her head. “When did this happen?” “A couple of years ago.” “How could we not have known what she was doing?” Coco yelled. “How would we? You know how she is. How she’s always been. The magazine is her company and if she didn’t want us to know something, she would go to any lengths possible to make sure we didn’t.” “That stupid little fucker Joshua! I’ll kill him!” She clenched her fists. “I knew something was going on with him. I’ll bet you a million dollars that after he got that money, he was going to leave me. He’s been having an affair, Jack.” “What?” I yelled. “I don’t even care. He doesn’t even know that I found out.” “How long have you known?” “About two weeks.” “Why didn’t you come to me?” “Because I knew you’d go after him and I wanted to handle him on my own.” “What were you planning to do?” “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure out something.” She looked down. “Listen, Coco.” I walked over to her and clasped her shoulders. “You can’t let him know that we know about this yet. We have to figure out a way to stop him from getting that money.” “How? If he goes public with the information about Mom, it will destroy the company.” I sighed. “I know.” “We need to talk to her, Jack. Are you coming into the office?” “Yes.” “I’ll see you there.” She placed her hand on my arm. “I’m happy you’re feeling better, Lorelei. We’ll talk soon.” As soon as Coco left, I turned and looked at Lorelei. “Jack, I’m—”

“Save it, Lorelei. I’ll see you after I pick Hope up from school.” ****

Lorelei I spent the day lounging around and, to be honest, I was bored. The only thing on my mind was Jack’s attitude because he didn’t get his way with me. Just because he was taking care of Hope and me, didn’t mean he was entitled to sex. As I was pondering my feelings, my phone rang. I smiled when I saw Stella’s picture pop up on the screen. “Hello.” “Hello, my friend. How are things going back in New York?” “Things are...well…interesting, I guess.” “What do you mean? What’s going on that you’re not telling me?” “Nothing.” “Bullshit, Lorelei. Whenever you say things in that sort of tone, it means you’re hiding something from me. Don’t forget; I’m the only person who knows you inside and out.” I sighed. “I’ve been sick with pneumonia and was in the hospital for a couple of days.” “WHAT! Why didn’t you call me?” “Because you were with Sebastian and his ailing father. I’m on the mend now, so everything is fine.” “Wait a minute. If you were in the hospital, who took care of Hope?” “Jack.” A shriek came from the other end. “WHAT! He hates kids.” “He felt he had no choice. He’s the one who took me to the hospital and then he brought Hope back to his place and has been taking care of her since. In fact, I’m here now until Sunday.” “You’re staying at Jack Sutton’s place and he’s taking care of both of you. I’m so confused, Lorelei. My brain can’t grasp what you’re telling me.” “I’ll explain it all when you come back. When are you coming back, by the way?” “We’ll be home on Sunday and you better believe the first place I’m heading is to your apartment.” I laughed. “Okay. Hope and I will be there.”

“Take care of yourself. I have to go. We’re at the funeral luncheon and I just snuck out for a minute.” “Give Sebastian my condolences.” “I will. Love you, friend.” “Love you too.” I set my phone down and walked into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Glancing at the clock on the stove, I noticed that it was almost time for Jack and Hope to be home. I hadn’t heard from him all day and I wasn’t surprised, considering his juvenile behavior. I heard the elevator doors open, so I took my tea and walked to the foyer. Hope stepped off the elevator with a sad look on her face. “Hey, baby. How was your day?” “Not good.” She pouted. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go up to my room.” As Hope walked up the stairs, I looked at Jack. “What’s wrong with her?” “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me.” “Did you talk to your mother?” “No.” He walked into the kitchen and I followed behind. “She was in meetings all day. She’s avoiding me and Coco. I know she is.” I could tell how stressed Jack was. I couldn’t imagine finding out something like that about my mother. He placed his hands on the counter and his eyes grazed over me. “How are you feeling?” “I’m doing much better.” “Good. Then you’ll be able to get back to your apartment in a couple of days.” Ouch. That stung. “Yeah.” I gave a small nod and went upstairs to check on Hope.

Chapter Forty Lorelei Sitting down on the edge of Hope’s bed, I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Why don’t you tell me what happened today.” “Addison is moving and changing schools,” she spoke in a sad voice. “Where is she moving to?” “Her and her mom are moving in with her mom’s boyfriend. All she talked about was how they were going to be a family.” Damn Addison’s mom. “I’m sorry she’s moving, baby, but you can still keep in touch with her.” “It’s not the same and I don’t want to talk to her anymore. She said some mean things.” A tear fell down her cheek. “What did she say?” “All she talked about was how they were going to be a family and do family things and that I was jealous of her.” “Why would she think you’re jealous of her?” She looked down and another tear fell from her eye. “Because I told her I didn’t care. I don’t care.” She folded her arms. “That’s not nice, Hope. She’s very excited about something and you just dismissed it. That’s not being a very good friend.” “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Can you please just leave me alone for a while?” “Sure, baby.” I walked out of her room and saw Jack coming down the hallway. “How is she?” “Upset because her friend Addison is moving and switching schools.” “That’s too bad. I’m sure she’ll get over it. I have some work to do in my office and I don’t want to be

disturbed.” He walked down the stairs. About an hour and a half later, Jack walked into the living room where I was sitting down working on one of my designs. “I’m going out for a while. I’ve ordered you and Hope a pizza and salad for dinner. It’s already paid for, so don’t worry about that.” “Where are you going?” I asked as I followed him to the elevator and the scent of his cologne drifted back and crossed my face. “I have a date. I’ll see you in the morning. Tell Hope I said good night.” “You can tell her yourself.” “I’m going to be late as it is.” He stepped into the elevator. A date? He had a date? Was he kidding? A flood of emotions filled my body and tears sprang to my eyes. Tears that I couldn’t explain. Tears that never should have crept up in the first place. He was nothing to me. Jack Sutton was nothing but my boss and a couple of nights of hot sex. I was nothing but the mistake he made. The more I heard his words in my head—“I have a date”—the angrier I became. I stomped over to the couch, grabbed my laptop from the coffee table, and brought up Match.com. Maybe it was time I dove back into the dating world. If Addison’s mom could meet Mr. Right, then so could I. I created my profile, and when I was finished, I closed my laptop. What the hell was I doing? The pizza was delivered and I went upstairs to get Hope for dinner. When I walked into her room, I noticed she was sleeping. I walked over to the side of her bed and gently called her name. She opened her eyes and then closed them again. “Baby, what’s wrong?” “I don’t feel good and my throat hurts.” I placed my hand on her forehead and she felt really warm. Oh God, what if she had caught my illness? Jack was out on his date and I was here alone with nothing. No children’s Tylenol. Nothing. I wanted to go home. It wasn’t like asshole was here taking care of us. I stood up from the bed and put all of Hope’s things in her bag, then walked across the hall to my room and did the same. Running downstairs and grabbing my phone from the table, I called a cab. After ending the call, I went back upstairs to get Hope. “Come on, Hope. We’re going home,” I spoke as I sat her up. “We are? Where’s Jack?” she sleepily asked. “He had to go out for the night. I can take better care of you at home. Come on; the cab will be here

soon.” She wrapped her arms around my neck as I picked her up and carried her down the stairs. I told her to sit down on the couch while I wrote Jack a note. Jack, Hope is sick with a fever and there was nothing here for me to give her, so I packed us up and went home. Lorelei My phone rang and it was the cab calling to let me know he was waiting for us. “Hope, you have to walk to the cab because I have to carry our bags.” “I don’t feel good, Mommy.” “I know, baby, but we’ll be home soon.” I held her hand as we took the elevator downstairs to the lobby and climbed into the cab. ****

Jack I arrived home at one a.m. and headed to the kitchen. That was when I saw the note that Lorelei had left. FUCK! I never should have gone out. I slammed my fists on the counter. I had met Holly, a girl I occasionally fucked, for dinner. She had called earlier and asked if I wanted to go out. I figured why the hell not. It wasn’t like Lorelei would give me the time of day. The problem was that I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Holly would be talking and I would zone out. I would try to act like I was interested in what she had to say, but I wasn’t. I could have cared less about Holly. This went on for over three hours. After we finished dinner, I put her in a cab to go home, and I went and sat in a bar, kicking back a couple of drinks and thinking about Lorelei and this mess of a situation Sutton Magazine was in. I never dreamed that I would come home and she and Hope would be gone. A worry swept over me for Hope. She had a fever and I wasn’t here. I desperately wanted to call Lorelei to find out how she was, but I couldn’t very well call her at this time of night. Damn her for leaving and damn her for walking into my life and turning my whole fucking world upside down. ****

Lorelei

The next morning, as I was in the kitchen getting Hope some more Tylenol for her 102 fever, my phone rang and it was Jack. I debated whether or not to answer it, but I did anyway. “Hello.” “How’s Hope?” “She’s sick.” “Does she still have a fever?” “Yes,” I replied in a short tone. “I was not happy when I came home last night to find you and Hope gone.” Was he serious? He went out on a fucking date and then took an attitude with me for leaving? “I needed to get my daughter home to where her medicines were. This is her home, Jack, and this is where she’s most comfortable.” “You should have called me.” “And interrupted your date? No thanks. I did what was best for us and that was going home. I have to go and give Hope her Tylenol.” Click. Yep. That’s right. I hung up on his dumb ass. How dare he! After giving Hope her medicine, I called her doctor’s office, and luckily, they had an appointment available in an hour. I helped her get dressed and we headed out the door.

Chapter Forty-One Jack I threw my phone across my desk after Lorelei hung up on me. Who the hell did she think she was after everything I’d done for her? As I leaned back in my chair, staring at the empty desk that sat outside my office, Coco walked in. “I’m surprised you’re here. It’s Saturday,” I spoke. “I kicked Joshua out and broke up with him.” “What?” I quickly sat up. “I told him last night that I knew about the woman he was seeing and to get the hell out.” “What did he say?” “He said good riddance and that he didn’t even know why he bothered staying as long as he did because he was never in love with me.” She started to sniffle. I got up from my chair and walked to where she was standing and pulled her into me. “Don’t, Coco. He’s a scumbag. You know it. He’s not worth a single tear.” “I know he’s not worth it. I’m crying because I didn’t break up with him sooner.” I broke our embrace and handed her a tissue. “Things with him fizzled fast, Jack. I haven’t been in love with him for a long time.” “Then why did you stay with him?” “Because I was afraid nobody else would want me. Every guy I had met over the years was intimidated by me and my career. Joshua was the first man who wasn’t because he had that same craving for success. I still can’t believe he’s blackmailing our mother.” “Have you seen her yet today?” “No. I haven’t. I tried calling her and she didn’t answer.” “I’m right here,” my mother spoke as she stepped into my office and shut the door. She looked tired and weary. This whole thing was taking a toll on her.

