MasukI never meant to fall for Nicholas Cross. He's my best friend's father. A billionaire hotel mogul. He was eighteen years older than me and completely off limits. But when Riley begs me to spend Christmas at their Aspen estate, I can't say no. She needs backup dealing with her nightmare mother and the boy toy fiancé. I tell myself I can handle two weeks of pretending Nick doesn't make my heart race every time he walks into a room. Then a snowstorm traps us together. His ex-wife shows up determined to destroy him. And late one night in his study, Nick looks at me like I'm not just his daughter's friend anymore. Riley gives us her blessing. His mother thinks I'm a gold digger. His ex-wife will use our relationship to take everything from him. The world will judge us. But when Nick looks at me like I'm his whole world, none of that matters. Until Amanda plays her final card. And I have to choose between protecting the man I love or losing him forever. This Christmas, some rules are made to be broken.
Lihat lebih banyakChapter Five: Breaking Point"I don't care where they go," Nick said, his voice deadly calm. "But they're not staying here."Amanda laughed like he'd told a joke. "Don't be ridiculous, Nicky. Look at them. They've already unpacked. Besides, you have twelve bedrooms in this house. Surely you can spare a few."The people scattered around the living room looked uncomfortable. A blonde woman in designer clothes set down her champagne glass. A tall man in an expensive suit cleared his throat."Maybe we should get a hotel," the man said. "We don't want to impose.""You're not imposing," Amanda said quickly. "Nick is just being dramatic. He'll calm down.""No, I won't." Nick's jaw was tight. "This is my house. You don't get to invite people without asking me first.""I'm Riley's mother. This is her home too.""Actually, it's not." Riley's voice was shaking with anger. "Dad bought this place after you left. You have no right to be here at all."Amanda's face went red. "How dare you speak to m
Chapter Four: The ProposalCoffee and broken ceramic covered the kitchen floor. Everyone stared at me."I'm so sorry," I whispered, dropping to my knees to pick up the pieces."Leave it," Nick said sharply. "You'll cut yourself."But I was already gathering the sharp fragments with shaking hands. I needed something to do, needed to not look at anyone's faces."A wedding?" Nick's voice was ice. "You want to get married at my house?""Our daughter's childhood home," Amanda corrected smoothly. "I think it would be lovely. Very intimate. Just close family and friends.""You're insane." Nick grabbed a towel and crouched next to me, taking the broken pieces from my hands. His fingers brushed mine and electricity shot up my arm. "Go sit down, Zara. I'll clean this."I stood up on wobbly legs and moved to the far side of the kitchen.Preston cleared his throat. "We thought it would be nice for Riley. You know, having both her parents there. Celebrating together.""Riley hates you," Nick said
Chapter Three: CaughtRiley stood frozen in the doorway, her eyes moving between me and her father.Nick dropped his hand from my face like I'd burned him. He stepped back so fast he almost knocked over his desk chair."Riley," he said, his voice rough. "It's not what it looks like.""Really?" Riley's voice was shaking. "Because it looks like you were about to kiss my best friend."My face felt like it was on fire. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole."I was just... we were just talking," I stammered."Talking." Riley laughed but it sounded wrong. Hurt. "Sure. That's why you're both standing there looking guilty as hell.""Riley, please," Nick said. He ran his hand through his hair, and I could see how tired he looked. How stressed. "Can we talk about this tomorrow? When everyone's calmer?""I'm perfectly calm, Dad." But her hands were shaking. "I came down here because I couldn't sleep. Because I'm worried about you. And I find you with Zara looking like... like..."Sh
Chapter Two: The StudyDinner was a complete disaster.Amanda spent the entire meal making comments about how small the dining room was compared to their old penthouse in Manhattan. Preston nodded at everything she said like a puppet. Riley looked ready to flip the table. And Nick sat at the head of the table drinking whiskey and pretending none of us existed.I wanted to disappear into my chair."So Zara, Riley mentioned you just got dumped?" Amanda smiled but her eyes were cold. "That must be so hard during the holidays."I was going to kill Riley later."I'm fine actually," I said."Of course you are, sweetie. You're young and pretty. You'll find someone new." Amanda squeezed Preston's hand. "When you meet the right person, you just know. Right, Nicky?"Nick's grip on his glass turned his knuckles white."Mom, stop," Riley hissed."What? I'm just saying that sometimes we marry the wrong person when we're young. We don't realize our mistake until later." Amanda looked directly at Ni






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