Luke POVRunning out on my own wedding had been the best decision I'd ever made. Almost two years later, I still didn't regret that decision. "Up, up," a soft voice cooed to me. I pulled my eyes from the gorgeous Caribbean sky and bent down, scooping my beautiful daughter into my arms. Arianne had been a surprise, but a very welcome surprise. Cat had always been the embodiment of home and family for me. When she told me she was pregnant, that feeling had finally become completely real. We were going to be a real family, and now, we were. I balanced Arianne on my hip and blew a raspberry on her cheek. She giggled and squirmed in my arms. "No. No." she laughed, pushing at me. "Let's get home. I'm sure your mom is waiting for us," I said. I walked along the rocky embankment we'd been playing on and headed back home. Since the Caribbean project had taken up so much of our time, Cat and I decided to move down here. It allowed us to be closer to the project an
**Cat POVThe Uber drove me down the neighborhood street that would soon be my street. My fiancé, Aaron, and I had just bought a house. He'd already gone to the house to start moving in.I would have loved to have been there with him, but I'd had to finish up my thesis for graduation.Looking out the Uber window, I drank in the cute tree-lined street, the adorable bungalow homes, and the well-kept front yards. It was such a cute neighborhood!I couldn't wait to make a life with Aaron here. I had a great new job lined up, and my life was really falling into place. I'd even finished my thesis early and had gotten a last-minute flight to my new hometown to surprise Aaron.The Uber driver dropped me off in front of the house. I'd only seen it in pictures before, and the sight of it made me gasp.I stared at my new home. It was so quaint and gorgeous. There were rose bushes in front of the covered porch and a fenced around the yard. It was perfect!Rolling my suitcases up t
**Cat POV"If you're having trouble with securing a room, I'd be more than happy to offer some assistance," the man said, flashing a gold credit card held between his forefinger and middle finger. My cheeks grew hot and I looked away. "No, that's fine. I've got it." I pulled out three other credit cards and laid them out on the concierge desk. "Hmm. You do seem like you can take care of yourself. I like that in a woman," he smirked, playfully. I bit my lip and glanced at him again, quickly. His eyes were still so deep and penetrating. I got the sense that he could see right through my clothing. It made my skin crawl a little, and my cheeks got even hotter. I imagined my eyes were red and puffy from my crying. It probably wasn't the most attractive look, but he didn't seem to care. "Thank you, Miss Walker. Your room is all set," the concierge said, handing my card back. Nodding, I packed my cards back in my wallet. It was a little embarrassing that some guy
I stepped away from Luke and went into my room. He stood outside. With a sultry smile, I glanced over my shoulder. "Are you going to come in?"Luke smirked and crossed the threshold. He slowly closed the door behind him. "What did you have in mind?" he teased, glancing at the bed. I shrugged and sat on the end of the bed, bending over to take my shoes off. "You said you wanted to make my night. How do you propose to do that?" Giggling, I tossed my shoes aside and bit my lower lip. Luke's eyes lit up, and he gave a soft growl. He stood at the end of the bed and cupped my face in his hands. "Oh, I've got a few ideas," he purred. He swooped down, pressing his lips to mine. I gasped and melted into the kiss, bringing my arms around his neck. Luke put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back on the bed, demanding, dominating. A thrill shot through me, and I didn't struggle against him. He nipped at my lower lip and I opened my mouth, allowing his tongue insi
There was no way I could go to work now. I clutched my chest, still breathing hard. The name "Luke" had been familiar, but I hadn't even considered it. I mean, what were the odds?Groaning, I leaned against the side of the hotel and forced myself to take deep, calming breaths. This was a nightmare. The only thing I had left was my job, and there was no way I could take it, now. I needed to pack up my bags and get the h*ll out of here. Resign before I even started. But I'd be giving up the best chance I had to build my career. I'd lose everything I had worked for and probably end up back with my mother. It made me shudder to even think it.Unfortunately, that was my only option. I turned to go back inside. "Catherine? Catherine Walker?" a female voice called. It sounded somewhat familiar. I froze, my spine going rigid. "Y-yes?" I asked, turning slowly. I didn't recognize the woman walking toward me. She had brown hair in a ponytail and horn-rimmed gl
"What the f*ck!?" I jumped out of my office chair and ran into the hallway. The woman stopped walking and smirked at me. Obviously, she knew exactly who I was. "What are you doing here!?" I snapped. "This is a free country, last I checked," the blonde said, tossing her hair back. "Is Aaron having you follow me? Well, you can tell him that I'm not playing his stupid games anymore!" I put my hands on my hips, glaring at her. She shrugged indifferently. "I don't even know who you are.""Right, and you didn't f*ck my fiance?" I snarled. Nearby office doors started opening and people poked their heads out. As if my outfit hadn't made enough of a first impression…The woman laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, that was you? I should have suspected, given your cheap taste." She nodded to my yellow sweater. My blood boiled under my skin, and I wanted to grab her and ring her neck. Not only had she been in my house with my fiance, but now she was walking around my