“Where were you?” I asked. “I was running some errands. I want both of you to sit down. I’m leaving the country in a few hours and I’m going to Paris.” “WHAT!” I shouted. “Sit down and be quiet, Jack.” She pointed her manicured finger at my chair. “I’m not paying Joshua the money. That slimy, spineless coward can go to hell.” “So you’re just going to leave and leave us to clean up your mess?” I asked in a stern voice. “I’ve already taken care of it. I didn’t tell you this before, but that woman that he’s seeing is Shae, the woman I hired to go work for Flourishing. He’s using her, and I told her that. I also told her that as soon as he gets the money, he’ll dump her. So I offered her two and a half million dollars to keep quiet and deny everything. She accepted and she’s leaving town tonight.” “How can you trust her?” Coco asked. “I can. More so than Joshua.” “I broke up with him last night,” Coco spoke. “I know. That bastard called me last night to tell me that I had twenty-four hours to give him the money or he was going to go public. I made Shae see that Joshua is only using her. I planted ideas in her head and got her thinking about a couple of things. So if Joshua does go public with the information, he doesn’t have proof and it will look like a revenge thing, so to speak, because you, my darling daughter, kicked his ass to the curb.” “If it’s settled, then why are you going to Paris?” I asked. “Because, darling, I need to hide out until all of this blows over. Bradley is closing out the accounts as we speak and the money will be put back into our accounts first thing Monday morning.” “Tell me, Mother, why were some creditors not paid?” She waved her hand in front of her face. “Pish, I told Bradley not to pay a few vendors because they were screwing with me. I can play just as dirty as they can. Anyway, I spoke with them and called off that lawyer girl you hired. We reached an agreement and all is good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a couple of things to do before I leave.” “You’re just going to walk away as if it’s no big deal?” I spat. “Stop overreacting, darling. Everything will be fine now.”

She hugged and kissed Coco goodbye. As she began taking steps towards me, I held up my hand. Her brow arched right before she strutted out of my office as if she didn’t have a care in the world. A bad feeling crept up inside of me. A shit storm was rolling in and she was seeking safety in Paris while she left us behind to ride it out. When I slammed my fist down on my desk, Coco flinched. “You heard what she said, Jack. She took care of the situation.” “The hell she did, Coco. I have a feeling this is far from over.” **** After spending the day trying to calm down and get some work done, I headed to the toy store to pick up something for Hope. I had texted Lorelei earlier in the day and the doctor said that Hope had strep throat. As I was walking through the store, not knowing what the hell I was going to buy her, I stumbled across a wall of children’s movies. My eyes scanned the rows and then fixated on one particular movie that caught my attention: Charlotte’s Web. I smiled as I picked it and looked at it. She would like this. After checking out, I had Tony drive me to Lorelei’s apartment. “Does she know you’re dropping by?” he asked. “No.” “Don’t you think you should tell her?” “No.” “After the recent events that took place, she may slam the door in your face. Or you may not even make it through the security door.” “She may and maybe I won’t. But I am not leaving until I give this movie to Hope and I see how she’s doing for myself.” “She’s not your responsibility anymore.” He glanced up at me through the rearview mirror. “Doesn’t matter. I still need to make sure she’s okay.” He gave me a small smile and didn’t speak another word. Hope wasn’t the only reason I wanted to come over. After the clusterfuck of a day I had, I needed to see Lorelei. I didn’t necessarily need to talk to her; just seeing her was enough to make everything okay. I rang the buzzer to her apartment. “What are you doing here, Jack?” Her voice came through the intercom.

“I want to know how Hope is doing.” “You could have just called.” “I have something for her, Lorelei, and I would like to give it to her.” The door buzzed and I let out a sigh of relief. When I reached her apartment door, she was standing there with it open. “You didn’t have to get her anything,” she spoke as she moved to the side so I could come in. “I know. I wanted to.” “Jack!” Hope leaped up off the couch and wrapped her arms around my legs. “Hi there. How are you feeling?” I bent down and picked her up. “Not really good. But I’ll survive.” She smiled. Carrying her over to the couch, I handed her a pink gift bag with a picture of Cinderella on it and pink tissue paper inside hiding the DVD. She reached her small hand in the bag and pulled out Charlotte’s Web. Her eyes grew wide with excitement. “I didn’t know there was a movie!” she exclaimed. “Thank you, Jack.” Her arms wrapped themselves around my neck. “You’re welcome.” “Will you watch it with me?” “Of course I will. That is, if it’s okay with your mom.” I glanced over at Lorelei as she stood there with her arms folded and her narrowing eye glared at me. “Please, Mommy,” Hope whined. She hesitated with a response for a few moments as her eyes never left me. “I guess. But as soon as the movie is over, it’s bed time.” “Okay. I promise.” “Are you going to watch it with us?” I asked, trying to cut through some of the thick air that was around the room. “I have to finish Hope’s Halloween costume, so I’ll be over at the table while you two watch it.”

Chapter Forty-Two Lorelei I put in the DVD and walked over to the table where I had my sewing machine set up. I couldn’t deny that what Jack did for Hope wasn’t sweet. It really was, but I still had my guard up where he was concerned. As I was working on Hope’s costume, I silently smiled at the laughter and light conversation that was coming from the couch. Suddenly, the sound of sniffles took over. I turned around and saw Jack put his arm around Hope and pull her closer to him. I had no choice but to see if Jack was all choked up as well over Charlotte’s death. I called out to him. “Hey, Jack?” He didn’t turn around. He simply spoke, “Yeah.” “Can you come here for a second?” “Sorry, Lorelei. It’s going to have to wait.” He brought his finger up to his eye. “Okay.” I smiled as I turned back around and continued working on the costume. It wasn’t too long after that the movie ended and I could hear the subtle conversation between Hope and Jack. “Jack, what was the point of Charlotte dying? She could have lived and they all could have been happy.” “I agree, Hope, but the story of Charlotte and Wilbur was about true friendship. Even after Wilbur’s best friend passed away and she could no longer help him, he still helped her. Make sense?” “I guess. You’re really smart, Jack.” I rolled my eyes. “Not as smart as you. Are you ready for bed?” “I think I need my medicine.” I stood up from my chair. “Yes, you do need your medicine. Go get in bed and I’ll bring it to you.” “Can Jack tuck me in too?” she asked.

“Yes. Jack can tuck you in.” Hope scurried off to her room and I went into the kitchen to get her medicine from the refrigerator. “Yuck. I remember that stuff.” Jack made a face when he saw the bottle. “It’s pretty bad, isn’t it? The good thing is Hope doesn’t seem to mind it.” After pouring the medicine in the medicine cup to the correct dosage line, Jack grabbed the glass of water on the counter and we went to Hope’s room. “Mommy, my head hurts again.” She pouted. Jack placed his hand on her forehead. “She feels warm.” I handed Hope the medicine and told her to take it while I went to the bathroom and got the thermometer. It read 101 degrees. “Fevers always get worse at night. Hopefully, by tomorrow, it’ll be gone. I’ll go get you some Tylenol.” “I can get it,” Jack spoke. “It’s on the kitchen counter, right?” “Yeah. Thank you.” After giving Hope some Tylenol, I kissed her head and told her good night. When I walked out of her room, Jack followed and pulled the door enough to where it was opened a crack. “Thank you, Lorelei.” “For what?” I asked as I sat down at the table. “For letting me come in and give Hope that movie.” “Like I had much of a choice. You were standing outside my building already.” “You called me over earlier during the movie. What did you need?” “Never mind. I did it myself.” I silently laughed. He took a seat in the chair next to me. “My mother took off for Paris today.” I looked up at him from my sewing machine. “What? Why?” “Apparently, she had a talk with the girl this morning that Joshua is shacking up with. Come to find out, she was the one who she hired to spy on Flourishing and she just so happens to be the one that told Joshua everything. My mother paid her off and then fled the country. According to her, now that the girl has her

hush money, Joshua doesn’t have a leg to stand on.” I looked at him in confusion. “But why did she leave to go to Paris, then?” “To escape the limelight of what’s about to come. Even though people will think he’s making the story up, she didn’t want to be here to answer any questions from the press.” “So she ran and left you and Coco to handle it?” “Yep. Mother of the year again. I have a bad feeling about all of this and I feel like there’s something she isn’t telling us.” “Like what?” “I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out yet.” He sighed. I could see the anger and worry that consumed his eyes. Even though he’d never admit it, I could tell he was hurting. “Enough about that. You seem to be feeling better.” “I’m am. I’m still really tired, but overall okay.” “I should get going so you can finish Hope’s costume.” As soon as he got up from his chair, his phone rang and he answered it. “What!” he spoke in a panicked voice. “When? My God, I’m on my way over.” He ended the call. The look on his face was terrifying. “What happened?” I asked. “That was Coco. Joshua was murdered.” I cupped my hand over my mouth in shock. “I need to get to Coco’s house. The police are there, questioning her.” “My God, Jack. I’m sorry.” “I’ll talk to you soon, Lorelei.” He walked out the door. ****

Jack This was unbelievable. I hailed a cab and went straight to Coco’s brownstone where the flashing lights

of a police car lit up the normally dimmed area. After stepping through the door, I headed straight to the living room and found my sister sitting on the couch crying while two male police officers questioned her. I ran to her side and she threw her arms around me, sobbing. “Clearly, you can see she’s upset. Can you please come back tomorrow?” “I’m sorry. You are?” “Jack Sutton, her brother.” “We apologize, but we have to ask where she was around six p.m.” “What? Are you serious?” “I’m sorry, Mr. Sutton, but we have to check all possible leads.” “Coco, where were you?” I asked her. “I was at the office.” “Were you alone, ma’am,” one of the officers asked. “No.” “May I have the name of the person who was with you?” The officer took a pen from his pocket. She hesitated for a moment and looked at me. “Garrett Sullivan was with me.” She turned to the officer as she spoke. “Why was Garrett at the office on a Saturday?” I asked. “Thank you, Miss Sutton. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions. We can see our way out.” Coco stood up and took in a deep breath. “That’s a lot of work trying to make myself cry and fake being upset.” Dabbing her eyes with a tissue, she walked over to the bar area in her living room and poured a glass of wine. “Would you like some?” she asked. “No. What I would like is for you to answer my question.”

