Chapter 4

~ LENA ~

I had to be dreaming. Could it really be—?

Nathan’s lips didn’t allow the thought to form fully in my head. They didn’t give me the room to think. His mouth devoured mine like a man who’d been starving. Like the past days he’d been away had been torture, and this—me—was his only relief.

His hands slowly guided me backwards as the door closed behind us with a soft click, while his mouth continued to ravage my senses.

Naturally, I should have panicked. Instead, my body betrayed me, shamelessly melting against him.

I had been kissed before—by my ex and a few other men who seemed to know exactly what they were doing. But none of it had prepared me for this. None of it came close to the way Nathan Blackwood unraveled me with just one kiss.

As his hand slid into my hair, deepening the kiss, the rest of the world faded away. For a moment, I forgot everything. The contract, the lies… The name I was bearing that wasn’t mine…

My knees went weak. I clutched the lapels of his jacket for support, my fingers curling into the expensive fabric, breathing in his rich, masculine cologne that seemed to fill the entire living room within seconds of him stepping in.

Is this real?         

The thought drifted through my mind as every inch of my body responded to him before fear could catch up.

When he finally pulled back, it wasn’t abrupt. It was slow, reluctant, his forehead resting against mine as if he needed a second to remind himself how to breathe.

I stood there, frozen. My hands were still curled into his jacket. My heart was racing so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

Then I looked at him. Really looked at him.

Up close, Nathan Blackwood was devastatingly handsome. It was the kind of handsome that felt unreal. Almost like he was one of those screen crushes from the telenovelas I loved to watch, and he’d just stepped into my world.

He was taller than I imagined, his shoulders broader, his presence filling the room until everything else seemed to shrink.

His eyes were darker than they were in pictures. They were sharper, and disturbingly attentive. It felt like he could see straight through me.

This was real, I realized. And then it hit me.

He’s not supposed to be here.

Reality crashed down on me so hard my heart jumped.

Julian had promised me two more days before Nathan was due to return. Two days to finish learning, finish memorizing, to visit and get to know Nathan’s home where Kim was already accustomed to. Two days to fully prepare myself mentally to step into this lie.

But Nathan Blackwood was standing right in front of me now. And I watched the warmth drain from his face, suddenly replaced by anger as he finally let me go.

“What the hell is going on, Kim?”

The sudden sharpness in his voice made me flinch.

“No calls, no messages? And then when I call you, it goes straight to voicemail. What exactly is going on?”

There it was, I thought, bracing myself. The explosion I hadn’t prepared enough for.

“Suddenly, you just decide not to pick my calls.” His dark eyes looked even darker with anger flaring in them. “I left you a thousand messages…messages you never replied to. Did I miss something? Did I…did I do something wrong? Are you upset with me?”

“I…” I swallowed nervously, trying to remember what to say. “I…I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” He was furious. “Is that all you have to say? Do you have any idea what you put me through?”

I remembered Julian’s instructions now. What to say to Nathan when he demanded an explanation since the real Kimberly had gone AWOL on him. The words rang in my head like a script I had to follow perfectly or risk everything unravelling.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated clumsily. “I…I wasn’t ignoring you because I wanted to. I…I fell sick.”

“Sick?” He frowned, like it was the last thing he expected to hear.

I nodded, swallowing nervously as I rushed on to explain. “It was serious. After you travelled, I collapsed.  I had to be rushed to the hospital. I was admitted for a little while.”

“What?”

From his frown, I didn’t know if I’d just made things better or worse. He gripped my shoulders, looking both angry and disappointed at me. “And you’re just telling me this now?”

“I’m sorry. I—I didn’t tell you because you were busy and…and I didn’t want you to worry.”

“So, you decided to keep it to yourself?” A muscle flexed in his jaw. “You told no one—not even Julian.”

“I knew he was going to tell you if I did.”

“Oh, really?” He dropped his hands, took a step back, shaking his head.

