Lahat ng Kabanata ng One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger: Kabanata 441 - Kabanata 450

“We hooked up,” he said and the words burned his tongue. What they had done in Merveille and ever since was not ‘hooking up.’ It was more than that. “Define ‘hooked up,’” Barry said. He exhaled roughly. “Okay, more than hooked up. We’ve been sleeping together for a couple of weeks.” “Does she know who you are?” “No, and that’s the problem. She started working at Ashby Chocolates to get close to Jonathon Ashby. She had this whole plan to trap a billionaire.” The other four sat back, stunned. “What?” Brian asked. “She even went out on a date with him,” Jonathon said. “The fake Jonathon.” He lifted the beer to his lips and drank, not tasting it. “The night Caitlyn was born. She was on a date with him when she got a call about her sister. The arsehole dropped her off at the hospital and left her there.” “And you swooped in to rescue her,” Mason said, a crooked smirk on his face. He shrugged one shoulder. “You really like her?” Declan

He hadn’t been born to money and it was a fluke article in a prestigious magazine that was responsible for the meteoric success of Ashby Chocolates. He knew what it was like to scrimp and save. He knew what it was like to go without. But his home had always been that—a home. It may not have had the best of everything and it may have been old, but it was filled with love and family. His grandparents had loved their house and had taken care of it despite their lack of finances. The house in front of him looked like it was devoid of any sort of love and that hurt his heart more than he ever thought it could. It brought into stark detail that he knew next to nothing about Emma and her life. It also gave him some understanding of her pursuit of the fake Jonathon Ashby. He had never seen her as a social climbing gold digger and the house in front of him underscored his initial assessment. With a deep sigh, he let himself through the rusty gate that screeched on its hinges and strode up

“Yes, she’s my…friend’s mother.” He stumbled over the word ‘friend.’ Were they friends? Friends with benefits? Or was she his girlfriend? “There is no private health cover for the patient,” the nurse said. “I am aware of that,” he replied, although he hadn’t been. “There will be a cost—” “I am also aware of that,” he said, using his ‘arsehole boss’ voice as Natalie called it. “You can bill me for it.” He slid a business card across the desk. The nurse looked at the card and then back at him. “Okay,” she said. He nodded and walked away. It felt wrong to walk away and leave Emma there by herself. He rolled his shoulders as he got onto the elevator. There was an uncomfortable restlessness within him and he couldn’t pinpoint what was causing it. Since coming back from Merveille, he and Emma had still been seeing each other, but it was different—his choice. He’d tried to pull away from her but as hard as he tried he couldn’t sever all ties with her. His b

He didn’t understand why things between them were so…off. True, things hadn’t been the same since that last night in Merveille and it was all his fault. He freaked out. The whole thing with his mother made him ridiculously bad with relationships and he was in unfamiliar waters with Emma. He had never fallen in love before and it threw him off his game. “Have a seat,” Emma said. He shook himself out of his stupor and stepped over to the table, depositing the bag of takeout on the table and letting Kirra dig in. He sat opposite Emma, knowing that if he sat next to her he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her and that was the last thing she needed. “Did you get your mother settled?” he asked as he accepted a full plate from Kirra, who had dished out the food generously. “Yeah, she’s sleeping,” Emma said. He lifted a forkful of food to his mouth, but it was tasteless as he watched Emma. He really hated seeing her this way. He knew what it was like to wat

“Emma?” he finally said, not able to take another minute of her silence. “Please say something.” She turned to him slowly, her hands clenched together in front of her. It was too dark to see her face clearly, but what he could see did not look promising. Her lips were tilted up in a kind but entirely fake smile. “Jake,” she began before taking a shuddering breath. “I like you and we had fun, but…” She looked down at her hands. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “But we knew this would end eventually.” He stood, needing to move. “So, you’re saying you don’t feel the same? You’re saying that this thing between us was just sex?” he stepped closer to her, close enough to see the way her pulse fluttered erratically at her throat. She lifted her chin so she could look him directly in the eye. “Yes,” she said. He crashed his lips down on hers, his hands threaded through her hair as he dragged her closer. She gripped his shirt, her fingers fisting in