LOGIN~~Stephano~~I sweep a strand of hair off her face. Her face is so beautiful as it rests on my pillow. It's almost like she belongs right here in my condo. "This weekend has gone way too quickly.""I know," she murmurs back as she snuggles into me. "It has been so rapid. But fun."My heart won't stop pounding as I stare at her. I know I'm hooked all over again. I was addicted to Aria the last time we spent the night together; I couldn't shake her off for a reason. She was the most interesting person I'd ever had sex with. But being back with her has changed that.Now I realize it is because there's something there - for sure. We have a powerful connection, unlike anything I have ever experienced before. That means something, I'm sure of it. If there's a woman who's going to capture my attention and change my behavior, then it's Aria. If no one else has come along yet to even spark my fire, even a little bit, then I'm certain of it. I want to give
~~ARIA~~ Ring, ring... ring, ring... I don't want to get up from the table as yet because I'm having such a nice time... but this is Mom calling. I can't ignore the call because it might be about Leo. Bringing my two worlds together is a little unnerving, I have to admit. "I'm just going to take this," I tell Stefano as I scrape my chair back. "Be right back." "You don't have to go," he chuckles. "I won't listen in." I smile thinly as I back away because there's no way I can have this chat right in front of him. Not when I haven't even mentioned my son. I can't talk about Leo without being honest, and I really don't think Stefano will respond well to my news. Oh hey, you have a young son that I never told you about. Yeah, that won't go down well, especially since it seems to me like Stefano is still the same playboy he was a couple of years ago. He's still a flirt who doesn't give off vibes that he wants to settle down. So a son won't be a blessing. It's kinda sad, but I think
~~STEPHANO~~What the hell is happening to me? It's almost funny because it's so crazy. I can't quite wrap my head around it. I mean, all those months I spent pining after Aria and telling myself not to pine after her. I never thought that I would see her again. I didn't think our paths would ever cross and certainly not like this."Aria?" A smile spreads across my face. "What on earth are you doing here in the middle of my favorite coffee shop? What a surprise!"I try to ignore the way my heart skips a few beats as she smiles right back. Damn, she somehow looks even cuter two years later. My memory hasn't done her justice at all."I've actually just been at a meeting nearby," she laughs. "For work. I'm not stalking you!"I take a seat next to her and order my usual coffee with the waitress, unable to stop looking at her. As our eyes connect, it's almost as if the last couple of years haven't happened. They've simply vanished; this might as well be the day after the wedding."Wow, so
~~ARIA~~Two years later... My boss Robert, stares at me in shock as I finish my proposal. I can't help twisting my hands anxiously around in my lap as I wait for him to respond. I know I'm putting forth a lot, but I'm hoping he sees that I'm worth it. I mean, I've surely proven my worth over the last two years.I know that Robert took a risk when he hired me because I was pregnant, and there was no guarantee which way my life would go. But I've worked really hard to show that he made the right choice. At least, I've tried to, every single day. I always volunteer for any work available, and I'm always putting forth ideas during meetings.I'm lucky that my mother moved close as soon as Leo was born so she could help me out with babysitting. She loves him and adores looking after him, allowing me to pursue my career. I'm lucky, and I feel it every day. Somehow, I've managed to "have it all", although only with assistance. Architecture might still be more a man's world, but I've taken a
~~ARIA~~ Urgh, what was that? Streams of morning light bursting into the room from the drapes I must have forgotten to close them last night in the haste of everything that happened. My head is pounding way too much for me to see through the intensity of the blinding whiteness. I definitely had a few too many last night. More than a few but then it was worth it. Not that I regret it. It was so much fun. In fact, that was the best wedding I have ever been to in my life. Mostly because I met an incredible woman. One who made me feel things I definitely haven't felt before. Thinking about Aria brings a smile to my face, despite the agony ricocheting through my brain. I reach across the bed trying to find her. "Aria?" The bed is empty. More than that, the bed is cold like she hasn't been in it for hours. I force myself into a sitting position and blink furiously, trying to find out what's going on. I can't see Aria... no sight of her. "Aria, are you here?" She's bound to be in the
~~ARIA~~I can't get my hands off him. What the hell is wrong with me? While I thought about doing something a little bit different, I wasn't exactly planning on this. But kissing Stefano—feeling the powerful sensation of his hands around my waist, eagerly touching all of me—is so addictive and so intoxicating, that I'm enthralled.I know Isla tried to warn me off him and I get why. A man with a touch this expert has to be a playboy, and that's not the sort of man I should be giving myself to. But how can I resist? Especially when my best friend isn't here to warn me even more."So, this is my home," Stefano says with a smile as he leads me inside his condo, but neither of us are looking around. We're too busy staring into one another's eyes. This is how we'd been throughout the whole wedding. No wonder we ended up here.His hazel eyes with little golden flecks are intoxicating. I could stare at them forever and discover something new. I think that's what Stefano is like. He seems a c
CHAPTER 50: *(Eight Years Later)*The garden of the Cotswolds house was exploding with late summer color, dahlias in shades of burnt orange and deep purple, lavender spilling over the edges of the stone path, roses climbing the trellis in one last defiant bloom before autumn to
CHAPTER 39: The world had shrunk to the size of a hospital room. A small, pale space with beige walls, a single window showing a slice of dark night sky, a tangle of medical equipment now silent and still, and a plastic bassinet on wheels where the most important person in the universe
CHAPTER 43: The email arrived on a grey Tuesday morning, when the sky outside the kitchen window was the color of old pewter and Gracie was finally, blessedly, napping after a night of broken sleep that had left Keira feeling like a zombie wrapped in fog. She'd pumped, fed, changed, an
CHAPTER : Spring showed up in London with its usual wishy-washy attitude, one day a burst of defiant sunshine that tricked the daffodils into blooming, the next a spiteful hailstorm that reminded everyone who was really in charge. Keira walked through it all with a new lightness in her step, the w







