Intro

 

A wave of nausea rolled through me, and all because someone heated up some sausage in the break room. It was a smell that would have normally had my stomach growling, but not the past week. My stomach clenched before heaving up my breakfast and expelling it into the toilet.

“Nat, you okay?” my best friend, Jenna, asked as she knocked on the stall door.

I hastily wiped at my mouth and flushed the toilet as I stood. “Yeah.” I turned the lock to find Jenna’s dark brown eyes staring at me, a toothbrush and toothpaste in her hand.

“I love you,” I said as I took them from her.

“You look like shit.”

“I feel like it.” My stomach clenched again, but I managed to breathe through it. Thanks to my actions that night, I was now swallowing back waves of nausea.

“Can you cancel the meeting?”

I shook my head. “No.”

Jenna was always prepared, and I was very thankful to be able to wash my mouth out. I watched her reflection in the mirror as she pursed her lips, then pulled the hair band from her wrist. She took hold of my long, straight brown hair and manhandled it until it was a perfectly coiffed ponytail. Using her fingers, she pulled at some of the strands on top, lifting the front a bit.

I finished brushing and took the offered lipstick while she pinched my cheeks.

“I hate when you do that,” I said as I straightened my sweater and adjusted my skirt.

“You look like the dead. I’m trying to bring some life into your skin.”

She was right, and it definitely did help. “Thanks.” I turned and stepped through the door and back to my desk to gather my binder for the meeting with the finance executives.

“Are you going to tell me what is going on?” Jenna asked as she followed me. Her own desk sat a few from mine.

My phone chose that moment to go off, a random number crossing the screen.

Happy Valentine’s Day

It was the second vague message I’d gotten from the strange number in recent weeks, but there was never more information or anything to identify the sender, so I brushed it off.

“Not right now.” I picked up the binder along with a notepad and pen and turned to head to where the meeting was beginning in a few short minutes.

She grabbed hold of my arm, the normal mirth in her eyes clouded with concern. For days she’d known something was wrong, and it was obvious she wasn’t letting me brush it off anymore. “You’ve been spazzing all week long. Spill.”

I huffed and looked around to make sure no one was listening before leaning in. “Not now.”

“Babe, I’m worried about you and—”

“I’m pregnant.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at me. “Wait, what?”

“You heard me.” I turned and started walking toward the conference room, but Jenna was hot on my heels.

“How? When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I blew out a breath. Talking about my surprise pregnancy in the office was not the best plan. However, Jenna had caught me throwing up in the bathroom and helped me fix myself up again. It wasn’t like I was keeping it from my best friend—I was going to tell her at breakfast tomorrow, not in the middle of the work day.

The news was still fresh to me, and I was processing and coming to terms with it while trying to figure out if there was any way I could find the father. My heart sank with that thought, one I’d tried my best to keep away, to keep from feeling the loss of something that could have been.

One magical, glorious night with quite possibly the man of my dreams, but I hadn’t heard from him since and I had no way to contact him. Not even a last name. And I felt like an idiot because of it.

I had given him my number before we parted, but maybe he didn’t feel the level of connection I did. Which only made my situation worse, because I wanted more than one night and I’d been certain he did too.

“New Year’s Eve.” It was cryptic, but she was also the only one who would understand, the only one in the building who had been there.

Her eyes popped wide. “Richard? Seriously?”

I nodded and continued on the path toward the conference room. Richard, with his devilish smile, perfectly styled brown hair, and vibrant blue eyes. Strong arms and wicked wit to combat my own. A gentleman at his core and an attraction neither of us could deny. Combined with the wit, it created some very flirtatious conversations—that then led to him between my thighs.

“I can’t believe you got knocked up on New Year’s Eve!” Jenna whisper yelled as we passed through the entrance to the conference room.

“Jenna!” I hissed, glaring at her.

She slapped her hand over her mouth once she realized we were no longer alone. “Oh my God,” she mumbled through her fingers.

The whole room had heard, and all chatter ceased. Great.

My jaw clenched tight and I drew in a deep breath before turning to the room full of executives. It was my first meeting with them in my new position as a supervisor of accounting and acting manager while my manager, Nina, was, ironically, on maternity leave.

Most of the room had come down from Chicago, and I’d already made the worst first impression possible. Turning toward them, I made sure my head was held high, ignoring what Jenna just exposed for all to hear.

Some gazes moved awkwardly from me and I was ready to move on to the meeting, but I froze at the sight of the man sitting at the head of the table. Our eyes locked, and I felt mine widen. His did as well, but then he quickly schooled his expression, though I did notice that his lips were still parted in surprise.

“Natasha?”

“Richard?” I stared at him in absolute stunned shock. It was him. The man of my dreams and father of the spawn brewing inside me had a last name, and he was none other than Richard Bennett, VP of Finance. My boss’s boss’s boss’s boss.

Shit!

The room was silent as we stared at each other. His eyes flickered to my abdomen and stayed there for a moment before meeting mine again. “Happy Valentine’s Day?”

A harsh laugh left me. “We’ll see about that.”

“Dinner? Seven?” he asked, and I knew it was an acknowledgement of what Jenna said.

The other executives’ gazes whipped between us in confusion.

“Sounds wonderful.” I gave him a tight smile. All the while, my heart slammed inside my chest in a combination of fear, anxiety, and a flutter of hope. He remembered me. I wasn’t forgettable. Not only that, he immediately wanted to see me, and somehow, I knew it wasn’t simply for the new information Jenna had just thrown out.

Seeing him again made me instantly remember everything about that night…