DREAMBOAT

THE HAWTHORNES OF NEW YORK

DEBORAH BLADON

FIRST ORIGINAL EDITION, 2024

Copyright © 2024 by Deborah Bladon

All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual person’s, living or dead, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

eBook ISBN: 9781926440743

ISBN: 9798335021746

Book & cover design by Wolf & Eagle Media

deborahbladon.com

CHAPTER ONE

Delia

“Would you care for a glass of champagne, Miss Hawthorne?”

I’m a lifelong New Yorker, so alarm bells start ringing in my head when I hear a stranger say my name.

It takes me no more than a millisecond to quiet that down because the passenger ID badge with my name and picture printed on the front of it is dangling between my breasts from a royal blue lanyard.

It wouldn’t be my first choice of an accessory for the red and white sundress I’m wearing, but it’s a necessary part of my ensemble for the ‘meet and greet’ portion of my evening.

“Sure,” I volley back with a slight smile.

When my younger brother handed me the information packet for this cruise along with a half-hearted “Happy Birthday, Delia,” I was stunned.

I’ve never told Callum that I wanted to go on a cruise to the Caribbean because I didn’t, but he saw fit to buy me a ticket complete with meals and drinks so I could spend five days on the ocean with several hundred people I’ve never met.

The server hands me a tall crystal flute filled with a blush pink bubbly liquid. “Here you go, Miss Hawthorne.”

“It’s Delia,” I tell him as I trade him the champagne for one of the five dollar bills I have tucked in the pocket of my dress.

During the flight from New York City to Miami, I looked up ship tipping etiquette online because the last thing I want to be is someone who doesn’t know the unspoken rules of the sea.

The results of that search were mixed.

Some cruisers on the forum I found wrote that it’s unnecessary to tip on an all-exclusive package, while others commented to tip to your heart’s content.

My heart is telling me that it can’t be all fun and games to handle overzealous passengers and everything that comes with that.

“Wow,” he mutters under his breath. “Thank you. I’m Clever, by the way.”

“Are you now?” I grin as I down half the champagne in one gulp.

“That’s my name,” he further explains to chase away my assumption that he’s clever in a smart kind of way.

“Your name is Clever?” I spit out before I raise the glass to my lips again.

His blue eyes are a perfect complement to his scruffy blond hair.

That online forum I scanned also had a section for anonymous cruise confessions. Let’s just say that it’s not unheard of for the staff to indulge in a little extra fun with the passengers.

It’s going to be a never for Clever and me, though.

I’m not looking for a hook up on this trip. I’m here to enjoy the sun and the two Caribbean ports that promise delicious treats and white sandy beaches that stretch on for miles.

This is the first time I’ve ever taken a vacation alone, and although I’m still reluctant to be here, carving five days out of my life for nothing but relaxation may be just what I need.

“It’s cool, right?” His perfectly straight white teeth gleam bright as he smiles. “My real name is Marvin, but I’m a magician in training. Clever sounds better on stage.”

“You’re a magician?” I ask before finishing the champagne. “How long have you been doing that?”

Without questioning me, he plucks the empty flute from my fingers and replaces it with a full one from the circular tray he’s been balancing on one palm.

I tried waiting tables once years ago. Carrying a tray with more than an empty plate and fork was beyond my skillset, so I was unceremoniously fired partway through my first shift.

“Two years.” He nods. “So I was nineteen when I started. I want my name to be lighting up the Vegas strip by the time I’m twenty-five.”

“You’ll do it,” I say to encourage him because who doesn’t occasionally need to hear that someone has blind faith in them?

His smile widens even more. “Thanks, Delia.”

I sip my champagne while he looks me over. “My shift is over at eleven. We could meet up for more champagne if you want.”

“I’m thirty-one,” I blurt out for some reason.

Clever nods. “Good to know, but age is only a number. Let’s just say I showed some magic to a passenger celebrating her forty-eighth birthday last week, and she’s already booked herself in to sail my way again.”

I can’t help but smile. “I’ll pass on the private magic show.”

“I get it.” He glances toward two women chatting it up near us in this piano bar. “You’ve got someone special waiting for you at home, right?”

I’ve got an empty apartment and a monumental decision waiting for me at my home in Manhattan.

“If you change your mind, I’ll be around,” he promises with an exaggerated wink of his left eye. “A cruise is a place to toss your inhibitions into the sea. No one will know what you do on this ship.”

I contemplate those words as I sip more champagne.

He steps toward me as if he’s going to brush past me, but as soon as he’s beside me, I feel his breath tease the shell of my ear. “Or who you do, beautiful.”

With that, he wanders off.

I finish my bubbly and twirl in a circle, searching for a spot to leave my empty glass.

That concern evaporates as the champagne flute slips from my hand to shatter into a million sharp shards on the polished tile floor.

I gasp, and it’s not from the glass raining down on my open-toed sandals.

Standing less than two feet from me is Dr. Donovan Hunt.

He’s one of the busiest veterinarians in New York City. His smile can and has stopped plenty of traffic, and he’s been the star of many of my fantasies since I first realized he existed.

He also happens to be my older brother’s boss, and before this moment, a virtual stranger to me since we’ve never officially met.

“Delia Hawthorne.” My name comes out of him wrapped in a low growl that sends my imagination into overdrive. “Let me get you out of here.”

I don’t bother asking how or when that’s happening because he answers both silently when he stalks toward me.

The glass crunches under his black dress shoes. I pull my gaze up to notice the dark blue pants and white button-down shirt he’s wearing. It’s open at the collar, revealing just the right amount of tanned chest beneath.

Just as he lifts me into his arms like a bride, he smiles. If that’s not enough to overwhelm my senses, the scent of his cologne hits me and it’s intoxicating.

“I shouldn’t be surprised that all eyes on this cruise are on you,” he says, his voice a decadent treat to my ears. “You’re the most stunning woman here.”

I pinch my arm to make sure this isn’t another of the wine-fueled dreams I often have after I study the pictures on his social media profiles before bed.

“Are you all right, Delia?” Clever suddenly appears out of nowhere. “Your toe is bleeding, so you need to see the ship’s doctor.”

I don’t look for evidence of that myself because the sight of blood makes me queasy.

“I’m fine,” I tell him, holding back from asking him to disappear like a good magician would. “It’s nothing.”

Dr. Hunt stops to assess my foot with a glance toward it. “I believe it’s the ship’s policy for any injured guest to be looked at by a doctor. You should have it checked out.”

I want to suggest he do the checking since he is a doctor, but I’m well aware that his patients generally have four legs and are covered in fur, feathers, or scales.

“I can take her from here.” Clever holds out his arms as if he’s waiting for a big bag of potatoes to be dropped into them.

“I’ve got her,” Donovan assures him. “Tell me where to find the doctor.”

“No.” Clever shakes his head and fists his outstretched hands. “I’ll take her.”

I wiggle slightly because I feel less like a damsel in distress and more like the prize in a pissing match. “I can stand on my own.”

Donovan gently sets me down, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Lean on me if you need to, Delia.”

Need or want?

I keep that question to myself and smile up at him. Still stunned that he’s on this cruise, I shake my head slightly.

“Wait.” He sucks in a deep breath. “I’m assuming you’re aware of who I am. You followed me on Instagram a while ago. I followed back. I’m…”

“Dr. Donovan Hunt,” I finish his introduction for him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

CHAPTER TWO

Donovan

I stand silently in the corner and watch as a man wearing a white lab coat studies Delia’s toes.

He’s barely paid any attention to the one that was bleeding when we first arrived to the ship’s medical facility. I anticipated we’d be ushered into a crowded room, but this spacious area rivals any well-appointed clinic I’ve ever been in.

A nurse greeted Delia and assured her she’d be well taken care of. Then, we were taken down a corridor with three separate exam stations separated by thick curtains.

It’s obvious that the people in charge of this particular cruise line spared no expense in terms of décor and the ratio of staff to guests.

As we made our way here, we must have passed twenty people all decked out in what I assume is the mandatory blue and white staff uniform.

Delia walked half the length of this monstrous vessel with a cut on her toe. I slowed my normal pace to stay in step with her because I knew Clever was trailing us.

Who names their kid Clever?

“Does she need a stitch?” I ask to move this along.

I already know the answer to that question. Since the doctor wiped away the blood, the wound is visible. It’s a surface scrape. Her toe will be as good as new in a day or two with a bit of antibiotic ointment and a small bandage.

“You can’t rush medicine,” the doctor tosses those words out like they mean something.

You can rush it and often have to.

I’m not thrust into life-and-death emergencies on a daily basis, but I do handle critical cases several times each month.

It’s neither here nor there that my patients are pets. Many, if not most of them, are considered treasured family members.

Delia wiggles all of the toes on the foot wrapped in the doctor’s hand. “It’s fine now. I’m good to go.”

His gaze trails up her legs to the hem of her dress.

When we arrived, he asked her to sit on the exam table. I saw the merit in that since he didn’t want to bend down to gaze at her foot, but he’s taking the concept of a thorough exam to a new level.

“I’ll keep an eye on it,” I offer.

“Me too,” Clever adds his voice to the mix. “I can stop by Delia’s cabin every few hours to check out her toe and anything else she needs checking.”

I toss him my best back-the-hell-off look, but he’s not paying attention to anything but Delia’s breasts.

She’s a petite brown-eyed blonde with a beautiful face and lush curves. It’s no wonder all three men in this crowded room can’t take their eyes off her. In the case of Dr. Feelingherfeet, he can’t take his hands off her either.

Feil. His name is Dr. Feil.

I’m thirty-six and a successful professional. I’m not a jealous fifteen-year-old kid.

I can’t even recall if jealousy was a part of my psyche as a teenager. I’ve never wanted for the attention of a woman, or back then, a girl. I’ve always sported a look that’s considered attractive.

Wavy brown hair, blue-green eyes, and a frame that’s tall and fit are the exterior package.

The added appeal, or so I’ve been told, is that I run a veterinary practice that consistently tops the list of best in the city. I consider my staff my friends, and I have a home that’s bought and paid for in a trendy neighborhood in what I think is the greatest city in the world.

“Can you put a bandage on my toe so I can go?” Delia asks. “I’d like to get back to my cabin, Dr. Feil.”

I’d like to follow her there because although our joint presence on this cruise ship could be considered random, I now have an idea of why the brochure boasting its many virtues was on a table in the break room of my clinic.

I was having a shitty day when I scooped the brochure up and glanced at the glossy images of the ship. I read a few bullet points about the size of the onboard pools, the casino, and the promise that it would be “the trip of a lifetime.”

At the time, I wasn’t necessarily looking for that, but I did need an escape since I had just lost two patients in the span of three hours, so I took the brochure to my office in the clinic. I went online and booked a five-day journey on the ocean. I upgraded from a standard cabin to a luxury stateroom because why the hell not?

I almost canceled twice, including last night before I boarded a direct flight from JFK airport to Miami.

Knowing Delia Hawthorne is on this cruise makes the time away from work worth my while since I’ve been admiring her from afar for months. Afar being from behind the screen of my phone as I scroll through her social media feeds daily.

Dr. Feil finally pushes back the rolling stool he’s been sitting on. He stands, adjusting the front of his white trousers in an attempt to conceal an obvious erection. He fails miserably because the fabric of his pants is paper-thin.

“Thank you,” she whispers in anticipation of him finally doing the job the cruise line hired him to do. “Can I still go in the pool?”

He nods. “In whatever color bikini you brought with you.”

There’s no smile on her face in response, just a slight shake of her head.

I shove both hands into the front pockets of my pants. I’ve already seen her in both a white and red bikini. That was in image form since she posted pictures on her socials of a trip to The Hamptons last summer.

My inquiring mind did indeed force my hand to scroll as far back as I could to look at all of the pictures Delia ever posted. It took hours and two bottles of beer, but it was a night I’ll never forget.

“I’ll walk you back to your cabin,” Clever offers from where he’s still standing.

“Aren’t you needed somewhere other than here?” I ask before Delia can respond.

“I don’t want you to get fired,” she adds. “You should go, Clever. Thanks for your help.”

Those words are enough to buoy the kid’s mood because he flashes her a smile that I suspect gets him a hell of a lot of attention.

A simple blown kiss sent in her direction from him brings a grin to her lips and keeps her gaze pinned on him until he’s out of the room.

I can’t deny it this time when a sharp bite of jealousy nips at me, but Delia immediately chases it away when she glances in my direction and offers me a radiant smile along with a slight lift of her left eyebrow.

“Will you walk me back to my cabin, Donovan?” she asks, keeping her eyes locked on mine.

“I’d love to.”

CHAPTER THREE

Delia

Donovan slows his pace to match mine as we stroll through an air-conditioned corridor on our way to my cabin.

Asking him to walk me there was a split second decision. Ever since I saw him in the piano bar, there have been a million questions bouncing around in my head including how he ended up on this ship headed toward the Caribbean.

Donovan and I are both thousands of miles from home. I suppose in a small world kind of way it’s not that uncommon to cross paths with someone on a cruise ship that lives in the same city as you.

The odds of crossing that same path with the man who signs your older brother’s paycheck must be astronomical.

I feel very lucky in an unexpected way. Maybe I should veer us off course so we can head straight to the onboard casino.

“You’re probably wondering how I ended up on the same cruise as you,” Donovan breaks the silence that has been weighing us down since we left Dr. Feil’s office. “A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a brochure for the cruise in the break room at work. Premier Pet Care’s break room.”

I can’t tell if he adds on the name of the veterinary clinic he owns as a subtle humble brag or if he thinks I’m going to somehow confuse which of my two older twin brothers he works with.

Matthew is the veterinarian and the man Donovan hired a few years ago.

Roman is an estate lawyer and a dad to three kids.

They may look identical to an unfamiliar eye, but I can tell them apart with ease. Besides, their personalities are nothing alike.

Glancing up at him, I nod. “My younger brother got me the trip as a birthday gift. Matt told me that he ran the idea by him first, so that could be the reason why you found the brochure.”

Or another employee of his decided to break free of the confines of New York City to set sail on the calm waters of the Atlantic for a few days.

He smiles. “That makes sense.”

For a brief moment after I first saw him earlier, I wondered if he planned on being here because he’s crushing on me the same way I’ve been crushing on him for months.

I first realized what a hotter-than-all-heck man he is when I was on my way to drop off a sandwich for Matt at the clinic one day. Donovan was on his way out with my brother.

Time stalled for a second in what felt like an epic big screen romance movie moment.

He is literally the best looking man I’ve ever seen, and as I steadied my breathing to a normal pace on that sidewalk, I thought about what I’d say when I walked up to him and Matt.

Unfortunately, Roman decided to call me at that exact moment in need of a favor for his daughters. I took off to help him with the bag with Matt’s sandwich inside still clenched in my fist, and my heart thundering in my chest.

Later that day, I followed every social media account I could find that belonged to Dr. Donovan Hunt.

We round the corner headed toward my cabin. “Is this your first cruise?”

It’s my spin on the generic ‘do-you-come-here-often’ question I’ve seen asked way too many times in the old-school romance movies I watch.

“It is. I’m a cruise virgin,” he says in a voice that is peppered with years of experience in all forms.

I bet the man is a beast in bed. He gives off that energy. Even his images on social media scream that he’s confident, commanding, and more than capable of showing a woman a good time. He exudes an intense magnetism that can’t be ignored.

I smile at the notion that this man is a virgin in any sense.

“What about you, Delia?” he asks with a perk of his left eyebrow. “Have you sailed the open sea before?”

“Never,” I answer without hesitation. “I’ve also never wanted to, but I’m not one to turn down such a generous gift.”

“Maybe your brother knew exactly what you needed.”

“Maybe,” I say as we near my cabin door. “Now, that I’m here, I’m looking forward to enjoying the rest of the voyage.”

He takes a cue from me as I slow my pace. He does the same, his gaze dropping to the low-heeled open toed sandals I’m wearing. “How does your toe feel?”

“Good,” I answer truthfully. “It’ll feel better when I get into the tub and have a nice, long soak.”

His gaze trails my entire body from head to foot and then charts a course right back up until his eyes meet mine. “I’ll see you around?”

“It’s a big ship,” I point out. “But I’m sure we’ll cross paths again.”

“We will.” He nods like he’s intent on making certain that does indeed happen. “It was nice to officially meet you, Delia.”

I wait to see if he’ll hold out a hand because I’m not opposed to touching him again. Something definitely sparked inside me when he scooped me into his arms earlier.

When he shoves both hands into the front pockets of his pants, I take a step closer to my cabin door. “Goodnight, Donovan.”

“Goodnight.”

I stand in the corridor and watch him walk away, wondering when exactly I’ll see him again.

CHAPTER FOUR

Donovan

The urge to call my clinic and ask if things are running smoothly is strong, but I promised my cousin when I was packing my bag for this vacation that I’d leave the work to those I pay well to take care of it.

I employ a dozen people who view my business through the same lens that I do. Our goal is to provide the best medical care possible to every pet brought into our clinic.

I get out of bed each day determined to do what I can for the people who trust me and my staff to do right by the animals they consider family members.

“A splash of champagne in that would take it to a new level.”

I glance to my right and find a young woman standing near me. Since she’s not decked out in a blue and white uniform, I quickly realize she’s not working on this ship.

The multi-colored bikini top she’s wearing should have been my first clue.

I don’t drop my gaze to see if the bottom matches the top. Instead, I focus on her brown eyes and the hope dancing in them.

If she wants an invite to sit and share this table with me, I can give her that. “Are you looking for a place to sit?”

The corners of her glossy lips edge down slightly as if I’ve disappointed her. “Sure. I could use a place to sit.”

I stand and tug on the back of the chair to the left of mine. It’s a square table set up near the breakfast buffet. On any normal day, I don’t indulge in breakfast until after my morning run, but since I skipped that today, I opted for a cup of lightly sweetened coffee along with the tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice my table companion already commented on.

She sits down, her gaze roaming the room as she does. “Are you here alone?”

“I am.”

Her eyes drop to the white polo shirt I’m wearing and the black shorts I tugged on early this morning when I got out of the shower.

“I’m Felicia,” she introduces herself with a smile.

“Donovan.” I take my seat again.

“Back to the perfect breakfast beverage.” Her blue eyes sparkle. “Is there champagne in your orange juice?”

The way she’s looking at me suggests she’s more interested in me than what I’m drinking. Back in Manhattan, I’d likely pursue this and play along, but my mind has been stuck on Delia Hawthorne since last night.

I’m not a man who misreads situations or imagines things that aren’t there. There was palpable energy coursing between Delia and me as we walked to her cabin.

I didn’t expect an invite into her room, so there wasn’t a lick of disappointment on my part when that didn’t transpire. I know I’ll run into her again this afternoon, if not this morning since I have every intention of seeking her out.

Her recent social media posts haven’t hinted that there’s a man in her life, but I’ll lure that information out of her before the sun sets over the ocean.

“No champagne.” I float a palm over the rim of the glass in front of me. “I’m pacing myself today.”

That sends Felicia’s head back in laughter. “Why? My motto is to jump in and enjoy every second because this is an adventure.”

We lock eyes briefly and I see a flash of something in hers. She wants me to take part in her adventure.

“I plan on having a drink with someone later,” I tell her. “Someone I share a connection with from home.”

It’s a vague enough statement to get the point across that I’m not looking for the same thing she is.

This time there’s no mistaking the disappointment that taints her expression. “I thought you said you were alone, Donovan.”

I pat the top of the table with two fingertips. “I’m here alone this morning, but I don’t plan on spending all of my time alone on this trip.”

Tucking a lock of her curly brown hair behind her ear, she nods. “I get it. Until then, we can share the table for breakfast, right?”

I glance up when I hear someone cough next to me. I look up into the face of a guy who looks to be in his mid-twenties. His gaze is stuck on Felicia’s face.

“Can I sit with you?” he asks her, ignoring me completely. “I think we said hi in passing when we were both boarding yesterday.”

Felicia nods slowly. “I remember that. It’s Brandon, right?”

“Brayden,” he offers the subtle correction. “Can I sit with you, or are you with him?”

I’m finally acknowledged even though he doesn’t glance in my direction at all.

“Sit,” she instructs him with a point of her finger at one of the two vacant chairs at our table. “He’s just a new friend.”

We share a smile across the table before Brayden steals her attention again.

I’ll take the ‘new friend’ title from this pretty woman, and any other woman on this ship, except Delia. I want to be more than a friend to her; so much more than a friend.

CHAPTER FIVE

Delia

I settle on one of the comfortable lounge chairs facing the smallest pool on the ship.

I struggled with the decision of which pool to spend the next two hours next to. I weighed the pros and cons but ultimately opted for this one because I’m going to slowly edge my way into mingling with the other passengers as the day goes on.

“Delia!”

I glance up when I hear my name being called out.

A soft smile glides over my lips when I see Clever on the approach with a single red rose in one hand and a glass of something that looks not only tropical but delicious in the other.

“I brought these for you.” He presents both the flower and the drink to me. “Something pretty to look at and something perfect to drink.”

I take both, carefully placing them on the small white circular table next to me. “Thank you.”

I look up at his face. His blonde hair is mussed from the light wind that is cooling the air to just the right temperature. With the endless clear blue sky as a backdrop, he looks tempting, but he’s not the guy I’m looking to spend more time with.

That man is headed my way.

Even though he’s wearing sunglasses that block the view of his eyes, I can tell that the smile on Donovan’s lips is lighting up his entire face.

“Oh great,” Clever mutters under his breath when he catches sight of Donovan over his shoulder. “Look who it is.”

“It’s Dr. Hunt,” I say in a breathy tone.

“He’s a doctor?” Clever questions.

I nod. “In New York City. We both live there.”

He sighs heavily. “Some guys hit the life lottery.”

I laugh that off. “Can you bring him one of those drinks, too?”

It’s a big ask considering the fact that I’m sure Clever was hoping to score some alone time with me in exchange for the fancy drink.

“Yeah.” He exhales sharply. “Why not?”

Before there’s a chance for him to greet Donovan, he takes off in the opposite direction.

“Did I chase him away?” Donovan asks as soon as he’s within a foot of where I’m sprawled out.

“I asked him to get you one of these.” I point at the tri-colored drink that I have yet to sample.

He slides the glasses down the bridge of his nose to get a better look at the tall beverage with the pink straw and blue umbrella perched in it. “He agreed to do that? Willingly?”

Laughing, I remove my sunglasses and set them on the top of my head. “He didn’t say no.”

Donovan barks out a deep laugh. “Something tells me that you could ask Clever to do cartwheels across the entire length of this deck, and he’d happily do that.”

“Should I ask him?” I grin. “It’s impossible not to admire a good cartwheel.”

Donovan plucks his sunglasses off too and studies me. “Is that so? The last time I did a cartwheel I was maybe twelve or thirteen.”

“How long ago was that?” I ask.

I’ve guessed his age to be in the mid to late thirties range. Matt and Roman are thirty-three and Matt told me that this boss is slightly older than him.

“I’m thirty-six,” he tells me. “Would you mind if I grabbed that lounge chair next to you?”

I glance at it. “You should since there’s a spectacular drink coming your way courtesy of Clever.”

He looks in the direction Clever disappeared to. “You have a lot more faith in him than I do.”

Without any warning, he whips the shirt he’s wearing over his head to reveal a toned and tanned torso. My gaze trails over it stopping to admire the way his black swimming trunks hang low on his hips.

My heart thunders in my chest so loudly that it feels like the sounds of the people around me have been muted.

I quickly look down only to realize that I am wearing a very tiny black bikini.

I knew when I put it on earlier that there was a chance that I’d run into Donovan at some point before I headed back to my room, but now with my nipples straining against the fabric I wish I had kept my cover up on.

If I cross my arms that will draw attention to my tits, so I start talking to hopefully keep his gaze planted firmly on my face. “Did you sleep well?”

The question takes him by surprise. I can tell by the way he tilts his chin down. “I did. Did you?”

No. I did not.

I had a recurring dream about him.

We were back in New York City. I was walking down the sidewalk. He was approaching me and then just as I neared him, poof he disappeared into thin air.

That’s when I woke up and each time I drifted off again, I found myself back on that sidewalk hoping the dream would end with him sweeping me up and into his arms.

It never happened.

“Sure,” I say with a sigh.

I can tell by his expression that he’s not completely sold on my answer. His hands drop to his hips. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, that lures my gaze back down to that carved V that leads beneath his swim trunks.