Chapter Forty-Three Jack I threw back my glass of scotch as Garrett walked into the living room. I slammed my glass down on the bar and pointed my finger at him as I walked towards him. “How fucking dare you!” I yelled. “Jack, stop!” Coco screamed. “You’ve been sleeping with my sister and you didn’t tell me!” “Jack, calm down.” He put his hands up. “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!” I threw a punch at him. He stumbled back and held his jaw. “Do you feel better now, friend?” he asked in a calm tone. I went to throw another punch. “Jack, no!” Coco grabbed my arm and held me back. “I swear I will never talk to you again if you don’t stop.” “She’s my sister, man. My fucking sister. You’ve known her your whole life.” “And I’ve been in love with her my whole life!” he shouted. I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head. Taking a seat on the couch, I cupped my face in my hands to try and process everything that was going on. “Jack.” Coco sat down next to me. “Do you want me to be happy?” I looked over at her as the tears streamed down her face. “Of course I do.” “Garrett makes me happy. He always has. Sometimes, the person you’re meant to love is standing right in front of you the whole time.” “Coco, he’s like a brother to us.” “But he’s not our brother. He makes me feel alive and whole. You can’t understand that because you

never let anyone in. I’m in love with him, Jack.” I looked over at Garrett, who was still standing in the same spot, holding his jaw. “Do you love her?” “Yes. I do.” I got up from the couch and poured another drink. “Why did you stay with Joshua if you were seeing Garrett?” I asked. “Which brings me to another question. How long has this been going on?” “We’ve been seeing each other for a little over a month. Why do people who are married cheat and still stay married?” I shook my head as I took a sip of a scotch. After downing it, I looked at Coco and then at Garrett. “I’ll see you two Monday morning at the office. I need to get out of here and think.” I grabbed my coat and walked out. As I was on my way home, I sat in the back of the cab and thought about what Coco said about me not letting anyone in. She was right. I had never let anyone in except one woman: Lorelei. The one woman I brought into my bed that was off limits to everyone. The only woman who I held in my arms all night. And what happened? She withheld a vital part of her life from me. ****

Lorelei My mom and Stella sat at the table with shocked expressions as I told them about my week; being sick and Jack taking care of Hope. They couldn’t say anything because Hope was right there. My mom reached over and took hold of my hands. “I wish you would have called us, sweetie.” “Why, Mom? You were on a boat in the middle of the ocean. There would have been nothing you could have done.” “Still. I’m so sorry we weren’t here for you and Hope.” “That’s okay, Grandma. I liked Jack taking care of me. He’s fun.” “He is?” Stella gave her a look with a twisted face. “Yeah. He read to me and we watched Cinderella. He took and picked me up from school. He came to

my spelling bee when my mom was in the hospital and he cooked. He’s not a good cook, though. He burns everything.” She giggled. “That was very nice of Mr. Sutton to take care of you, Hope.” My mom hugged her. “And I’m happy you’re feeling better.” Hope went to her room to take a nap and my mom left to get home and unpack from their trip. “Okay. What’s going on with you and Jack?” Stella asked. “Nothing.” “Nothing, my ass. Why would a man who fully admitted to you that he hates children take care of your kid while you’re lying helpless in a hospital bed?” “Because he knew there was nobody else who could take care of her.” Again, she twisted her face. “I think Mr. Sutton has a heart and I think he’s madly in love with you.” “No, he’s not, Stella. He left me and Hope the other night to go on a date.” “Oh.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Why would he do that?” “Who the hell knows. Probably because he needed to feed his sex addiction.” “He has a sex addiction?” “Let me rephrase that. Probably because he needed to feed his sexual appetite.” “He’s a man. They’re always horny.” She smiled. “I see a possible relationship here.” “I can’t and I won’t.” I got up from the table and walked into the kitchen. “Why not, Lorelei? It’s obvious the man has deep feelings for you or he wouldn’t have taken care of Hope the way he did. That little girl adores him.” “Of course she does. He’s the first man who has ever paid attention to her.” “And whose fault is that?” She frowned. “I gave in to my feelings once before and I won’t make that mistake again. Look at how he treated me when he found out about Hope. The things he said. If he truly had feelings for me, he wouldn’t have said those things. Brett would never have said those things to me.” “Aw, honey. You have to stop living in the past. Maybe Brett never would have said those things to you. Hell, he didn’t even know you were pregnant, Lorelei, so you really don’t know for sure how he would have reacted. You’re a grown up now and you’re playing in the grown up world.”

“So you’re saying that it was okay for him to talk to me like that?” “No. That’s not what I’m saying. But you also need to understand that he was hurt. He found out by accident one of the most personal things about you. He probably felt betrayed that you didn’t trust him enough to tell him.” “How could I trust him when he flat out told me he hated kids? You even told me not to tell him. Hell, Garrett didn’t even tell him because he was afraid he’d fire me.” “Okay. Okay. You have a point. But still.” Taking our coffee over to the couch, I sat down and crossed my legs. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. You’re never going to believe what I did.” “Oh my God, what did you do?” “I created a profile on Match.com.” “Shut up! You did not!” she exclaimed. I grabbed my laptop from the coffee table and logged into my account. This was the first time I had done that since the night I created it. I had over fifty responses. “Oh shit. Look at this.” I laughed. We spent the next hour going through the profiles and laughing. “This guy isn’t bad. He’s an ad executive. He has a daughter who’s eleven and his hobby is bird watching.” I rolled my eyes. “He’s also forty years old. What the hell does he want with a twenty-five-year-old?” “You really need to ask that?” Stella spoke. “Just think of all the different kinds of birds you could learn about. I wonder if he makes those weird bird sounds to them.” She laughed.

Chapter Forty-Four Lorelei I stopped at Starbucks to get Jack his morning coffee. I hadn’t heard from him since Saturday night and he didn’t respond to my text messages. As I walked down the hallway to my desk, many of my coworkers welcomed me back. I took in a deep breath as I walked into Jack’s office. “Good morning,” I spoke. He looked up at me from the papers he was looking over and mumbled, “Morning.” When I set the coffee on his desk, I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. He looked back down at his papers and acted like I wasn’t even standing there. “Did you get my text messages?” I asked. “Yes,” he responded without looking up. “Why didn’t you text me back?” “I really didn’t have time.” “Oh.” I stood there feeling like an idiot. “How’s Coco?” “She’s fine.” “Any more news about Joshua?” “No.” “Does your mother know what happened?” He sighed and looked up at me as he grabbed his coffee cup. “What is this? A million questions? If I wanted to talk to you about this, I would. You have a ton of work to do since you were out all last week. I suggest you get to your desk and start working.” Wow. Wow. Wow. What the fuck was his problem? I quietly walked out of his office and sat down at my desk. Asshole. I pulled out the small framed picture I had of Hope and set it next to my computer. A few moments later, Garrett walked up and I couldn’t help but notice the large bruise on his face. “Ouch. What happened?” I asked with concern. “Jack didn’t tell you?”

“No. Jack isn’t saying much to me these days.” “He punched me.” “Oh my God. Why would he do that?” “I’d rather not get into that right now. How are you feeling? How’s Hope?” “We’re both a lot better. Thank you for asking.” “Good. I’m happy to hear that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to talk to Jack. Let’s hope he doesn’t punch me again.” He winked. Sitting there, I watched Garrett walk into Jack’s office and shut the door. What the hell was going on with him that would make him punch his best friend? A few moments later, the door opened and Garrett walked out. “Escaped without any assault.” He winked with a smile and then strutted down the hallway. Garrett left the door open to Jack’s office and I couldn’t help but steal a glance from my desk. Jack was sitting in his chair, looking out the window. “Oh shit!” he exclaimed as he jumped up and ran down the hallway. I needed to know what was going on, so I followed him down to the lobby, and when I reached the doors, Coco was standing outside trapped by a bunch of paparazzi who were taking her picture and shoving small recorders in her face. Jack grabbed her and led her inside the building. I hurried and stepped into the elevator before they saw me. The shit storm had arrived and Jack and Coco were left to deal with it alone without any help from their mother. I made it back to my desk and I saw Jack take Coco into her office. He was in there for about an hour. Before going into his office, he stopped at my desk. “You are to field any calls that may come in from anyone asking about Joshua or the company.” “Yes, Jack. Don’t worry.” He picked up the frame from my desk and stared at the picture of Hope. Without saying a word, he set it down, walked into his office, and slammed the door. I flinched. After working on a couple of projects, I glanced at the clock and saw it was lunchtime. Grabbing my sketchbook and my purse, I knocked on the door and told Jack I was heading to lunch. “Jack, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to lunch now.”

