"I can do this," Felicity whispered as she stood at the foot of the steps leading up to the Art Institute of Chicago. The bronze lion, now tinted green, stood a few feet from her, staring stoically out at the street before it. She climbed the steps, her heart pounding.She couldn't believe she was herewell, at least here as a worker of sorts and not a visitor here to admire the pieces. Sabine had called her early this morning, asking if she wanted to spend a few hours giving tours to exclusive art patrons who were interested in private viewings of some of the currently closed European galleries. Felicity had jumped at the chance. It was huge to get asked to provide tours to these upper-end donors who gave money to the major museums. It would part of her duties if she ever became a curator. Donors liked to have face time with the top staff at museums and institutes and get special treatment, since they donated a lot of money to keep the exhibits open. And it was a joy for the staff to
Two weeks. Somehow Felicity had survived fourteen long days without Jared. She timed her work at the gallery to avoid any meetings with the Worthingtons in case Jared was there. She'd not gone back to her old apartment, either. Thad had sent men to pack her things up and put most of them in a storage facility until she found a permanent place to live for the rest of the semester. Since then, she'd hidden from the world except to go to classes. At first she'd expected Jared to be there, waiting to see her. It was something she feared and hoped for at the same time. But he was never there.Part of her knew logically that she should be grateful he'd accepted the breakup and that he was leaving her alone so she could adjust. But her heart protested. It wanted him to fight for her, to seek her out, and it demanded that she give in, not push him away.The door chime on the hotel suite broke her loose from her dark thoughts. She rushed to the door, knowing who would be there.Layla stood i
A tall, well-dressed man with his back to her. Just beyond him stood Thad, who met her gaze and said something to the man, who turned. It was Jared. His eyes fixed on her, his hands in his pockets. He looked dangerous with a heavy shadow of stubble, and his full lips were set in a determined line. The man had that brooding, sexy expression down to perfection.Jared. My Jared. Her heart was bleeding, but her soul was shaking off its dust and starting to sing.Don't go to him, don'tHer feet moved at the same time his did. When they were only a few feet apart, Felicity held her breath. Jared slid one hand out of his trouser pockets and reached for her, but he stopped short of her cheek. His eyes burned as he stared at her."Felicity." Her name escaped his lips like a prayer whispered fervently at midnight. "How are youand the baby?" His eyes stayed locked with hers."I'm okay. We're okay." She touched her abdomen. I miss you. "You?"A rueful smile crossed his lips. "Awful." He gl
Felicity stood in the nursery of her and Jared's apartment, putting away the naptime books and collecting the recently washed onesies to put away in the dresser. The crib was empty which meant Jared had taken the baby for her breakfast. The morning sun made the walls glow with light. It was a fine Saturday morning, and she had all day to spend just as she wished. After a long but enjoyable week at the Art Institute, she was glad it was the weekend. She smiled as she let her gaze drift from wall to wall. She'd painted stories that had made her childhood happy.There was a rotund yellow bear snoozing beneath a tree, a hive full of honey far out of his reach. The next wall showed a young girl perched on a window seat, white curtains billowing into her room. A distant star above a London skyline shimmered, and the silhouette of a boy who could fly covered part of the window, a tiny fairy above his shoulder. The next wall showed a boy wizard riding in a boat toward a distant castle, a dist
A man wearing only the bottom half of a Star Wars stormtrooper outfit streaked past Felicity Hart. She ducked out of the way as the half-naked frat boy whooped and bounced to the music, heading straight for a group of girls wearing white bunny ears who were gathered by the kitchen bar.So this is what grad student parties are like. Drinking, dancing, and insanity. Felicity shook her head, trying not to laugh. After growing up in a small town in Nebraska, she hadn't been prepared for college life in Chicago. Talk about culture shock. She was used to everyone in town knowing not just her name, but far too much about her personal life. Even after six years of living here, being surrounded by thousands of strangers who knew absolutely nothing about her, it was still both completely unsettling and oddly liberating.For the first four years of college and the past two years of her master's, she'd hidden in her little shell. But a few months ago she'd met Layla Russo, a graduate student j
It suddenly bothered her that she had no idea what Jared looked like. Being in his personal space like this was oddly intimate, and it felt strange seeing so much of the man without ever having seen his face. As an artist, all she did was think about what things and people looked like. Not being able to see the features or the build of the man who lived here was unsettling.Layla had said he was thirty and panty-melting hotbut not as hot as Tanner, of course. Layla wasn't the type of girl to really eye another man when she was happily in love, but she did appreciate beauty of the masculine variety. Felicity had laughed at the thought. She'd never seen any guy worth calling panty-melting hot, at least none outside of the movies. Layla said that Jared could give Jamie Dornan a run for his money on hotness and intensity.Layla's words came back to her, and she smiled as she could hear her friend's voice so clearly in her head. "You know what I'm talking about. Tanner is all sorts of bro
