All Chapters of The Stranger I Choose: Chapter 31 - Chapter 38

They barely made it into the elevator.The moment the doors slid shut, Daniel turned and pressed Emma against the mirrored wall. His mouth found hers hard, one hand already under the short black dress, fingers sliding between her thighs. Emma gasped into the kiss, hands fisting in his shirt as the elevator began its smooth climb. By the time it reached the top floor her underwear was around one ankle and Daniel’s trousers were open just enough.The doors opened directly into the penthouse.Daniel didn’t stop. He walked her backward out of the elevator without breaking the kiss, one arm locked around her waist, the other still working between her legs. The soft chime of the doors closing behind them barely registered. Cool air from the open living space touched Emma’s bare thighs. City lights stretched endlessly beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass.He lifted her onto the nearest surface—the polished black lid of a grand piano near the windows—and shoved the dress higher. The thin fabric

Saturday mornings at Mrs. Alvarez's Bakery were always the busiest.By eight o'clock, the first trays of croissants had already disappeared. Fresh loaves lined the wooden shelves, the display case gleamed beneath warm lights, and the familiar scent of butter and yeast drifted through the little shop every time the door opened.Emma stood behind the counter tying another ribbon around a paper bag."Have a wonderful day.""You too, dear."The elderly customer smiled before disappearing through the door.The little brass bell chimed.Another customer stepped inside.Another order.Another smile.Normally, the steady rhythm of the bakery helped clear her mind.Today...Not so much.Because every few minutes, her thoughts wandered somewhere else.To a penthouse overlooking the city.To a black grand piano sitting beside floor-to-ceiling windows.To Daniel.She still couldn't believe it.Daniel Brooks.CEO of Veridian Group.She'd spent weeks talking to him without knowing.Weeks explaining

Daniel drove home with the paper bags of cinnamon rolls sitting untouched on the passenger seat.The bakery visit had gone better than he expected. Lily had been protective, sharp-eyed, and fair. Nathan had been Nathan—useful, slightly chaotic, and far too entertained by the whole exchange. Emma had laughed easily, cheeks warm every time their eyes met for longer than a second. When he left, she had stood near the counter in her flour-dusted apron and smiled at him like the rest of the afternoon had simply faded around them.He should have felt settled.Instead, the quiet of the car made room for every thought he had been carefully setting aside.He parked in the underground garage of his building and took the elevator up without checking his phone. The penthouse was still and cool when he stepped inside. Afternoon light stretched across the piano lid. He set the paper bags on the kitchen counter and loosened the collar of his shirt, then walked to the windows and looked out at the ci

Emma’s eyes opened to pale morning light and the immediate, heavy knowledge that she had barely slept.For a long second she only stared at the ceiling of her own bedroom. Then the memory returned in a single, sharp line—I don’t want to be divorced again…She turned her head.Daniel was still asleep beside her, one arm stretched across the mattress toward where she had been. His face was completely relaxed. No tension in his brow. No careful composure. Just the quiet, even breathing of someone who had fallen into deep sleep without carrying a single thought with him.It wasn’t fair.Emma sat up slowly. The dark circles under her eyes felt obvious even without a mirror. She had lain awake for hours after those words, turning them over until they lost their shape and became something heavier. Daniel, meanwhile, had mumbled a few more half-finished sentences and then slept like a child who had never known a complicated thing in his life.She slipped out of bed carefully, gathered a chan