LOGIN~ JAMIEWhen we got back to the apartment, the first thing I did was take a long shower.I stayed under the hot water long enough to wash the day off my body and, more importantly, clear my head. When I got out, I put on something comfortable, tied my still-damp hair back, and went down to the kitchen determined to do something perfectly normal.Cook.It seemed like a much better idea before I started.By six forty, there was a pot on the stove, another in the sink, way too much garlic on the cutting board, and I was staring at a piece of salmon like it had personally offended me.Sylvia had been cooking for Simon for years. She was efficient, discreet, and capable of producing dinner for ten without leaving a single spoon out of place.I had decided, for some reason, that I wanted to cook.Maybe because that apartment was starting to feel like my home too.Maybe because I wanted to do something ordinary.Not have someone else handle it.Just make dinner.The elevator door
~ JAMIE"I bought it recently.""You bought an entire townhouse in Manhattan and didn't think that was worth mentioning?""I was waiting for the right moment.""And this is the right moment?"His gaze dropped to my mouth."Still deciding."The silence shifted.Simon unbuckled his seatbelt.I should've asked about square footage, investment, or anything else rational.Instead, I unbuckled mine too.He leaned over the console and kissed me.It wasn't a polite kiss.It was the kind of kiss that carried the rest of the morning, the car, his fingers inside me, and two months that suddenly felt like way too long.I grabbed his shirt."I thought you were going to show me the house.""I am.""When?"His mouth moved down to my neck."Eventually."I laughed, breathless.And this time I kissed him.When we pulled apart, my breathing was uneven and his tie was even more crooked.Simon rested his forehead against mine."Come on."He got out of the car.I followed.The se
~ JAMIESimon was waiting in the car when I came down from Hart Enterprises.I got in the passenger seat and barely set my bag at my feet before his hand landed on my thigh."Come here."He pulled me in by the back of my neck, kissed me slow and deep, and only then started the car."Now we can go."I smiled."Were you waiting for that?""All day."He squeezed my thigh and pulled into Manhattan traffic."Now you're all mine.""I started planning the wedding today," I said.The hand on my leg stopped.He turned his head immediately."You started?"The satisfaction in his voice made me laugh."Don't make that face."He smiled, and his thumb started moving again over my knee."What'd you look at?""Venues. And I found out that getting married in New York requires planning, patience, and probably a deal with the devil.""I can handle the last two.""You don't have patience.""Then I'll take the devil."I laughed, and Simon squeezed my thigh."Count me in."I turned
~ JAMIEAt four twenty in the afternoon, I closed the folder on my desk and looked up at the twelve faces in front of me."So that's it."For two seconds, nobody moved.Then Claire started clapping. Ethan joined in. Then the rest of them followed, and I had to fight back the ridiculously smug smile threatening to break across my face."Don't get too excited," I warned. "Monday you're back to doing real work."A few of them laughed.The training had eaten up too many days, too much coffee, and an offensive number of hours I could've spent sleeping, but looking at them now, it felt worth it. That first morning, they'd still seemed unsure of themselves. Now they were actually debating clauses and spotting risks like they meant it.The room emptied out in a shuffle of laughter and scraping chairs. Ethan was one of the last to leave.I headed back to my office, tired but satisfied. For the first time in days, there was nothing urgent on my plate.I sat down, kicked off my shoes u
~ SIMONJamie came out of the bedroom twenty minutes later in a navy dress, her hair pinned up, wearing the expression of a woman who had already reorganized her entire day in her head.I was leaning against the kitchen counter drinking coffee when she appeared. There was no sign of the destroyed nightgown. Only a faint flush still marked her neck, almost completely hidden by the neckline of her dress.“Don’t make that face,” she said.“What face?”“We’ll talk later. I’m late.”She grabbed an apple and walked off taking a bite, and a moment later the kids started drifting in for breakfast, still half asleep.Chloe arrived a few minutes later carrying a small bouquet of roses. She wore a pale long-sleeved blouse, a modest skirt, and that soft smile that always seemed to appear whenever I looked at her.“Good morning.”Lily was the first to notice the flowers.“Are those roses?”Chloe smiled and held the bouquet out to her.“They’re yours.”Lily went still for a second, as
~ JAMIEI woke before my alarm and knew something was wrong before I even opened my eyes.Simon’s side of the bed was empty.I ran my hand over the rumpled sheet. There was still a trace of his warmth there, which meant he hadn’t been up long. The apartment was wrapped in that rare early-morning silence, when the kids were still asleep and New York seemed to exist only beyond the windows.Then I heard the muffled clank of metal.I adjusted my silk nightgown, slipped out of the bedroom barefoot, and followed the sound down the hall. The gym door was cracked open. I pushed it wider and stopped in the doorway.Simon was finishing a set of weighted pull-ups, hauling his body upward with a heavy plate hanging from a belt around his waist.He wore nothing but black shorts. Sweat gleamed across his bare chest, chalk dusted his hands, and a vein stood out along his forearm. Simon drew a deep breath, but his jaw stayed tight.Obscenely gorgeous. And way too serious for this hour.“Wha