“Fine. Don’t forget my coffee.” I sighed and shut the door. “Don’t forget my coffee,” I mumbled as I headed toward the elevators. With his attitude towards me, he’d be lucky if I didn’t spill it all over his desk and leave him to clean it up. Exiting the building, I headed down to the café for a sandwich. After my lunch was over, I went to Starbucks and got Jack his afternoon coffee. When I arrived back to the building, the paparazzi had grown in size and began to crowd me. “You’re Jack Sutton’s PA, aren’t you?” one man asked. “Yes. That’s right.” “Would you care to say a few words regarding the murder of his sister’s boyfriend?” “I’m sorry, but I know nothing about that.” “Rumor has it that Kit Sutton fled the country? Did she know something about it?” I sighed. They were all around me, invading my personal space and not letting me get inside the building. I looked at Jack’s coffee and then back up at the people who surrounded me. I took a step forward as if I was pushed and accidentally spilled some coffee on the guy in front of me. Then I spilled some on the person next to him and then the person next to him. They backed off as they began to yell. “If you wouldn’t have invaded my personal space, I wouldn’t have spilled coffee on you.” I smiled. Suddenly, I felt a hand grasp my arm and pull me back. Jack led me inside the building while holding up his hand at the paparazzi. “Thanks, but I didn’t need saving.” “If I didn’t stop you, there wouldn’t be any coffee left for me to drink.” He smirked. I gave him a small smile and we rode the elevator up in silence. **** Over the next couple of days, nothing much had changed. The paparazzi were still camped outside waiting for their next victim. But when they saw me coming with coffee in my hands, they slowly backed away and let me get through. As I was sitting at my desk doing some work, Daniel from the editing department walked up. “Hey, Lorelei.” He smiled. “Hi, Daniel.”

“I saw your profile on Match.com,” he said rather loudly. Oh shit. “Really?” I cocked my head. “Yeah, and since we know each other, I thought instead of messaging you online, I’d come talk to you in person.” Double shit. “Oh.” I raised both my eyebrows in surprise. “I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner some night.” I took in a deep breath when I saw Jack jump up from his chair and walk over to my desk. “Lorelei, in my office, NOW!” he shouted. “And as for you, Daniel, she isn’t going to have dinner with you. Now get back to work before I fire you!” I took a seat across from his desk and he slammed the door. “What the fuck are you doing?” he asked. “What do you mean?” “You’re on Match.com? Really, Lorelei?” My knees were trembling and I needed to get a grip. “Yes. What’s wrong with that?” “What’s wrong with that? Do you know how many psychos there are in the world looking for someone like you to prey on?” “Yes.” Clearly, he was upset by the fact that I was on a dating site. It was none of his damn business and now I was getting angry. “‘Yes?’ Is that all you can say?” Clearing my throat, I spoke, “What I do on my personal time isn’t any of your concern, Jack.” His eyes were now fully consumed with anger. “It is my damn concern if something happens to you and I’m left without a PA!” he yelled.

“Then you’ll hire another one!” I yelled back, losing all control. “I don’t want another one. You’re by far the best I’ve had. Both personally and professionally.” He realized what he had said and turned his back to me and stared out the window with his hands in his pockets. I was stunned at his words and I couldn’t find it in me to shoot anything back at him. “Thank you. If you’re done screaming at me, I have work to do.” I got up from my chair and headed towards the door. “Lorelei?” he called out to me. “You’ll date some random stranger that could hurt you, but you won’t give me the time of day?” My stomach sank and my heart started to ache. “You already hurt me, Jack.” I walked out and carefully pulled the door shut. Tears started to form in my eyes, so I went into the bathroom to collect myself.

Chapter Forty-Five Jack I closed my eyes after hearing Lorelei speak those words. Even after everything I did for her, she still hadn’t forgiven me for the things I said after finding out about Hope. I took a seat in my chair and cupped my face in my hands. I missed her and I missed Hope. Not only did Lorelei have an impact on my life the minute she spilled coffee on me, but Hope did as well. I looked up when I heard the door open and Coco walked in with two men dressed in suits. “Jack, this is Detective Henley and Detective Sloan. They have some news regarding Joshua’s murder.” “Nice to meet you, gentlemen. I’m Jack Sutton. Please have a seat.” “We found the person who killed Joshua. Her name is Shae Sanders.” I looked over at Coco in surprise. “Why would Shae kill Joshua?” I asked the detectives. “Apparently, they got into a huge fight that day and she told him she was leaving. When she tried to leave, he threw her around and beat her up. She got hold of a kitchen knife and stabbed him repeatedly.” “So it was self-defense,” I spoke. “I guess you can say that, but that’s for a jury to decide. Anyway, we wanted to let you know that we won’t be bothering your family again. Have a good day.” The detectives left my office and Coco sat across from me with a small smile across her face. “I always knew he was crazy. Good for her for defending herself,” she spoke. “She’s going to need a good defense attorney and we’re paying the bill.” “Are you crazy, Jack? Mom just gave her all that money.” “Exactly, and she’s going to need it to stay quiet. We can’t risk her saying something about what our mother had her do a couple of years ago. I’m going to call Avery Lewis and see if she’ll take the case.” “If you say so. But you need to remember that she was the woman who was sleeping with my boyfriend.” “And you need to remember that Garrett is the man who was sleeping with his girlfriend.” She rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. “I suppose. I’ll talk to you later.”

I grabbed my phone and dialed my mother in Paris. “Hello, darling,” she answered. “I just wanted to let you know that Shae was the one who murdered Joshua.” “Oh dear. That girl has a little spunk in her. Remind me to thank her when I return.” “It was self-defense, Mother. He was beating the crap out of her.” A light laugh came through the phone. “Do you believe that son? Anyway, I’ll be home in a few days.” “I’m hiring her a good defense attorney and you’re paying her legal fees.” “What? Why?” “Because we don’t need to take the chance that she’s going to spill the beans about you. It’s the least we can do. And another thing, I think it’s time you retired from Sutton Magazine.” “Excuse me, Jack?” Her voice took on a stern tone. “We’ll talk more about this when you get back. I have to go.” Click. Now that this situation was semi-handled, I needed to work on getting Lorelei to forgive me and agree to go out with me. As I was pondering ways, my office door opened and she stepped inside while keeping her hand around the door handle. “I’m sorry to bother you, Jack, but I need to know why you punched Garrett.” I let out a light chuckle. “You don’t have a clue as to why I did it?” “No. I don’t.” “Because he’s sleeping with my sister.” “Oh.” She backed up into the hallway and pulled the door shut. **** My new suit from Bloomingdale’s was ready to be picked up and I thought about sending Lorelei to go get it, but decided to do it myself because I wanted to get out of the office. “I’m leaving for the day, Lorelei. I have a couple of things I need to take care of. I’ll see you in the morning.” “Okay. Have a nice night, Jack.” “You too.”

I climbed into the limo and instructed Tony to take me to Bloomingdale’s. As I was in the men’s section, looking at their sweater line, I heard a voice next to me. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Jack Sutton.” “Hello, Stella.” I smiled. “What brings you to Bloomingdale’s this afternoon?” “Just doing a little shopping for my boyfriend. You?” “Picking up a new suit.” “I’m surprised you didn’t make Lorelei do it for you.” “The thought crossed my mind, but I decided to do it myself.” “Listen, Jack, I want to thank you for looking after Hope while Lorelei was in the hospital. That was very kind of you.” “You’re welcome. Hope is a great kid.” “She is. Isn’t she? And so is her mother.” A small smile crossed her lips. “Yeah. Lorelei is great. Hey, do you have some time to grab a coffee? I want to talk to you about something.” She gave me an odd look. “Umm. Sure. I guess so.” ****

Lorelei The next morning, as I was walking towards Jack’s office, I noticed there was a bouquet of yellow roses perfectly arranged in a vase sitting on the edge of my desk. I set my things down and walked into Jack’s office with his coffee. “Do you know where those flowers came from?” I asked as I set his cup down. “They’re from me. Do you like them?” “They’re beautiful. What’s the occasion?” I narrowed my eye. “Again, they’re apology flowers.” “For what?” I asked. “I want to apologize to you for the way I spoke yesterday about the whole dating site thing. I was way out of line and I’m sorry. Of course what you do on your own time is none of my business. It’s your life

and I had no right.” “Thank you, Jack. I appreciate it.” “You’re welcome.” He walked over to where I was standing and clasped my shoulders. “Listen, Lorelei, I’ve been giving my behavior and actions a lot of thought. I know I’ve hurt you in the past and I’m sorry. We’re friends and that’s how I want things to stay between us. So as a friend, I’m going to be honest with you. I think you should start dating again. You’re an amazing woman and I know you would have no problem finding your Prince Charming if you just let yourself. In fact, I know a couple of great guys who would love to go out with you.” Suddenly, it felt like I was gasping for air. Was he being serious? I gulped. “Thanks, Jack, but I can find my own dates.” “Okay. If you change your mind, let me know. Another thing, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like you to give some of your sketches to the sewing department.” “Why?” “Because I think you have a real talent and I’m thinking that maybe we should feature some of your designs in our January issue.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, right, Jack.” “Lorelei, I’m not kidding. Now get your ass to the sewing department and tell them I said they are to get working on your designs immediately. Wait,” he said as he walked over to his phone. “This is Jack Sutton. I’m sending my PA, Lorelei, up to give you some designs I want started immediately. When you’re finished with the outfits, I want them brought straight to my office.” He looked at me and smiled. “You’re all set.” “I don’t know what to say, Jack. Thank you!” I impulsively threw my arms around his neck and gave him a hug. He wrapped his arms around me. “You’re welcome. Now go.” Feeling his arms around me again felt good. But what didn’t feel good was my heart. Hearing him say that he only wanted a friendship did something to me. It made me feel sad and alone. I couldn’t explain it if I tried. There was a time when he wanted me and I pushed him away. I pushed him so far that now he was no longer interested in me and that hurt like a bitch.

Later that evening as I lay in bed, I thought about Jack. I knew Hope missed him because she expressed it during dinner. My heart still hurt because I was in love with him. I was stupid for pushing him away that night he kissed me at his house, but I wanted him to know that it wasn’t going to be that easy. I was playing a game, making him pay for the things he’d said to me. But in the end, I wound up the loser. A tear fell from my eye the more I thought about it. Tomorrow would be a new day and a new start on my quest to try and get Jack to see that he was the one for me and I was the one for him.

