NoahNatalie stood me up. She never returned to the park the day after I met her, and neither did she pop up the day after that. Am I insane for feeling disappointed?I'm probably crazy, but... I kept walking back to the park bench where I had met Natalie. Day after day, but she would never be there. Instead, I caught Natalie walking together with a man on the street. They were laughing at something. And while I know I had no right to be angry, I was beyond pissed off seeing them. It doesn't make sense. Natalie is a mere stranger, yet something snapped within me seeing her with that other man. He was good-looking too, not as tall as me, but he had stubble—so now I haven't shaved.Fuck.I'm losing my goddamn mind over this woman."Mr. Parker?"I peer up from my desk, not surprised to find Bianca, my assistant, standing in the doorframe. We recently bought this office, and I have yet to install a locked door."Yes?" I ask her. "The people who applied for my role during the summer a
NatalieI'm angrily doing my dishes but in silence. Emma is taking a nap in the other room. I don't want to wake her, but at the same time, I'm beyond pissed off. Linnea came over for lunch, and I'm seething. I'm cleaning my kitchen table while she is munching on her sandwich. She bought one for me too, but I haven't touched it yet. "I hate Noah." I'm close to breaking a plate in my hands. Even my eye is twitching. "I can't understand how I was EVER in love with that swine!"Linna snickers from the table. "In Noah's defense, you're a total stranger in his eyes—there is no wonder he didn't believe you. He is also a hot billionaire. I bet a lot of women have been trying to make use of that since his accident.""I know..." I sigh deeply, meeting her eyes. "But it still hurts. He remembers nothing while I'm stuck with the memories. I'm in love with a man who no longer exists..."Linnea gives me a sad smile. "Maybe Noah just needs time? His memories might return...""I don't expect they
NoahThe smart thing in my situation would probably be to listen to Elias, my mother's husband. He admitted to having a daughter but told me Natalie is filled with lies. I asked Elias what kind of lies, to which he never replied. My mother walked inside the room and took over the conversation. She claimed Natalie was a thief and told me to stay away.Yet here I am, waiting for Natalie to step inside my new office. I realize I could get a more luxurious place or work from home, but I wanted something in town to be connected to society.Now I'm sitting on top of Natalie's future desk, trying but failing not to smile when I see Natalie. She is holding our coffee while wearing shades and a jeans jacket. Her brown hair cascades down her back, and her delicious curves are framed by her tight leggings.My cock approves of her attire, but I repress the urge to fuck Natalie against the wall. Today I shouldn't be thinking with my second brain, even if Natalie is the type of woman I like; curv
NatalieBah, it feels great to have gotten so much work done today!I've spent most of the day arranging Noah's weekly schedule. Bianca didn't really do a great job being his assistant; everything was a mess. But now things are in order, and I feel pretty good about myself. I deserve a tap on my shoulder and a giant pint of ice-cold soda.The day should be over, but I don't want to leave before Noah comes out here and tells me it's okay. He disappeared into his office after splashing coffee over his suit, but that was over an hour ago.Noah can't still be showering, right? I know he has this little room in the back of his office, but the water isn't running anymore.Perhaps he fell asleep or something?I keep staring at his door and decide to just knock on it. I gather my shades and put on my jeans jacket. My hair flows down my back, and I reach out my hand, about to tap on Noah's door.But the door instead opens, and shrugging my shoulders, I head inside uninvited.I face Noah's des
NoahI don't understand. Natalie seemed to like what she saw yesterday when she walked into my office. I stood naked before her—I flirted with her. Yet the little vixen has now downloaded Tinder.What did I do wrong?!Did I not please her after all? Is that why she ran home so quickly? Do I look weird down there or something?Or was I too harsh in the way I behaved?I DON'T UNDERSTAND, AND IT'S KILLING ME!I slurp on my latte in my misery, lifting the cup higher to give a little cheer to Natalie when she catches me spying on her from my office window. She narrows her fierce eyes, and I grimace—great, I've officially reached stalker-level creepiness.Natalie goes back to swiping on her phone. She is on break, and suddenly I wish I had Tinder. I want to see her reaction to my picture. Would she swipe left or right?Probably left...I drink more of the glorious caffeine-filled latte. After Natalie made me discover the wonder of a vanilla latte, I had to buy an expensive machine that know
NatalieI balance two plates and take them to my kitchen table. Alaric, my date, offered to help me earlier, but I'm an independent woman who believes I should do everything by myself."It looks amazing," Alaric says, smiling from his seat. "This is the first time I've been served a first-class dinner that wasn't bought at a restaurant. You're filled with surprises, Natalie Gracen.""Thank you for all the compliments," I blush a little as I carefully put Alaric's food in front of him. Carmen insisted on letting Emma sleep at their place. She wanted me to give dating Alaric a try.Alaric smiles down at his place, peering up at me with a pair of very dark brown eyes. "Can I dig in? I have eaten nothing since I got off work. And this looks like magic on a plate."I laugh from my seat. "Go ahead—it's meant to be eaten. In my household, you just dig in without asking. I won't take offense."Alaric's lips curl higher. "I'm going to love this.""I hope so," I say, smiling back at him. Alari
NataliePast"Can't you just let me pass?" I ask the guard standing in front of the gate to the stadium. He is a big guy, clearly not interested in letting me watch the football game for free."No.""Pretty please?""I said no.""What if I said I was undercover and needed to go inside?"The guard glares down at me, built like a bull and bald. "No chance. You will have to pay like everybody else. This is a charity event, and all the money will go to the children's hospital.""Yeah, but tonight I'm the charity case needing your help! My friends are all inside, waiting for me! Sadly, I left my wallet at home! Help me! Please! I have to join my friends!"The guard narrows his eyes while I hear laughter from the guy standing behind me in the line. I spin around and freeze upon seeing possibly the most handsome creature that has ever roamed this earth. It might be the alcohol talking, but wow: brown hair, tanned skin, blue ocean eyes, and built like a Greed god—hurray for finding a man wh
NataliePresentI ended up telling Alaric the entire story of how I met Noah. He smiled and laughed during the whole story, not mad that I was talking about another man. Alaric is a good person.He understands that I'm still in love with Noah, but he told me he is willing to date me and see if I can learn to love someone else. I took him up on the offer and will see him later this week.I think it will be good for me, even if the whole cheerleading squad inside my chest is cheering for Noah. And right now, I'm having a hard time not drooling over him."You're such a sweet girl," Noah tells Emma while holding her in his big, strong arms. He is wearing a smile that is melting my heart. "How about we take a nap while mama is working, huh? You're looking sleepy—yes, close those eyes."I bite back a smile. Emma never falls asleep no matter how hard I try, but Noah has magic arms; Emma is oddly calm with him. It's a little out of character, or perhaps she can see that Noah is her dad?My h