**Cat POVMy hand shook as I slid the chain back and pulled the door open. I hardly spared Luke a glance as I stepped back. He followed me in as I went back to my suitcases and kept packing. This time, I was less furious and actually folded my clothes. "I'd like to apologize for last night," Luke said. I paused, a half folded pair of slacks in my hands. "Oh."Luke chuckled. "I'm not sorry that it happened, but I do feel bad given the circumstances.""I don't understand," I said, retrunig to folding the pants. "There are some… complications in my life. Last night was a pleasant respite. Though, I should not have dragged you into it.""Trust me, you're not the only one that needed a respite last night." Luke laughed lightly. He shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed, just inches from where I was packing. "I do apologize for my part in making things awkward for you," he added. "Your part?" I asked, creasing my brow. I lifted my eyes from my clothes and
**Cat POVLuke had a town car pick us up outside the hotel. He'd even called for a personal driver. I felt awkward, sitting in the back seat with him. Thankfully, he didn't try to strike up a conversation. I kept my eyes out the window, watching the city fly by. Despite all the craziness, I was looking forward to exploring it and making it my home. I'd never lived close to a city this size!"What was here before?" I asked when the town car pulled into the development. It was only a few blocks from the hotel. "Low income housing," Luke replied. "Too many of the buildings became condemned and had to be torn down.""Ahh, making it the perfect dream for developers," I said, glancing at him quickly. He smirked. "Though, this development doesn't resemble anything like what was here before. It is a completely different kind of housing.""I can see that," I muttered as the car pulled into the development. The development Luke's company was working on was only a few bl
Luke POVRunning out on my own wedding had been the best decision I'd ever made. Almost two years later, I still didn't regret that decision. "Up, up," a soft voice cooed to me. I pulled my eyes from the gorgeous Caribbean sky and bent down, scooping my beautiful daughter into my arms. Arianne had been a surprise, but a very welcome surprise. Cat had always been the embodiment of home and family for me. When she told me she was pregnant, that feeling had finally become completely real. We were going to be a real family, and now, we were. I balanced Arianne on my hip and blew a raspberry on her cheek. She giggled and squirmed in my arms. "No. No." she laughed, pushing at me. "Let's get home. I'm sure your mom is waiting for us," I said. I walked along the rocky embankment we'd been playing on and headed back home. Since the Caribbean project had taken up so much of our time, Cat and I decided to move down here. It allowed us to be closer to the project an
Cat POV"I've got to go," I cried, rushing to the hotel room door. "The ceremony is in the penthouse," Alistair called after me. "Top floor!""Thank you!" I shouted back, not stopping to look back or wave at him. There was a moment when I wondered if his slow movements earlier had been to wait until this moment when the ceremony was starting. It made for a more dramatic entrance. I didn't have time to think of it beyond that, though. At the elevator, I hammered the "up button" over and over again. "Come on, come on you stupid piece of sh*t," I groaned. The elevator never came. Groaning, I ran to the stairs. I had to run up almost ten flights, but I was determined to stop Luke from making the biggest mistake of his life. He couldn't marry Victoria until he knew the truth. Even if we didn't get back together…My pulse pounded in my head, and my calves ached as I ran up flight after flight of stairs. By the time I made it to the penthouse, my legs felt like j
Cat POV"Do you really think that I am the right person for Luke?" I asked slowly. "Why would you think you aren't?" Alistair countered. "I come from a different world. My family, my history, it is all different from his. We don't… mesh," I argued. Alistair snorted and shook his head. "There is no doubt in my mind, Catherine, that you are the one for Luke.""You can call me Cat," I muttered, looking down again. I thought about everything Alistair had said, how Luke had reacted when Victoria had tried to turn him against me, and how he'd taken off without telling his family. Devastated, I grabbed my chest and groaned, leaning forward against the table. Everything Alistair said made me realize I'd walked out on Luke when he needed me. I'd abandoned him after all he'd done for me. If he went ahead and married Victoria, it would be no more than I deserved after what I'd done. I knew there was a chance he would end up hating me. That was a price I'd been willing to