I reach up to grab my sunglasses to put them back on.

“How’s your toe feeling this morning?” he asks as he lowers himself onto the lounge chair next to me.

His long legs stretch out. His arms fall to his side.

Our hands are literally less than three inches apart. It would take almost no effort for me to reach out and touch him.

“My toe is just fine,” I say with too much exuberance. I wiggle it for good measure. “See?”

His gaze slowly trails over my entire body until it reaches my toe. “It looks perfect to me.”

I hide a smile behind my hand as I lean back and close my eyes briefly to center my bearings.

“So, your brother’s gift was just for you?” he asks in a low growl. “Am I safe to assume you’re sailing alone, Delia?”

I pluck off my sunglasses to look directly at him. “Yes. I’m sailing alone.”

His eyes fall to my lips. “What about at home? Is there someone waiting for you when you get back to Manhattan?”

I’m all for cutting to the chase if the chase involves him coming for me. He may be my brother’s boss, but we’re both on vacation. I’m of the firm belief that, much like Vegas, whatever happens on the open water stays there.

“I’m single,” I answer succinctly. “Are you?”

“Very.” His hand brushes against mine. “Now seems like the perfect time to confess that I’ve been stalking you online.”

My hand jumps to the center of my chest. His gaze follows, and this time, I’m not embarrassed that my nipples are still furled into tight little points beneath my bikini top.

“Should I be scared by that?” I tease. “Or honored?”

He leans closer, so his breath rushes over my cheek. “Both. The brochure I found in the break room for this cruise promised the trip of a lifetime. I’m beginning to believe that’s possible.”

I pull back slightly to lock eyes with him. “Anything is possible.”

CHAPTER SIX

Donovan

“Anything is possible.”

Delia’s soft words echo through my mind as I watch her thank Clever for the drink he brought me. It’s an exact replica of the one sitting on a table next to her. I’m still holding onto the one that was placed in my hand mere moments ago.

“I just found out I’ll be in the talent showcase tonight,” Clever says, stealing Delia’s attention from me. “It’s a short set, but I’d love if you’d come and watch me perform.”

Her gaze shifts from his face to mine. “What do you think?”

I think she just asked if I want to join her watch this guy perform in some capacity at a public talent show. I can’t sing to save my life and although I’m a decent dancer, I wouldn’t put myself in a position to get on a stage so a spotlight is shining on me. I don’t need him to show off an impressive ability that I have yet to perfect.

“Clever is a magician,” she fills me in with a bright smile. “It could be fun.”

“It will be fun,” Clever adds. “I guess it’s okay if you bring him with you.”

Since I wasn’t seeking his permission, I don’t acknowledge him at all. “Let’s do it.”

Delia nods before she looks back at him. “Tell us where and what time.”

He takes the opportunity to share that information by crouching next to her and lowering his voice. The only thing I make out is nine. I assume that’s the time when Clever will show off his magic skills. It’ll take a bite of out of what I had planned for our evening, but I’ll make it work.

Leaning away from him, she nods. “We’ll be there.”

He takes the cue and glides back to standing. “Cool. Prepare to be amazed.”

“I can’t wait,” she says and I can’t tell if it’s sincere or not.

I, on the other hand, can wait. I’ll wait patiently for as long as it takes for this guy to take off so I can get back to my one on one time with Delia.

“Thanks for the drink,” I finally show him some gratitude.

His gaze lands on my face. “Not a problem, Doc.”

“I told him you were a doctor,” Delia clarifies with a glance in my direction before her attention is back on him. “Donovan is a veterinarian.”

“Really?” He rubs his chin while he contemplates that. “I once had a cat that had this strange rash on her belly.”

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that, I would have a few spare bucks lying around. “Did you get that rash figured out?”

“The cat ran away before I could.” He shrugs. “I found out a year later she ran right over to my ex girlfriend’s place. I couldn’t blame the cat for that.”

The magician’s sob story must be pulling at Delia’s heartstrings because she lets out a soft sigh. “That’s too bad.”

“I guess it all worked out in the end.” He shrugs. “That breakup pushed me out of my comfort zone. I got this job and I haven’t looked back since.”

“You made the decision just like that?” Delia snaps her fingers. “Did you give it much thought or you jumped in headfirst?”

I can’t tell if she’s genuinely looking to him for life advice or if she’s asking to boost his confidence.

“Sometimes you need to take a leap.” He points toward the calm blue water of the pool. “You won’t know where you land until you do.”

Another passenger waves a hand toward him.

“Looks like I’m needed elsewhere.” He shoots me a glance before he offers Delia another smile. “I’ll see you tonight, Delia.”

“You will.” She nods. “Thanks again for the drink and the rose.”

Since he did make an effort to bring me a drink I take a sip. The floral aftertaste is strong enough that I’m tempted to spit it out, but I swallow hard while Delia studies me.

“What do you think?” she asks with a sly smile on her full lips.

I think I want to slide my hardening cock between them, but I need to pace myself because we’ve got time… we’ve got nothing but time on this ship since we’re miles from shore and our lives back home.

“It’s different,” I say with a grin.

“Not in a good way,” she surmises. “Your eyebrows pinched together when you tasted it. I assume that means it was a little too something for you?”

“Am I that transparent?” I place the drink down since I don’t intend on sampling it again.

“We all have subtle cues.” She skims a fingertip under her left eye. “For me it’s a slight twitch in my eye. If I don’t like something, it always twitches.”

I lean slightly forward until our faces are mere inches apart. “It’s not twitching now, so you must like me.”

Her eyes squint as she smiles. “I might like you.”

“Might?”

She casts her gaze down before it locks on mine again. “Yes, might.”

“It’s still not twitching,” I point out, leaning even closer so our lips are almost touching. “Tell, me, Delia…do you like the drink as much as you like me.”

Faint movement in her left eye lures my gaze to it.

I laugh aloud. “I guess I have my answer.”

Smiling, she shakes her head slightly. “The drink is a little too sweet for me.”

“Me too,” I confess. “We’ll enjoy something we both like over dinner tonight.”

“We’re having dinner together tonight?” she asks as if she wasn’t hoping for it.

“You know we are.”

She nods. “We can do that before we watch Clever perform a few magic tricks.”

I’d prefer to skip that but she promised the guy she’d show up, so I want to be by her side when she does. Clever has done nothing to hide his interest in Delia, and I’m not about to clear a path to give him what he wants since I want her more than he possibly can.

“You can pick me up at my cabin at seven,” she says as she suddenly moves to stand.

I take it all in, marveling at how her swimsuit looks like it’s painted on. Her body is beautiful, but with the sun glowing behind her, her face is breathtaking.

“Enjoy the sun and the pool.” She looks toward it.

I’d invite her to stay and do the same, but she obviously has other plans.

I glide to stand, too. “I’ll see you tonight, Delia.”

She scoops up a tote bag, her sunglasses, and what looks like a white cotton cover up before she slips her feet into the same sandals she was wearing last night. “I’m looking forward to it.”

As am I, so I nod.

My gaze stays pinned to her as she walks away. Her blonde hair bounces off her shoulders as her lush ass sways with each step.

“Jesus,” I say under my breath. “Tonight can’t come soon enough.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Delia

My first apartment in Manhattan was a quaint little studio with a lumpy mattress and a dead houseplant that the landlord warned me not to toss in the trash. I didn’t. Instead, I watered the damn thing almost every day and added the best plant food I could afford to the soil.

It did nothing. It was completely brown and crumbling when I moved out a year later, but it must have meant something to the landlord because he gave me back my entire security deposit even though I took a chance and painted one of the walls a horrid shade of green.

I did that because one of my professors at the time believed that green paint could electrify a person’s soul. I bought into it and went to the hardware store, gathered everything I needed to transform my tiny space and spent an entire Saturday afternoon following his advice.

As it turned out, that advice was nothing but a test. When class resumed on Monday morning, he asked for a show of hands for those who painted over the weekend.

My hand shot up, along with a few others.

The professor laughed and told us that we had bought into his advice because of his position as an educated superior.

That pissed me off enough that I challenged him in my next paper. He apparently saw that move as worthy of a high grade and I finished the course with nothing but accolades from him.

That was but one of the many adventures I’ve had throughout my long journey to learn as much as I can in my lifetime.

Drawing in a deep breath, I glance around my cabin. It’s smaller than that apartment I called home for twelve months, but I feel much less claustrophobic on this cruise ship. I suspect that’s because I can see the ocean through the small rectangular window on the wall next to the bed.

The entire cabin is decorated in a muted way with wood trim and white linens. The carpet that covers the floors extends into the corridors. It’s a clean and comfortable look that feels calming to me.

When Callum gave me my birthday gift, he apologized for not booking me a stateroom but they were all spoken for on this particular cruise. I know he chose these dates because he felt it worked best into my schedule. He was right.

A soft knock at the door sends my gaze in that direction before I glance at the vintage gold watch on my wrist.

It’s two minutes to seven.

I look toward the full-length mirror that is near the door. It’s a perfect spot for it. Each time I’ve been on the cusp of leaving the cabin, I check myself out.

Tonight I’m wearing a simple red dress, red heels and I’ve pinned my hair up into a messy bun. It screams sophisticated and stylish to me.

I swing the door open with a flourish and I’m not disappointed in the least.

Dressed in black pants, and a light blue button-down shirt, Donovan looks as gorgeous as ever.

I almost tell him that, but I stop the words before they leave my lips.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he says with a growl. “How are you so fucking beautiful, Delia?”

The admiration woven into those words and the desperate note that’s present in his voice weakens my knees enough that I reach out a hand to him.

He takes it without an ounce of hesitation, bringing it silently to his mouth before he presses his lips against my wrist. His nose trails over my skin. “The fragrance you wear is perfect.”

“It’s from Matiz,” I blurt out the name of the company that makes the fragrance. “I like it a lot.”

He kisses my wrist again. “Me too.”

I catch him glancing past me toward the perfectly made bed. A mental image of the sheets twisted around us as he kisses a path down my stomach flashes through my mind.

“We should go,” I mumble. “You promised me wine.”

His hand tightens around mine. “That I did.”

Reluctantly, I tug free of his grasp to grab my red clutch purse. “I’m ready if you are.”

When I turn to face him again, he drops his gaze to the front of my dress before he trails it back up. “I’m ready for whatever the night brings.”

So am I.

“I don’t think your future is in magic,” Donovan says as I rejoin him at our table.

I can’t help but laugh. “Seriously? I thought I did great.”

“That’s the thing.” He stands in order to pull my chair back so I can sit. “You outshone Clever and he was supposed to be the star of the act. No one could take their eyes off of you.”

I drop back into the chair I left when Clever called me up on stage to be his assistant. “He made me disappear, Donovan. That was impressive.”

“It was terrifying.” He laughs. “I held my breath until you reappeared. If you hadn’t, I would have marched up on stage, walked into that box and searched for you myself.”

I can’t help but laugh, too, at the thought of that. “You wouldn’t have had to search far.”

He rests an elbow on the table to lean closer to me. “Are you going to reveal the magician’s secret?”

I could.

Clever whispered in my ear that as soon as he closed the door on the tall rectangular box I had stepped in, I had to duck out of a panel on the back wall, and then sneak back in when he told the crowd that I’d reappear.

I pulled it off seamlessly as a chorus of oohs and ahhs filled this theater.

Even though a bite of pain tore through my scraped toe, I was determined to make the trick appear real.

It was nowhere near the type of illusion that is common on the Las Vegas strip, but it was enough to satisfy the small group of passengers who wandered in to watch some of the cruise staff show off their hidden talents.

“I might be persuaded to do that,” I tease. “It depends on what the pay off would be.”

His eyes widen. “I’d make it worth your while, Delia. That I can promise you.”

He gives me a taste of that when he reaches for my hand to give it a soft kiss.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I glance to where Clever is chatting up two women who seem stuck on his every word. “I think my work here is done.”

“That means it’s time to dance,” he says, surprising me. “Unless you need to rest your toe.”

The last time I danced with a man was at Roman’s wedding. When he married his wife, Bianca, I hit the dance floor with him as we reminisced about how our lives had changed since we were kids.

“I’d love to dance with you,” I tell him as I gaze into his eyes.

Keeping my hand in his, he moves to stand. “Come with me. I promise you a dance you’ll never forget.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Donovan

Delia Hawthorne is a much better dancer than I am and that’s saying a lot since I consider myself an above average partner on the dance floor.

I attribute those skills to my maternal grandmother who decided that all of her grandchildren had to know how to cook, sew, and dance by the time they graduated high school.

The cooking came in handy because take-out is not sustainable when you’re a kid in college trying to make ends meet on a meager part-time salary. Having rudimentary sewing skills gave me a leg up when it came time to perfect the art of suturing.

As for the dancing, I didn’t see the value in it other than it put a smile on my grandmother’s face whenever I asked her for a dance when I visited her. I suspect that was her true motivation for insisting I learn every ballroom dance ever known to man.

“You’re a better dancer than I thought you’d be.” Delia glances up at my face as I twirl her around the crowded dance floor.

This ship has three separate venues that offer passengers the chance to cut a rug, so we made a point to visit each one so we could rank them at the end of the night.

The one we’re currently enjoying tops my list since we’re beneath the stars with the added benefit of a cool ocean breeze nipping at us.

Goose bumps trail up Delia’s arms but I can’t tell if that’s courtesy of the light wind or my hand on her waist.

“Is that so?” I question back as I squeeze her hand in mine. “You thought I’d be a shitty dancer?”

“Average,” she clarifies. “Most men aren’t that great at dancing.”

I give her a tight, unexpected spin that draws a small moan from her lips. I realized the move resulted in that reaction when I took her into my arms as we waltzed to an old-time classic in the first club we visited.

The music that’s pumping out of the speakers now is fast paced, but we’re not keeping time with it. Instead, we’re still moving in tune with each other while everyone in our vicinity dances circles around us.

“Is that common knowledge or are you speaking from experience?”

That earns me a small laugh. “I’ve danced with my fair share of men.”

I’ve danced with my fair share of women, too, but none of that matters at the moment.

I study her face carefully. “In other words, many if not most of the men you’ve danced with haven’t impressed you?”

She tilts her head slightly. “They haven’t.”

“I’m impressing you,” I say with confidence.

She doesn’t argue the point. Instead, she offers me a slight nod of her chin.

“You’re impressing me too, Delia,” I tell her something I sense she already knows since I’ve hummed in appreciation repeatedly as she’s kept in step with my every move.

She let me lead each dance without question. I have no complaints, but she strikes me as the type of woman who has no issue with making her preferences known to her partner. Whether that’s on the dance floor or in bed.

“I know.” She smiles. “I can tell.”

If she’s talking about my semi-erection, I’m fine with that. She’s a beautiful woman and she’s been pressed up against me for the better part of the past two hours. I’m actually shocked that the raging hard-on I was fighting when I first took her to the dance floor has lessened at all.

Her gaze leaves my face to float past my shoulder. Tension tightens her body almost instantly.

“What’s wrong?” I question before I glance in the direction she’s looking to see trouble on the approach.

Clever, still dressed in his all black magician outfit, is sprinting toward us. The sparkly top hat on his head can’t be necessary at this point since the talent showcase shut down twenty minutes after he finished his set.

“Delia!” he calls out to her with a raised hand.

Her gaze darts to my face. “Clever is here.”

“He should make himself disappear,” I whisper.

Her head falls back in laughter as he comes into view next to us. He’s not alone, though. Another blond-haired guy is right behind him and he’s dressed in what looks like a skin colored loincloth. That’s it. Not another stitch of clothing.

Naturally, Delia’s eyes widen when she spots him because it’s obvious that he hits the gym more times a week than is humanely possible if one wants to make time for eating, sleeping, and anything that doesn’t involve working out.

“Delia!” Clever yells her name again, even though he’s less than a foot away from her. “I wanted to know if you know my friend. He lives in New York City, too.”

As do eight million other people.

Delia keeps her eyes pinned on the face of the guy in the loincloth. “No. We’ve never met.”

“Are you sure?” Clever pushes. “You’re both thirty-one. Maybe you went to school together.”

“I already told you I don’t know her.” The guy smiles at Delia like he really wants to know her. “I’m happy to meet you, though. I’m Matt.”

Delia’s gaze darts to my face. I see a flash of something there. I’d label it as panic or surprise. Maybe she does actually know this guy, or her reaction could be based on the fact that he shares a name with her brother.

“Hi, Matt,” she almost whispers. “I’m Delia Hawthorne.”

“Matt works as a concierge,” Clever explains. “He was first up in the talent showcase. He showed off his acrobatic skills but you arrived too late to see it.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles.

“I’m Donovan.” I step in to give Delia a chance to catch her breath since it’s obvious something has thrown her way off the course we were on before we were interrupted.

Matt takes my hand for a hearty shake. “Now, you look familiar to me. Do we know each other?”

“He’s a vet,” Clever offers.

Matt narrows his eyes. “Premier Pet Care, right? I brought my iguana there years ago. I’m talking six or seven years.”

I rarely forget a patient, but the people who bring them in are often forgettable. Apparently, Matt fits that bill, but I don’t clue him into that. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too.” He shakes my hand again. “If you need anything, let me know. That goes for both of you.”

I watch as he catches Delia’s eye once again. She breaks the shared gaze to look up at me. “I think it’s time for me to call it a night. I’m going to head back to my cabin.”

“I’ll walk you,” I offer, wanting at least a few more minutes with her tonight.

“No, that’s all right.” She squeezes my forearm. “It’s not far. I’ll be fine.”

Without another word or a glance back at me, she leaves the deck and disappears into a group of people, leaving me to wonder what the hell just happened?

CHAPTER NINE

Delia

I spent most of the night tossing and turning in my bed. It’s not that it wasn’t as comfortable as a cloud. My mind was the source of my insomnia.

As soon as Clever’s friend introduced himself to me, I couldn’t think of anything but my brother.

Matthew works for Donovan. They spend hours together each day. I happen to know that my brother loves his job at Premier Pet Care. He respects Donovan and he’s said more than once that he plans on holding onto the job until the day he retires.

Whatever happens on this ship between his boss and me could impact his life in many ways.

Even though Matthew has unending admiration for Donovan, I’ve heard him comment on his boss’s commitment to remain single forever. I feel the same way. That means that if something does happen between us on this cruise, that when we get back to Manhattan, we’ll go on with our separate lives.

I can’t speak to whether that will be awkward for Donovan, but I know me, and I’m confident that every time I see my brother I’ll have flashbacks of this cruise and my time with his boss.

I’m not a clinger by any means, but I have cherished memories of almost all of my past lovers and since I’ve run into a few throughout the years I know that it can stir up a lot of buried feelings.

I try to avoid that complication if possible, so I already know it wouldn’t be wise for me to start anything with Donovan since he’s going to be an important part of my brother’s life for decades to come.

I step out of the shower and towel off quickly. Since I’m heading out soon to lounge by yet another of the impressive pools on this ship, I don’t take the time to dry and style my hair.

It has a light curl to it when I let it do its own thing. It’s not a bad look and with just a little makeup, and a whole lot of sunscreen, I’ll be ready to face the sun and whatever else today brings.

“You can get almost anything on this ship, but a loincloth.”

A smile slides over my lips when I hear Donovan’s voice near me.

I crack open an eyelid behind my sunglasses to find him standing at my feet. I’ve been on this lounge chair for the better part of two hours. In that time, I’ve read a few chapters of the new Nicholas Wolf novel and indulged in two strawberry mojitos.

Whoever is preparing them is heavy-handed with the rum, but I don’t have a single complaint since it’s helped calm me down.

“Are you saying you need a loincloth?” I question as I try not to stare at his bare chest.

Today, he’s wearing blue board shorts that are sitting low on his hips. The man is divine in every way imaginable from the sound of his voice to the deep V that disappears beneath the shorts.

“You were practically speechless after you saw Clever’s friend in his.”

I can’t tell if he’s avoiding saying Matt’s name for a reason, so I say it instead. “You mean Matt?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “Matt the loincloth wearing acrobat from New York City. Not to be confused with your brother, the veterinarian I consider a friend.”

“And an employee,” I add.

He motions toward the empty lounge chair next to me. “Can I join you, Delia?”

I’m not sure if the mojitos are playing a part in my decision, but I nod. “Sure.”

He takes no time at all in sitting down before he settles onto it, stretching out his long legs.

I take the last sip of my second drink through the straw. “Do you want a mojito?”

“I’d love one.”

I motion for the woman who has been bringing me drinks since I sat down. I wave two fingers in the air to indicate that I want another along with an extra for the man next to me.

She smiles in understanding before she disappears out of sight.

“What happened last night, Delia?” he asks without any preamble. “You took off in a rush after Clever and Matt interrupted us.”

I glance down at the white bikini I chose to wear today. It’s snug and sexy as fuck. I don’t know if I subconsciously picked this one because I was hoping Donovan would see me in it, or not.

When I look back at him, his eyes are glued to my body.

“If something happens between us, what happens when we get home?”

My question draws his hand up to his sunglasses. He slides them off so his gaze can meet mine. “You’re worried about what happens after we fuck?”

I stare at his lips. Hearing that word stirs up so much inside of me.

“We both want it,” he says in a lower tone. “Unless, I’m shit at reading cues, you want me to fuck you as badly as I want it.”

Since my voice has suddenly abandoned me, I simply nod.

“What do you want to happen after we leave this ship?” He effortlessly tosses the ball back in my court.

“You don’t want anything serious.” I quickly amend that, “I think you don’t want anything serious based on what I’ve heard about you.”

A chuckle rumbles through him. “What exactly has your brother told you about me?”

“Nothing,” I lie. “You’re thirty-six. You’re hot as hell and you’re single. You’ve never been married, right?”

“Never.”

“That all adds up to a committed bachelor.” I raise my hand. “I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that since I’m a committed bachelorette.”

He smiles. “Good to know.”

“I don’t want it to be awkward if we cross paths.” I blow out a breath. “When Matthew and Faith get married for example. He’ll probably invite you to the wedding.”

“He better.” He grins. “Faith is a perfect match for him, by the way.”

I have to agree since my brother’s fiancée is everything he’s ever wanted in a woman. The depth of their love is immeasurable.

“If we sleep together on this ship, what’s going to happen when we see each other at the wedding?”

His fingertips trail over the back of my hand. “We’re adults, Delia. We’ll say hello, maybe share a dance. I wouldn’t be opposed to recreating what I hope will happen later today.”

“We’ll have sex again?” My eyes widen. “That feels messy.”

“What’s wrong with a little mess now and again?” He leans closer. “You’re overthinking this. I’m not about to push you to do anything, but there’s something to be said for enjoying the moment.”

As if on cue, our mojitos arrive along with a smile on the face of the woman delivering them. “Can I just say that you two make a beautiful couple?”

“We’re not that,” I correct her with a shake of my head.

Donovan laughs as he reaches to take both drinks from her tray. “We’re new friends exploring what’s to come.”

She giggles at that. “No pun intended, right?”

I bury my face in my hands as I try not to blush.

“Enjoy your drinks,” she says just as I lift my head to meet Donovan’s searing gaze. “I’ll keep them coming.”

Another round of giggles fall from her lips as she walks away leaving me alone with the man who is becoming harder to resist by the second.

CHAPTER TEN

Donovan

I’m on my second strawberry mojito and I’m already feeling the impact of the ridiculous amount of rum that was added to it.

I’m not full on drunk, but I’m experiencing a buzz that I don’t mind one bit.

I’ve spent at least the last ninety minutes staring at Delia. I’ve tried my best not to be overt about it, but the woman is so fucking breathtaking that tearing my gaze from her feels damn near impossible.

She talked non-stop about a summer she spent in California when she was in her twenties. She headed there with a friend for a ten day stay only to prolong it when she applied for a job as a house and pet sitter at a beach cottage on a dare. She landed the job and as her friend made the trek back to Manhattan alone, Delia spent the next three weeks enjoying the sun, surf and the company of a Dalmatian puppy.

That set off a conversation about my job and why I chose to be a vet.

I always answer that question the same way I did today. I love animals. That started when I was a kid and I rescued an injured bird that was stranded on the sidewalk. My fascination only grew as I aged, so when it came time to start planning my life around where I wanted to study veterinary medicine, I made sure I took the right electives. I devoted as much time as I could to getting good grades and the day I graduated with my degree in hand, I knew I’d chosen the only path I could.

