Page 64 of One Midnight Kiss

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FOX

Ihadn’t seen Natalia in two weeks. Not since Thanksgiving. Not since she’d stormed out of Christa and Wilder’s house, leaving me standing in the driveway like a goddamn idiot. Since then, every time I called her office, I was sent to voicemail. They sent someone else to handle the meetings. I had become numb to the sound of executives from Williamson & Rodgers droning on about brand strategy, but I wasn’t numb to her absence.

It was calculated. She was insulating herself from me.

Why? I honestly couldn’t think of anything I had done wrong. I asked her several times if she wanted to stop that night. She had been all in. Maybe she felt guilty about it and was now making me out to be the bad guy. It was easier for her to blame me and be pissed at me than to consider the fact she wanted it.

Then I remembered the media circus. That was my fault. The convention might have been a success, but all anyone wanted to ask me about now was my fiancée. I couldn’t go anywhere without hearing her name tacked onto mine. Instead of talking about Hanna’s AI integration, reporters asked for wedding details. I couldn’t believe Christa had roped me into this mess, and yet, I had made it happen. I had even signed off on the PR strategy like it was just another business transaction. Now I was a goddamn tabloid fixture.

That was not part of the plan. Christa told me it was all good. The publicity was reshaping my reputation, just like she said it would.

But it left me feeling out of sorts.

With Christmas around the corner, I left the office early. I told myself it was to find gifts for Christa and Wilder, but really, I needed to get out of there before I did something reckless. Like going upstairs and storming Natalia’s office. Penelope would tackle me before she let me in again.

Instead, I drove around aimlessly, trying to clear my head. I pulled into the World Market parking lot, thinking I’d buy something simple. Dog toys, maybe. It was easier to shop for them than to navigate the minefield of buying a baby gift when I wasn’t sure if that would be too much or not enough. I didn’t want to buy a baby gift that they never got to use because the IVF failed again. I didn’t want to add any pressure or hurt them.

The store was crowded, but I spotted something that made me stop in my tracks—a quirky, hanging bookshelf. It was shaped like a tree, with little branches for holding books. It wasn’t practical, but it was charming. I knew Natalia would hate it. And love it. Her house was eclectic and warm, nothing like her or her office. Well, technically, Natalia was warm and fuzzy. She just didn’t like anyone to know.

I could picture the bookcase in her house, right in the corner of her living room. I could see the way her eyes would soften, despite herself, when she realized I had picked it out with her in mind.

I was standing in the middle of the store, having a goddamn daydream about putting together a bookshelf with her. About bickering over the instructions, her telling me to just read them and me insisting I didn’t need to because I was a man, while secretly hoping she’d never find out I’d always been the type to follow the manual to the letter.

Then we would have sex on her couch in front of the Christmas tree we picked out together like a cute couple from a freaking Hallmark movie and go to Wilder and Christa’s for dinner. We would openly kiss and hold hands in front of them. We would be a real couple. After a fun evening, I would take her home, to my place. We would spend the rest of the night naked in my bed. I could practically smell her even now. Her scent was permanently ingrained on me.

“Excuse me, young man.” An elderly woman tapped my shoulder, jolting me back to reality. “Could you help me reach that jar up there?”

“Of course.” I grabbed it for her.

“Thank you,” she said with a kind smile.

I tossed the shelf into my cart and headed to the checkout before I could change my mind. I wasn’t going to give it to her. Hell, I wasn’t even sure why I bought it. It was stupid, but I did it anyway.

Eventually, I ended up downtown at my favorite little bistro. I had placed an order for pickup—lasagna and a bottle of wine. I wasn’t planning on cooking for myself tonight, not after the day I’d had. It was going to be a quiet night. Me and Netflix and hopefully a really violent movie.

I walked inside, expecting to grab my order and leave, but then I saw him.

No fucking way.

It was him. Andrew. The ex-husband. The man who had taken and taken from Natalia until there was nothing left. The man that had turned her into an icy shell of a human.

He was seated at a table with three other guys, probably colleagues. He must be in town for a business dinner, I figured. I should have left it alone. I should have ignored him, but I couldn’t help myself. This was the moment I had been waiting for, picturing over and over. The moment when I would finally get to confront the bastard.

I walked right up to him. “Are you Andrew?”

He looked up at me, a little confused but mostly annoyed, like I was interrupting something important. He gave me a quick onceover. I knew what he saw. The PR people had me dressed in faded jeans, flannel, and a worn winter jacket. Now that I was popping up in the tabloids and people were taking pictures, I had gone along with it.

He must have thought I was homeless or begging for change because he gave me a look of irritation and pity. He pulled out his wallet and handed me a few dollar bills without a word.

“That’s all I have on me,” he said.

I stared at the money in my hand, then smiled. I counted it out slowly, deliberately. “Thanks,” I said. “This should be enough to cover the rest of Natalia’s student loans.”

Andrew’s face went pale. He glanced around at his buddies, who were watching us with a mixture of confusion and interest. He tried to stand up, but I grabbed him by the front of his fancy jacket and pushed him back down into his chair. The legs of the chair tipped up slightly. He let out a pathetic yelp.

“It was so nice of her to cover your wedding expenses, wasn’t it?” I said coldly, with a smile that felt like it could split my face in half. “Stay the hell away from her.”