Riaa 的作品

Aria’s POVI woke up to an empty bed and way too much sunlight for my liking.Nathan’s side was cold, which meant he’d been up for hours already, probably in his office pretending emails were more interesting than sleep. Workaholic. A menace. My menace, technically, but still.I stretched, groaning at the ceiling as if it had personally wronged me, and reached for my phone on the nightstand.One text.From Liam.I almost didn’t open it right away, savoring the anticipation, because I already knew — I just knew, this was going to be good.Liam: Okay, so. Weird question. Is it normal to already miss someone you met yesterdayI sat straight up in bed so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.Excuse me?EXCUSE ME??Me: ??? explain yourself immediatelyLiam: hailey. i think i actually like her. like actually like her. not my usual “this is fun for two weeks” thingLiam: it’s freaking me out a little nglI stared at the screen, a slow, ridiculous grin spreading across my face, the kind that

Aria’s POVAria’s POV “Absolutely not,” Nathan said the second we walked through the doors. Music was already thumping through the floor, lights flashing every which way, and I could see the exact moment his soul left his body. “You agreed to this.” “I agreed to a night out, not a fucking war zone.” “It’s a club, Nathan.” “Same thing.” Liam appeared behind us out of nowhere, already grinning ear to ear, clearly thrilled to see Nathan suffering before we’d even found a table. “Nathan.” Liam clapped him on the shoulder, Nathan’s jaw ticked. “Liam.” “You look thrilled to be here.” “I’m counting the minutes till we can leave,” Nathan murmured. “Love that energy for you.” Liam laughed and Nathan gave him a deadly glare. I looped my arm through Nathan’s, mostly to keep him from bolting straight back out the door, and steered us toward the booth Hailey had already claimed near the back. She waved when she spotted us, hair down for once instead of pulled back into

Aria’s POV I found Nathan at the dining table, halfway through his plate, tie loosened, looking like he’d had a long day. He looked exhausted and not in the mood for any funny business. Too bad I came with funny business. I dropped into the seat next to him instead of across, close enough that he glanced over, brow already raised in that way that meant he knew I wanted something. “What.” “Nothing.” I licked sauce off his plate with my finger. “I just missed you.” His eyes shifted from the plate to my finger, I noticed his Adam’s apple bob. Gotcha. I have him right where I want him. “You saw me this morning.” “That was ages ago.” He shook his head, but there was a small smile tugging at his mouth, the kind he tried and failed to hide whenever I was being ridiculous on purpose. “Okay,” he said, setting his fork down. “What do you actually want?” “Fine.” I dropped the act, leaning my chin on my hand. “I want to plan a night out. Club, drinks, shaking my ass of

Aria’s POV I was curled up on the couch, halfway through a bowl of ice cream that tasted too good, when my phone buzzed. Mom. I stared at the screen for a solid five seconds before answering, bracing myself for whatever fresh chaos this family was about to hand me. “Hello?” “Aria.” My mother’s voice sounded tired, softer than I remembered it being in months. “Can we talk?” My mum wasn’t mean to me or anything when I was growing up, but, like my father, her world also revolved around my sister. Alexa. Their perfect daughter who could do no wrong. Perfect my ass. Hey, stop that! Fine. “Depends, are you calling to guilt trip me into making Nathan fund Dad’s business? Your husband already tried and told him no, and that answer hasn’t changed.” “No, sweetheart. Nothing like that.” Sweetheart. She hadn’t called me that since I was a kid. “Okay,” I said slowly, sitting up straighter. “I’m listening.” “I want you to come over and talk, just the two of us. Your

Aria’s POV “Quick stop at the office,” Nathan said, already turning onto another road. “I forgot some documents.” “Define quick.” “Five minutes, Aria.” “Your five minutes and my five minutes are not the same thing.” He glanced at me, mouth twitching. “Are you comparing me to a bad Uber driver right now? I possess excellent driving skills.” “If the shoe fits.” I shrugged. He just shook his head, at this point, I’d learned not to fight him too hard on the small stuff. I need to save the energy and fighter in me for the real battles. The building looked the same as last time and memories of how I got dumped with water crept into my head. The second we walked through those doors, the entire lobby did that same thing again conversations dying with people suddenly finding their computer screens very fascinating. I call this the Nathan Effect. The ability of a particular man called Nathan Cross to make any gathering, office, or building go into total silence the momen

Aria’s POV “Absolutely not,” I said, backing away from the boutique entrance. “You need new nightgowns,” Nathan said, completely unbothered, already holding the door open. “I have nightgowns.” “You had nightgowns, past tense.” This asshole tore my favorite one. “That’s your fault.” “I’m aware.” He didn’t even have the decency to look guilty about it. “Get in the store, Aria.” “Make me.” He raised a brow, and something about the way his eyes flickered made me immediately regret my choice of words. “Don’t,” I said quickly, pointing a finger at him. “Don’t you dare.” “I didn’t say anything.” “You were thinking it.” “I think a lot of things.” “Nathan.” He just smirked and walked in, leaving me standing outside like an idiot, debating whether my dignity was worth staying out here in protest or whether curiosity would win. Spoiler alert, my curiosity won, because five seconds later I was following him inside, muttering under my breath about controlling husba