“How many drinks do you think I’ve had?” Delia asks me with a straight face.

I shrug. “Four?”

“For sure?”

I can’t help but laugh. “So, you’ve had four for sure?”

Her eyebrows pinch together. “Are you asking me because I was asking you?”

Slightly intoxicated Delia Hawthorne is a fucking treat. “Since I sat down, you’ve finished two.”

I hold up two fingers to clearly convey my point.

“So those two plus the two I had before you got here is four,” she deduces. “Or wait. Are you including the one I was finishing when you sat down as one of your two, or one of my two, plus two more.”

My mouth curves into a broad smile. “I think you’ve had enough for today.”

“I’m not drunk,” she announces. “Do you know how I know I’m not drunk?”

I lean closer to her, wishing I could kiss her right now. “How?”

She taps the tip of her nose with her index finger. “I can do this.”

I follow her lead and do the same with my finger on my nose. “So, I’m not drunk either?”

“Nope. You’re sober.”

I’m not quite that. I wouldn’t trust myself behind the wheel of a car at the moment, but I’m certain I’d pass any sobriety test.

“Roman told me if I couldn’t touch my nose I was drunk.” She shakes her head. “He would make me touch my nose when I’d get home after a party. That started when I was sixteen.”

“Roman is a hard-ass.”

Her head falls back in laughter, revealing the smooth column of her neck. She’s so sexy that it’s almost painful to be this close to her and not be touching her. I’ve struggled to keep my gaze off the way the fabric of her bikini top barely covers her ample tits. The bottoms look like they’re painted on. They’re snug enough that I anticipate that when I do get her naked she’ll be waxed smooth.

“Did Matthew tell you that?” she asks as her laughter fades.

“He did,” I acknowledge with a nod. “Matt’s the wild one, right? Roman is more rigid.”

“He’s a lawyer,” she reminds me. “He made a pledge to do right in the world, or something.”

“A pledge?”

She holds up her hand as if she’s set to give testimony in a trial. “I promise to not allow my siblings to have any fun, especially Delia.”

“Poor you.” I trace a fingertip over the bridge of her perfect nose. “You were denied fun.”

“I still had plenty of fun,” she whispers. “Don’t tell Roman, though.”

I lift a finger to cover my lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Her gaze follows the curve of my mouth. “Are all of my secrets safe with you?”

It’s my turn to raise my hand as if I’m swearing to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. “I promise that all of your secrets are safe with me.”

She moves slightly until our lips almost touch. “I’ll want to sleep with you when I see you at my brother’s wedding. I know I will since I want it so much right now.”

I move to stand and extend a hand to her. “We’re going to my stateroom now.”

She drops her hand in mine. “That sounds fancy and fun.”

“I guarantee you’re going to have a hell of a good time, Delia.”

She allows me to help her to her feet. I look down into her beautiful face grateful that we both ended up on this ship.

“You will, too,” she whispers. “I do this thing with my tongue that I think you’re going to really like.”

My cock hardens abruptly, almost to the point of pain. “I can’t fucking wait.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Donovan

I close the door to my stateroom as Delia takes in her surroundings.

“This is gorgeous,” she says with a broad smile on her face. “Look at that view.”

Since we’ve been day drinking, the sun has yet to set and the view is spectacular, but it pales in comparison to her.

This room, with all its added bells and whistles, was one of the main reasons I went ahead and booked the cruise. It’s spacious, the bed is so fucking comfortable that I can’t help but wonder if some of the passengers who came before me spent their entire voyage in it.

The fact that the room had a separate seating area was a bonus. Even at home I make time each day to read after I wake up in the morning. It’s an integral part of my day, so I packed up two of Nicholas Wolf’s new detective novels as a treat to myself. His sister-in-law works for me. As tempted as I’ve been to ask if she can get her hands on a personalized and signed copy of one of his books for me, I haven’t done that. I don’t want her to feel obligated to do it.

I saved his two most recent releases to read for a special occasion. This cruise is it although it was damn hard to focus on the book in my hand this morning because my thoughts kept jumping back to Delia.

“I love this room,” she whispers as she turns to face me.

I do too now that she’s standing in the middle of it.

“I’m going to order room service.” I hear myself say the words and I’m as surprised as she is, judging by the look on her face. “What are you in the mood for?”

The lures a soft laugh out of her as her gaze darts to the bed.

“Don’t mistake my desire to eat a sandwich as anything but that,” I explain. “I’d much rather be eating you until you scream, but I want you to be sure that you’re here of your own free will and not because the mojitos made you do it, Delia. Some food and coffee will help with that.”

She squirms in place, her tanned thighs pressing together. Since she didn’t bother slipping on her cover up before we made our way here, the small scraps of fabric of her bikini are the only things covering her beautiful body.

“I’m not drunk,” she says, stepping closer to where I’m standing. “I’m here because I’ve wanted this for a long time.”

I close the remaining distance between us with a few steps of my own. “How long?”

“Months,” she confesses. “I stalk your social media.”

I let out a hearty laugh. “Bullshit.”

“Three weeks ago you posted an image of you holding a fuzzy orange kitten.” She taps her chin. “I think her name was Pearl.”

“Perla,” I correct her, stunned that she’s seen that post.

I took the image because one of my vet assistant’s couldn’t stop fawning over the kitten. He told me it reminded him of a cat he’d adopted when he was a kid. We posted the image mid-afternoon and by the time the clinic closed in the evening, it had thousands of likes and comments. Since I tagged an animal rescue I volunteer at in the post, their donations shot up that day.

“A little over a month ago, you posted a picture of you and your cousin having lunch.” She tilts her head slightly. “Reid is his name. He’s handsome.”

Jealousy tears through me at her admission that she finds my younger cousin attractive. “Is he now?”

“Calm down, Dr. Hunt.” Her hand leaps to the center of my bare chest. “You’re the hottest man I’ve ever seen.”

My self-control is fraying at a dizzying pace. Keeping my hands, mouth, and cock to myself is becoming increasingly difficult, but I want to be certain that this beauty standing before me wants me as desperately as I want her.

“Are you speechless?” She toys with me.

Since her hand hasn’t left my chest, I scoop mine over it. “Never.”

“I’m sober enough to know how badly I want to kiss you.”

I’d say no harm has ever come from an innocent kiss but anything that happens between Delia and me will be far from innocent.

“You want me to kiss you?” I ask since I’m not opposed to a little teasing of my own.

She nods. “Now.”

I take my damn time because I want this kiss to own a corner of my mind forever. I want to look back at it, years from now and remember every detail including the way her dark brown eyes are latched onto my face and the slight tremor that has taken over her bottom lip.

I wrap a hand around the back of her neck and I instantly know that my touch is doing to her exactly what hers has done to me since she put her hand on my chest.

She shivers ever so slightly. That lures my gaze down to her tits. It’s impossible not to notice the outline of her hardened nipples under the fabric.

“Now,” she repeats, an impatient plea that is making me harder than I’ve ever been before.

I skim the pad of my thumb over her lips before I drop my hand to her hips. I wrap the end of one of the strings holding her bikini bottoms in place around my finger.

Her hips buck against me.

Oh, she’s going to be a sweet dream to fuck. I can taste it, feel it, sense how utterly mind-blowing it’s going to be.

Her eyelids flutter shut so I do what her body is begging me to do and I seal my mouth over hers.

She opens her lips as a silent invitation for more, so I hungrily accept and dart my tongue against hers.

She gifts me with a soft moan and another buck of her hips.

Temptation is a heady beast when the only thing separating you from what you desire most in the world is a few scant pieces of fabric and some string.

I wind my finger tighter around the string on the side of her bikini bottoms and give it a soft tug.

It gives just as I deepen the kiss.

She nods in approval, her hand jumping to the back of my neck. Her fingers get lost in my hair, twisting and pulling hard enough that it holds a promise that she likes it a little rough.

She pulls back from the kiss to whisper what she wants against my lips. “Fuck me.”

“I want a taste of you first,” I tell her because this encounter needs to last until eternity in order to satisfy the desire that’s brewing inside of me. “Then we fuck.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Delia

His gaze never leaves my body as he strips me of my bikini. It was bottoms first since he’d already tugged one knot free as he kissed my breath right out of me. My top followed and as soon as it hit the carpeted floor of his stateroom, he had his lips wrapped around my right nipple.

A lick was followed by a soft bite of his teeth. It was enough to make me moan loudly.

Now, I’m on my back in the middle of the bed while he hovers over me, his eyes locked on mine.

“I’ve been stalking you too,” he confesses in words that are laced with a need that mirrors my own. “I’ve studied every fucking picture on your social media over and over.”

His hand begins a journey down my body, starting at my shoulder. His touch is light and gentle but I sense it won’t always be like that.

When he kissed me moments ago, his teeth latched onto my bottom lip. I didn’t complain when a slight burst of pain mixed with the pleasure I was feeling. How could I? Judging by the bulge beneath his board shorts, Donovan is well endowed and I can’t wait to feel the exquisite bite of pain I’ll feel when he slides into me for the first time.

“Do you have a favorite?” I ask in a breathless pant since his fingertips are brushing the skin between my tits.

“A favorite what?” He ducks his head down to kiss my left nipple before he gives the right one the same treatment. “A favorite breast? How could I ever choose between them? They’re perfection, Delia? Are your nipples sensitive?”

“So sensitive,” I purr. “I liked when you bit me.”

He does it again to one nipple and then the other before he gives each a soft, lingering lick.

I squirm beneath him, wanting and needing more from this man.

“Or were you asking if I had a favorite image from your social media?”

I nod. “Yes, that. Which picture is your favorite?”

His fingers continue on their path over my stomach toward their destination, but he veers off path to head to my hipbone. “The one of you standing in Central Park. Your hair is everywhere. You’re wearing a denim dress. You’re fucking stunning in it.”

I try to concentrate on his words but his hand is making that near impossible. It’s inching closer and closer to my pussy.

I’m already dripping wet with desire. I’ve felt that all day. I was praying with each passing second that I wouldn’t leave evidence of that on my bikini bottom.

“It was taken two years ago,” he reminds me. “I hate whoever the fuck took it.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Why would you hate them?”

“They got to see you like that in person.” His fingers slide closer to my core. “You are breathtaking but in that image you’re so fucking happy. I’d give everything to see you smile at me that way.”

“Make me come and I will.”

His gaze darts up to meet mine as he lowers his head until his lips are less than an inch from my pussy. “Like this, Delia?”

I thread my fingers through his hair, tempted to push him down until his mouth is exactly where I need it to be. I want it on me. I want to feel his lips circling my clit while his tongue teases it. “Just like that.”

He flashes me a killer smile before he finally licks me. I arch my back as soon as his tongue flicks my clit for the first time. He groans his approval when my hips leave the bed in search for more.

He gives me everything I need as he licks, sucks, and takes me right to the edge of an intense orgasm.

“You were expecting company,” I tease as he rips open a condom package.

It’s one of many that were tossed into the drawer of the table next to his bed. I can see far enough inside to notice the box the condoms came in. It’s torn apart on one edge as if the person handling it didn’t have any patience.

“You,” he growls as he sheathes his cock. “I knew I’d fuck you, Delia, so I bought this box of condoms here on the ship. I swear they used super glue on the seal.”

I smile. “You wanted to be ready so when you lured me back here, you’d be able to fuck me right away.”

“You came twice when I was eating you,” he says. “You’ll always come before I do.”

The vague promise of more time after this encounter isn’t lost on me. I push the burst of hope that floats through me back down deep inside because this can’t follow us back to Manhattan. It’ll be too complicated, too messy, too everything.

“You’re giving an awful lot of thought to something.” He rests a knee on the bed as he strokes his cock. “You’re snug, but I promise to take it slow.”

He said the same thing when he slid two fingers into me as I was racing toward my second climax. The way his voice sounded and the look in his eye was enough to send me over the edge. I cried out that time because it was too intense to hold it all in.

“Slow, but then fast and hard,” I counter.

His hands roam my body stopping at my hips. “I’m going to flip you over and take you from behind.”

“But, I want…” I lose all train of thought when he effortlessly flips me over and guides me to my knees.

I have to bury my face in the pillow to stifle a scream when he scrapes his teeth over my ass cheek.

“You’ll feel me so fucking deep like this,” he growls into the air. “So fucking deep.”

I feel the big crown of his cock at my entrance. “Slow, right?”

“Slow.” He reaches around to pinch one of my nipples before that hand darts to my hair.

He gathers it into his fist, jerking my head back so my body follows.

I’m on all fours as he enters me for the very first time. I breathe deeply and then again but it does nothing to quell the exquisite pain that is flowing through me.

“You’re taking it all,” he whispers. “Jesus, I wish you could see how fucking hot it is to see your pussy take me.”

My knees almost buckle at that. “Donovan.”

“I’m almost there,” he soothes me with a kiss on my shoulder. “As soon as I’m in, I can’t promise I’ll be gentle. This is too fucking good. It feels so good. Goddammit.”

I sense the second his self-control breaks because my head is jerked back again as he pummels me with deep and unrelenting strokes of his cock.

I come around him almost instantly, my voice sounds unrecognizable as it breaks within a stuttered moan.

He ups the pace even more, thrusting harder and deeper.

When he reaches down to circle my clit with the lightest touch of his fingertip I come again. His hand slides to my stomach. He guides me up to my knees so I’m pressed against him as he lets go into his own release.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Donovan

The ocean before me is the definition of how vast the unknown can be. As the waves lick the side of this vessel, I feel nothing from that movement since this ship is massive.

What I am feeling, and can’t ignore, is how it feels as though the floor beneath me is shifting. It’s internal, sparked by the time I’ve kept Delia here in this stateroom with me.

I glance to the table next to the small white couch that I’ve been sitting on for the past hour. I broke open the book I’m reading as Delia slept tangled in the white linens of the bed, but I can’t remember a single word.

The only thoughts that have been playing in my mind on repeat are those related to her. The noises she made when she was asleep. Soft breathing mixed with the occasional unmistakable sound of her humming.

I was tempted to record it on my phone to cement the memory in a form that I can revisit over and over again, but I couldn’t do it.

She stirs slightly. I take that as a sign to crawl back in next to her.

I’m naked. I’ve been that way since I stripped so I could fuck her for the first time yesterday afternoon. We didn’t let go of each other until she drifted to sleep a few hours ago.

I lost track of how many condoms I used or how long I spent with my mouth on her pussy. Everything about her is addictive to me from the taste of her to the sound of her soft voice.

“Donovan,” she whispers as I gather her into my arms. “What time is it?”

I slide my lips along the smooth column of her neck before I plant a kiss on the corner of her mouth. “Time for you to come again.”

I feel her smile even though I’m too close to see it. “Again?”

“And again, and again, and …” My voice trails as my hand slides over her side toward her core.

I find it as I left it, swollen and wet.

I hone in on her clit immediately, tracing a familiar path over the bud until her hips gently sway in unison to my movement.

“You make me feel so good,” she murmurs. “I’ve never felt this good.”

Neither have I.

I’ve never had a lover that consumed me the way this woman has. I’d do anything for her at this point. I’d swim to shore if she asked me to.

That reminds me…

“We’re docking soon at one of the ports.” I keep touching her in the slow and steady pace that I sense she needs right now.

I’m in no hurry to make her come because I know the reward that awaits me when she does. She’ll moan out my name and it’ll echo in my ears until it fades again.

Her lips tremble as she glances at me. “Are you going ashore?”

I answer that by kissing her. This time I glide my lips over hers, forcing my way between them by biting her softly. I deepen the kiss to show her that the only thing I want today is her.

When the kiss breaks, she smiles slightly. “I don’t want to either.”

“I know,” I say confidently.

“I want to suck you off,” she whispers, her voice barely audible. “You haven’t given me a chance to do that yet.”

She’s right. I haven’t. I’ve been a greedy bastard since we got into this bed together. I’ve taken what I wanted over and over again, always being sure to keep her satisfied.

I quicken the pace of my fingertip on her clit as I slide two fingers into her channel. She lets out a sound that clenches my heart within my chest. “Delia.”

“I’m going to…” she finishes the sentence with a groan so loud that it bounces off the walls. “Oh, God.”

I stare at her, at the beauty before me as she loses herself in her first orgasm of the day.

As she falls from the high, her tongue skims over her bottom lip. “I’m hungry for you.”

Her stomach growls softly indicating that she’s hungry for more than just my cock.

I chuckle deeply. “Food first, my Delia.”

“Your Delia,” she repeats, her eyes shining bright. “I like that.”

I fucking love it.

I rake a hand through her messy blonde hair to smooth it back from her forehead. I place a soft kiss there, lingering to take in the natural intoxicating scent of her skin.

I could fall for this woman. I could lose myself to her. Dammit. I feel as though I already am.

“What’s there to eat?” She stretches out, her beautiful body on full display.

I take it in because there’s no way I won’t savor each moment I’m gifted with this; with her in my presence, open and exposed in every possible way.

“Food,” I answer because I can’t think straight.

She smiles. “Eggs, maybe? Scrambled, and do you think they have pancakes and some fresh fruit? I love fresh fruit in the morning.”

Berries in particular, I want to add, but that’s another sign of how carefully I’ve studied her social media profiles. I’ve seen enough posts of her eating a big bowl of berries to know they rank on her list of favorite foods.

“I’ll get all of that for you,” I promise, hoping that the chefs on this ship can accommodate that request. “Coffee, too?”

“Yes, please.” She nods. “With a splash of cream.”

I save that to memory because maybe in some off chance we’ll cross paths in a café in Manhattan and I’ll be able to buy her a coffee.

“How do you take your coffee?” she asks with a tilt of her head.

“One sugar,” I say. “I need a little sweetness.”

“Like me?” Her eyes say she’s teasing me, but she is a little sweetness in my world. I already know I’ll be craving more once this ship docks in Miami.

“Just like you.” I kiss her again before I glance at the phone on the table next to the bed. “I’ll order breakfast now.”

She stops me by touching her hand to my cheek. “Thank you, Donovan.”

“For what?” I ask with a chuckle. “The food?”

“The food, the fun, all of it.”

I read between the lines. The fucks have been fun but it’s more than that. She’s grateful for the escape from life that I’ve given her. I’m just as grateful to her for allowing me to step out of the chaos of my day-to-day existence for a few hours.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Delia

“Do you love him as much as I do?” I ask Donovan as he sits on the edge of the bed, studying his palm.

His head snaps up. “Who? Clever? No, I don’t, Delia.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You don’t love Clever?”

A smile glides over his lips. “No, do you?”

“I might,” I tease, batting my eyelashes. “He’s kind of cute. He can make me disappear which could come in handy sometimes, and he was killing that top hot look. It’s not easy to pull off.”

His bare chest juts out. “I could totally pull it off.”

I have no doubt about that since I’m confident he can pull off any look. Right now, for instance, he’s wearing faded jeans and nothing else. He tugged them on over an hour ago when someone knocked on the door to deliver our food.

I opted to put on a T-shirt I found draped over the back of a cream colored chair. The shirt is white and almost transparent so it did little to hide my tits, but I ducked into the washroom to get out of view of the person pushing the room service cart.

Since I left the door cracked open slightly I could hear the conversation between Donovan and the man who was grateful for what he called “the very large tip,” he received from my lover.

My mom always told me that you could tell a lot about a man by how well he tips. All of my brothers are generous in that regard. It puts a smile on my face to know that Donovan is too.

“Are you asking if I love your brother as much as you do?” He leans back slightly, drawing my gaze down his torso to the waistband of his jeans. “I love how committed he is to the job, and I do care about what happens to him so I guess in my own way, I do love him.”

I like knowing that but it reminds me yet again of how connected our lives are back home in New York City.

“Don’t you dare tell him I said that.” He wags a finger at me in warning.

“Or what?” I taunt him by pouting my lips. “You’ll do what to me exactly?”

“What don’t you want me to do to you, Delia?” he challenges.

Don’t break my heart.

I keep those words inside of me because I only said them to a man once and he still went ahead and shattered my heart.

“You can do anything you want to me.” I hold his gaze with mine so he knows I’m deadly serious.

“I’ll remember that,” he promises, a wicked tone edging his voice.

I glance at the book sitting near the couch I’m on. “I was actually asking about him. The author. Nicholas Wolf. Do you love his books as much as I do?”

“More,” he answers without hesitation. “And I’m not just saying that because his sister-in-law works for me.”

“Tilly,” I say her name with fondness.

I first met Tilly Wolf at an outdoor market in Queens. I was there with Matthew and Faith. Tilly was pushing a stroller with one hand while carrying a leash in the other. I met her, her son, Jacob, and her dog, Lunar, that day. I’ve known her husband for much longer, years and years in fact, since his sister Nikita is my best friend.

“Matilda,” he calls her by the same name my brother sometimes does.

I find it charming. When Matthew introduced me to Tilly he called her Matilda. She turned to me and said, “Please call me Tilly,” so I did and I have ever since.

“Yes.” I nod.

I pick up the book and open the front cover. “Yours isn’t signed.”

His eyes widen. “You say that as though you’re surprised.”

I slam the cover shut. “I have a signed copy.”

“I’m jealous.”

“My best friend is Nicholas’s sister,” I confess. “Nikita always brings me a signed copy of each of his books.”

“Lucky you.”

“You know Tilly will get Nicholas to sign a copy for you, right?” I tilt my chin down and smile. “I could ask her for you although you do see her every single day.”

He contemplates that with a slow nod of his chin. “I sure do.”

“Our lives are connected,” I whisper, pointing out the obvious. “When we get home…”

“We’ll figure it all out,” he interrupts, finishing my sentence in the way he sees fit. “Enjoy our time here, Delia. I sure as hell am.”

I tug on the bottom hem of his shirt. “Me too.”

“Read me a chapter,” he suggests. “I know Nicholas reads his own audio books and I’ve listened to a few, but I’d much rather hear my favorite author being read by you.”

“I’d love to do that. Where should I start?”

“Page thirty-seven,” he says. “That’s where I remember leaving off.”

I study the pristine hardback copy of Phantom’s Escape. I finished this novel three days after Nikita handed it to me over a year ago. “You don’t use a bookmark?”

“Never.” He shakes his head. “I always stop reading in a spot that leaves me wanting more.”

I carefully open the book to the page he mentioned, noting that it’s the beginning of a chapter.

“It was muggier than most mornings that day,” I read slowly, relishing in every word even though I finished this book last week. “I could feel a presence in the air that was unfamiliar. It left me uneasy, but not uncomfortable.”

I keep reading even though I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I sigh between words when Donovan settles next to me on the small couch and as his hand grazes my thigh, my breathing quickens.

“One chapter and then I want something else,” he whispers against the shell of my ear as I finish a paragraph.

I finally glance at him and into his eyes. “What do you want?”

“You.”

The word and the depth of pure desire in his voice says everything I need and want to hear.

“I’ll read faster.”

He laughs. “Take your time, my Delia. We have all day.”

“We have until the ship docks back in Miami,” I say as my gaze drifts back to the page in front of me.

“That we do.” He exhales slowly. “That we do.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Donovan

I didn’t want to let her go but she insisted she’d be back in a flash, and she stuck to that promise.

Delia wanted to grab a few things from her cabin. I offered to go with her, but she told me she’d be fine.

I watched her slip back into her bikini before she left. She tugged the white cover up over her head even though it was wrinkled after spending the night on the floor where she tossed it after she arrived to my room.

I spot her the moment she rounds the corner headed back in my direction.

The white bikini is still in place. I can see it through the thin material of the cover up. The only thing that has changed is her hair. I don’t think she showered because it’s as dry as it was when she left me less than thirty minutes ago. She did pull into a high ponytail. It accentuates the long lines of her neck and the curve of her shoulders.

A smile slides over her lips. “I took care of what I needed to.”

“Good,” I acknowledge without prying.

Maybe she wanted privacy to make a call, or she needed to shove a few things into the tote that’s now slung over her shoulder. Either way, I’m glad she’s returned.

When she’s almost in front of me, she taps the side of the tote. “I was late taking my birth control pill. I brought them with me so I won’t make that mistake again.”

“It’ll be fine,” I assure her. “I’ve used a condom every time.”

She brushes past me to enter my stateroom. “How many times was that?”

I give her sweet round ass a pat. “You lost track?”

“Hey!” She rubs the spot I touched. “That kind of hurt.”

“You kind of liked it.”