Chapter Forty-Six Lorelei “Good morning, Jack.” I smiled as I set his coffee cup on his desk. “Good morning. You seem in a chipper mood.” “It’s Halloween. Speaking of which, I know this is really random, but Hope asked me to ask you if you would like to come to my parents’ house with us tonight. She has this crazy idea that maybe you would like to go trick or treating with us.” He arched his brow. “Really? Hope would like me to come?” “Yeah. But if you have plans, don’t worry about it. I already explained to her that it was such short notice and that you were probably busy.” “I don’t have any plans tonight. Besides, if she invited me, how could I say no?” “Okay. Oh, another thing. I’m sorry to spring this on you at the last minute, but would it be okay if I got off early to attend Hope’s Halloween party at school? It starts at two o’clock.” “Of course.” He smiled. “I’ll tell Tony to drop you off.” I was going out on a limb here, but I couldn’t help but ask. “You know, I think Hope would be thrilled if you came.” “To her school Halloween party?” he asked in surprise. “Yeah. Just an idea. Don’t worry about it.” I waved my hand. “Okay. I’ll go.” I stood there in shock that he actually said yes. On the inside, I was dancing. “Okay. Great. Thank you. She’s going to be so surprised.” **** We arrived at Hope’s classroom and the look on her face when she saw Jack and me walk into the room was priceless. She ran over and hugged us both. “Jack! What are you doing here?”

“Your mom invited me. Look at you. You’re such a beautiful Cinderella.” He smiled. “Thank you, Jack. Come meet my teacher.” She took hold of his hand and led him over to Miss. Strong. “Miss. Strong, this is my friend, Jack. He’s my mom’s boss.” “I see. It’s nice to meet you, Jack.” She smiled. “My pleasure, Miss. Strong.” He smiled back with his charming smile and I wanted to vomit. As the children were playing games and running around the classroom, Jack looked over at me. “Hope’s teacher is really hot. I wonder what my chances are of getting her to go out with me.” A wave of jealousy crashed over me. “She’s not that hot and I think she’s seeing someone.” “What a shame and I think she’s very hot.” He smirked. As I stood there and stewed over his comments, Addison’s mom walked over to us. “Hello, Lorelei. I would like you to meet my boyfriend, Curtis.” “Hello, Jane.” I gave a fake smile. “Nice to meet you, Curtis. This is my boss, Jack Sutton. Jack, this is Jane, Addison’s mom.” “Ah, nice to meet you, Jane. Curtis.” They all shook hands and I rolled my eyes. “Hope tells us that Addison is switching schools.” “Yes. This wonderful man is inviting us into his home and, to be honest, the school district over there is way better.” I couldn’t help myself and I couldn’t resist. “How long have you two known each other?” “A couple of months. But it was love at first sight. We met on Match.com. He’s my soulmate.” “Really?” Jack spoke up. “Lorelei just joined Match.” “You did?” Jane asked with a surprised tone. Fuck you, Jack. “Yes, I did.” “Anyone special yet?” “No. Not yet. Hopefully, soon. I’m still weeding through the prospects.” “Well, good luck to you. I hope you have the same luck I did.”

“Thank you.” My fake smile grew wider. The two of them walked away and Jack began to laugh. “Does your face hurt?” he asked. “Yes. ‘It was love at first sight. He’s my soulmate.’ Whatever!” “It sounds to me like you’re a little jealous.” “Who? Me?” I pointed to myself. “I’m not jealous at all. It’s just the way she said it.” “Sure.” He chuckled. “Now if you want to talk about someone being hot, check out that dad over there. It doesn’t look like he’s wearing a ring either. Hey, Hope.” I called to her. “Yes, Mommy.” “Who’s that man over there with that little boy?” “That’s Jonathan’s dad. Jonathan was the boy I told you about last year whose mom died of cancer.” “Oh yeah. Poor kid.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “So are you going to go hit on the poor man who probably is still grieving over the death of his wife?” Jack asked with a smirk. I smacked his arm and walked away. We stopped at Jack’s penthouse first so he could change his clothes before going to my parents’ house. It didn’t make sense for him to drive us home, go home and change, and then come back to pick us up. I told him that we’d meet him there, but he insisted on driving us. I had called my mom earlier to let her know that Jack would be coming over. She seemed thrilled because she wanted to thank him for taking care of Hope, plus she was dying to meet him. As we sat at the table eating dinner, Nick and my mom talked to Jack as if they had known him for years. It was weird but nice to see at the same time. When dinner was over, Nick, Hope, and Jack went to the living room while my mom and I cleaned up the kitchen. “He’s such a nice man. Nothing like you made him out to be.” “As long as you don’t work for him, he is, I guess.” “He adores Hope.”

“I know he does.” “So there’s really nothing going on between the two of you?” “No. There isn’t. Jack and I are just friends. In fact, I’ve joined a dating site.” “What? I don’t think that’s safe, Lorelei.” “Gotta get out there and start dating again, Mom, and it’s hard to meet someone when you just can’t randomly go out because you have a kid to take care of.” “We can babysit if you want to go out. You know that.” “I know, but I’d feel guilty just going out for the hell of it to try and meet a guy.” Hope ran into the kitchen. “Come on, Mommy. It’s time to go trick or treating!” She smiled. I put on my coat and the three of us headed out the door. As Hope was busy running up to people’s houses, Jack and I stood on the sidewalk and waited for her. “Tell me why you told me you hated kids?” I blurted out. He glanced over at me for a moment and then looked straight ahead. “I don’t hate kids, Lorelei. I don’t know how to explain it. Growing up with Kit was difficult. She blamed us for everything, including the breakup of her first three marriages. When you’ve been told that so many times, you start to believe it. I remember sitting in my room one night and I heard her and Peter, her second husband, arguing. He told her that she should send Coco and me to boarding school because we’d just get in the way of their relationship and things would be better if we weren’t around.” “That’s awful. She didn’t send you away, did she?” “No. But she did send us to live with our grandmother for the entire summer after they were married. That was the compromise they made. I always felt like a burden to my mother and her relationships. Peter wasn’t very nice to us. In fact, he hit me a couple of times and told me that Coco and I were ruining their relationship and he wished we’d just leave. Let’s just say that him and alcohol were best friends.” “Oh my God, Jack. How old were you?” “I was twelve at the time. My mother blamed us for my dad leaving because she couldn’t accept the fact that he couldn’t handle her career. Nothing was ever her fault. So when Peter left her, of course she blamed us. She said we were disobedient and she should have listened to him and sent us away. I hated myself back then because she was my mother and I believed her.” “You don’t believe that now, do you?” I asked.

“No. She was to blame for all of her failed marriages. But, in the back of my mind, every time I saw a child, I would think of my childhood and the things that were told to me.” “Did you ever seek therapy?” He chuckled. “No. But maybe I should have. What about you?” “My father passed away when I was ten. My mom met Nick when I was fifteen and she married him when I was sixteen.” “He seems like a great guy,” Jack said. “He is and he’s done so much for us. It wasn’t until after Brett’s funeral that I told them I was pregnant. My mom sat in her rocking chair and cried for hours, but Nick was the voice of reason and told her that we were a family and we’d get through it.” “I’m really sorry about Hope’s father. I want you to know that.” “Thanks.” I briefly laid my head on his shoulder. After walking around a few blocks, Hope told us she was tired and wanted to go home. Jack picked her up and carried her back to my parents’ house. Watching him with her was bittersweet. After checking all of Hope’s candy and eating a couple of pieces, we said goodbye to my parents and headed back to my apartment. “Do you have any plans this weekend?” I asked him with the hope that he didn’t and maybe the three of us could do something. “Actually, I have a date tomorrow night.” “Oh.” My heart started to ache. “That’s good.” “What about you?” “No plans really. Just hanging out with Hope.” He didn’t say a word and neither did I after hearing he was going on a date. Tony pulled up to my building and Jack carried Hope up to the apartment and laid her in bed. “Thanks again for coming tonight. I know it meant a lot to Hope.” “You’re welcome. Thank you for inviting me. Have a good weekend, Lorelei, and I’ll see you on Monday.” “Good night, Jack.”

I shut the door and leaned against it. The thought of him going on a date tomorrow night made me sick and it made me angry. I should have been the one he was taking on a date, but I blew that chance.

Chapter Forty-Seven Lorelei It was Monday morning and the same routine started all over again. Walking into Jack’s office, I set down his coffee cup. “Good morning, Lorelei. How was your weekend?” “It was great. Hope and I did some shopping. We had a great time,” I lied. I wasn’t about to tell him that I stayed in all weekend and wallowed in self-pity. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.” “How was your date?” “It was good. We had a great time.” My blood was boiling because I was positive he slept with her. The thought of him with another woman made me want to crawl in a corner and hide. I couldn’t help the next words that flew out of my mouth. “Do you need me to run to the store and buy you some more condoms?” He chuckled. “No. That’s okay. I’m still set from when you bought me the ten boxes.” “Should I send this woman some flowers from you?” “No. Why would I send her flowers?” “I don’t know. I was just asking. Usually, if a date goes great, the guy sends flowers.” “He does?” “Well, at least they do in the movies.” He laughed. “I don’t need you to do any of those things, but when the stores open, I do need you to make a run to Banana Republic. I’ll make a list of the things I need you to pick up.” “Okay. By the way, did your mother ever return from Paris?” “She decided she was going to stay a couple of extra weeks. It seems she has met someone there.” “Good for her.” I nodded my head and walked out of his office.