He selected a silk striped button-down nightshirt and a pair of boxers from his drawer and then returned to the bed. "Here." He held the clothes out to her."What are those for?" she asked. One elegant brow rose."You. You woke up clawing at your dress. Looks like it's too tight around your chest and it's restricting your breathing. Unless you have clothes of your own, you're changing into these so we can both get some sleep. Layla said you had some paper due tomorrow."When she opened her mouth, he could see the protest in her eyes and it amused him. Feisty little thing. And damned if he didn't picture all the things he'd like to do to that little mouth."Take the clothes and change in the bathroom. Now." He deepened his voice, and she hopped out of bed, snatching the clothes as she darted into the bathroom. She froze, then slowly looked over her shoulder at him."What?""My dressit's the laces in the back. I can't reach them."A sigh escaped him. "Come here." He crooked a fin
The cell phone alarm buzzed, a light musical chime accompanying the vibrations. Felicity fumbled on the nightstand for the phone and silenced it.6:00 a.m. Two and a half hours until her American Colonial Art paper was due. The urge to get up and get moving just wasn't there. The bed was warm, and she felt safe. The last thing she wanted to do was get up and think about a bunch of colonists and loyalists duking it out in the seventeen hundreds and how that had affected painting styles in Colonial America. Right now she wanted to stay where she was, cocooned in heat, and drift back to that pleasant place between being awake and dreaming.It was then she noticed the long, muscled arm curled around her waist, tucking her back against a hard, warm body.What theAnother rattling buzz. This time it came from the other side of the bed. She rolled over, careful not to wake the man in bed next to her. A wall of muscled male chest met her face. Her gaze raked up the bare torso of the man to
Felicity stood in the nursery of her and Jared's apartment, putting away the naptime books and collecting the recently washed onesies to put away in the dresser. The crib was empty which meant Jared had taken the baby for her breakfast. The morning sun made the walls glow with light. It was a fine Saturday morning, and she had all day to spend just as she wished. After a long but enjoyable week at the Art Institute, she was glad it was the weekend. She smiled as she let her gaze drift from wall to wall. She'd painted stories that had made her childhood happy.There was a rotund yellow bear snoozing beneath a tree, a hive full of honey far out of his reach. The next wall showed a young girl perched on a window seat, white curtains billowing into her room. A distant star above a London skyline shimmered, and the silhouette of a boy who could fly covered part of the window, a tiny fairy above his shoulder. The next wall showed a boy wizard riding in a boat toward a distant castle, a dist
A tall, well-dressed man with his back to her. Just beyond him stood Thad, who met her gaze and said something to the man, who turned. It was Jared. His eyes fixed on her, his hands in his pockets. He looked dangerous with a heavy shadow of stubble, and his full lips were set in a determined line. The man had that brooding, sexy expression down to perfection.Jared. My Jared. Her heart was bleeding, but her soul was shaking off its dust and starting to sing.Don't go to him, don'tHer feet moved at the same time his did. When they were only a few feet apart, Felicity held her breath. Jared slid one hand out of his trouser pockets and reached for her, but he stopped short of her cheek. His eyes burned as he stared at her."Felicity." Her name escaped his lips like a prayer whispered fervently at midnight. "How are youand the baby?" His eyes stayed locked with hers."I'm okay. We're okay." She touched her abdomen. I miss you. "You?"A rueful smile crossed his lips. "Awful." He gl
Two weeks. Somehow Felicity had survived fourteen long days without Jared. She timed her work at the gallery to avoid any meetings with the Worthingtons in case Jared was there. She'd not gone back to her old apartment, either. Thad had sent men to pack her things up and put most of them in a storage facility until she found a permanent place to live for the rest of the semester. Since then, she'd hidden from the world except to go to classes. At first she'd expected Jared to be there, waiting to see her. It was something she feared and hoped for at the same time. But he was never there.Part of her knew logically that she should be grateful he'd accepted the breakup and that he was leaving her alone so she could adjust. But her heart protested. It wanted him to fight for her, to seek her out, and it demanded that she give in, not push him away.The door chime on the hotel suite broke her loose from her dark thoughts. She rushed to the door, knowing who would be there.Layla stood i