“True.” She laughs. “I kind of liked how you pulled my hair, too.”

I spin her around so her back is pressed against me. My fist finds her ponytail, taking it roughly. I tug slightly as I lick a path over the side of her neck. “I’ll fuck you against the wall just like this. You want that, don’t you?”

She attempts another laugh but it comes out wrapped within a moan. “More than you know.”

I let go of her hair before giving her ass another tap. “I’m going to feed you again before you suck my cock.”

She spins to face me. “Reverse the order of those plans and I’ll be happy.”

“You want my cock now?” I rub a hand over the front of my jeans. “Tell me how badly you want it.”

“So badly that I came in my cabin thinking about it.”

I’m tempted to take her over my knee for that. “You touched your pussy in your cabin just now?”

“Touched is a tame word.” She moans a little. “I thought about your cock as I was walking back to my room. By the time I got there, I had to slam the door, lean back against it and rub my clit. I think it took all of three-seconds flat to get myself off.”

“I’m both impressed and pissed.”

Her smile drops to a fake frown. “Pissed because I stole just one of my orgasms away from you?”

I take a step toward her. She retreats back in equal distance. “Pissed because I didn’t get to see it.”

“Your loss,” she quips.

“It’s not,” I tell her. “You’re going to do it again now.”

“No,” she protests but there’s no weight behind the word. “I’ve never done that in front of a man before.”

I stalk closer to her. She follows suit with a heavy step back. She’s mere inches from the wall now. That’s right where I want her so I continue my path forward.

“You’ve never been with a man like me before,” I say. “Take off the cover up, Delia.”

She does it without any hesitation. It flies in the air past my head.

“Shoes off.”

She kicks off each sandal; stealing the few inches of height they afforded her.

In bare feet I tower over her by at least a foot, in not more. Her eyes trail over my jeans, up my torso and chest to my face. “What now? Do you want my bikini off?”

“No,” I say loudly, almost too loudly. “I want to see your fingers disappear inside your bottoms.”

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

I take a deep breath. “You have no idea.”

My eyes leave hers to trail over her flawless face. My gaze catches on her bottom lip and the slight tremble. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m nervous,” she whispers. “I want to do this, but I’m nervous.”

I take her hands in mine as I guide her backwards until her sweet ass is resting against the wall. “I’ll help.”

“You will?”

I kiss her right palm before I weave our fingers together and drop them on the smooth curve of her stomach right above her bikini bottoms.

Her gaze stays glued to mine as I glide our joined hands lower until I unlatch them to dip just one finger under the waistband of her bikini.

“I want to,” she tells me, brushing my hand away.

I step back so I can fully see what she’s doing.

Her eyelids flutter shut as she dips one finger and then another until they’re all hidden from view.

I watch in wonder as they move beneath the fabric of her suit, veiling what she’s doing to herself. The uptick in the pace of her breaths and the soft sounds falling from her give it all away.

“Donovan,” she whispers my name softly. “I want your cock.”

I reach forward and undo one side of the bottoms before I do the same to the other.

She widens her stance with a step to each side to allow the suit to drop.

I groan when I finally see her fingers separating her folds. The unmistakable movement of her hand gives it all away.

I’m so hard that it hurts so I drop my jeans to my knees and fist my cock.

“Please,” she whines. “Please.”

I use my free hand to push her bikini top aside to release her right tit. I pinch her nipple hard. “Don’t come.”

“I’m close,” she whimpers. “I’m so close.”

“On your knees.”

She nods, dropping in a rush. Her lips circle the crown of my cock almost instantly. The sound of her moan is drowned out by my deep, guttural groan.

Her fingers never leave her pussy as she takes my cock in her hand to stroke it. She sucks the tip, taking more and more with each bob of her head.

I arch my neck and close my eyes because this is all too fucking much.

I have to reach forward to brace a hand on the wall in fear that I’m about to pass out.

My other hand finds her ponytail and I take it roughly, using it as a guide to up her pace as she sucks me to my release.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Delia

I almost scream when he appears in front of me. It’s like the most beautiful beast in the world emerging from the mist.

In my case Donovan is the beast and the mist is the steam from the shower I’m having.

I finally relented to what my body had been craving for hours and ducked into the bathroom in his stateroom to have a shower.

He suggested a bath since the tub is large enough to accommodate both of us, but I didn’t want to devote my time to that right now.

It’s nearing sunset and he promised me more orgasms and a meal I’ll never forget.

“I want to rinse off,” he tells me, gathering me into his strong arms.

He’s much larger than I am but in the very best way. I don’t feel small compared to him. I feel protected and cherished whenever he wraps himself around me as he’s doing now.

“I’ll soap you up,” I offer.

“You’ll make me hard.” He laughs even though he’s almost there now. “Shower, dinner and another chapter before I fuck you again.”

“You’re a man with a solid plan.” I glide my hands over his chest to his broad shoulders and down his biceps. “I like that.”

“My plan fits with yours?” he asks. “You don’t want to change the order or anything?”

I drop a hand to my core. “My pussy appreciates the momentary break in activity.”

“It would appreciate some tender loving care courtesy of my tongue.” He demonstrates by sliding his tongue slowly over his bottom lip.

“That is my dessert.” I inch up to my tiptoes to kiss him softly.

“I ordered cheesecake, a brownie, and a bowl of ice cream, but I’m all for eating pussy instead.”

“My pussy,” I amend that. “Just mine.”

“Just yours,” he agrees with a sly smile.

I want the word forever to fall from his lips but that’s a dream. It can’t be my reality. I’m not strong enough to survive another broken heart, and I can’t let Matthew’s future become collateral damage because of a poor choice on my part.

This is a vacation fling. It’s the vacation fling of a lifetime but that’s all it is and can ever be.

We hold gazes until I break it with a small request. “Will you sit on the bench so I can wash your hair?”

He glances back at the seat built into this large walk-in shower. It’s covered from floor to ceiling in white marble with gray veins running through it. “Of course I will.”

He sits his bare ass down, his hand dropping to his erection. He palms it lightly.

It takes all of my effort to ignore that. I squirt two pumps of shampoo into my palm from a bottle sitting on a shelf in the corner. I rub my hands together before I step between his legs and get to work.

He moves his hands so they’re resting on my hips. “I could get used to this, Delia.”

“So could I,” I say to myself, not wanting him to know how I truly feel.

He hums in approval with his eyes closed as I massage his scalp while I stare at his face.

“You’re perfect,” I mouth the words without any sound escaping me.

He is perfect and I’m going to enjoy that perfection until I go back to the life I’ve chosen for myself. A life that leaves no room for love or anything that comes with that.

“Shrimp scampi?” I laugh. “I love this.”

“I know.” Donovan grabs the corner of one of the linen napkins off the room service cart. He snaps it in the air before placing it over my lap.

Since I took the time to pack a few things in my tote bag when I visited my cabin earlier, I’m wearing a dark blue strapless sundress now and a pair of lace panties.

I have another extra change of clothes in case I spend the night here again.

“There’s risotto, too.” He lifts the lid on another silver cloche to reveal a big bowl filled with what smells like divine risotto.

“I must have posted on social media about my favorite dinner at some point.”

It’s more a statement than a question, but Donovan responds with a nod. “You were at Calvetti’s with your brother.”

“Callum,” I say with confidence since I remember the visit well.

I posted an image of the food on our table, which included a bowl of risotto, eggplant parmesan and a small dish of shrimp scampi that the owner, Martina Calevtti, insisted I try.

“You are a grade A stalker, Dr. Hunt.”

“I aim to be the best at everything I do.” He smiles. “Eat, Delia.”

I point at the other chair next to the small dining table. “Join me.”

He drags it closer to where I am before he takes a seat. He’s dressed in black shorts and a plain blue T-shirt. It complements the color of his eyes in such a perfect way that it’s impossible not to notice how brilliantly blue and green they are.

“You’re staring at me,” he notes, amusement tainting his tone.

“You’re staring at me,” I toss his words right back at him.

“Guilty as charged.” He kisses me softly. “Eat, Delia. Then I’ll show you dessert and you’ll read to me.”

I glace at the two cloches he has yet to uncover. “You’re spoiling me.”

“You’re spoiling me,” he echoes my words just as I did his a moment ago.

I let out a bark of laughter. “I’m famished. Let’s eat.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Donovan

“I can’t remember the last time I took a bath,” I tell Delia as she wiggles her toes against my palm. “I’ve been missing out.”

“Big time.” She smiles. “It’s soothing, isn’t it?”

“It’s something,” I say as I massage the ball of her foot. “You’re sure your toe is feeling all right.”

“Check it out for yourself.” She points toward it. “It’s almost completely healed.”

I give it a quick once over, and then offer her my professional diagnosis. “It’s perfect.”

“It’s a little crooked.” She sighs. “I think I may have broken it when I was a kid and it healed like that.”

I don’t argue with her by insisting it’s straight because we all see flaws within ourselves that are visible only to us. Diminishing hers by pushing her opinion aside isn’t something I’d ever do.

“How did you hurt it?”

“I went horseback riding on a school trip.”

“That’s a fancy school trip.” I pinch her big toe. “My field trips were mostly to the multitude of museums in the city.”

“Who is fancy now?” She laughs. “It was a ninth grade overnight trip. We went to a ranch near Highland. It was fun.”

The field trip to the town in upper New York State will forever remain one of my fondest memories.

“Until you hurt your toe.”

“Even then.” She sighs. “I had my first kiss on that trip.”

I’d pry for more details but it’s her memory to share if she wants. If or when that happens is up to her.

“Do you remember your first kiss?” she asks. “I’ll bet it was way before you were in ninth grade.”

I skim a hand over my face. “The wager for this bet would be what?”

“You choose the wager.”

That’s dangerous because right now there’s only one thing I want and it’s more time with her. It hardly matters since according to my mom I had my first kiss when I was twelve. I likely don’t remember it because I’ve kissed many women since then.

“Sit on my lap, Delia.”

“That’s the wager?” Her head falls back in laughter. The ends of her hair skim the remaining bubbles in the tub. “You’re not serious, are you?”

“You win the bet,” I say. “I was twelve. I don’t remember her name or what she looked like.”

The smile on her face drops into a frown. “You don’t?”

“No,” I admit. “I’ll never forget kissing you, though.”

She finally gives in to my request and slides through the water to crawl into my lap. I’ve been semi-hard since we got into the tub, but the silkiness of her wet skin pressed against mine stirs my cock even more.

She runs her pussy along the length of it, closing her eyes as she does. “You have a beautiful cock.”

“Beautiful?” I ask before I kiss her neck.

“Big and beautiful,” she clarifies. “When I felt it in my mouth, it was just…”

I kiss her to stop the next word before it leaves her tongue. Everything she says to me is being drilled into my memory so deep that it will haunt me forever. I need it. Hell, I’m craving it all but it’s so much. It’s almost too much to bear knowing that when we get back to New York, she’ll pick up the life waiting for her and I’ll do the same with the daily routine I’ve set for myself.

“It feels so good when you fuck me,” she whispers. “So, so good.”

I inch her back just enough that the crown rests at her entrance. One jerk forward and I’d be sliding into her.

She moves then, ever so slightly as if she’s inviting me in. “I love how you fuck me, Donovan.”

I love how it feels to fuck her, to be in the same room with her, to breathe the air she does. Hell, I feel honored to walk this earth during her lifetime.

I must have done something worthwhile to be granted this experience; this time with her.

She moans as my cock slips into her. The rawness of it, the heat from the water and the look in her eyes is all I need to move just enough that I’m fully inside her tight little pussy.

She rocks against me, fucking me slowly. “Ah, yes. It’s so fucking good.”

I stare at her face, watching her eyelids flutter shut as she ups her pace.

My hips start to move. Small waves crash against our legs as we fuck each other.

“Delia,” I whisper her name even though I don’t want this moment to end. I’m so fucking close to coming already. So goddamn close to blowing my load inside of her. “Delia.”

Our eyes meet and realization hits her immediately. “No condom.”

I nod. “No condom.”

“I’m on the pill,” she reminds me as she pulls back slightly. “I’m clean.”

“Me too,” I tell her as I stare into her eyes. “Tell me to stop if it’s what you need.”

“I want to feel...” Her voice trails. “I want to keep feeling what I’m feeling now.”

I want that too, but forever.

Her hands move to my shoulders. She digs her fingernails into my skin. “Why is it this good?”

“Our bodies were made for each other,” I whisper the words without thinking. “I was made to fuck you.”

Her eyes widen. Desire swims in them. “So do it.”

I want more so I haul her to her feet, press her against the wall surrounding the tub and enter her from behind.

She cries out as soon as I’m buried balls deep.

I take her hard with a furious need that I can’t control. I reach around to her clit, fingering it because I know it’ll send her over the edge.

It does.

She comes around my cock, her pussy pulsing as I push deeper and deeper still and as soon as the unmistakable rush of desire runs through me, I pull out and shoot my load all over her ass.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Donovan

Panic shoots through me when I hear the sound of a groan echo through my room. It’s dark except for the light streaming onto the bed from the windows. I didn’t bother to lower the blinds since no one can see in and the view of the ocean is just beyond my reach behind the glass.

It may only be visible as a reflective surface for the moon at the moment, but Delia labeled it as romantic so as we drifted off to sleep with her wrapped in my arms, I watched the moon as we passed it on our journey toward the next port. It’s the last one before the ship heads back to Miami.

“Delia?” I whisper, patting the mattress next to me.

I’m not surprised in the least that she’s not there.

“Delia?” I say her name louder this time, hoping she’ll offer a response. It may only be another groan but it’ll serve as a beacon to draw me to where she is.

“In here,” she calls out from the washroom.

I look in that direction. The door is slightly ajar but it’s dark behind it.

I sit up, not caring that I’m nude. She needs me. I sense it. I know it. I’m a deep sleeper so my body knew that my Delia needed me.

I sprint to the door of the washroom even though it’s not that far. I push it open slowly to find her huddled in the corner on the floor. She’s wearing her strapless dress. Her knees are tucked against her chest as she rocks gently forward, then back again.

I race to her, dropping to my knees as soon as I’m close to her.

I instinctively reach out to touch her face. Her skin is cold and clammy. Her eyes are sunken. I can tell she’s barely slept. I press my lips to her forehead to check if she’s running a fever, but she’s not.

“I couldn’t keep my dinner in. I kept vomiting.” She pats her stomach. “That’s TMI, but it’s true.”

“It’s not too much information,” I tell her kissing her cheek. “You should have woken me up.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “I wanted you to sleep, besides I’ve gotten good at taking care of myself. I always do when I’m sick.”

I fucking hate that. The thought of her suffering in any capacity while alone tears a path of pain straight through me.

She deserves to be cared for, adored, and spoiled. I want to do that and more.

I cup her chin in my hand so I can look into her eyes. “I’ll get you into bed. There’s a stack of motion sickness bags in the closet. I’ll grab a few to put next to the bed in case.”

“I’m sure my stomach is empty by now.” She manages a slight laugh. “I’m glad you’re not sick.”

I’m not. I’d much rather be the one in pain right now. It’s not because I believe I’m stronger than her, but I am willing to carry any burden she has weighing her down.

“It had to have been the shrimp scampi.” She blows out a heavy exhale. “You didn’t touch that.”

She’s right. I didn’t, because I wanted her to savor every single bite. She was enjoying it so much that stealing even a small taste felt criminal to me.

“Don’t tell Dr. Feil I’m sick.” She tries to laugh. “Promise you won’t.”

“Who needs him when you have me?” I swipe my thumb over her chin. “I’ll take the best care of you.”

“Your pet patients are lucky to have you, Dr. Hunt.”

“I’m lucky to have you…” My voice trails as I consider the words I want to say to her. “To take care of tonight, Delia.”

“I’m sorry I ruined our perfect night,” she says as she gazes into my eyes.

“You’ve ruined nothing.” I reach for her hands. “I’m going to get you up to your feet.”

“Okay.” Her voice is soft and edged with exhaustion.

I tug her up to her feet and then without so much as another word I scoop her into my arms just as I did the night her toe was injured.

She rests her arm over my shoulder. “What would I do without you?”

As tempted as I am to ask her the same question, I don’t. Instead I answer hers. “You don’t need to find that out tonight. I’m here to take care of you.”

“Thank you.”

I should be the one thanking her for allowing me this privilege. “Let’s get you tucked into bed.”

She nods silently, her gaze searching my face for something that she seems to find because her lips part in a soft smile.

“I’ve never been cared for by a nude doctor before.” She rests her cheek against my shoulder. “Your bedside manner is second to none.”

I start the trek toward the bed. “How would you rate my in bed manner?”

“That’s a solid fifty-million out of ten.”

I chuckle as I stop mid-step to look at her face. “That good, huh?”

“That spectacular.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Delia

“You missed the chance to feel Caribbean sand on your feet.”

I turn to glance at Donovan. We’re sitting in one of the dining areas enjoying our last meal together before the ship docks back in Miami. Although the last day and a half of our trip wasn’t everything I hoped it would be, we did salvage the past few hours.

Since I was feeling stronger, we made love in his stateroom early this morning. The sun filtered in through the windows as I clung tightly to him. I knew it would be the last time I’d feel so fulfilled with a man. I tried to savor every second, every sensation, and when I came for the last time feeling him inside of me, tears fell from my eyes.

I was grateful that my face was buried in his neck as I rode him to orgasm.

“I’m not sad about that.” I smile. “This trip was memorable for all the right reasons.”

He jerks a thumb toward his face. “I’m the reason.”

I can’t argue with that, so I nod. “Not only did you fuck me more times than I can count but you took care of me after the bad shrimp scampi.”

As soon as Donovan thought I’d drifted off to sleep that night, I heard him on the phone. Whoever answered the call got an earful. He raged on about food poisoning and liability.

His words had an impact on whoever is in charge because by the next morning, there were flowers at his stateroom door and a letter addressed to me.

Since my trip was a gift, the cruise line issued me a credit for another voyage.

I’m not eager to take them up on the offer, but I know I’ll use it eventually. It’ll have to be when I’m over this man sitting across from me because right now, the thought of taking another trip like this without him is too painful to bear.

“Don’t forget and order it the next time you’re on this ship.”

I want to tell him to book time off so he can join me but that’s not possible. We already agreed that whatever this was between us ends as soon as the cruise does.

“I won’t forget,” I say evenly.

“What time is your flight back to New York?” he asks.

For days now, I’ve been hoping we’re on the same flight. Even if we’re not seated side-by-side, I’d take comfort in knowing that he’s close to me.

“Seven p.m.”

“Ah.” He nods. “I’m flying back tomorrow morning.”

There’s no offer to try and change his flight. Why would there be? His plans are set. Mine are too, and not just for the flight home. Our plans for the rest of our lives don’t include each other.

“I have a friend who lives in Miami,” he explains. “In an oceanfront condo, so I’ll spend the night there.”

I resist the urge to ask if it’s a man or a woman because as much as I want that to my business, it’s not.

“We went to college together.” He glances at me. “He’s a great guy. A lawyer. Him and his wife have a three-year-old son. It’s nothing but pure joy to hang out with that kid.”

Relief floods me as his hand darts across the table in search of mine. I grab hold of it instantly.

“I’ll remember this trip forever, Delia,” he says evenly. “You gave me something I didn’t know I needed.”

“What’s that?” I whisper as I gaze at the way my hand fits perfectly into his.

“Peace.” He sighs. “Comfort. Fun. A fucking good time.”

I manage a soft laugh. “Literally.”

“Literally,” he repeats, nodding slowly. “Do you think Matt will get married soon?”

I shake my head and shrug a shoulder. “I really don’t know. Why?”

His gaze searches my face. “We spoke briefly about what might happen if we cross paths at his wedding.”

I’m hit with the memory of that conversation and immediately I laugh again. This time it’s a true laugh. “We’ll say hello, maybe share a dance and we’ll recreate what we did on this trip.”

“Only the good parts,” he adds.

I want him to promise we will, but I don’t because we can’t predict what will happen when that day arrives.

He glances at the watch on his wrist. “I need to head back to my room to pack up.”

I’ve already done that in anticipation of us sharing the rest of the voyage together, but I’ll use the time to sit on the deck and reflect on everything I’ve gained from this trip.

He stands first before he reaches a hand to help me get out of my chair. He’s been nothing but courteous and caring to me throughout our time together. I’ll leave this ship with memories that will fuel me for years to come.

I rest my palm in his as I stand. I glance down at the wrinkled skirt of the white sundress I’m wearing. I barely wore any of the dresses I brought with me, but the exchange for not being able to show off my cute wardrobe was hours and hours spent in his stateroom.

He brings my hand to his lips to kiss it softly. “This isn’t goodbye quite yet. I want to see your face again before we part ways.”

“Let’s meet in the spot we first saw each other before we dock.”

“The piano bar?” he questions.

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there,” he promises.

I want to ask him to walk me back to my cabin now, but since he hasn’t offered, I stay quiet.

“I’ll see you then, Delia.” He leans forward to brush his lips over my cheek.

I catch his gaze one last time before he turns and walks away from me.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Donovan

When I stroll into the piano bar, I spot Delia immediately. She’s wearing the very same dress she was the first night this ship set sail. Her hair is different, though. She’s pinned it up on top of her head. Several strands have fallen out of that and are resting against the side of her breathtaking face.

I stand in place, just fucking staring at the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.

I never imagined when I boarded this ship that I’d leave it a different man.

I can’t attribute that change to the sex, although it’s by far the best I’ve ever had. Even now, with people milling about, my cock is swelling beneath the dark pants I’m wearing.

I rub a hand over the back of my neck. Sweat peppers it. It’s not from the button-down shirt I’m wearing. I left the two top buttons open and the sleeves were rolled up to my elbows moments after I put it on.

I’m sweating because I’m feeling something I’ve never felt before. It’s regret. None of that is related to what Delia and I have done during this trip. It’s all on me for not telling her that I want more.

Jesus, do I want more.

I want days, weeks, months, hell… I want years more with her.

Her gaze travels the room until it lands on my face. I see joy there, or something akin to it.

She lifts a hand in greeting as if we’ve both noticed each other at the exact same moment. She has no idea that since I first spotted her on this ship, I seek her out every time I round a corner or enter a room.

“Delia!” I call out to her, grateful that my voice doesn’t crack.

She steps toward me wearing heels that are higher than anything she’s had on her feet to this point during the voyage.

I watch her walk. She turns every head in the room as she passes them. The men, in particular, are spellbound. I can’t blame them. She’s perfection personified and I wouldn’t be surprised if every straight male on this ship has fantasized about what a dream it would be to fuck her.

I’ve lived the dream. I crave more of that dream.

“You came,” she says with a genuine hint of surprise in her tone.

“You doubted I would?”

Her cheeks blush pink with embarrassment. “No, not really, but…”

The but lingers as if she’s trying to find words to add to it. But, I wasn’t sure you’d care enough to see me off. But, I know you’re committed to staying single and since the fun is over, why bother coming to see me one last time?

She doesn’t utter any of those words, but still, they play in my mind over and over again.

“Delia!”

I cringe when I hear that voice - Clever’s voice - calling out to her. I should have known he’d play a part in this moment.

“Hey,” she greets him with a lot less enthusiasm than he has for her.

He doesn’t bother to notice, instead taking her into his arms for a tight embrace.

Her arms don’t circle him. The most he gets from her is a simple pat on the middle of his back from her hand.

“Matt was hoping to run into you again,” he explains as he finally lets go of her. “I think he wants to meet up with you when you’re back in New York.”

I should have pressed that Matt on his last name so I could find a way to divert his attention away from her, but I was too focused on getting Delia into my bed.

“I have a lot going on,” she tells him. “I don’t have a lot of extra time for hanging out.”

“Where do you work?” he questions. “You never mentioned that.”

“I go to school,” she explains something I already know.

Her brother has filled me in on that without realizing how much I valued that information. Delia is a scholar of sorts. She’s earned multiple degrees in various disciplines as she searches for the right career path.

I’m amazed by her genuine thirst for knowledge. I barely had the stamina to earn the degree that afforded me the opportunity to work in veterinary medicine.

“So, you’re super smart?” he questions with perked eyebrows. “I love smart women.”

Something tells me this kid loves all women. I don’t blame him. In fact, I was him when I was around his age. I fucked like it was a competitive sport and I was in training for a gold medal.

She laughs off the compliment. “I love learning.”