A couple of hours later, Stella called. “Hello.” “Hey, you. So don’t hate me.” “What did you do?” I sighed. “Promise me you won’t hate me first.” “I won’t hate you, Stella.” “So, I may have logged into your Match account and made a few tweaks to your profile.” “WHAT! Why would you do that and how did you know my password?” “You use the same password for everything. Just listen. This guy came up who I think is perfect for you.” “Go on.” “He’s twenty-eight and has never been married. He’s in business management, and wait for the best part: he loves kids. I think you should at least meet him, Lorelei.” “I don’t know, Stella,” I whined. “Listen, you said it was time to get out into the dating world. So here’s your opportunity. He seems like a great guy. Fun and outgoing.” “How do you know this?” “We may have talked online a bit and I pretended I was you.” “STELLA!” “He can’t wait to meet you on Friday night.” “OH MY GOD! You set up a date?” “Yeah, I did. Remember, don’t hate me. I love you and you’re like my sister.” I couldn’t believe she set up a date for me with a random stranger online. But then again, that was Stella. I didn’t know if I could go through with it. “I don’t know, Stella. I’m scared.” “He’s such a romantic. He wants to meet on the top deck of the Empire State Building. Somewhere public where there’s a lot of people, so you’ll feel more comfortable. I told him that was very sweet of

him.” “Thanks. I appreciate you telling him that. How the fuck will I know who I’m looking for? And by the way, what does this guy look like?” “He’ll be the tall, dark and handsome one holding a single red rose. I already told him yes, so you’re meeting at eight o’clock. The good thing is if you don’t like him or don’t click, you can leave. You don’t have to go to dinner or anything. You can go home and have some time to yourself. Hope is spending the night at my place. Sebastian will be out of town at a bachelor party, so she and I can have a girls’ night together.” If I didn’t take this chance now, I might never. If Jack could go on a date, then so could I. There was no use sitting around and pining for the man that made it very clear to me that we were just friends. “Fine. I’ll go. What’s this guy’s name?” “Yippee! I knew you would. His name is Aiden.” After hanging up with Stella, I walked into Jack’s office. I was hoping that telling him I was going on a date would infuriate him, but I was wrong. “It seems I have a date Friday night.” He looked up at me and smiled. “Good for you, Lorelei. Do I need to have this guy checked out for you?” “No. That’s okay, Jack.” “If you change your mind, let me know.” He winked. Him and his damn winks. They sent flutters to my most sensitive areas. **** My belly was a nervous wreck as I slipped into my black, spaghetti-strap slim-fit dress. I threw some curls at the ends of my hair and lightly sprayed it. “Well, how do I look?” I asked Hope, who was sitting on my bed. “You look beautiful, Mommy. Where are you going again?” “Just out with a friend. No big deal.” “Are you going out with Jack?” she asked. “No, baby. I’m not going out with Jack.”

“When can I see him again?” “I’ll give him a call over the weekend and see if he wants to hang out.” “Okay.” She smiled. I heard the door open, and when I walked out of the bedroom, Stella stopped dead in her tracks. “Ah. Look at you. You’re gorgeous. Aiden isn’t going to know what hit him.” “Thanks. I’m still mad at you.” “No, you’re not. Now get your shoes on and get out of here. You don’t want to be late or the poor guy will think you stood him up.” I gave Hope a hug and kiss goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have fun with Auntie Stella tonight.” “I will. She’s going to give me a mani/pedi and then teach me the do’s and don’t’s of buying a designer handbag.” I looked at Stella and rolled my eyes before giving her a kiss on the cheek. **** I made it to the Empire State Building at approximately seven fifty-five. Taking the elevator up to the top deck, I felt like I was going to throw up. My stomach was twisted and I could feel anxiety kicking in. I took in slow, deep breaths to try and calm myself down. It was ridiculous to be this nervous. He was just another person. We were just two people meeting for the first time. I met people every day and this was no different. So what if he was of the male species? Like Stella said, if I didn’t like him or we didn’t click right away, I could leave. No harm. We’d just part ways as if we had never met. The elevator doors opened, and as I made my way out with the crowd of people, I looked around for the tall, dark, and handsome man with the single red rose. Maybe he stood me up. I could only hope. Suddenly, I heard a low voice from behind. “Hello, Lorelei.” I stood frozen in place for a second before turning around. My heart was racing at the speed of light. When I turned around and stared at the man holding a single red rose, I gasped. “Jack?” I cocked my head. “What are you—” “I’m your date for tonight and, hopefully, every night.” He smiled. Tears started to fill my eyes. “How did you—”

He handed me the red rose and then ran his thumb across my cheek. “I was able to do this with the help of Stella.” I gulped. “So you’re Aiden? The twenty-eight-year-old business management guy who loves kids?” “Yeah. Stella came up with that. Are you mad?” “No. Of course not. I’m relieved you’re not a stranger, but I don’t understand.” “The only thing you need to understand right now, at this moment, is that I want to be with you and you only.” His blue eyes stared into mine. “But you said you just wanted to be friends and you were just on a date.” “I know what I said, but it was all part of the plan, and I never went on any dates. I only led you to believe that so this plan would work.” “Why did you go through all of this?” “Because, Lorelei, I wanted us to start over. A brand new beginning. I had already hurt you once and you made that very clear to me. But I promise, if you give me another chance, I’ll never hurt you again. That night I left the penthouse, the night Hope got sick, I went out with someone but only to dinner. After we finished eating, I sent her home and I went and sat in a bar because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. You’re on my mind 24/7 and when I’m not with you, I feel alone. For the first time in my life, I feel alone. All I’m asking is for a second chance to show you that I can be your Prince Charming because, Lorelei, you’re my Cinderella.” He smiled as our eyes stayed locked on each other. A tear fell from my eye and he gently wiped it away with his thumb. I was stunned but happy beyond words. “Hi, I’m Lorelei Flynn.” I smiled. “Hello, Miss Flynn. I’m Jack Sutton.” “It’s nice to meet you, Jack. I think you should know that if you want a relationship with me, I have a seven-year-old daughter and her name is Hope.” “You’re in luck because I just so happen to love kids.”

Chapter Forty-Eight Jack She wrapped her arms around my neck as I pulled her into me. Holding her in my arms felt so good and so right. I broke our embrace and softly brushed my lips against hers, reclaiming what was mine once again. “So does this mean you’ll date me?” I asked. “Yes, Jack, I’d love to date you.” “Thank you, Lorelei. You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.” I held her tight. “Come on; let’s get out of here.” “Where are we going?” “You’ll see.” I smiled as I kissed her again and we stepped onto the elevator. Tony pulled up to The Trump and Lorelei looked at me. “A hotel on our first date?” I chuckled. “Actually, I made reservations for dinner at the restaurant in there called Jean Georges.” “Oh. I thought maybe you booked a suite because I’ll have you know that I don’t put out on the first date.” “And I, being the gentlemen that I am, would never have expected you to.” As soon as we were seated inside the restaurant, the blonde-haired waitress walked over. “Good evening. Welcome to Jean Georges. May I start you off with a drink?” “We’ll have a bottle of your finest champagne, please.” “Very good, sir.” She smiled. “Are you celebrating something special tonight?” “Yes, as a matter of fact, we are. We’re celebrating the first night of a beautiful relationship.” I reached across the table and placed my hand on Lorelei’s. “Aw, that’s so sweet. I’ll get that champagne right over to you.” When the champagne arrived, I held up my glass to Lorelei.

“To the new beginning of us. I adore you, Lorelei, and I plan on making you a very happy woman.” “I adore you too, Jack, and you’ve already made me the happiest woman alive.” She brought her glass to mine. What Lorelei didn’t know was that I did indeed book a suite. I didn’t plan on having sex with her because I wanted to wait until she was ready. But I did plan on spending the night with her and holding her in my arms. That would be good enough for me right now. After we finished eating, I got up from the booth and held out my hand to her. Once we entered the lobby of the hotel, I stopped and placed my hands on her waist. “Listen, I did reserve a suite but not for sex. You need to trust me about that. All I want is to spend the night with you. No sex included. Just the two of us holding each other all night and talking. I will not pressure you into anything you don’t want to do.” “Couldn’t we have done that at your penthouse?” She smiled. “We could have, but I thought the suite was a little more on the romantic side. Plus, we’ll be spending a lot of time at my place anyway.” “Oh. Is that so, Mr. Sutton?” I pulled her closer to me and kissed her lips. “Yes. That is so, Miss Flynn.” “Okay. The suite it is.” She smiled. We took the elevator up to the top floor and stepped inside the suite, which was filled with arrangements of red roses, champagne, and chocolate-dipped strawberries. “This place is so beautiful,” Lorelei spoke as she smelled the roses sitting on the counter. “Not as beautiful as you are.” I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind and kissed her cheek. “Can I pour you a glass of champagne?” I asked. “No. But you can take me into the bedroom and make love to me,” she spoke as she turned and faced me. “Are you serious? You aren’t toying with me, are you?” She let out a light laugh. “No, Jack. I’m not toying with you. I want nothing more than to feel you inside me.” “I thought you don’t put out on the first date.”

“I usually don’t. But you’re the exception to my rule.” I growled as I picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Laying her down on the bed, I kicked off my shoes and stripped out of my shirt. Hovering over her, I ran the back of my hand down her cheek. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed this, missed us.” “I do have an idea because I did too.” My lips swept over her neck as my hand took its place between her thighs and roamed up her dress until my fingers hit the fabric of her panties. I could already feel the wetness that escaped her, which sent my cock into a frenzy. Reaching up further, I successfully pulled her panties down with one hand and let my fingers roam her slick area. Moans escaped both of us when I dipped my finger inside her. “God, I’ve missed this,” I moaned. “Me too, Jack. Me too.” Our lips tangled with each other, moving in sync as our tongues met and danced with the same rhythm. I dipped in another finger. She gasped as I explored her. She threw back her head and my tongue slid across her soft skin. Her breathing became shallow and her moans grew louder. “Are you going to come, baby?” “Yes, don’t stop, Jack. Don’t stop.” “I’m never going to stop making you feel good.” One final moan and I felt the wetness pour against my fingers. “That’s it. Come for me. Show me how good I make you feel.” Once she came down from her orgasm, I stood up and quickly and took off my pants. Out of breath, Lorelei stood up in front of me as I unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the ground. Unhooking her strapless bra, I tossed it to the side as my hands placed a firm grip on her beautiful round breasts. As I took her breast in my mouth, I placed my arm around her lower back and lowered her onto the bed. My mouth explored her breasts, taking each of her hardened nipples in my mouth before kissing her down her torso until I reached her pussy. My mouth devoured her slowly and seductively. My tongue flickered at her clit, sending her body into a frenzy. I teased her with my tongue, circling it around her most sensitive spot until she gave way to another orgasm. “Jesus, Jack. Oh my God,” she moaned. I smiled as I hovered over her. “I have to put on a condom.” I kissed her lips.