"I can do this," Felicity whispered as she stood at the foot of the steps leading up to the Art Institute of Chicago. The bronze lion, now tinted green, stood a few feet from her, staring stoically out at the street before it. She climbed the steps, her heart pounding.She couldn't believe she was herewell, at least here as a worker of sorts and not a visitor here to admire the pieces. Sabine had called her early this morning, asking if she wanted to spend a few hours giving tours to exclusive art patrons who were interested in private viewings of some of the currently closed European galleries. Felicity had jumped at the chance. It was huge to get asked to provide tours to these upper-end donors who gave money to the major museums. It would part of her duties if she ever became a curator. Donors liked to have face time with the top staff at museums and institutes and get special treatment, since they donated a lot of money to keep the exhibits open. And it was a joy for the staff to
Felicity stood at the foot of the large bed in the hotel suite, a towel wrapped around her body and hair wet. Her skin was warm from the shower, but it hadn't erased the chill from within. She opened her bag on the bed and sifted through her clothes until she found underwear and slipped them on. Her hands paused as they touched the black T-shirt of Jared's. She lifted it to her face, burying her nose in the soft cotton again. It carried a hint of him, just enough to make her heart shudder. She slipped the shirt over her body and let the towel drop to the floor.A small flashing green dot on her cell phone caught her eye from where it lay a few inches away from her bag on the bed. She flipped it open and saw three missed calls from Layla and one from Jaredand a voicemail.I shouldn'tShe pressed the Play button and lifted it to her ear.Jared's voice, rough with pain that came through as he spoke and ripped her heart into even tinier pieces. "Princess, you need to come home to me,
Jared was on top of the world. The executed release of the lease sat on Pimms's desk, and the older attorney had conceded that his reaction that morning to Jared's news had been overly harsh."You are a damned sight better at your job than most people, and I don't want to lose you." His words had been music to Jared's ears.It was almost nine o'clock by the time Jared rode the elevator up to his apartment. He was going to order pizza, and he and Felicity were going to cuddle together on the couch and watch a movie, even a sappy one if she wanted to. There was still a tightness in his chest at the thought that he'd missed the doctor's appointment, but he vowed he wouldn't miss the next one. Felicity and the baby were his worldhe wasn't going to let either of them down.Humming softly, he unlocked his door and walked inside. The apartment was quiet. His briefcase slid off his shoulder, and he let it drop quietly onto the kitchen table. She must be asleep, the poor darling. He was goin
Felicity stared at the screen of her cell phone long after it went dark. Jared was going to get fired because of her relationship with him.It's my fault.Tears stung her eyes, but she held them at bay. She'd been a fool to think she and Jared were ready to become something more permanent. His career needed his full-time commitment, and a pregnant girlfriend was an unnecessary burden. She loved him with all of her heart, and she knew how much he cared about his job at the firm. It wasn't fair to destroy his future by staying here and complicating his life.She touched her belly, her heart shattering as she faced the only real option left. She needed to stay away from him long enough to let things cool between them. He could and would be a part of the baby's life, but he couldn't be a part of hers, not in the way she'd dreamed about."I have to fix this," she told the baby, even knowing it couldn't hear her, not yet.She texted Thad telling him she needed his help. He called her a
I'm going to be a father.Jared stared at the stack of papers in front of him, not really focusing on his work. He'd come into the office early since he hadn't returned last night. The whole baby-bomb-dropping had been a huge distraction. He couldn't stop thinking about the ultrasound video he'd seen last night. The little shape that vaguely looked like a gummy bear and the fluttering heart, that rapid sound. It had changed everything. Just like the night he'd walked into his room and seen Felicity asleep in his bed.I'm having a kid.Sure, it was years before he'd planned to be a dad, but now he couldn't stop smiling. The woman he loved like crazy was having a babywith him. He couldn't wait to tell his parents and Tanner."Jared."He glanced up from the Worthington closing documents and found his boss staring at him."Mr. Pimms. I was just reviewing""Jared, I need to see you in my office." Pimms's no-nonsense tone knocked the breath out of him.Whatever it was, he didn't thi
"I'm keeping it, Jared. I don't expect anything from you if you don't want to""What?" He froze and stared at her, mouth agape. "Of course I want to be a part of this. I just need a minute to adjust." He stopped pacing and faced her, his eyes heavy with concern and shock. "You've known for days," he muttered.She flinched at his tone and backed up, giving him space if he needed to pace again."I wanted to tell you at the hospital, but it was all too much, and then I didn't want to ruin the holiday. And then it all made sensethe throwing up because of morning sickness, not bad plane food or altitude. And I just needed to process and think and figure things out" God, she was rambling. Felicity wrung her hands together.Jared slowly walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of scotch from the cabinet. He poured one glass and glanced her way. "Sorry, princess, but I really need this." He downed the glass and rubbed his closed eyes with his thumb and forefinger. She collapsed on the