He nods. “I need to get back to work. I’ll tell Matt to keep an eye out for you on the streets of Manhattan.”

The smile she offers him in response isn’t genuine. “All right.”

He leaves us with a wave that is directed solely at her.

“Am I invisible?” I ask once he’s out of earshot.

That sends her head back in laughter. “Hardly. Look around. You’ve got a lot of eyes on you.”

I don’t bother doing that because she’s mistaken. Anyone glancing in this direction, is focused solely on her.

An announcement fills the air to share the news that the ship has docked.

Her gaze finds mine. “I guess this is it.”

For now.

I have no doubt I’ll see her again. I pray it won’t be long before that happens, but regardless, I can’t wait to get back to Manhattan because I’ll be closer to her than I will be for the next thirty-six hours until I board a plane headed for New York.

I step closer and cradle my hands over her face. “Delia.”

She gazes up at me. “Donovan, thank you. For all of it. For everything.”

I stare into her beautiful brown eyes. “Thank you.”

She glances down briefly before she’s looking at me again. “It was the trip of a lifetime.”

“I agree.”

“I should go.” She shifts on her feet. “It’s time for me to go.”

Not wanting that to happen, I lean closer to her. “One last kiss?”

She nods softly. “One last kiss.”

I lower my mouth to hers and kiss her with all the emotion that is stirring within me.

When we part, her fingers dance over her lips. “I’ll remember that kiss for a long time.”

I’ll remember it forever. Just as I’ll remember every single moment of this trip until the day I die.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Delia

“You’ve been back for a week and all I know about the cruise is that you met a magician and his loincloth wearing friend.”

I glance at Nikita as she arranges chocolate bars on a stand on the front counter of her candy store.

Wolf Candy is a staple in Manhattan, and I’m a tried and true regular customer.

The issue with that is Nikita won’t take my money. Whenever I pluck a candy bar off the display or approach the check out counter with a clear bag filled with cinnamon hearts, she shoos away any attempt I make to pay.

Today, I’ve got a large piece of red licorice in my fist. I’ve been munching on it since I arrived here twenty minutes ago.

It’s barely eight a.m. so even though the store isn’t open yet, I’m inside of it.

That’s because I stopped by with two coffees in my hands.

“Who said there’s more to tell than that?”

“Anyone who knows you.” She shrugs, sending her long black hair sailing over her shoulder. “You must have had some fun on the trip. Did the magician and the loincloth guy double team you?”

“Eww?”

“Were they not hot?”

I think about that for a split second. “Both were hot, but not my type.”

“Since when is hot not your type?” she questions, her blue eyes twinkling as she teases me. “Something is going on that you’re not telling me.”

Since I’ve confided in her for years, I’m not surprised that she can sense I’m holding back. The only reason I’m doing that is that I’m unsure how to tell my best friend that I fucked my brother’s boss over and over again as we sailed around the Caribbean.

Her hands land on the counter with a sharp thud. “Okay, let’s play three questions.”

Since we’ve never been able to come up with twenty solid questions for one another, we amended that to a three question game.

“Okay,” I agree before I take a sip of my now lukewarm coffee.

She does the same with the cup in front of her. “Did you meet a man?”

“Several,” I answer.

“Did you meet an attractive man other than the magician and the loincloth guy?” she presses.

“Yes,” I answer succinctly.

She leans forward to look directly into my eyes. “Did that guy fuck you?”

The smile that slides over my lips gives the answer away before I do. “So many times I lost track of the number.”

That sends her back a full step. “So it was good?”

“That’s four questions,” I point out.

“Answer!”

I do because I know Kita and she won’t stop until I answer. “It was the best sex of my life.”

“Delia.” Her voice softens. “You’ve needed this. I’m happy for you. I’m so freaking happy that you went on that cruise.”

“Me too.” I nod. “Seeing him there was completely unexpected and then I hurt my toe and he carried me almost the entire length of the ship to the doctor.”

“Wait. What?” She laughs. “You got hurt? Are you all right? He carried you?”

“Yes. Yes, and yes.”

She smiles brightly. “Why was seeing him on the cruise unexpected? What does that mean? Tell me it’s someone famous.”

Many women in this city would consider Donovan Hunt famous since he has so many followers on social media, but from a big picture point of view, he’s not a household name by any means.

I frame all of that in a way that I hope satisfies her curiosity enough that we can move onto another topic. “He’s not famous in the traditional sense although a lot of people in this city know him.”

“In this city?” She points at the floor. “Are you saying he lives here, Delia? Your cruise fuck is here in Manhattan?”

“Yes,” I say meekly.

“Who is it?” The question tumbles out of her wrapped in a giggle. “Do I know him?”

She probably does since her sister-in-law Tilly works for him.

“You can’t tell anyone,” I say even though I’m not a proponent for holding onto secrets. “It’s complicated.”

“So, I do know him?” She taps her hand on top of the counter. “Spit it out, Delia. Who the fuck did you fuck?”

“Donovan Hunt.”

Her hands jump to her mouth. “What?”

I bow my head. “He was there on the ship, and we recognized each other from social media.”

“You hadn’t met him before that?” she questions. “Your brother works for him.”

“Your sister-in-law works for him,” I counter. “Have you met him?”

She nods. “A couple of times. He was at Jacob’s first birthday party and when I stopped by Tilly’s house one day to bring her a bunch of goodies, he was there helping Sebastian build a fence.”

Of course he was.

Donovan is that guy that everyone depends on to help with everything.

“I can’t believe you got naked with him.” She narrows her eyes. “And it was the best sex you’ve ever had?”

“By far,” I add.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she promises.” But, you need to get more of that. Please tell me that you’re going to keep sleeping with him. One of us needs to be having sex more than once every few months.”

Nikita’s dating life has mirrored mine for years. We’ve both had lovers but none of those relationships have worked out. We’ve repeatedly laughed about the fact that all of the great men in this city are already taken by people we know.

“We can’t.” I shake my head. “With Matthew working for him, it’s messy.”

“How is that messy?” she asks with a sigh. “Your brother’s working relationship with him has nothing to do with your bedroom relationship with him.”

I smile. “It has everything to do with it.”

I glance toward the bank of windows at the front of the store that overlook the sidewalk. The regular stream of morning pedestrian traffic is picking up. In just under an hour, two of her staff will arrive to help her handle the rush of customers that fill the store every day.

“You deserve to have fun, Delia,” she stresses my name. “You can keep this uncomplicated and still have mind-blowing orgasms.”

“I can’t.”

“If there’s a will, there’s a way.” Her gaze drops to where her phone is sitting on the counter as the screen lights up. “Dammit.”

I crane my neck to try and read the text message that has popped up on the screen, but I can’t. “What’s wrong?”

“Keely is fighting a bug.” She blows out a heavy exhale. “She’s in bed sick, so it’s just me and Mary today.”

“I’m free,” I offer since I’ve taken on shifts here in the past.

Her face brightens instantly. “Are you sure? You don’t have a paper due or another course to register for?”

My love of learning has become a source of constant teasing from her. I know that at its foundation it’s based in admiration since Nikita has told me she’s proud of how I’ve never ventured off the path I’m on to find a career that works for me.

Although I haven’t told her, or anyone else for that matter, that I’ve reached a crossroads on that path. I need to make a decision about my future soon.

“It’s summer break,” I remind her. “Do you have an extra T-shirt in the back for me?”

She tugs on the bottom hem of the black T-shirt she’s wearing. It’s branded in front with the Wolf Candy logo she designed. “You’ll find a bunch in my office. By the way, I love those jeans you’re wearing.”

I glance down at the faded ripped jeans I put on before I left home this morning. I didn’t put any thought into my outfit choice. That’s evident in the fact that I’m wearing a white sleeveless blouse with a tiny coffee stain on it and a pair of red sneakers I found in the back of my closet.

“These are your jeans,” I point out.

“I know.” She laughs. “You borrowed them months ago, but I haven’t said anything because…”

“Because the jeans you’re wearing right now are mine,” I finish her sentence.

She nods. “What the hell would we do for clothes if we weren’t the same size?”

“We’ll never find out, will we?” I laugh as I round the counter and head back toward her office.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Donovan

I exit one of our exam rooms with Matilda Wolf on my heel. She’s an exemplary employee. Her commitment to doing her job as a vet assistant to the best of her ability is admirable and I’ve rewarded her handsomely for it with regular pay increases and added benefits.

I prefer working with her over the other assistants I’ve hired because she understands what I need when I need it. She proved that just now as I carried out an annual health check up on an adorable Corgi named Feline.

Feline’s owner couldn’t help but giggle when she introduced her dog to me even though we’d met twice before. The first time was mere weeks after Feline was adopted from the local shelter I volunteer with. The second time was the day of Feline’s surgery to be neutered.

Feline’s owner, Vienna Geibart, was inconsolable that day. I explained more than once that it was a routine procedure and Feline would be his normal self in no time flat.

Still, Vienna wept all over the front of my lab coat as she clung to me, looking up into my eyes.

Matt hasn’t let me forget that scene since he witnessed it in the main corridor of the clinic.

He swears she was trying to coax a kiss out of me. I know for a fact that she was more interested in what’s in my pants because the way she pressed up against me was all the proof I needed.

She didn’t score anything that day since I kept my lips to myself and my cock remained as calm as it could be.

“Add her to the list of women crushing all over you,” Matilda comments as we enter my office. “You do get that she likes you, right?”

“Who?” I ask as if I’m truly clueless.

“Oh, I don’t know.” She flings her hands into the air in mock frustration. “The woman who comes to water the plants once a week.”

“She likes me?” I perk a brow. “Seriously? I have a potted lily at home that could use some tender loving care.”

“You know I’m talking about Vienna.” She sighs heavily. “She’s single and ready to do a lot more than mingle.”

“And I’m not interested,” I shut down the conversation with those four words.

“Why not?” Matilda picks it right back up. “She’s pretty, Donovan. You can at least admit that.”

Weeks ago I may have seen it, but that was before I spent days on end with Delia Hawthorne. Those memories have been playing in my mind on repeat.

“I can admit that we have a lot of patients to see today.”

“I’ll second that,” Delia’s brother wanders into my office. “I’ll trade you an angry hamster for the sad tabby you’re supposed to see next.”

“Hard pass.” I toss him an exaggerated smile.

“Some boss you are,” he says with a muted chuckle. “I thought your time away from the clinic would soften you.”

I haven’t told Matthew that I was actually on a cruise with his sister. No one at this clinic knows where I took off to other than the other veterinarian on staff. Carolyn Gallo is my second in command and a hell of a great secret keeper so I clued her in and she assured me that she’d keep this ship running smoothly while I sailed away on a real ship for a few days.

“It hardened me,” I say, enjoying the pun that I have to keep to myself.

“Are you ever going to tell us where you went?” Matilda asks. “You’re still as tanned as you normally are, so I’m guessing it was a destination that kept you indoors.”

“Or maybe someone kept him out of the sun.” Matt tosses me a sly grin. “That’s it, right?”

Since I was in bed with his younger sister for most of my time away from the clinic, I plead the Fifth in my own way. “No comment.”

“That’s a yes,” Matilda decides that on her own. “Does she live in New York?”

“You know what pleading the Fifth is, Matilda,” I point out. “You did it when I asked why you couldn’t stay late to help me clean the puppy vomit off the exam table and floor last month.”

“Technically, she doesn’t need to tell you why she can’t work past shift cut-off,” Matthew chimes in. “Although I know why she couldn’t stay.”

I don’t take offense at anything he says because my employees stick together and I know when push comes to shove, they’ll stand by me, too.

“I was ovulating,” Matilda blurts out. “I had to get home and climb onto my husband.”

Matt and I laugh in unison.

“I realize that’s way too much information, but we’re a family, right?” she asks, her blue eyes shining bright.

Matt nods. “We are.”

He’s right. We are, and yet I don’t have an ounce of regret for what I did on that cruise with his sister, and I have no guilt over the fact that I haven’t told him.

My relationship with Delia is my business.

His gaze drops to the front pocket of his dark pants when his phone chimes. He drags it out to study the screen.

“My sister is working for your sister-in-law today,” he tells Matilda. “We should run over there on our lunch break and surprise them.”

I want in on that, but my day is packed.

“I can’t.” Tilly shakes her head.

“Let me guess.” He taps his chin with his pointer finger. “You need to work on that baby project you just dropped on Donovan.”

Her gaze finds mine. “I’ll give you plenty of notice when I do get pregnant, and I’ll be back after maternity leave. I can’t give this place up.”

I have no doubt about any of that, so I nod. “I know. I’m happy for you and Sebastian.”

“Me too,” she whispers before she shifts her attention back to Matt. “That’s not the reason I can’t leave at lunch. Athena is dropping by with a bouquet of flowers I ordered for Carolyn. It’s her birthday today, remember?”

“Shit,” I say right before Matt drops the same word.

“We need cake,” he says.

“And candy,” I add. “Carolyn loves chocolate.”

“You two should go get all of that during lunch,” Matilda suggests as she runs a finger over the screen of the tablet in her hands. “You’re both free from eleven thirty for an hour. Matt, you have a patient coming in at twelve forty-five.”

“What?” He asks. “When I checked earlier my schedule was clear from eleven thirty straight through until one thirty today.”

She spins her tablet so the screen is facing him. “That changed. Moxie Acherley is coming in for a check up.”

“Hunt.” The pleading note in his voice is unmistakable. “Do me a solid, and…”

“Not a fucking chance.” I laugh, recalling the last time I was in the exam room with Moxie, a cat who has been on our patient roster for a few years. “I’m not in the mood to be scratched today.”

Unless, Delia is doing the scratching that is. Her fingernails trailing a path down my back as I fucked her is a memory I won’t soon forget.

“Fine,” he acquiesces with a scrape of his shoe against the floor. “We’ll do the cake and candy run before I submit to that pain.”

“I’ll meet you out front at eleven thirty,” I firm up our plans. “I take it we’re heading to Wolf Candy for the chocolate?”

“Where the hell else would we go?” Matthew laughs. “My sister’s best friend owns the place, and Delia is there today, too. You can finally meet her.”

I don’t respond because that ship sailed when we sailed on a ship together a little more than a week ago.

“Do you think you can convince Athena to bring along a dozen yellow roses for Faith?” Matthew smiles at Matilda. “I’ll pay for them, of course, but it would surprise the hell out of my fiancée if I came home with a bouquet of her favorite flowers tonight.”

I smile at his mention of Athena Millett. She’s engaged to Matilda’s youngest brother-in-law, Liam Wolf. Athena owns a floral boutique and stops by regularly with flowers for Matilda and sometimes a bouquet to brighten the front desk of the clinic. She never asks for anything in return.

“I’ll text her now.” She tugs her phone out of one of the pockets of her blue scrubs. “I know she’ll do it and you’ll have to fight her to take your money.”

Matt laughs. “If that’s the case, I’ll stop by her shop next week for another bouquet when she’s out doing deliveries. I’ll add a huge tip to the order.”

“Sneaky but effective.” Matilda looks toward me. “What about you, Dr. Hunt? Do you want some flowers for a lovely lady?”

Fuck, yeah, I do. I’d give anything to see the look on Delia’s face if I appeared before her with a handful of fresh flowers.

“No,” I answer without any explanation.

“No surprise there.” Matilda flashes me a grin. “It’s time to get back to work, gentleman.”

She’s right. It is. I have a few patients to tend to before I get to see Delia again. This day has certainly taken a turn for the better.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Delia

I love this place. When Nikita first told me she was thinking of opening a candy store, I was completely on board. In fact, I offered to help fund the endeavor. She was wary at first because we both heard horror stories of friends going into business together only for it to tear the relationship apart, but that hasn’t happened with us.

In fact, we grew closer as I promised that all I wanted to be was a silent partner and an understanding ear when she needed someone to listen.

Since she launched the store a few years ago, it’s become a staple in New York City. Residents and tourists flock here because Kita offers bars crafted from the very best chocolate in the world and a myriad of sweet treats that can’t be found anywhere else.

Her front-end staff consists of a handful of people but she has a small factory operation a few blocks from here where everything is made. Since she started offering overnight delivery of everything she sells, her bottom line and mine, has increased substantially.

“You know how much I appreciate this, right?” She slides a hand along my back as we enjoy a short lull for the first time today.

“You know how much I love helping you, right?”

She wraps her arms around me for a quick embrace. “You’ve helped me more than I can ever possibly thank you for, Delia. I wouldn’t have this life if it wasn’t for you.”

Her brother, Nicholas, is incredibly wealthy and I know that he also offered to invest in the business. He did, in fact, at the same percentage I did. He’s also a silent partner since the majority of his time is spent writing and spending time with his wife and two daughters.

“It’s more than the money,” she says as though she can read my mind. “You’re am amazing best friend.”

“I feel the same about you,” I tell her as I get to work fixing a display of cherry suckers that have been picked over.

She glances toward the door when the bell above signals its opening. “How do you feel about Donovan Hunt?”

“We’re not going there.” I shake my head.

“Oh, you’re going there,” she says with a wink.

“What does that mean?”

She points toward the entrance. “He just walked in with your brother. Why don’t you take care of what he needs?”

In a repeat of recent history, I drop something as soon as I turn around and see Donovan standing mere feet away from me.

This time the cherry lollipop in my hand falls to the floor, but thankfully since it’s wrapped in a clear package with a heart shaped print, the shattered pieces stay within that.

Kita dips down to scoop it up. “I’ll go toss this in the trash in my office.”

“There’s a wastebasket right over there.” I point at the one near the counter.

“I know,” she says, as she turns to walk away. She tosses my brother and my boss a wave on her way to the back. “Hey Matt! Hi Donovan!”

They both mimic her movement by raising their hands in greeting, too.

As she disappears out of sight, Matt approaches me with open arms. He’s dressed much like Donovan is in dark blue pants and a button-down shirt. Matt’s is white. Donovan is wearing a light blue one that only serves to accentuate the unique shade of his eyes. It’s obvious that he’s shaved since we left the ship.

He didn’t bother doing that after we shut ourselves in his room so by the time the ship docked in Miami at the end of our journey, he was sporting the beginnings of a beard.

Today, he’s clean shaven.

“Delia, this is Donovan,” Matt introduces me to the man I can’t stop thinking about it. “He’s the guy who has made most of my career dreams come true.”

That hits hard and is an instant reminder of why I can’t go anywhere near Donovan again.

I feel like I was falling for him - hard. It was more than great sex. It was the beginnings of real feelings based on how much I enjoyed just hanging out with him.

Donovan extends his right hand. “It’s a pleasure.”

It has been a pleasure, and it can never be again.

I take his hand for a very quick shake before I drop it. “Hi.”

Matt looks at me. “You haven’t touched base in a while. Callum told me you had fun on the cruise.”

All I told my younger brother is that I appreciated the gift and used the time to enjoy myself.

I’ve never spoken truer words in my life.

“It was great,” I play it off because the man responsible for the good time I had on the ship is less than a foot away from me.

“Good,” he says as he scans the interior of the store. “It’s Carolyn’s birthday today so we need chocolate.”

“You came to the right place.” I turn my back to both men to face a wall of candy bars. Each is a distinctive flavor and I can personally attest to the deliciousness of each one since I’ve sampled everything in this store.

“Kita sells baskets of chocolate bars, right?” Matt rounds me to face me. “With a dozen different ones I think. Assorted types.”

“Yes.” I nod. “I can grab a couple of examples for you to check out.”

“Do you like chocolate, Delia?” Donovan asks from behind me.

“Yes,” I say again, but softer this time.

“You strike me as a woman with excellent taste, so choose what you prefer.”

Matthew nods. “She does have excellent taste, and I think that’s a smart way to go.”

“Follow me and I’ll ring you up,” I say to my brother.

“It’s on me.” Donovan moves into my view. “Why don’t I follow you so you can ring me up?”

“Sure,” I say just as my brother’s phone starts ringing.

He slides it out of his pocket. “It’s Faith. I’ve got to take it.”

Before I can beg him to stay, he’s headed toward the door he just entered.

“Alone at last,” Donovan whispers as soon as he spots my brother on the sidewalk in front of the store. “How are you, Delia?”

Lonely. Aching. Wishing the ship had veered off course for a year long journey around the world.

“I’m fine,” I say with a small smile. “How are you?”

“Truthfully?” he asks.

I want to say no, but I can’t. I need to know how he truly is, so I nod.

“I fucking miss you,” he confesses, his hand raking through his dark hair. “I want to pick up where we left off.”

Before I can get a word out in response, my brother wanders back into the store. “All is good. Faith aced a test so I had to tell her how fucking proud I am of her.”

Faith is on her way to becoming a doctor. She’s going to devote her life to working in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology. I’m secretly envious of the fact that my future sister-in-law who is set to celebrate her twenty-second birthday soon knows exactly what she’s supposed to do professionally.

“I’ll text her to tell her I am, too,” I say.

“She’d love that, Delia.” Matt smiles. “Are we good to go?”

“I need to ring up the gift basket.” I start walking toward the checkout counter. “Once I do that, I can grab it from the back.”

The two men follow close behind me. As my hands tremble and my heart thunders in my chest, I shut my eyes briefly, hoping that I can keep it together until they exit the store.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Delia

Nikita pushes a strand of hair back from my forehead. “You should take off, Delia. You look tired.”

I’m not tired. I’m experiencing lingering shock from seeing Donovan and from hearing him tell me that he misses me and wants to pick up right where we left off.

That would be naked together somewhere in this city.

The mental image of that has been crowding every other thought out of my mind for hours. It’s the main reason why I rang up a candy necklace as a big bucket of caramels. The woman who wanted to buy the bracelet was quick to point out that I had made a mistake.

I apologized. She tossed me an angry look but left with a smile on her face when I added a free candy bracelet to her bag.

“I can stay,” I offer with no real meaning behind the words.

“Go,” she orders. “Mary is going to hang around for an extra hour and before you know it, I’ll be closing up shop for the day.”

“I should be the one telling you to go.” I smile as I tap her chin with my fingertip. “You need to have some fun.”

“My turn is coming,” she says what she always does when it comes to men and dating. “I meet so many men every day, Delia. One day one will walk in here and sweep me right off my feet. “

I glance down at the black boots on her feet. “You sound so sure of yourself.”

“It’s bound to happen.” She sighs. “For the record, I’m in no hurry for that to happen. I love being an auntie and I double love this place.”

“I love you,” I tell her because I always do.

“Right back at you,” she responds the way she often does, before she amends it, “I love you, too.”

“I’ll go but I’m going to run to get some food for you first.” I lift a hand in the air to ward off what I know is an incoming argument. “Don’t fight me on this, Kita. You can’t eat chocolate for dinner.”

She glances down at her body. We’re mirror images of one another. We have curves and we’re both proud of them. “I was thinking one of those big chicken salads from that place around the corner. I was going to grab it on my way home.”

“I’ll go get two now,” I say. “I’ll drop off one for you before I go home.”

“You’re the best.”

“Second best,” I say because she truly is the best friend anyone could ever have.

“I have one thing to ask before you take off.” She hesitates slightly so I know what’s about to come out of her mouth.

“I’m not talking about Donovan anymore.”

“He wants you,” she says matter-of-factly. “I was peeking around the corner and he was looking at you like he wanted to tie you up and do amazing things to you.”

I laugh. “You got all of that from spying on us?”

“Yes.” She smiles. “I vote for you to go for it.”

“I don’t recall agreeing to vote on it.” I lean my hip against the counter. “Matt walked in here and introduced me to Donovan. Neither of us corrected him by explaining that we already know each other. Do you know how awkward that felt? It was a lie of omission and if I fall back into bed with his boss, how do I face my brother?”

“With a clear conscience and no regrets.”

“With guilt and fear,” I correct her. “I could fall for him, Nikita. I could seriously fall for Donovan and he’s not looking for that.”

“You can keep it light and fun,” she insists. “I’ve slept with men who were just fuck buddies. I went into it knowing that and left those situations clear minded and satisfied.”

“I’m not you,” I remind her. “My heart has been broken once. You and Matt helped me pick up those pieces. He could tell I was in pain without me telling him. I would never be able to hide this from him.”

“You never told him who you fell in love with in Paris, did you?”

His name was Aiden Bacri. Matthew has never heard of him. Before I arrived in France to study for a semester, I hadn’t either, but I fell hard and fast for the man who makes a living from sketching portraits of people he passes on the streets of Paris.

