BAILEE “You’re being weird,” I muttered to Ben as he sat across from me at the dining room table. “You are weird.” He threw back, and the corner of my lips pulled up in amusement. There he was, back to himself. “Is this about the Range Rover because I came into some money recently, and I can
ALEXANDER The sign over the front of the building was chipped and outdated, something I hadn't noticed until now. I took a second to stare at it for a moment longer as I waited for Ben to get Brinley out of her car seat. He was a good uncle, but man, had it been satisfying to crack a few ‘Manny -
ALEXANDER “Oh, Alex!” My foster mother, Kaylee, exclaimed, and I tensed in surprise as she rounded the table to wrap her arms around me. It felt like a trap. It was a cold, cruel trap. “Love, let’s sit down and let him get his bearings. It’s been a long past few days, I’m sure.” My foster fathe
ALEXANDER “We are sorry, son. So sorry.” Nial said, and had I not gone through the training I did for the army, I would have cracked as he called me son. Instead, I just nodded. There was nothing more I could ask of them besides regret and an apology. Anything else seemed unreasonable. “How ca
BAILEE My lips pulled up into a smile as I was roused from my sleep to the feeling of gentle kisses being peppered along my shoulder blade. The rough scruff of Alex's beard slid against my skin so delicately that I shivered from the pleasure it sent through me. That had always been my weak spot,
BAILEE “Are you mad at me?” I asked, and Ben looked at me briefly before returning to Brinley. “No, why?” He asked, and my molars ground together at the two-word answer. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you won’t look at me, and every time you talk to or text me, it’s like pulling teeth to
BAILEE “What’s going on?” Alex said, his smile falling as I marched toward him, but I saw his chest rise more with his next breath. It had been too long for us. Too long since we touched. Too long since we connected. “There’s just too much going on right now,” I admitted, not knowing how to exp
BAILEE The sounds he made were primal, encouraging…delicious. “Alex,” I cried as I rocked back and forth carefully, not fully trusting his chair but needing a release that only he could provide. I should have had him take over the desk, but after the past few months, something about being on
BEN Bailee gently hit his arm with the back of her hand as she walked by him to a cabinet to grab a glass, and I laughed. “It was a week ago. Where is Brinley?” I asked, looking around for my adorable niece. She would probably love to hear my news with them. “She said she had to go find her train.
BEN I wasn’t sure when I decided to return to the city. Still, I found myself pulling up to Alex’s house five hours later, my back irritated from being in the car for so long, and only one text from the manager of the rehab center checking in and asking if they could get me anything since I missed
HAVEN “Hey, have you guys seen my…” Calum said as he trailed behind the security guard who stormed past us, but he stopped in our way when he saw my face. “You’re crying?” “Not now, Calum.” He ignored her, but I didn’t want to discuss this with him. We were just co-workers, not friends. He fli
BEN My hands were sweaty, and a chill went through me. I couldn’t trust anyone. Not my parents, staff, or even Haven after her repeated lies over the past week. If she had told the truth this time, I would be in serious trouble. My staff had access to everything that controlled my life. I wou
BEN My heart twisted in my chest. After seeing her picture, I knew in my gut that Siri was mine, but Haven had lied so many times that even hearing what I had wanted to hear, I wasn’t sure I could believe it. “There wasn’t anyone else?” I repeated. If there wasn’t anyone else, then Haven hadn’t
HAVEN “That’s not possible,” I said, shaking my head back and forth. This room was too small for us to hash this out now. I felt like I couldn’t breathe with Ben so close, and his body heat made me uncomfortably warm. “Look at me, Haven,” Ben demanded, and I ripped my eyes away from the stack o
HAVEN I had resented Benjamin Evans for many things over the years, but the feeling of dread that now bubbled in my gut when I drove to work was the cherry on top. This job was finally something I had outside of my home that I had worked hard for, and that made me happy, and he made me not want t
BEN “Haven, like your old assistant Haven?” Bailee asked, and I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “The one and only,” I grumbled in response, rubbing my temples as I tried to fight the headache that was rapidly coming on. “That’s great! Did you guys talk?” Bailee asked, sounding as excited
BEN “Bailee,” I answered, tucking the envelope under my arm as I swiped my key card and opened the door to my suite. “How are you feeling?” She had another baby on the way, a boy this time, but she had been having some stress-related complications that had worried everyone around her. Granted, sh