Cat POV"I… that… does it matter?" I asked, unable to say anything else. What did it matter how I felt, now?"When Luke and I spoke in France, he talked about you more than anything else," Alistair explained. "We had some good times together, but it wasn't meant to last," I said, shaking my head. "And why do you think that?" he asked back. "Luke and I are the closest members of the family. He tells me everything, and I know him very well.""He told me the two of you were very close as well," I agreed with a nod. Alistair sighed and sat at the head of the table like he was a CEO about to lead a very important conference. He lay his palms flat on the table. "Then believe me when I tell you that he was happier talking about you than anything else. Happier than I'd ever seen him," Alistair said, fixing me with a challenging look. It was like he was daring me to argue with him. "It doesn't matter, we aren't meant to be together," I said, shaking my head. "If that wer
Cat POVMy heart felt like it was cracking open, a fragile egg being smashed to pieces. I glanced at the article my coworker had shown me again, my chest aching and my stomach trembling. Victoria was right all along. As soon as I was out of the picture, he ran right back to her, and now they were getting married. It seemed like Luke had never loved me at all. Sighing, I folded the pages over so I didn't have to look at the article anymore. With one final heave, I got up and went back to the sink. Quickly, I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I touched up my makeup again and double-checked my clothes. As much as I wanted, I couldn't hide in the bathroom all day. My coworkers didn't know anything about my past, and I didn't want to have them ask me all kinds of questions. Not to mention, I had to make a good impression on them if I was going to be working there long-term as I wanted. With one final look in the mirror, I nodded to myself. If I could just make it thro
Cat POVBefore Luke returned, I went to his place and cleaned out my things. Then I went home to live with my mom. It didn't take me long to get a job at a small, local firm. They designed office spaces. It wasn't the most interesting job, and I certainly wasn't flying all over the world for it, but it paid me enough to take care of things around my mom's house and lessen the financial burden on her. It had been almost a month and a half since I'd been home. She was mostly happy to have me there, but she did like to hit me with condescending remarks now and then. It was tense most of the time. At least the dude she was seeing seemed to have backed off for good ever since I returned. "Honey, you look pale," my mom said when I came down for breakfast. "I'm fine. Just a little tired," I said. I waved her off and went to the coffeepot. My mom only kept decaf in the house. It was horrible, but at least it made me feel like I was getting a morning jolt of coffee. "Are
Cat POV"You see, you could never understand Luke. He is way out of your league. I'm the only one that ever truly understood him," Victoria continued. I was only half listening. I had my phone out, and I searched for the Pink Slip. It was supposedly a cabaret, though everything about it screamed it was something more. Tons of pictures came up online, including one that looked identical to the door Luke had walked through on the video Victoria had. In the picture, it showed the sign above the door, a pink flashing sign that read "Pink Slip" with a cute, light up, neon, pink dress next to it. My heart sank like a rock, and I gasped for breath. Luke had been to a brothel while we'd been together? While we were living together!?"I'm the only person that has ever understood him. The only one that can make him happy. So, if you care about him at all, leave. And he will come back to me like he is supposed to," she said. Without turning back to Victoria, I left the library,
Cat POVI had no idea when Victoria had showed up. Luke's cousins had asked about her, so it made sense that she was there. Sort of. It wasn't like it was her grandfather who was dying. "What are you doing here?" I asked again as she closed the library door. "I told you, we need to have a chat," she said. She pulled out her phone and a thick file folder and set them on a table. She sat down and lifted her feet, resting her ankles on the table. "You might want to sit down for this," she said, motioning to the chair across from her. "No, I'll stand," I said, crossing my arms and glaring at her. "Have it your way."Victoria opened the file folder and pulled out a stack of papers. I saw Luke's company log watermarked on the page, and at the top of the page in bold lettering was the lot number of the land he'd just purchased from Victoria's father in the Caribbean. "I'm sure you know that until everything is signed for and watertight, I can still convince my fath
Cat POVI'd agreed to go to Luke's grandfather's house with him, but I hadn't realized it was in France. We packed our bags and headed off across the Atlantic in Luke's private jet. The house was in the countryside on a massive vineyard. We got a good look at it as the plane descended. It was so large and old it was basically a French castle, with the vineyard still fully operational. There was even a private airstrip on the giant estate. After Luke's jet landed, a car was waiting to drive us from the airstrip back to the mansion. "This is one of the longest-running vineyards in Europe," Luke muttered to me as we drove through the rows of grape vines. "And perhaps the only place I ever felt a little at home." Workers in big straw hats with satchels were busy harvesting grapes. "Hand harvesting?" I asked, squeezing his hands. "My grandfather says it is the only way to properly harvest wine grapes. He's been in the business for his entire life, just like his father.