He’s somewhat of a folk hero there since he’s sketched many of the world’s most notable celebrities when they’re visiting the city of lights.

The day I confessed my undying love for him, he left hours later when I fell asleep. The only evidence of his abandonment was a portrait he sketched of me with four words written in his handwriting on the back of it.

It’s over. I’m sorry.

“Matt doesn’t know about Aiden,” I tell her. “Only you do.”

“I’ll be the only one who knows about Donovan, too.” She smiles. “I’ll hold your secrets forever, Delia. If something goes wrong with him, I’ll be your shoulder to lean on.”

She taps each of her shoulders.

I can’t help but smile, too. “It’s too risky. He’s such an integral part of Matt’s life, and his future. He loves his job at the clinic. A complicated mess between his boss and me can’t happen.”

“You’re trading what could be a whole lot of fun for something that may never happen.”

I toss her a look meant to convey how I want this conversation to end.

“You might be the one to dump Donovan after you’ve had your fill of him.” She leans closer. “By fill I mean his cock.”

I let out a laugh. “I know what you meant.”

“If you view him as just a great fuck and not as a long term partner, nothing can go wrong.”

“You’re dead wrong about that.” I close my eyes briefly, trying to ward off an approaching headache. “I’m hungry so I’m going to get dinner for us before I leave you and this conversation behind.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Donovan

Just as I round the corner headed back to Wolf Candy after work, I spot Delia in front of me.

Her ass in a pair of tight faded jeans is a sight for my sore eyes.

I got a perfect view of her flawless face earlier when I was at the store with her brother. I could tell that Delia was uncomfortable, but being the selfish asshole I am, I spit out that I wanted to take her back to bed.

Pacing myself around her is not an easy task.

I’m tempted to call out to her but she’s got red sneakers on her feet and something tells me that if she wanted to bolt from me, she could disappear into the early evening pedestrian foot traffic in no time flat.

Instead, I follow a few feet behind, watching as man after man turns to take another look at her as she passes by.

By the time I’m up to three, I’ve almost had enough.

As soon as I round the corner after her, I notice her duck into a food place. Carolyn has ordered lunch for us from there in the past. They make a great salad, and an even better grilled vegetable sandwich on gluten free bread.

I don’t follow any particular diet trend, but I do try to feed my body what it needs in terms of nourishment, so a sandwich will definitely not only fuel it, but it’ll hit the spot.

I swing the door open less than a minute after Delia does.

A few people glance at me, but she’s not one of them. That’s because she’s at the counter placing an order for what I assume is her dinner.

“You’re number thirty-four today, Delia,” the guy behind the counter tells her before he tallies up what she owes him.

She digs a card out of her bag, but before tapping it against the machine he’s holding out for her, she keys in something that brings a huge smile to her face.

“That’s a very generous tip.”

She laughs. “What can I say? I love your salads. Nikita does, too.”

That tells me that she’s heading back to the store after this. That’s a wrench in the plan I’ve been concocting for the past twenty-seconds. I was about to accidentally bump into her before suggesting we grab one of the few empty tables to enjoy our meals together.

“Next!” The guy yells. “Hey, suit! You’re next!”

I take that to mean me since I slipped my suit jacket on before I left the clinic. I spend half of my days dressed like this and the other half in scrubs. Today was a shirt and pants day since I didn’t have any surgeries scheduled.

Delia glances over her shoulder to sneak a peek.

“Donovan?” Her pretty mouth falls open. “You’re here?”

“In the flesh,” I point out hoping that they’ll conjure up a memory of what I look like when I’m nude because she seemed to like that a hell of a lot.

“Let me test my memory,” the guy behind the counter says as he stares at me. “A number two salad and a quinoa bowl with grilled lamb.”

The way he tosses air quotes around the protein means I’ll be eating something plant based that tastes like lamb. I’m totally on board for that.

“You know it,” I say even though I’ve never stepped foot in here before.

Delia smiles. “You’re a regular?”

“You’re number thirty-five.” The guy steals my attention away from her. “How are you paying?”

I slide a card from my wallet, and take the same path Delia did. I tip well and leave the guy with a smile when he thanks me profusely.

At the very least I’ll come out of this experience with a good meal, and more importantly a few minutes with Delia as we wait for our orders.

As we step to the side to make room for the couple waiting behind me in line, Delia looks at me. “For a minute, I thought you followed me in here.”

I did but admitting to that won’t serve my agenda in any way, shape, or form.

“We need to talk,” I say, not wanting to waste another second I have with her.

“About what you said earlier today?”

I nod. “I want you.”

Her bottom lip trembles. “Donovan, please.”

“Please take you to bed?” I ask in a whisper. “Please make you come again and again? I’ll do it all right now. Fuck the food.”

She smiles slightly. “You know we can’t.”

I shake my head. “I know we can and I don’t think I’m off base saying I know we both want the same thing.”

“We have to go back to our lives before the cruise.” Her eyes close briefly. “I admit it was incredible. It was the best few days of my life, but this is our reality.”

“Is your hesitation all about Matt?”

She shrugs. “Mostly, yes.”

“If he didn’t work for me, you’d let me take you home with me?”

Her gaze searches my face. “Don’t ask me that because if I say yes, you’ll fire him.”

“It has crossed my mind,” I say teasingly, but I instantly see that’s not how she absorbs it.

Her hand jumps to her mouth. “We can’t. We have to go our separate ways now. We already lied to him earlier.”

“We didn’t tell him that we already met,” I make the subtle correction.

“Now you’re splitting hairs.” Her eyes lock on mine. “My brother has championed me for most of my life. He’s stood by me through everything and I can’t jeopardize his job just to have more fun.”

That stings. It fucking stings because I want more than fun from her.

“Order thirty-four!” A voice calls from behind the counter. “Thirty-four is ready!”

I can’t let her walk out of here thinking I’m someone I’m not, so I stop her by grabbing her elbow.

She looks up at me. “Donovan.”

“I get what you’re saying but you need to know that I would never punish your brother for anything that happened or could have happened between us. I consider Matt not only a valuable employee, but a friend.”

I yank one of my business cards out of my jacket pocket. I reach for a pen from the counter to scribble my cell number on the back of it before I shove it at her. “Take this. Use it to contact me day or night, Delia. You need someone to carry you through the city, I’m your guy. You want someone to wash your hair, give me a call, and if you’re lonely at night, I’ll read to you on the phone. I fucking miss you.”

Tears well in her eyes as she accepts it. She presses it against her chest. “Okay.”

I’ll take it. It’s not the response I want, but I’ll accept it, for now.

She races to the counter, picks up her bag of food, and without a single glance back, she leaves.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Delia

I walk into my apartment and drop the bag containing my salad on the elaborate marble table that sits in the middle of the massive entry way.

“Hello!” I call out, my voice echoing through the space as it bounces off the walls.

They’re all still painted the same shade of light gray that they were the day I moved in.

That was years ago.

I look down at the Brazilian rosewood flooring that carries through all seven thousand square feet of my home.

According to the previous owner, it was hand chosen as was every other detail in this place, including the barely used appliances in the kitchen. That room was completed just months before I inherited this place.

A soft knock at my door spins me back around. This building is on Park Avenue and is as safe as safe can be since there’s always a security guard on the premises and two doormen in the lobby who do everything in their power to keep strangers as far away from the residents as possible.

Everyone I love has been given carte blanche to come and go as they please. That’s the benefit of living in one of the four penthouses.

I swing open the door without peering through the peephole. I find my neighbor, Mr. Winters, on the other side.

He greets me with a warm smile and a slight bow. It’s his signature move and I kind of love him for it.

“Hey, Mr. Winters,” I say, stepping back to give him entry to my home. “What do you need?”

“A smile and a cup of sugar.”

Mr. Winters loves sugar in his tea but he always forgets to add it to his grocery list. That’s the only reason I add it to mine once every couple of months.

I take the offered small glass container and set off toward the kitchen.

“Did you get yourself some dinner?” he asks as he passes my take-out bag.

“It’s a salad,” I tell him over my shoulder. “Spinach, apples, walnuts. The dressing is vinaigrette. We can split it if you want.”

“I’ll take a little for lunch tomorrow,” he says. “But with the dressing on the side, please.”

I smile because he’s always so polite. He tells me manners were born and bred into men who are ninety-years-old like he is. I tell him he’s one of a kind.

“I’ll pack that up for you,” I offer. “I’ll grab the sugar first.”

He watches in silence as I fill his sugar bowl before I race back to grab the salad. I fill a small reusable bowl with a generous portion before I toss some of the dressing onto what’s left and snap the lid back on the container to give it to him.

“I can help you carry it home if you’d like.”

He studies me carefully from where he’s standing. “You’re glowing, Delia.”

That’s his polite way of saying I’m sweating. I know I am but I can’t tell if it’s from the searing heat enveloping the city or from talking to Donovan.

“It’s hot as heck out there today.” I fan my face with my hand.

“It is,” he agrees with a curt nod. “But it’s something else. Something is different about you.”

I’m head over heels in crazy like with my brother’s boss and I’m still riding the high of some seriously good sex.

“Maybe it’s the shirt.” I tug on the bottom hem of the Wolf Candy T-shirt I’m still wearing.

“It’s not the shirt.” He pushes his eyeglasses up the bridge of his nose. “It’s something inside of you. That inner glow you’ve always had is shining brighter today. Maybe a young man is part of that?”

“Maybe,” I whisper.

I finish gathering the sugar and his lunch for tomorrow into one of the paper bags with twine handles that I keep in a drawer just for him.

“I can handle all of that on my own.” He walks toward me. “You sit and eat your dinner and think about what’s got you shining so bright.”

“Okay.” I smile.

“Or who,” he adds with a slow wink of his right eye. “I’ll replace the sugar when I get to the store.”

He won’t, but I don’t mind a bit. I’ll give him sugar whenever he needs it because I enjoy when he pops in.

“You’re sure you don’t need help getting home?” I ask.

“I live across the hall, Delia,” he reminds me. “I’m pretty sure my legs can make that short trek.”

I follow him back to the foyer, but before I can open the door for him, he’s turned back around to face me. “When you first moved in, I wasn’t sure I’d like you.”

He’s told me that before, so I grin. “And now?”

“You’re growing on me, kid.” He pinches my chin. “You’re growing on me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Donovan

It’s been more than two days since I gave Delia my number and yet nothing. Not one text or call from her. I know I need to accept that she’s not willing to crawl back into bed with me, but fuck is that hard. It’s so goddamn hard because I know she’s out there.

I’ve known that for months now but after experiencing those few days on the cruise with her, it’s all changed.

I feel less than whole now. It’s not as though a part of who I am isn’t there because she’s cut me out of her life. This is about what she brought to me. Joy, fun, so much satisfaction that it’s hard knowing I may never experience that again.

“What’s her name?”

I look up to see my cousin Reid standing next to the table I’ve been sitting at for the past hour. We agreed to meet at a diner for dinner but his work kept him for an extra hour. Reid is a few years younger than I am. He co-owns a venture capital firm and when he can make time to see me, I’m grateful.

We share a set of grandparents and a lot of memories.

“Delia,” I say it because I can tell this man anything and he’ll never repeat it.

“Delia who?” he questions, unbuttoning his suit jacket before he takes a seat across from me.

“Hawthorne.”

That raises his brows. “As in Dr. Matthew Hawthorne?”

Reid has met my entire staff because he made a point of doing just that when he stopped by the clinic one day. I did the same when I visited the Vidori Capital Partner’s offices on a Friday afternoon to invite him to join me for a beer.

I motion toward the server who has been helping me since I sat down. I’m on my second glass of ice water since I’m on call tonight. I gesture for her to bring me a refill along with a glass of water for Reid.

“Did you just order water for me?” he questions.

“I did.”

“Keeping it tame I see.”

I laugh that off. “Keeping it sober since I’m on call.”

“Dr. Do Good is at it again,” he uses the nickname he gave me the day I graduated. “I’m speaking purely professionally, of course. If you’re banging Matthew’s sister, that is a Dr. Do Her Good move.”

“Grow up.” I laugh. “How old are you again?”

“Thirty-two.” He narrows his eyes. “How old is Delia?”

“Why?”

“Curiosity.”

I highly doubt that’s the reason. I think it has a lot more to do with his current executive assistant and the age gap between the two of them. She can’t be more than twenty-one or two. “More like comparison. You’re thinking about Evie.”

He chuckles. “Like hell I am.”

I drop it because he’s either oblivious to the way he looks at her, or he’s ignoring his attraction to her for professional reasons. Either way, it’s his life so he can live it as he sees fit.

“How far have things gone between you and Delia?” He flashes the waitress a smile as she brings our waters. “Give us a minute and we’ll be ready to order.”

She nods in understanding before she takes off out of earshot.

“She was on the cruise I was on,” I explain. “We didn’t leave my cabin for hours, a couple of days if I’m being completely honest.”

Shaking his head, he chuckles. “It sounds like you had a hell of a vacation, Donovan.”

“Absolutely,” I agree.

“Does she live here?” He takes a sip of water. “Or was it truly a two ships passing in the night thing and she’s out of your life for good?”

“She lives here.” I tap the top of the table. “I saw her the other day and gave her my number but I’ve got nothing to report on that front.”

“So, she’s not interested in more?”

It would appear that way, but I believe the root of that is what she views as a complicated dynamic involving her brother. “I think she is but she’s hesitant.”

“I get that.” As he leans back, his suit jacket falls open to reveal a blue button-down shirt and an expensive tie.

Reid dresses the part of a successful businessman. I admire that about him. He’s put his all into his business and it’s paid off for him.

“You get that?” I chuckle. “Explain that to me.”

“She’s likely scared you’re going to screw over her brother once you get tired of screwing her.”

“I’d never get tired of screwing her,” I blurt out without thinking.

“Wait.” He tilts his head. “What exactly do you feel for Delia? Are we talking about more than a good time here, Donovan?”

If I had an answer to that, I wouldn’t be discussing any of this with him.

I shrug. “I like being around her. We have a hell of a lot of fun. I want more of that.”

He nods as he motions toward the waitress. “I’m not on call so I’m ordering a vodka and a burger to go with it. Talk to Delia again. Help her see that you won’t fuck up Matt’s life if it all goes to hell between you two.”

“That’s easier said than done.” I smile at the waitress as she approaches us. “I can’t do any of that unless she talks to me.”

“Give her a week to think about things, then go where you know you’ll find her. Manhattan isn’t that big. Running into her isn’t completely implausible.”

He may be right, but if Delia Hawthorne is determined to avoid me at all costs, I may never see her beautiful face in person again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Delia

One of the benefits of social media is that it can be a window into a person’s life. I’ve checked Nikita’s social media accounts sometimes when she isn’t answering my texts. I’ve done the same with my siblings, although Callum doesn’t partake.

He claims not to have an interest in anything related to social media and fortunately for him, his job doesn’t require him to make the rounds on there with the intention of trying to impress any prospective employers or clients.

Dr. Donovan Hunt does have a social media presence that reaches far and wide.

He has millions of followers who eat up his content like it’s the most delicious cake ever baked. He gets more comments and likes than most people would know what to do with, but he does make time to filter through everything to drop replies to some of those comments.

That happened less than an hour ago when he posted from an animal shelter in the West Village. The image was of him holding a beautiful white and brown kitten he had named Rufus.

He encouraged his followers to visit the shelter in the coming days to check out Rufus and his six littermates.

I doubt I can convince him that I’m standing outside the shelter because I’m interested in adopting a cat. I’m not at the moment, although I want to have a pet, or pets at some point.

I’d have to get approval from the tenant board in my building, but they tend to be easily swayed when it comes to accommodating new furry family members. A man who lives on the same floor as Mr. Winters and me has a cat and a dog. They don’t always get along, but he assures me they love each other very much.

The door to the shelter flies open as a woman and a little boy emerge. The woman is holding tightly to a leash that is attached to the collar of an adorable black dog.

“Hold the door for the nice lady,” she tells her son. “I bet she’s going to leave with a kitten.”

Or a handsome veterinarian.

I keep that thought to myself, but I offer them both a wide grin. “Your dog is beautiful.”

“He’s handsome,” the boy says, his toothy smile on display. “We named him Midnight. It’s cool, right?”

“It’s the coolest,” I tell him as I raise a hand to hold the door open myself so he can get back to hugging his dog. “I think he’ll be really happy with you.”

“He is already,” the boy says, tears welling in his eyes. “He’s going to sleep in my room tonight.”

“We’ll see about that.” His mom skims a hand over his forehead as he yawns. “It’s getting late. The nice lady needs to get inside and we have to get home.”

“Bye, nice lady!” He waves a hand at me, so I do the same back.

“Hey, nice lady,” an achingly familiar voice says, sending a shiver up my spine.

I don’t need to turn to see who is standing near me, but I do.

Donovan, wearing the same lab coat he was in the image he posted online earlier, smiles at me. “Can I help you, nice lady?”

I nod slowly while I relish in the sight of the smile on his face. “You can tell me what time you’ll be done here.”

“Twenty minutes or so, give or take.” He glances over his shoulder. “I’ve got a couple more new intakes to check over and a kitten or two to cuddle, but I’m all yours after that, Delia.”

“I can wait at the café down the block.”

“Or you can lend a hand.” He points toward a corridor. “I happen to know that there are a few dozen dogs and cats here who’d love some one-on-one time with you.”

“Seriously?” I smile. “I get to pet dogs and cats?”

“For as long as you want.” He tilts his head slightly. “Or until you’re ready to tell me what brought you here.”

An hour later we exit the shelter and step into the warm evening air.

Donovan points at the random black hairs clinging to the skirt of my red sundress. “It looks like someone got a little too close to a certain cat named Ralph.”

Laughing, I try to brush off the hairs but they’re not giving up easily. “It was worth it.”

He shoves both hands into the front pockets of his navy blue pants. “You’re a natural with animals, Delia. Did you ever consider following in Matthew’s footsteps?”

I shake my head. “I hate the sight of blood.”

“You do?”

I nod. “I’m okay with very small amounts but if it’s more than a few drops, I’ll faint.”

“That means you would have gone down for the count on the cruise if your foot was injured more seriously?”

“Probably,” I whisper. “I’m sure Clever would have caught me.”

He barks out a laugh. “Fucking Clever.”

“Do you think we’ll ever see his name in lights?”

“Absolutely not,” he answers succinctly.

I can’t help but laugh. “Ye of little faith.”

“More like he of little magic skills,” he counters. “Everyone in that theater knew how he made you disappear.”

I gasp a little too loudly as we continue walking side by side. “No, they didn’t.”

“Hell, yes they did.” He chuckles. “You hid on the ledge at the back of the box.”

“I can neither confirm or deny that’s true.”

He shoots me a look. “No need to do either, Delia. You tried your best, but Clever the unclever magician needs to practice, and then practice more, and then…”

“Practice more?”

“You know it.” He slows as the crossing light flashes a warning. “Tell me why you tracked me down tonight.”

I glance up at him. “To talk.”

“About?”

I look at the passing traffic before I finally shift my gaze back to him. “Having more fun.”

“With me?” he questions, a glint visible in his eyes.

“Don’t hurt Matt,” I warn him. “When this ends we agree to be adult about it. We each go our own way and agree that Matt remains neutral throughout. He’s my brother and your employee.”

“And friend,” he adds. “I told you his job is safe, Delia. I won’t change my mind on that. You have my word.”

I barely know him, but I sense his word means a great deal.

“It needs to be casual,” I say as we start to cross the street. “No conflict, no drama. Just fun, Donovan.”

“I’m all for that.” He motions for me to turn to the left to continue our walk on that sidewalk. “If you want to be on top, you’re not going to get an argument from me? I’ll eat you instead of dinner seven nights a week.”

All of that sends a charge straight through to my core. “I need this to be as uncomplicated as possible.”

“As do I.” He slows his pace. “We’ll enjoy ourselves and when it’s time to call it a day, we part as friends.”

He may be capable of that. I’m not sure I am, but I know that I’m going to do everything within my power to keep my emotions out of this. I want to spend more time with him. I’m desperate to crawl back into bed with him, and I’m mature enough to see this for what it is.

It’s a summer fling with the possibility of slipping a wee bit into fall before it runs its course.

“We can’t hang out at my apartment,” I blurt out. “Matthew has been known to randomly show up, so…”

“So, you’ll come to my townhouse when you want to see me,” he says casually. “Text me so I have your phone number.”

“Now?” I ask, glancing around.

He smiles. “Or later. It’s up to you.”

I look into his eyes as we stand under a streetlight. “We’re going to have fun.”

He nods slowly. “So much fucking fun and yes, I mean that just as it sounds.”

I bow my head. “It sounds divine.”

“I’ll take you home with me now,” he offers. “If that’s what you want.”

I crane my neck back and suck in a deep breath. “I want to text you later so you have my phone number.”

“That works too.” He leans forward to press a soft kiss in the middle of my forehead. “I’ll get you home. Let me flag down a cab or we can take the subway.”

“I can make it there on my own.” I smile. “Thank you for the offer, though.”

“Thank you for stalking my social media tonight, Delia.” He exhales softly. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

I can’t wait to see him again either, but I keep that to myself and brush past him, forcing him to turn around to get one last glimpse of me tonight.

“Goodnight, Delia,” he calls after me as I walk down the sidewalk toward Park Avenue.

“Goodnight,” I say while looking straight ahead with a smile on my face that’s bright enough to light the night sky.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Delia

I glance at the time on my phone. It’s nearing midnight but something tells me that Donovan won’t mind if I send him a text message now.

I keyed his number into my contact list as soon as I got home tonight. I considered sending him a text then, but I wanted a few hours to calm my thoughts before I send the all-important first text.

I’ve never been an over thinker when it comes to texting a man. I usually just say what I need to say and leave it at that, but this is different. I want to say that I can’t wait to feel his arms wrapped around me again. I wish he knew how desperately I wanted to kiss his lips tonight, but none of that is going in my text.

Instead, I opt for to take a different route. It’s something I know will put a smile on his face.

I type the message out and read it twice.

Delia: Can you believe the neighbor was the killer in Phantom’s Escape? Nicholas Wolf is a genius.

Laughter escapes me as I press send.

His reply is as funny as it is fast.

Donovan: Excuse me while I cry myself to sleep now that you fucking ruined it for me. Nothing that kid said about you being a nice lady was true, Delia. Not one goddamn word of it.

I rest my cheek against my pillow as I take a second to think of how to reply. Once I have it, I type it out quickly.

Delia: If I’m not nice what am I?

As soon as I press send, I hold my breath waiting for his response.

Donovan: That list is as long as I’m hard. You’re fucking beautiful, sexy as hell. You’re smart as a whip. You can dance circles around me…shall I go on?

I read it all but only focus my response on one word of what he wrote.

Delia: You’re hard right now?

He replies in an instant with one telling word.

Donovan: Very.

I stare at that for a beat too long because my phone starts ringing and it’s him! I answer immediately, “Donovan.”

“If you want to be fucked hard, Delia, come to me now.”

“Now?” I half-laugh. “You’re not serious.”

“I’m aching for you.” His voice is etched with the same desperate need I feel. “I’m hanging up and texting you my address. If you want my cock, it’s waiting for you.”

Before he ends the call, I’m up and out of my bed. I tug the red dress back over my head, slide my feet into the nearest pair of shoes and take off in the direction of my door.

I gaze at the massive white-bricked townhouse on East 74th Street in Upper Manhattan. I look down at my phone’s screen again to see if Donovan indicated an apartment or suite number when he sent me the text giving me this address to come to.

I ordered a rideshare as I made my way down the elevator to the lobby of my building. One of the doormen was more than happy to have a spirited conversation with me about the weather. I often tell him that he has a future in meteorology. He almost always responds that the tips are better in my building.

I gave him one tonight just for making me smile.

I climb the concrete steps. Since there isn’t a control panel or any buttons indicating there are multiple units behind the carved wooden door, I press the doorbell.

“The door’s unlocked, Delia,” is the immediate response I get from the small speaker attached to the doorbell.

It’s Donovan’s voice but it’s different. It’s laced with something that I don’t think I’ve heard before.

I wrap my hand around the silver handle on the door and twist it, slowly pushing the door open as I do.

“Holy hell,” I whisper when I catch sight of what’s waiting for me inside.

“Close the door,” Donovan says through clenched teeth.

His jaw is tense. His entire body is exposed and his beautiful cock is hard and already sheathed in a condom.