As I started to get up, she stopped me. “No condoms. Please. I want to feel your natural skin against mine.” “Are you sure, baby? I won’t be able to come inside you.” “Yes, you can. I’m on the pill. I have been for years.” I arched my brow at her in surprise. “You never told me you were on the pill.” “I thought you liked condoms, so I didn’t say anything.” “God, Lorelei, I hate those damn things. But I use them for protection against all sorts of things.” “I know. But you don’t have to worry about that with me, now, do you?” She smiled. “No, I don’t. You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me again.” I kissed the tip of her nose. My hard cock was already between her legs and I didn’t hesitate to thrust inside her. The warmth enveloped around me as I let out a moan of pure pleasure. Thrusting in and out of her repeatedly, the pressure began to build for both of us. Her hands rested on my back as her nails dug into my skin while she orgasmed once again. I couldn’t hold back anymore as I thrust deep inside, slowing my rhythm as I spilled every last drop inside of her. “Fuck, Lorelei. Oh fuck!” I moaned from pure pleasure. When I collapsed on top of her, I could feel her heart beating as rapidly as mine was. I didn’t want to move because I couldn’t bear to let her go, so I just lay there on top of her until our breathing returned to normal and our heart rates slowed down. “I’m afraid I can’t move. You seemed to have paralyzed me.” I smirked as I looked at her smiling face. “Funny, I seem to feel the same way.” I managed to find the strength to pull out of her and roll onto my back. Grabbing her hand, I brought it up to my lips. “I’m in love with you, Lorelei.” I turned my head and looked at her. A bright smile crossed her lips. “I’m in love with you too, Jack.” She brought her other hand up to my cheek. “Really?” “Yes. I have been. I just didn’t want to admit it because I was scared.” “You don’t have to be scared again, baby, because I’m always going to make you feel safe, wanted,

and loved. I love you and I will always love you.” Her beautiful eyes stared into mine as she leaned closer to me and kissed my lips. I love you too, Jack.” Her hand ran down my cheek. Would you like to take a nice hot bath together?” I asked. “I would love to.” I climbed off the bed and walked into the bathroom to start the bath water. Lorelei poured us some champagne and brought the glasses into the bathroom.

Chapter Forty-Nine Lorelei Jack climbed into the tub first and held out his hand to me. Placing my hand in his, I climbed in and laid my back against his muscular chest. He wrapped one arm around me while he handed me a glass of champagne. “I have a question for you. It’s something that’s been bothering me for a while.” “What is it, baby? You can ask me anything.” “Who was that woman you were with in Paris?” “What woman?” “I saw a picture of the two of you online on the balcony of your hotel room. You were both drinking coffee and wearing robes.” “That was my cousin, Meredith. She was at fashion week and her room was next to mine. She stepped out the door in the morning to grab the newspaper and the door shut. She knocked on my door because our rooms were joined and we just ended up having coffee and talking. Did you think I slept with her?” “Well, yeah. What would you think if you saw a picture of me with some guy in our robes on the balcony?” “True. Why didn’t you ask me about her when you saw the picture?” “Because it was none of my business. We hadn’t even slept together at that point.” “I’m sorry you thought that and carried that question around with you all this time. God, what you must have thought of me.” I laughed. “I thought some pretty bad things about you.” “I’m sure you did. So, when are we going to tell Hope that we’re dating?” “We can tell her tomorrow. She misses you, Jack. She asked today when she could see you again and I told her that I’d give you a call to see if you wanted to hang out over the weekend.” “I want to hang out with the both of you every day. I love your little girl, Lorelei. I can honestly say that both of you have changed my life.” “And you’ve changed our lives, Jack.”

“I want to take you and Hope on a trip.” He softly stroked my arm. “Where?” “Disney World.” I looked back at him in shock. “You do realize that place is crawling with children, right?” He chuckled. “Yes, I realize that. Hope would love it. Especially Cinderella’s castle. I’ve never been there. Our vacations growing up always consisted of Hawaii or the Virgin Islands. Monaco, Aruba, Bahamas.” “Okay.” I laughed. “That really sounds like an amazing childhood.” “It was okay. But I never got to experience Disney World like most kids. So, I want to go.” “I’ve always wanted to take Hope there, but I could never afford it.” “Well, now you don’t have to worry about that. I was looking things up online and did you know you can have breakfast with the princesses? Hope would love that.” “And do you know that you have to book that at least a year in advance?” I smiled as I turned around and straddled him. He brought his hand up and pushed my hair behind my ear. “Don’t you worry about that. Hope will have breakfast with the princesses. I will make sure of it.” I smiled as I brought my lips to his. “I know you will.” **** The next morning, Jack and I made love a couple of times before going down for breakfast. I pulled my phone from my purse and noticed a text message from Stella. “No need to thank me. You’re welcome and I love you too!” I smiled and showed the text message to Jack. “When did the two of you plan all of this and how?” “I ran into Stella at Bloomingdale’s when I was picking up my suit. She was looking for a sweater for Sebastian. We got to talking and then we went and had coffee. We planned it from there.” He winked. We climbed into the limo and headed back to the apartment, where we waited for Stella to bring home Hope. As soon as she walked through the door, she saw Jack and ran to him. “Jack! What are you doing here?”

“Your mom told me you wanted to hang out, so here I am.” She giggled as he tapped her on the nose. “I’m going to go now.” Stella winked at both of us. “Call me later, Lorelei.” “I will. Thank you again.” I walked over and hugged her. When she left, we sat Hope down on the couch. “There’s something we need to tell you, Hope,” I said as I ran my hand down her hair. “I hope it’s that you two are dating!” she exclaimed in excitement. “We are, Hope,” Jack responded with a smile. “YES! I knew it. I knew you’d never give up, Jack.” We both looked at her in shock. “What do you mean?” he asked her. She turned to him and placed both of her small hands on his cheeks. “You are Prince Charming, Jack, and Prince Charming never gave up.” Not only did tears form in my eyes, but Jack’s became watery as well. He pulled her into him and gave her a tight hug. “You are one special little girl. How would you like to go to Disney World?” Hope’s eyes widened as she looked at me and then back at Jack. “Are you being serious, Jack? Because it’s not nice to play with a girl’s emotions.” Jack and I both busted out into laughter at the same time. “I’m very serious, Hope Flynn, and I would never play with a girl’s emotions.” “YES! When. When. When are we going?” “I was thinking in a couple of weeks, right after Thanksgiving.” “You’re the best, Jack. Can we go, Mommy? Please!” “Of course we can go.” I smiled as I tickled her. “Then I guess I better start booking this trip,” Jack said. “You don’t want your PA to handle it for you?”

“Nah. This is something I want to do all on my own.” He smiled as he leaned over and kissed me.

Chapter Fifty Jack Thanksgiving was right around the corner and so was our trip to Disney World. I spent the weekends at Lorelei’s apartment, but during the week, I would pick her and Hope up. We’d drive Hope to school, stop at Starbucks together for our morning coffee, and then we headed into the office together. We even went out with Garrett and Coco and Stella and Sebastian. Coco and I convinced our mother that it was time for her to retire. We told her that if she didn’t, we’d both be leaving the company and starting something of our own, which I still wanted to do, but instead, we decided that it would be in the best interest of the company to incorporate a division called Lorelei Designs. With our connections and help, Lorelei’s clothes would be in stores across the world. The bad thing about that was Lorelei was no longer going to be able to be my PA. Garrett sighed as he sat down across from my desk. “Here we go again, Jack.” “Things will be different this time, Garrett. Clearly, you can see that I’m a changed man.” I winked. Lorelei sat next to him and laughed. “When you have a list of potential candidates, I would like to sit in on the interviews,” she spoke. “That way, I can help you decide who will and won’t be a good fit for Jack.” “Sounds like a good idea to me.” Garrett smiled. “I’ll get to working on some interviews and I’ll let you know.” We spent Thanksgiving at Lorelei’s parents’ house. Coco and Garrett spent the holiday with Garrett’s family in Tribeca. As for my mother, she flew back to Paris. She told us that since she was retiring from the business, she would probably be moving there since that was where Jacque was. That was music to my ears. I really just wanted her to be happy and if Jacque made her happy, that made me and Coco happy. **** We arrived at the Grand Floridian and were escorted to the two bedroom suite I reserved us. Two bedrooms was a must if Lorelei and I wanted alone time together. The expression of happiness that overtook Hope was the best thing I’d ever seen. She was so happy and excited to be at Disney World. I had a surprise for her and it was something that even Lorelei didn’t know about. As we were settling in our room, there was a knock on the door.

“Hope, can you answer that please?” I asked. “I can get it, Jack,” Lorelei spoke. “No, baby. Let her answer it.” I smiled. “What did you do?” she asked, narrowing her eye at me. “Nothing.” Hope opened the door and shrieked when she saw Cinderella standing there. “Hello, little princess. Are you Hope?” “Yes.” I swear she was going to cry. “I’m Cinderella. It’s so nice to make your acquaintance. I’m here to escort you to lunch and then spend some time with you and show you around my castle.” She held out her hand to her. Hope stood there, frozen for a moment, and then turned to me and Lorelei with her mouth open, only no words were coming out. “Go with Cinderella, Hope. We’ll be right behind you.” I gave her a smile. I took hold of Lorelei’s hand, and as we followed behind them down the hall, Lorelei whispered in my ear. “How the hell did you manage that? Oh my God, Jack. Did you see the look on her face?” “I made a few calls. No big deal. And yes, I thought for a minute she was going to pass out.” “How much did that cost you?” “You don’t want to know, baby. You don’t want to know.” She hooked her arm around me and kissed my cheek. There was no price too high for the happiness of my girls. We had a private lunch with Cinderella and, after, she showed us around her castle. It was a wonderful trip and well worth every penny spent. ****

Three Months Later

Christmas had come and gone and it was the best Christmas holiday that I’d ever spent in my entire life. Spring was coming and Lorelei’s birthday was today. “Where are we going?” she asked as we sat in the back seat of the limo. “You’ll see when we get there.” I brought her hand up to my lips and softly kissed it. Tony pulled up to the curb to 110 E. 64th Street and Lorelei looked out the window. “What are we doing here?” “You’ll see.” I smiled as I grabbed her hand and the three of us climbed out of the limo. We stepped through the black wrought-iron gates and through the beautiful glass doors that led into a 6,300 square-foot home. “Wow. This is beautiful. Who lives here?” Lorelei asked as she looked around the foyer. “I’m hoping we will. The three of us.” She laughed and I frowned. “What do you mean, Jack?” “Happy birthday, baby.” Her eyes grew wide as she looked at me. I took hold of both her hands. “I love you so much, Lorelei, and I want this to be our home. But only if you like it. Come on; I’ve been dying to show you this place.” “Jack, I don’t know what to say.” “Mommy, come look at this. It has an elevator!” Hope exclaimed. “I’ll be right there, baby.” I took Lorelei on a tour of the six-story townhome. The expression on her face filled me with joy as she stepped into each room. Hope ran through the house as if she had already made it her castle. “Do you like it, Lorelei?” “I love it, Jack.” She threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. “I love you! I can’t believe you did this.” “Does that mean you’ll say yes to living here?” “Yes. Yes. Yes!” she spoke with excitement. I reached down and high-fived Hope. Lorelei narrowed her eyes at both of us.