“I couldn’t call you or pick your calls because I knew you’d hear how sick I was from my voice and start to worry.”

“And what do you think I’ve been doing all the while?” he cut in harshly. “You totally ghosted me! You didn’t think I would worry?”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, not knowing what else to say to calm his anger down. “I really am.”

 “You could have said something, Kim. I hate being put in the dark, and you know it.”

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

He studied my face for a long moment, then finally exhaled—a long, heavy breath that seemed to drain all the anger from him at once.

“Are you okay now?” he asked quietly, stepping closer again. His hands came up to my face, gently caressing my cheeks. “Are you really okay?”

The worry in his eye was endearing. At the same time, it broke my heart because I was lying to him. He thought I was his fiancée. It was obvious he was so in love with her. But he didn’t know Kimberly had already walked away.

“Yes. I’m fine now,” I whispered, dropping my gaze for fear that he would see the truth in my eyes—that I wasn’t her.

“Thank God.” He let out another long breath, resting his forehead against mine again. “You got me so scared. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t function properly. I thought maybe…maybe you didn’t want to go through with the wedding anymore.”

“What?” Panic rose in my chest at how closely the lie had just been brushed by the truth. I pulled back slightly to look at his face, shaking my head in instant denial. “No. No. Why would you think that?”

He shrugged, a faint smile curving his lips. “I don’t know. You disappearing like that—it scared me.” His smile faded slightly. “I wanted to return immediately, but I just couldn’t leave Frankfurt. There was too much going on with the merger negotiations, and I needed to see things through.”

As Kim, I had to convince him everything was fine.

I laced my fingers behind his neck and rose on my tiptoes, pressing a brief, reassuring kiss to his mouth.

As I meant to pull away, he stopped me, sliding an arm around my waist and holding me there as he kissed me again. Slower this time, deeper, until the air between us grew thin and we were both breathless once more.

“Kim, you have to slow down,” he said in a soft tone, stroking my cheek with his finger. “You’ve been pushing yourself too hard, stressing over the planning of this wedding. I get that you want everything to be perfect. But look what it did to you.”

“I’m fine.” I shifted uneasily under the weight of his concerned eyes. The more he looked at me with those worried eyes, the more guilty I felt. “Can we please stop talking about it?”

“Only if you promise me that you’ll take things easy from now on. No more stress, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay. I promise.”

A satisfied smile touched his lips. “Good. I doubt you have anything to stress about anymore, though. The wedding is just a week away.”

A week. The thought made my stomach twist.

“I can’t wait to make you mine forever.”

He was beaming at me like a happy man in love, totally oblivious to the sudden, sharp panic that had gripped me.

It was making me sick. I needed to change the subject—now.

“How was your trip?” I asked quickly, helping him get out of his jacket. “You must be exhausted.”

“Yes,” he admitted. “But being with you makes me feel better. I’ve missed you terribly, my love.”

He looked like he was going to kiss me again. Quickly, I tried to change the topic once more, afraid of what another one of his kisses would do to me.

“You must be hungry. I’ll make you something to eat.”

It was the safest option. I knew he was going to be with me for a while, and being in the kitchen meant some distance, a chance to keep my hands busy and gather myself together.

But it was a wrong move.

I saw it instantly—the change in his expression.

His smile faded, as though it had never been there at all. The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by something unreadable. Serious. Almost wary.

“What?” My heart stuttered.

Had I said something wrong?  Did I sound…off? Was that not something the real Kimberly would say?

He didn’t respond. His gaze remained fixed on my face, searching, assessing, as if he was seeing me for the first time. His brows drew together in a firm line.

Oh my God.

I knew what was going on behind those dark eyes without being told.

My heart pounded against my ribs as I braced myself for whatever was coming.

When he finally spoke, his voice was low and quiet, stripped of all warmth. Nothing like the man who had kissed me only moments ago.

“Who are you?”