All I can do is stare.

“I’m warning you.” His voice comes out even deeper than it was a moment ago. “I’m on fire for you, Delia. I may not last long the first time, but...”

“The first time you fuck me tonight?” I interrupt, anticipation coursing through me like a drug in my veins. “You’ll do it more than once.”

His head falls back in hearty laughter. “How can I take you only once? Look at you.”

I glance down at my dress, the skirt still covered in cat hair. I slipped my feet into heels that I wouldn’t normally wear when I race around Manhattan, and I didn’t bother brushing my hair before I jumped into the rideshare.

“Am I a mess?” I pout my bottom lip out playfully.

“You’re a dream.” He stalks toward me.

I inch back toward the door as he approaches. It’s not out of fear, but excitement. I’m scared that my knees are about to give out and I need something to lean on to keep my upright.

As soon as he’s close enough, his mouth is on mine. The kiss is demanding and when we part, he groans so loudly that my core clenches.

His hand drops to the skirt of my dress. He clumsily tugs at it, bunching it up as his fingers seek their destination.

“Lace,” he growls when he reaches my panties. “I bet they’re pretty, too.”

“Very,” I whisper.

He pushes them aside, his thick fingers staying true to their course. With his eyes locked on mine, he enters me swiftly. “You’re dripping wet.”

It’s true, so I can’t deny it. I can only confirm it with a nod of my head and two short words. “For you.”

He takes me by the waist, spinning me so quickly that I lose my balance but he keeps me upright, his hands holding me in place until I find my footing.

He guides me backward with small steps. “You’ll come as soon as I’m inside of you.”

I want to protest; argue that he’s wrong and I have more self-control than that, but it would be a lie. I’m already on the edge. Walking into his home to see him aching for me in such a profound way has me near an orgasm already.

My legs and ass bump into something. I glance down and back to see the arm of a white linen sofa.

“Bend over it, now.”

I hurry to do just that. Now, I’m the one tugging on the skirt of my dress to get it out of the way.

He swats my hand away as he presses softly on my back. “Bend over.”

I do, parting my legs enough to give him the access we both want.

My skirt is up, my panties are pushed aside again and he’s sliding into me all within the time it takes my heart to skip a beat.

I cry out. It’s drowned out by the feral sound that escapes him as he pumps into me from behind.

I’m lost to it all, and just as he predicted, I climax as my hands fist the fabric of the couch and he pounds his cock into me with punishing thrusts, each deeper than the one before.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Donovan

I shove a hand through my hair as I watch her sleep.

I needed to fuck her three separate times before the fire inside of me turned to embers. It was short-lived because before she finally fell asleep in my arms after I ate her pussy to one last orgasm. I was tempted to demand she wrap her lips around my dick, but I wore her out.

She was satiated as she snuggled her head into the pillow and her eyes drifted closed.

She belongs here with me.

I’ve felt it since we were together on the cruise, but now that she’s in my home it’s obvious. Whatever this is, it reaches far beyond fucking for me.

I’m starting to fall in love with her, or maybe I’m just falling faster now. I labeled my fascination with her social media postings as nothing but a harmless infatuation, but I think it was the foundation for what I’ve been experiencing ever since I saw her on the cruise.

“Is it morning?” she asks with her eyes still closed.

“Soon,” I tell her from where I’m standing at the foot of the bed. “It’s just after five.”

“Yuck.”

I laugh. “Are you not a morning person, Delia?”

That lures her eyes open. She looks me over, her gaze stopping at the black running shorts and T-shirt I’m wearing. “You’re sweaty. Did you go for a run or something?”

I did just that to try and burn off the unending desire I feel for her. It didn’t accomplish anything but produce sweat and a burning sensation in my calves.

“I ran five miles.”

“Why?” She laughs. “I mean I know why. It’s obvious you work out all the time, but why so early in the morning?”

I glance at the window. Shades are covering it now and the view is nothing to speak of, but the city I love is beyond it, waiting to be discovered. I’ve lived here my entire life and still don’t know all of its hidden secrets.

“It’s quiet out there.”

She rolls to her side. The sheet covering her falls slightly, exposing her bare back. “It’s quiet in here, too.”

I suppose it is. Within hours the symphony that is the sounds of New York City will filter in through the open windows. Car horns, people screaming their frustrations at one another, and emergency sirens will remind everyone on this island why they love or hate this place.

“Is it quiet in the mornings where you live?” I ask because I’ve been curious about what neighborhood she calls home.

“Kind of,” she answers in a vague way.

I move to sit on the edge of the bed. I’m not close enough to touch her, but I am close enough to smell the fragrance of her perfume and her skin. “Kind of? Do you live in the heart of Times Square?”

That earns me a soft laugh. “Can you imagine? I love that part of the city but I couldn’t do it.”

“You couldn’t live there?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “I lived in Tribeca for a while with two roommates when I was working toward my first degree.”

I want to know about every single degree this woman has earned, but I’m not going to venture off the course I’m on now. “Where did you move after that?”

“Back home with my mom for just a little while.”

I nod. “How was that?”

“Great.” She sighs. “I needed the hugs and the humor. My mom is funny as hell.”

I’ve never met her, but I hope that happens one day. I know from the small amount of details that Matt has shared, that their father took off when they were all kids.

“Where did you land after you left your mom’s place?” I push.

“Park Avenue,” she says as she gazes wanders to the wall. “I’m still there.”

Rent isn’t cheap on that stretch of real estate. I know she’s been studying her heart out for most of her adult life. Matt has mentioned in passing that she’s a hell of a tutor and is paid top dollar for helping the children of some of this city’s rich and famous make their grades.

“My place is lovely.” She takes a deep breath. “It’s spacious and my neighbors are like family to me.”

“Do you live alone?”

That brings her gaze back to mine. “I do. I inherited my home from a friend. I wasn’t sure what to do with it at first, but I moved in to try and figure that out, and I’m still there.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Delia,” I say with genuine meaning behind it. “I’m truly sorry.”

“Thank you.” She smiles softly. “It was a long time ago. There are still moments when it’s hard, but it’s been years now.”

Grief doesn’t abide by a prescribed schedule. Unfortunately, I’m witness to that every day within my practice.

“What time do you leave for work?” she asks, effortlessly changing the subject.

“In a couple of hours,” I answer truthfully. “I like to get in early to get set up for what awaits me each day.”

“So we have time for coffee?”

I run my hand up her calf beneath the sheet that is still covering her. “Or whatever else you’d like to do.”

“I’d like to make your morning one you’ll never forget.” She taps her bottom lip. “Courtesy of my mouth.”

I’m on my feet in a split second. “I’ll shower first.”

She slides the sheet off completely to reveal her nude body. “I’ll shower with you. That way I can do what I want at the same time.”

She’s offering to blow me in the shower.

How the hell can I pass on that?

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Delia

“I need to leave soon because my doorman will know that it’s a walk of shame when he sees me show up dressed like this. I don’t want my neighbors to witness it, too.”

Donovan turns to where I’m standing in the entrance to his kitchen.

It’s not an overly large space, but it’s stunning. White upper cabinets perfectly complement the lower gray ones. The quartz countertop is a stark contrast to the black ceramic bowl sitting atop the center island. It’s filled with an assortment of citrus fruits.

I can already tell that Donovan used a few oranges to make me a glass of freshly squeezed juice. The evidence of that is sitting near an electric juicer in the form of hollow orange halves.

He pushes a glass toward me filled with the juice. “No champagne in this, Delia. Maybe tonight if you come back for dinner.”

“I can’t,” I say and offer just a bit more, “I have plans.”

That plan is to meet up with a former professor of mine for a trip down memory lane. We usually do that in a bakery on the Upper West Side while sharing a plate of cookies.

Donovan’s expression doesn’t change at all before he turns toward a coffeemaker. He reaches for a white ceramic mug from a shelf above it. After filling it, he moves to the refrigerator to retrieve a small carton of cream. He adds a splash of it to the mug.

When he places it next to the glass of juice, I finally enter the kitchen to sit at the island to enjoy my morning beverages.

“Another night then?” He puts the cream back before he pours out another mug of coffee.

He adds a spoon of sugar to it and then samples it.

I glance at the fridge before my gaze finds his face again. “Do you not take cream in your coffee?”

“I don’t.”

I take a moment to digest that. “What do you cook with it?”

“Cook with what?” he asks, adjusting the collar of the black button-down shirt he’s wearing. He’s paired it with gray slacks and a black leather belt.

“The cream you put in my coffee.”

He bites the corner of his bottom lip. “I don’t cook much, and certainly not with cream. I don’t remember the last time I did that.”

All of the possible reasons for him to have cream in his fridge are disappearing at warp speed, leaving only one explanation.

He keeps it there so when a woman comes over he can fuck her brains out and in the morning he can add a splash of cream to her coffee if she wants that.

“You do take cream in your coffee, right?” He chuckles. “You took it that way on the cruise.”

“Yes.” I nod curtly. “Lots of women take it that way I suppose.”

Placing his mug down, he rounds the island until he’s seated next to me. “Look at me, Delia.”

I glance at him. “What?”

That’s not enough for him because he grabs my knees to turn me physically on the stool I’m sitting on. I have no choice but to look at him since I’m now facing him directly.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he says, his voice even and calm.

I look down at the skirt of my dress. “That I still have a lot of cat hair on my dress?”

He scoops my hands in his to bring them to his mouth. He kisses each of my knuckles softly. “You think I keep cream here so the parade of women who come through here in any given week are offered their choice of coffee accompaniments before I send them on their way.”

“None of that is my business,” I say, although I want nothing more than it to be my business because I’m seething with jealousy at the thought of any other woman witnessing the same scene I did last night when I got here.

“I want it to be your business,” he counters before he slides to his feet.

He reaches past me to grab something off the island. I recognize it as a receipt from a market I often go to. It’s one of the most popular in the city.

He holds it out to me, but when I don’t take it he drops it back down. “I bought cream last night on my way home just for you because I was hoping beyond hope that in the time it might take for it to sour, you’d show up here. I wanted to be ready for that.”

I swallow hard, stunned by his admission. “You did?”

“I did.” He sits back down, facing me again. “I’m not fucking anyone else at the moment, Delia. My life is way too busy to juggle multiple women. I like you. I really like sleeping with you, and that cream is yours and only yours.”

“Okay,” I say, trying to mask all of the emotions I’m feeling.

“I’m not going to ask about who else you’re fucking.” He exhales, dropping the receipt back down. “I want to, but I only opened the door to that discussion because I could see you were dying to ask the question.”

I smile. “It was that obvious?”

“You must be a shit poker player because you wear your emotions right here.” He circles a finger in front of my face. “I’m going to go grab a lint roller to save you from your doorman’s assumption that you spent the night cat sitting or sitting on the cock of someone who loves cats.”

I stop him with a hand to his forearm. “I did spend the night sitting on the cock of someone who loves cats.”

“I do recall you crawling onto me around two this morning to ride me.”

I laugh. “For the record, I’m not sleeping with anyone else right now either.”

The smile that begins on his mouth reaches his eyes. “Good to know.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Donovan

“You were lying about the book, right?” I question Delia as I walk her to the front door of my home. “The neighbor didn’t do it, did he?”

She looks up at me, studying my face. “Do I strike you as the type of person who would ruin a surprise or reveal a secret?”

“No,” I answer swiftly. “You have yet to confirm that you hid on that ledge on Clever’s disappearing assistant box.”

“He started following me on two of my social media accounts yesterday.” She sighs.

“Did you follow him back?” Jealousy edges my tone but I don’t give two shits.

“Do you really care if I did?”

I take her chin in my hand, tilting her head up so I can look into her eyes. “You’re answering every question of mine with one of your own.”

“Indeed I am,” she responds. “That’s what a degree in behavioral science will get you. You learn when to ask the right questions.”

I laugh. “And when to not answer questions?”

“Correct.”

I kiss her softly on the lips. “What other degrees do you have?”

“A few,” she says like none of them are that big of a deal. “There’s the one I recently earned in sexuality studies.”

That perks not only my interest, but my cock. It stirs inside my pants. “Go on.”

“It’s a fascinating field.” Her entire face beams bright with a wide smile. “Understanding what makes us all want the things we do is so enlightening. It’s helped give me so much insight into sex and love.”

I want more insight into sex and love, too, especially love since I’ve never experienced it before. I don’t need a degree to tell me I’m falling in love with her now.

“My first degree was in teaching,” she confesses. “I earned that one at the very young age of twenty-one.”

“You’re fucking fascinating.” I cup her face in my hands. “You’re the most fascinating person I’ve ever known.”

“Do you know a lot of people?” she asks, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “Or more animals than people?”

“Both.”

“Speaking of which…” Her voice trails as she leans up to kiss me. “We need to go so you can get to work and I can finally change my clothes.”

“You’ll let me know when I can cook dinner for you?”

“I will.” She nods. “You’ll let me know when you find out how that novel ends?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I trust that you didn’t ruin it for me, so I’ll read you a few chapters while we lounge in bed the next time I see you.”

“I’d like that.”

“Me too.” I kiss her one last time. “I’ll order you a rideshare.”

“I’m going to walk for a bit.” She looks toward the door. “The city is still a little quiet and I do love the park.”

“Be safe, Delia.”

“Always,” she whispers. “You too, Donovan. Don’t get bit today by any animals or their humans.”

I laugh. “I’m looking at the only human who is allowed to bite me. Not my cock mind you, but my shoulder is fair game. You already know that.”

She taps the middle of my chest in a tame slap. “You were drilling your big cock into me so hard I had to bear down. It’s not my fault your shoulder was in biting distance.”

“I’m not complaining.” I hold her hand in place so she can feel the beat of my heart. “I consider the marks you left a reminder of what I have to look forward to the next time I see you.”

The sound of my phone ringing sends her gaze to my suit jacket. “You’re needed, Dr. Hunt.”

I slide it out to see the clinic’s overnight answering service is calling. That can only mean one thing. I’m going to need to tend to a patient before we officially open.

“I’ll leave you to it.” She opens the door to my home and the pinkish-orange glow of the morning sunrise floods in. “Have a great day.”

I kiss her again in response before she skips down the concrete steps and sets off on foot.

Four hours later I walk into the break room of the clinic and I’m instantly assaulted with words I do not want to hear.

“Delia is thinking about heading back to Portugal,” Matt tells Matilda.

“She was there late last year, right?” she asks, tilting her head. “For a few weeks.”

“Months,” he corrects her. “She went to see a friend. I have a feeling she’s going back soon.”

I was following her online when she took that trip. She didn’t post much while she was there, but there were enough photos of her with a woman named Zelle for me to know that a man wasn’t the person that drew her there.

Delia is obviously free to do as she chooses. I have no standing in her life to request that she stay on this side of the ocean, but if she’s headed in that direction, I may need to clear my schedule for a week or two so I can plan a trip to Europe, too.

“Why do you feel that?” I try to enter the conversation without seeming obvious about it but as soon as the question leaves me, and I hear it out loud, I regret it.

“Instinct.” Matt taps the center of his forehead. “That and the fact that her friend reached out to her a couple of hours ago. She was a mess. I happened to call Delia right after she talked to that friend and I could hear the concern in her voice.”

Concern and a trip to another continent are two very different things.

I’m going to hold off on pushing my future surgeries on Matthew and Carolyn until Delia tells me if she’s getting on a flight bound for Portugal.

Jesus. I already have it bad for her. I need to pace myself.

“I thought instinct like that was only an identical twin thing.” Matilda laughs. “I know all about that because I am one.”

“Me too.” Matt raises a hand in the air.

Me three, but no one in this room knows that and I don’t plan on sharing that with either of them ever.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Delia

“Matty is spreading a rumor that you’re going to Portugal,” Callum says as he stands when I enter the café I agreed to meet him at.

I hug him before I shake my head. “What? When did he say this?”

He glances at the phone in his hand. “Ten minutes ago. He called to check on me and dropped that bombshell. I get that the cruise was a fail, Delia, but are you sure you need to leave town again so soon?”

I smooth a hand over his jaw the way I almost always do when I see him. My fingertips skim the scar that has become just another feature on his face.

It happened when he was ten and accidentally rammed his bike into the side of a parked car. The car’s passenger door mirror was already cracked when he made contact, so the glass that was protruding from his skin by the time I caught up to him, wasn’t all because of his reckless bike riding skills.

I fainted. Callum called for help and we both ended up at the hospital with stitches on our faces. It’s been nineteen years since it happened. The small scar on my forehead is barely noticeable now, but the one that runs along his jaw is always apparent when the right side of his face is in view.

It hasn’t impacted his looks at all, though. In fact, my younger brother has been stopped twice on the streets of this city in the past few years by modeling agents looking for the next fresh face for their online and print campaigns.

Callum always laughs it off, but his dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes are a draw to almost everyone who gets a look at him.

“I’m not going to Portugal.” I half-laugh. “Zelle was having a bad night. She called. I helped her and then Matt called me and I mentioned it.”

He rolls his eyes. “Leave it to Matty to lead me astray.”

I glance at the cup of coffee on the table. “Were you waiting long?”

“No.” He looks toward the counter and the trio of baristas patiently waiting for their next customer. “What do you want? I’ll grab it for you.”

“I’m good.” I rub my stomach through the blue blouse I changed into when I got home from Donovan’s a few hours ago. “I’m a little nauseous.”

“Did you eat shrimp scampi again?” he asks, motioning for me to take a seat.

I slide the strap of my tote bag over a corner on the back of the chair before I sit. “Gross. No.”

He lets out a deep chuckle. “Just checking. I hope you know that I’m sorry you got sick on the cruise, Delia. I want to make it up to you.”

He sits back down on the same chair he was on when I first arrived. He stretches his long legs out to the side, crossing his ankles as he does.

“You don’t have to make anything up to me,” I tell him. “I have a voucher to take the trip again when I’m ready.”

“I’ll cover the air fare,” he offers. “And anything else you need.”

My younger brother has done well for himself. He holds an executive position with a hospitality company that owns several restaurants in Manhattan and other cities and towns along the East coast. He travels a lot but always makes time for his siblings when he’s home.

“Other than food poisoning, how was the cruise?”

I meet his gaze with mine. “It was good, Callum. I had fun.”

“Alone fun or fun with someone else?”

Callum isn’t the type to pry in anyone’s personal business, but he’s always held a soft spot for me. I know he wants what’s best for me, and even though he doesn’t know all the details about my break up with Aiden, he could sense I wasn’t the same when I got back from Paris.

“Someone else,” I answer honestly.

He nods. “You deserve it.”

His phone buzzes in the pocket of his jacket but he doesn’t make a move to retrieve it.

“Don’t you need to check on that?” I ask.

“Whatever it is can wait. I’m spending time with my sister at the moment.” He picks up his cup of coffee. “You’ve got me for another fifteen minutes before I’m back in work mode so tell me what else is going on in your world? How’s Mr. Winters treating you?”

And just like my younger brother makes me feel like the luckiest sister in the world.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Donovan

I swing open the door to my home as Delia trudges up the steps with two paper bags in her hands.

I rush to take them from her, noting that they’re filled with food. “Someone’s hungry.”

She scrunches her face so it looks like she’s attempting to appear angry.

“Or hangry,” I amend what I just said. “What’s with the groceries?”

“You didn’t get my text?” She flashes me a smile. “I texted you to say I’m cooking.”

“You can cook?” I ask as I follow her into my house. “Is that a new thing?”

“Relatively new,” she admits. “I like cooking, so I’m going to whip you up something semi-spectacular.”

“Just semi-spectacular?” I slam the door shut with my bare foot.

“I can’t promise anything, so it’ll be what it’ll be.”

I place the bags on the floor so I can bring her in for a kiss. I make it a good one, lingering with my lips pressing against hers as I trail my hand down her sweater toward her jean-covered ass.

“Hey, handsy,” she says against my mouth. “The ice cream is melting.”

I pull back to stare into her eyes. “You cook with ice cream? It melts when you put it in the oven, sweetheart.”

That results in a hearty laugh from her. “It’s our dessert.”

“What‘s our dinner?” I scoop the bags back up and follow her into the kitchen, noticing just how fantastic her sweet little round ass looks in the jeans.

“A noodle thing with some chicken.”

I can’t hold in a chuckle. “I guess I don’t have to ask what’s in it.”

She tosses me a look over her shoulder. “I don’t recall the exact name of the dish but my friend sent the recipe to me.”

“Your friend from Portugal?” I test the waters of where I want to fish for information.

That turns her right around at the entrance to my kitchen. Her hands drop to her hips. “Let me guess. Matthew is spreading rumors about me going there.”

I brush past her to place the bags on the island. “He said something about that yesterday.”

She steps closer to where I am, her gaze trailing over the jeans and black T-shirt I put on after my very long day at the clinic. “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Relief relaxes my shoulders. I’ve been feeling tension there since Matt mentioned the possibility that his sister might be jetting off to Europe. Whatever is happening between us is new, but I know that I’d miss her if she left New York.

“Good to know.”

“You’ll help me cook,” she tells me. “Can I get a glass of water before we start, though?”

“You can get anything you want.” I head to the refrigerator to retrieve a pitcher of cold water. “Do you want ice in it?”

“Just cold water is fine.” She reaches a hand out as she slowly walks to the island to sit on a stool. “I’m thirsty and a little dizzy.”

That’s understandable given that it’s hot as hell outside. Her sweater is short-sleeved but it has to be retaining her body heat, so I make a subtle suggestion. “Take off your sweater, Delia.”

“Can I drink the water before you screw me senseless?”

The smile on her face tells me she’s joking, but screwing her senseless is definitely on my agenda for tonight.

“It’ll help you cool off.” I place the glass of water in front of her.

She tugs the sweater over her head to reveal a white silk bra. I’m a man and she has the world’s most perfect tits, so I stare and I do that openly and proudly.

“Up here, Donovan.” She taps her chin. “To be fair, you should lose your shirt, too.”

I have it off before the rim of the glass touches her lips. She downs all the water in under a minute flat.

“I’ll put the food away for now,” I say as I skim my hand over her forehead. “You’ll sit here and cool off.”

“Yeah, right.” She laughs. “Have you seen what you look like without a shirt?”

“Have you seen what you look like in a bra?”

“I have mirrors.” She runs a finger down her chest until it’s resting on the pink bow on the front of her bra between her luscious breasts. “I know how nice these are.”

“Nice?” I kiss the spot right above her finger. “Try beautiful.”

“The ice cream is melting,” she reminds me.

“I’m on it.” I leave her sitting there while I get to work in my kitchen, thinking the entire time that I have to be the luckiest man in this city tonight.

I slam the book shut and look to where Delia is sitting on a cushioned window seat. We’re in the back sunroom that until now I’ve rarely used. It was her idea to come in here after we had dinner.

She asked if I had any outdoor space, and I do. This townhouse came complete with a very small garden. Since I don’t have a green thumb, I hired a neighbor to take care of the patch of lawn and various potted flowers. It’s her passion project she tells me so she takes little pay, but loads of fresh flowers in exchange for her labor.

“What did I just read to you, Delia?”

Her eyebrows pop up. “A few pages of Phantom’s Escape.”

“What pages?” I question more, keeping a smile at bay, for now.

“You didn’t tell me I’d be quizzed on it.” That leaves her lips before she steals another glance at the garden and the small white lights that are hanging from two shrubs.

“We can sit out there,” I offer. “It’s a little noisy at this time of day, but it’s not bad.”

“You read page sixty-two through sixty-eight.” She tosses me a sly smile. “You stopped just short of sixty-nine.”

I’m impressed since I didn’t tell her what any of the page numbers were before or after I read it to her.

“Sixty-nine,” I repeat that. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’m thinking that you’re an incredible lover,” she whispers. “I’m sure indulging in a little sixty-nine fun with you would be the perfect end to this day.”

I’d love to devour her pussy while she sucks my cock but the truth is that when she has her lips wrapped around my dick I can’t focus on anything but that. I’m game to try though.

She slides off the window seat to approach where I’m sitting in a gray armchair. Her sweater is still on the floor in my kitchen. My T-shirt is right next to it.

As soon as she’s within touching distance I loop a finger under the front of the center of her bra and tug her closer. I don’t go to the trouble of removing it before I latch my teeth around her right nipple through the silk.

“Ohh,” she drawls. “That’s so sensitive.”

I suck it before I nip at it again. “How’s that?”