“Did she already know about this?” “Yes, Mommy, I did. Jack brought me here the other day. He explained to me that if you said you liked it, then that means I would have to switch schools, which is okay with me! I love this house. I already picked out my bedroom.” “It’s perfect, Jack.” Elaine, the realtor stepped inside the home and gave me a smile. “Well, Mr. Sutton?” “She loves it, Elaine. She absolutely loves it.” “Excellent. All I need is your signature on this line and the house is yours.” I took the papers from her and signed them on the kitchen counter. “Welcome to your new home.” Later that evening, I had another surprise for Lorelei. We dropped Hope off at her parents’ house and then I took her to the top floor of the Empire State Building. “Why are we back here?” Lorelei asked. “Why do you have to ask so many questions? Just go with the flow, baby. Just go with the flow.” I kissed her lips. When we stepped off the elevator, I took Lorelei off to the corner to look out at the brightly lit city. “It’s so beautiful up here,” she spoke. “Not as beautiful as you are.” I reached inside my pocket and held the small blue box behind my back. “Do you believe in soulmates, Lorelei?” I asked. “Yes. You are my soulmate, Jack.” “Do you believe in love at first sight?” “Yes.” She smiled. “Why are you asking me that?” I took hold of her hand. “Because it was love at first sight when I saw you. I had never seen a more beautiful woman in my entire life. You are my soulmate and you’re the only person I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with.” “Oh, Jack.” Her eyes started to fill with tears.

“I love you so much, baby. I never knew it was possible to love someone so much. You opened up a part of me that I never knew existed, and for that, I thank you. You and Hope make my life complete and you make me whole. You, Lorelei Flynn, are the air I breathe. Without you, there would be no breath left in me.” I got down on one knee and held out the opened box in front of her. She placed her right hand over her mouth as I held her left hand. “Will you marry me, Lorelei?” By this time, tears were streaming down her face as she nodded her head. “Is that a yes?” I laughed. “YES, Jack. Yes, I will marry you.” I slipped the two-carat white gold ring on her finger, kissed it, and stood up, hugging her as tightly as I could. “I love you so much and I promise to give you the world.” “I love you too and you’ve already given me the world, Jack.” The patrons on the top deck started to clap and congratulated us as we stepped onto the elevator.

Chapter Fifty-One Lorelei Six Months Later It was a perfect September day. Not only weather-wise, but because it was also my wedding day. These past six months were extremely busy with moving into the new house, designing a wedding dress, and planning the perfect wedding. “Are you nervous?” Stella asked as she fixed my veil. “Just a bit. Just think; you’ll be doing this too in less than a year.” “I know. I can’t wait. It’s about time Sebastian came to his senses and proposed.” My mom walked into the room with Hope and her eyes filled with tears. “Mom. Don’t. I can’t have you breaking down on my wedding day.” She walked over to me and took hold of my hand. “These are tears of happiness and you’re my daughter and I can cry if I want to.” She smiled. Grace, the wedding planner, walked into the room and told us it was time to start lining up for the ceremony. We were having a sunset ceremony and reception at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, which included over five hundred guests. As I stood behind the doors at the edge of the white runner, Nick gave my hand a squeeze. “He’s a good man, Lorelei.” “I know he is.” I laid my head lightly on his shoulder. The music started to play and Nick walked me down the aisle to my soon-to-be husband. He was the only person I saw as I slowly made my way to him. He looked so handsome and sexy in his black tuxedo and I couldn’t wait to become his wife. “You look so beautiful,” he whispered as he took my hand from Nick. “So do you.” The ceremony was perfect, right down to Hope handing Jack my wedding ring. Once the ceremony ended, we headed to the reception, where we greeted our guests, drank, ate amazing food, and danced the night away. As Jack and I were talking to Garrett and Coco, Hope came up and pulled on Jack’s tuxedo.

“What is it, baby?” he asked as he knelt down. “I have a question.” “Okay. Shoot.” “Can I call you Daddy instead of Jack now?” I gulped and Coco placed her hand on my arm. “I would love nothing more than for you to call me Daddy, Hope.” He pulled her into him and hugged her while looking up at me with tears in his eyes. Coco and I both wiped the tears that fell down our faces. Hope broke their embrace and placed her hands on each side of his face. “I love you, Daddy.” “I love you too, baby.” He picked her up and held her tightly against him. “Mommy, why are you crying?” she asked. “I’m just so happy, Hope. That’s all.” “Me too. We’re a real family now.” She smiled. **** Jack and I spent our honeymoon in Hawaii. As we were sitting on the beach, enjoying the sun and sipping on fruity drinks, he looked over at me. “I think I want a baby, Lorelei.” “Huh?” I looked at him in shock. “I think you’ve had too much to drink.” I laughed. “I’m serious. I think we should give Hope a sibling.” “Right now? We’ve been married three days, sweetheart.” “I know. But think about it. How awesome would it be to have a baby in the house?” “I think it would be amazing, but I’m not ready to have another baby yet.” He let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Me either. I was just trying to find out how you felt about it. I saw the way you were looking at those baby clothes in that shop yesterday.” “Jack, I love baby clothes, but it doesn’t mean I’m looking to have one right now.” He leaned over and kissed me. “Promise me something.”

“Anything.” “That we can have one within the next couple of years.” “That sounds perfect.” I smiled as we continued our kiss.

Epilogue Jack “Mom, Dad, it came!” Hope ran into the house waving an envelope in the air. “Open it!” I exclaimed. She ripped open the envelope and took out the folded piece of paper. “I got in!” She jumped up and down. “We knew you would, baby.” Lorelei hugged her. “Congratulations, Hope.” “Thanks, Dad. I can’t believe I’m actually going to be studying at Parsons next fall.” “You have your mother’s talent, sweetheart. We never doubted for a second they’d turn you down.” “I have to go call Graham. I’ll see you guys later.” Lorelei walked over and wrapped her arms around me. “I am so happy she’s staying in New York.” “Me too, baby. And who is Graham?” I asked. “Her new boyfriend.” “Since when? What happened to Jace?” “Where have you been, Jack? Jace was yesterday’s boyfriend. Graham is today’s.” She laughed. “Why haven’t I met this boy yet?” “In due time, darling.” “You know I don’t like Hope dating all these boys. It makes me nervous.” “Well, you better get over it now because you still have to go through it with your other two daughters.” I sighed. “I’ll never get used to it, Lorelei.” And this was my life. Am I complaining? Hell no. I loved my girls more than life itself. Lorelei’s line of clothing took off and had expanded from women’s and girls’ to a clothing line for boys and babies. Her career quickly took off and I was so proud of her. The magazine portion of the company was still on top

and I was proud to say that I’d had the same PA since I replaced Lorelei. Ten years ago, I never would have imagined myself being a happily married man to the woman of my dreams and the father to three incredibly beautiful daughters, all whom look exactly like their mother. Hope was now seventeen, Lexi was eight, and Alyssa was six. Our perfect family of five was complete. The day Lorelei Flynn spilled coffee on me at Starbucks was the day that changed my life forever. A day that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. I walked into the kitchen, where Lorelei was cooking dinner with Madeline. Lexi and Alyssa came running in, fighting with each other. “You’re stupid!” Lexi said to Alyssa. “You’re stupid!” Alyssa replied. “Girls, nobody is stupid and that’s not nice.” They both ran around me, trying to get at each other. Hope walked in and got into the mix by chasing the other two girls around the kitchen and then asked Lorelei if she could get on birth control. I almost had a heart attack. Between the younger girls running around screaming and Hope wanting to get on birth control, Lorelei sensed my stress level rising through the roof. She walked over, wrapped her loving arms around me, and sighed. “I’m pregnant again, Jack.” I smiled as I held her. And there you have it. My crazy perfect family of five was going to turn into a crazy perfect family of six. On the bright side, maybe this one would be a boy.



Books by Sandi Lynn If you haven’t already done so, please check out my other books. Escape from reality and into the world of romance. I’ll take you on a journey of love, pain, heartache, and happily ever afters.

Millionaires: The Forever Series (Forever Black, Forever You, Forever Us, Being Julia, Collin, A Forever Christmas, A Forever Family) Love, Lust & A Millionaire (Wyatt Brothers, Book 1) Love, Lust & Liam (Wyatt Brothers, Book 2) His Proposed Deal Lie Next To Me (A Millionaire’s Love, Book 1) When I Lie with You ( A Millionaire’s Love, Book 2) A Love Called Simon Then You Happened The Seduction of Alex Parker Something About Lorelei One Night In London The Exception Corporate A$$ A Beautiful Sight The Negotiation Defense

Second Chance Love: Remembering You She Writes Love Love In Between (Love Series, Book 1) The Upside of Love (Love Series, Book 2)

Sports: Lightning

About the Author Sandi Lynn is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who spends all her days writing. She published her first novel, Forever Black, in February 2013 and hasn’t stopped writing since. Her addictions are shopping, going to the gym, romance novels, coffee, chocolate, margaritas, and giving readers an escape to another world. Please come connect with her at: www.facebook.com/Sandi.Lynn.Author www.twitter.com/SandilynnWriter www.authorsandilynn.com www.pinterest.com/sandilynnWriter www.instagram.com/sandilynnauthor https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6089757.Sandi_Lynn