Stepping into the spot between my legs, she tangles her hands in my hair. “I think I need to feel that again and again before I can officially tell you how much I love it.”

I’ll give her anything she wants so I lower my mouth to her breast, slide the fabric aside and take her perfectly plump nipple between my lips.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Delia

I walk into Wolf Candy and I’m greeted with a much better treat than the very best chocolate bars in the city.

“Auntie Delia!” My niece, Georgie, comes racing toward me.

Hot on her heels is her twin sister, Dora.

The girls are seven years old and big sisters to Penn Hawthorne. My nephew is almost six months old now but he’s nowhere to be seen.

His father is, though. Dressed as he often is in a three-piece suit complete with a stylish tie, my brother Roman, looks in my direction.

To most people, he’s the spitting image of Matthew, but I’ve always been able to tell them apart with ease.

“If it isn’t my long lost sister,” Roman quips. “Nice of you to stop by our apartment, Delia.”

I laugh that off.

I’ve spent the past few weeks spending a hell of a lot of time with Donovan. We finished reading Phantom’s Escape to each other, we’ve enjoyed some great meals that we cooked together and we’ve had loads of sex.

I’ve lost track of how many nights I’ve slept in his bed.

My life hasn’t been this perfect ever, but I know that I can’t hide whatever is happening between Donovan and me forever. We haven’t discussed what that is. Instead, we’ve been focused mostly on food and fun.

“I hear ya,” Nikita chimes in from behind the counter. “I’ve barely seen her either.”

“I’ve been helping out here quite a bit,” I point out because I have.

That hasn’t meant that I’ve had a lot of time to spend talking with my best friend, but we have managed to have a few good conversations. Most of those have been about new products that she’s considering launching.

She did ask me two weeks ago if I’d connected with Donovan after he wandered in here with Matt shortly after our cruise.

I told her I had but left it at that and fortunately a rush of customers piled into the shop at that moment so I was let off the hook.

I give each of the girls an extended hug before I do the same with Rome.

“I’ll come by for dinner soon.”

“Yay!” Georgie screams as she bounces up and down. “We’ll help Mommy cook dinner.”

Every time I hear either of the girls call Bianca “mommy” it tugs at my heartstrings. Their birth mother left New York shortly after they were born and she never returned. It cut Roman deep because our own father had pulled that trick on us when Callum was a toddler.

I have no memories of our dad and since our mom either tossed or hid away every picture of him that she had, I wouldn’t know the man if I passed him on the street.

I’m fine with that. He lost more than he realized when he walked away from his four children.

“I’ll help Mom,” Dora corrects her sister. “You know you’re not a good cook, Georgie.”

“Ouch.” Georgie mimes pulling a knife out of her chest. “That hurt.”

Roman puts his hands on Dora’s shoulders, pushing her long brown hair aside. “Don’t be rude to your sister.”

“She was rude first,” Dora accuses with a finger pointed in Georgie’s direction.

I hold in a laugh.

Their bond is reminiscent of the one I shared with Callum when we were kids. I’m two years older than him, but we fought like mortal enemies until we made up with our own secret handshake.

Forgiveness is the cornerstone of every Hawthorne family bond.

“Come in for a hug.” Dora extends her arms. “I’m sorry, Georgie.”

Nikita’s applause accompanies the hug. “Now that you two made up, who wants to help me stock a shelf of new lollipops that just came in?”

Both girls’ hands jump into the air, before they scream in unison, “Me!”

They’ve haven’t worn matching outfits in years, and Dora’s hair is shorter than Georgie’s now, but they are still similar in many ways.

The girls take off on Kita’s heel toward the back of the store.

Roman uses the opportunity to tug on the end of my ponytail. “I’ve missed you, Delia. You haven’t been avoiding me, have you?”

“No,” I answer honestly.

I’ve been falling in something beyond like with Donovan, but I’m not ready to admit that to anyone, including any of my brothers or Donovan, for that matter.

I’m scared that I’ve fallen so hard for him in such a short amount of time, and yet I’ve convinced myself that it will all be fine when Donovan tells me it time for us to part ways.

I can’t see myself making that decision for us, but unless I confess to Matthew that I’m involved with his boss soon, I know I can’t keep this up for much longer.

Guilt has been gnawing at me so heavily that it’s making me feel nauseous. I couldn’t keep my breakfast in this morning even though it was a delicious bowl of berries alongside perfectly cooked pancakes that Donovan prepared for me.

I barely made it back home before it all came right back up.

“Good.” He kisses the center of my forehead. “You know I’m always here for you. Have you taken some time to think about your next steps?”

I’ve always gone to my brother when I’ve needed any type of professional advice. When I first decided I wanted to offer tutoring to college students, Roman was the one who suggested I have my clients sign a contract outlining our shared expectations of one another along with my fee schedule and payment terms. I thought it was a step too far since my goal was simply to help people who were falling behind on their studies.

Roman’s advice allowed me to earn enough each month to cover my basic expenses along with a small amount for extras.

My busiest months also happen to be when I’m typically studying myself, but I’ve always managed to make it work.

“I’m still thinking about it,” I say.

I confided in Roman that I’m ready to move on from studying to jump into something new. I have a few options on the table regarding that, but since the decision is mine and mine alone to make, he’s given me room and encouragement to do just that.

He nods in understanding. “Can you make time for dinner one night soon? I know Bianca would love to see you.”

I’d love to see her, too. I adore both Bianca and Faith. My twin brothers have been fortunate. They found loving life partners they are wholly committed to. I’m hopeful Callum will find that too one day but he’s focused on his career right now. I can’t see him making time for a serious relationship for at least another decade or two.

“Sure,” I say it while trying to figure out what night will work for me.

I have plans to see Donovan on the nights he’s not working late, but I also promised Nikita I’d help out since she’s had a run of online orders that she needs to fulfill. She’s hands-on with that, so I’ll do what I can in the store.

Roman’s gaze drops to the Wolf Candy shirt I’m wearing. “I take it you’re working here today?”

I smile. “Or advertising my best friend’s business as I wander around New York City.”

“You’re a genius,” he says, tapping his index finger to his chin. “You’d make a great lawyer, Delia. I could use another partner.”

He’s been pushing that idea on me for years even though he knows I have no interest in the law.

“Does Thomas know you’re trying to replace him?” I ask, teasing my brother about his long time law firm partner and friend never gets old.

“I didn’t say a new partner,” he corrects me. “You’d join as a junior partner.”

“In that case no.” I shake my head. “Your love of the law isn’t part of my DNA.”

“I know.” He takes me in his arms for a hug. “Your love of learning isn’t part of mine.”

I look up and into his face as we part. “I’ll text you so we can figure out what night works for all of us.”

“I can work with that,” he says. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but are you getting enough sleep?”

I laugh. “The only way to take that is that you think I look like shit.”

“You look a little tired.” He skims a finger over my chin. “Callum told me you had food poisoning. Are you over that?”

I can’t help but laugh. “That was over a month ago, Rome. I’ve been back from the cruise for weeks now.”

He nods. “Yet you couldn’t carve out an hour to see your favorite brother.”

“He’s your favorite brother?” Georgie comes bounding toward us with a blue lollipop in her hand. The evidence she’s enjoying it is the color of her tongue. It’s a perfect match to the candy treat. “If I was you, Uncle Matty would be my favorite.”

“Uncle Callum would be mine,” Dora adds her two cents as she trails behind he sister.

The still-wrapped lollipop in her fist is a bright shade of orange.

“Huh?” Georgie turns to look at her sister. “Why?”

“Yeah, why?” Roman asks as he chuckles. “No one picked me.”

They both laugh, but Dora lays out her case for Callum being her favorite. “Uncle Callum told me it’s okay not to be perfect. That being a little not perfect is what makes me Dora. There’s not another Dora like me anywhere.”

“I’d pick Callum too,” Roman says.

I can’t help but laugh, but I don’t pick a favorite because my three brothers all bring something unique to my life and I can’t imagine it any other way.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Donovan

Worry crowds every other thought from my mind. I’m grateful that I haven’t had to scrub in for any surgeries today. The one emergency procedure that was thrust onto the clinic’s schedule was when a schnauzer was brought in. He had swallowed a small child’s toy and since the blockage was life threatening, Carolyn jumped into action and was in our operating room before I knew what was happening.

“Do you want to grab a beer after work tonight?” Matt asks as he strolls into my office. “You look like you could use it.”

I’ve never been the type of man who lets guilt weigh me down. That’s because the majority of the choices I’ve made in my past have been good ones.

Hooking up with Delia on the cruise six weeks ago falls into that category, as does everything we’ve done together since, but I’m beginning to think about my relationship with Matt more, both professionally and personally.

I want a future with his sister but at this stage, I don’t know if she does and if she doesn’t, it’s going to sting every time I come into work and see him here.

That won’t change Matt’s employment situation but it could impact our friendship and that will be a hard hit for me.

“I have plans,” I say because I’m hoping I’ll hear back from Delia at some point this afternoon.

I’ve sent her two text messages since noon and tried to call her once about two hours ago. It’s unlike her to not respond within the hour and it’s closing in on four. I’m concerned about her.

She doesn’t strike me as the type of woman who ghosts anyone. We agreed to meet at my townhouse for dinner at six, so I’m hoping she’ll show up then.

If I knew exactly where she lived on Park Avenue I’d feel a whole hell of a lot better. If it does sail past six without any word from her, I’ll be walking that block for hours looking for anyone who knows her.

“Another night then?” he asks, a smile splitting his lips apart.

“Sure,” I respond with a grin. “How’s the day been for you, Matt?”

He crosses his arms over his chest. He’s dressed in blue scrubs today. That’s not typical for him, or for me for that matter. I’m almost always wearing dark pants and a button-down shirt, as I am today. I slide on a clean lab coat and go about my day.

If I know I’m facing a day of surgeries, I’ll opt for scrubs, too.

“A few bites, some scratches, and a lizard had its way with my thumb.” He wiggles his left hand. “So, it’s a typical Tuesday.”

I chuckle. “Same, other than the lizard.”

He glances over his shoulder. “Faith and I are firming up our wedding plans. We don’t have a date yet, but I want my work family there. It’s important to me, Donovan. I hope I can count on you to make the time.”

I’m touched that he views me through that lens, so I answer the only way I can, “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

Even a painful break up.

If Delia does decide to dump me, I’ll still attend the nuptials because I owe that to Matt. I owe him the truth, too, but until I know where Delia stands on the next stage of our relationship, I can’t tell the man standing in front of me that I’m falling in love with his sister.

I’m on the sidewalk waiting as the rideshare with Delia inside comes around the corner.

Relief floods me even though I heard her voice thirty minutes ago when she finally reached out.

She sounded off, but not in an I’m-about-to-break-your-heart kind of way. Her voice had the same discomfort etched into it that was there the night she came down with food poisoning on the cruise.

She told me that she had a restless night and couldn’t keep anything down today, not even a piece of plain toast so she decided to get back into bed around eleven this morning and when she opened her eyes it was five-thirty.

I asked if she had shrimp scampi last night, but all I got in response was a soft laugh and a clear and defined “no way.”

I have the back passenger door to the SUV open as soon as the driver stops next to the curb in front of my home. He tosses me a wave and wishes Delia well as she slides out to greet me with a hug.

She melts into my arms and I can’t help but breathe in the scent of her perfume and her. If today taught me anything it’s that I’m past the falling in love stage. My heart belongs to her whether or not she wants it.

I know it’s happened fast - probably too damn fast for most people but I’ve waited thirty-six years to experience my first taste of love and it’s more than I imagined it would be.

As the SUV drives off, she steps back to look up at me. “Hey.”

I look into her eyes before my gaze drops to the denim dress she’s wearing. “Hey, beautiful.”

That brings a smile to her face. “I like that you think I look beautiful today.”

“You are beautiful everyday,” I stress each word. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” She nods. “I’m not sure how much dinner I’ll eat, but I’m here and that’s what counts, right?”

It counts for everything. Even though she’s feeling under the weather, she got in a car and came to see me.

That reminds me…

“Delia.” I cradle her face in my hands. “I know you’re scared that Matt will show up if I’m ever at your apartment, but I’d feel a hell of a lot better if I at least had your address. You have my word that I’ll never show up without an invitation.”

She studies my face. “I could tell by the sound of your voice that you were worried about me today.”

I was fucking terrified that she either dumped me without a word or worse that something horrible had happened to her.

An endless stream of what-if scenarios ran through my mind when I was waiting to hear back from her.

“I was very worried,” I confirm and then add to it, “I was scared, Delia. I was fucking scared.”

She tugs her phone out of the brown leather tote bag she’s carrying. “I’ll text you my address, Donovan.”

I wait until she’s done before I kiss her forehead. “Thank you.”

She glances toward my front door. “Can we go inside? I’d love a glass of water and a few more kisses.”

I take her hand to lead her toward the steps. “I’m here to give you everything you could ever want.”

Including my heart, but not until I know it’s something she actually does want.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Delia

“Did you save any lives today?” I ask Donovan as he sits next to me in his bed.

Right after I arrived tonight, he prepared a light dinner of salmon with a side of couscous. It wasn’t overly spiced. In fact, it was perfect and after eating one serving, I asked for a bit more.

Donovan happily gave it to me as he watched me finish up.

For the next hour, he kept a close eye on me. He must have been as worried as I was that I wouldn’t be able to keep the food in because he placed a plastic bowl next to where I was sitting in the back room that overlooks his garden.

I thought we’d be able to sit out there tonight but rain pelted the city for a couple of hours.

Once we got into his bed, he tenderly touched my pussy until I came while I was kissing him. I wanted to show my appreciation so I slid down his body and licked, sucked and touched him until he blew his load all over my tits.

Watching him come undone like that was incredible.

“Not today.” He fakes a frown. “Carolyn did, though.”

There’s no mention of Matthew, so I don’t press. I know they don’t always work the same shifts. The clinic is open late some evenings and on the weekends so the three vets on staff have to stagger their schedules to ensure a doctor is always there.

Nodding, I glance down at my hands. I’m half-covered by a sheet that’s draped over my lap. The only things I have on are a pink bra and a pair of black lace panties. It may not be a matching set, but Donovan doesn’t seem to mind.

As for him, he’s naked as the day he was born, and I’ve come to learn that he’s incredibly comfortable that way whenever I’m around.

I’d never complain about that.

“I think I’ll get a glass of water,” I say, suddenly feeling parched.

Before I can get out of the bed, Donovan is on his feet. “I’ll get it, Delia. Stay put.”

“I want to stretch my legs.” I really want some of the berries I spotted in his fridge, but I don’t tell him that because he’ll go above and beyond and slice them up for me, add a sprig of fresh mint, and present it all in a beautiful bowl.

I’m happy to pluck a few of the plump blueberries and ripe raspberries from their cartons and pop them directly into my mouth.

I move to stand, too, but I don’t make it.

A wave of dizziness grabs hold of me, sending me right back down onto my ass on the mattress.

“Oh, gosh,” I mutter. “I don’t feel good.”

Donovan rounds the bed in a rush until he’s next to me. His hand jumps to my wrist.

I’m no doctor, but I know when someone is taking another person’s pulse.

I sense mine is racing because combined with the unending tiredness I’ve been experiencing, the nausea and vomiting, and now this unwelcome feeling of being light-headed, I’m starting to worry that I’ve picked up the flu.

“What’s wrong, Delia?” he asks, his hand moving to cup mine gently. “What exactly are you feeling?”

“I’m a little dizzy,” I explain. “That can happen when blood sugar dips, right?”

“Sure.” He nods but there’s hesitation in his tone. “Is that something that happens to you often?”

“No,” I answer honestly. “Not usually, but it has happened a few times recently.”

“How recently?” He presses. “When exactly?”

I glance at his face. Concern is knitting his brows together. “I’m not sure. The past few weeks.”

“Since we’ve been back from the cruise?”

“Yes.” I nod. “Since then.”

“And you’ve been nauseous since then as well?”

“On and off.” I shrug. “More so the last week or two. The vomiting isn’t every day either, but some mornings I feel like I might have to, but that often passes.”

His eyes search my face before they lock on mine. “When was your last period?”

That question hits me like a freight train because the inference within it is massive.

My mouth falls open but I can’t form a single word.

With the excitement of everything happening between us, my guilt over not telling Matt that I’m involved with his boss, and the anxiety over my looming meeting with Roman and the life-altering decision related to that, I lost track of my period.

“You haven’t had a period since we’ve been back, have you?” His voice is so calm and soothing that I allow myself to sink into that for a brief moment.

“No.” My voice cracks. Not since then.”

“Delia.” He leans forward to kiss the center of my forehead.

“Am I pregnant?” I whisper words I never thought I’d hear myself say.

He tilts my chin up with his index finger. “I think you might be. I can run and get a test or you can wait and see your doctor tomorrow.”

A tear falls down my cheek as I stare into his eyes. “Did we make a baby?”

He swipes it away gently as a smile slides across his lips. “That’s a possibility.”

I don’t know how it’s possible since I’m on the pill and he’s used a condom every time, well almost every time. There was that time when we were in the bathtub in his stateroom on the cruise and he fucked me without a condom, but he pulled out in time.

He moves closer to me. “Your mind is racing. Mine is, too. The first step is for us to find out if you’re pregnant.”

A steady stream of tears falls onto my cheeks. I’m scared. I’m shocked, and I think I’m happy. “Can you get us a test?”

He kisses me softly. “I’m on it. You wait right here.”

I touch his cheek and nod. “I’m not going anywhere.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Donovan

I dump the six home pregnancy tests I bought on the bed.

Despite the anxiety knitting Delia’s brow, she manages to smile. “I take it you want to be double, double, double sure of the results?”

I laugh, too, but mine is laced with less worry. I’ve had the luxury of fresh air and a walk that lasted almost thirty minutes while I was searching for these tests.

On top of that, I had a brief conversation with a woman when I was paying for one of the test. She was in line in front of me, pushing a stroller with a very boisterous three-year-old in it.

Seeing that little boy and the joy on the mom’s face calmed me down. When she noticed that I was buying a half-dozen different pregnancy tests, she smiled and asked how I was feeling.

I answered honestly.

I’m happy. I’m scared to death. I’m confused, but mostly I’m in love with the woman who is currently wearing one of the T-shirts I had printed up for Premier Pet Care.

Delia Hawthorne is stunning in whatever she’s wearing, but right now with my T-shirt covering her body, and the faintest glimpse of her black panties peeking out from under them, she’s exquisite.

That has a lot more to do with the way she’s looking at me than it does the outfit.

I see every emotion I’m currently experiencing staring back at me since it’s all there in her expression, but I see something else, too. I see courage. I see compassion. I see what I hope is the beginnings of love.

Delia lowers her ass to the bed, not glancing at the tests. “I need a minute before I take a test.”

I follow suit, tugging on the denim covering my thighs. I hurriedly put on jeans and a button-down shirt before I took off. I had to double back as soon as I left the house because I realized I had forgotten my wallet and keys.

My phone didn’t make the journey with me and even though it’s buzzing non-stop on the nightstand next to the bed, I’m ignoring it.

“You should look at your phone,” Delia remarks, jerking a thumb in its direction. “You’re an important man. Someone seems to really need you right now.”

“You’re the most important woman in the world,” I whisper. “Whoever it is, they can wait.”

“Please, get it,” she insists, glancing at it again as it starts to ring. “Please, Donovan.”

Denying her anything isn’t part of my DNA, so although the last thing I want is to interrupt this moment with a phone call, I go to grab it.

I swipe my finger across the screen to take the call from the clinic’s answering service. “Dr. Hunt.”

Delia’s gaze wanders from my face to her tote bag. It’s sitting on a chair that is typically gathering place for my lab coats, suit jackets, and ties. I tend to dump them all there in route to the bathroom that is attached to my bedroom.

I made a point of sorting through them every couple of days to hang up what needs to find its way into my closet. As for the lab coats, I cart them back to the clinic to be dumped into the bin for the laundry service that does pick up and drop off once a week.

I listen while the man on the other end explains a recent call that came in. Since, Matthew is on call tonight, I relay that to him. He’s new. I know that since I haven’t heard his voice before.

“The patient insisted on talking to you, Dr. Hunt,” he says. “I called Dr. Hawthorne and he did reach out to her about her cat, but she called back ten minutes later and told me she had to talk to you.”

She doesn’t have to. I know the cat in question and its very pushy owner. On any night, I would reach out to her myself and explain that whatever is ailing Leroy, her tabby, can wait until morning.

I can’t do that tonight. My life is on the precipice of changing forever. Delia needs every ounce of my attention.

I glance back over at her and my mouth falls open.

She’s shoving every single pregnancy test into her tote bag. One by one they are disappearing from my view.

“I’ll handle it,” I tell the service employee even though I won’t.

I end the call and take a few steps toward Delia. “Delia?”

When she looks at me, I see a tear falling down her cheek. “I know I said I wasn’t going anywhere before you went to get the tests, but I need to go home.”

“You don’t want to take a test before you go?” I ask evenly, trying to appear calm although I’m anything but that right now.

I’m anxious to know the results.

She drops her gaze to her trembling hands. “Maybe at home.”

Fuck.

I wanted to be with her when she finds out if she’s pregnant, but I can’t push her to take a test she’s not ready for.

“I know you ran out to get all of them.” She brushes a hand over her cheek to chase away the still falling tears. “I think I just need a few minutes to process everything, before I take one. I’m sorry, Donovan. I can pay you back for the tests.”

“No,” I say loudly. “You’re not paying me back for anything and you have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing.”

“Okay.” She nods. “I think I’ll go home and think. I need to think.”

The emotion in her voice is evident. It’s there in her expression, too. Seeing the tests hit her hard. It’s made all of this much more real.

“I can take you home,” I offer.

She rids herself of my T-shirt and tugs her dress back over her head. “I’ll get there on my own.”

I want to beg her to call me the second she knows if she’s expecting our baby. I want to tell her I’ll be here for whatever comes next. I’ll be here forever because if I had even a shred of doubt left about what I’m feeling for her, it’s gone.

I love her. I love Delia Hawthorne.

I’m about to reach out to her but she beats me to it. She pops up to her tiptoes to wrap her arms around my neck. “I’ll call you. I promise I will.”

I cling tightly to her, burying my face in her neck. “I’ll answer, Delia. Night or day. I’ll answer.”

The kiss she offers me is soft and laced with a tenderness that I’ve never experienced before. I hold her in place, deepening the kiss ever so slightly, drawing a soft moan from her.

When we part, her brown eyes search my face. “I promise I’ll call you soon.”

I’ll hold her to that promise. Until then, I’ll wait because that’s what she needs from me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Delia

I sit in a worn leather chair in the center of one of the many rooms in my penthouse and imagine something I have never imagined before.

A baby’s nursery.

This bedroom is as large as the other three guest rooms that I’ve rarely ever set foot in. I made the fourth into my bedroom shortly after I moved in. I removed the furniture that was there and replaced it with new items that better showcased my style.

It’s a simple room with a king size bed, white furniture, and soft blue linens on the bed. The artwork is a mix of things I found from street vendors and a painting that a friend did for me years ago.

The rest of the penthouse is still a reflection of its original owner.

Professor Grace Northrup inherited this home from her father, who inherited it from his father before him. A Northrup’s name was always on the deed until Grace died and left everything to me.

I became the beneficiary of her estate because as she put it in her will, “Delia Hawthorne held more promise than any other student who had ever trusted their educational pursuits to me.”

Professor Northrup taught me several courses when I was studying for my first degree. My plan back then was to teach third graders because I remember fondly that was when I first realized how much I loved to learn.

I’ve always been an eager student and Grace appreciated that. She encouraged me to keep learning after I’d graduated with my teaching degree. I did and a friendship between us blossomed because of it.

She once told me that all she ever wanted was a daughter, and in the note that her attorney presented to me shortly after her death, she explained how she had come to view me through that lens.

“I’ll put the crib there,” I whisper to myself as I look at the empty spot next to a window that overlooks Park Avenue before my gaze shifts to a corner across the expansive room. “And a rocking chair there.”

My hand jumps to cover my mouth as I let out a sob. “I’m going to be a mom.”

I don’t have confirmation of that yet since I haven’t taken a test, but ever since Donovan helped me realize that there’s a possibility I may be pregnant, I’ve sensed that it’s true.

“I’ll name you Grace if you’re a girl,” I whisper into the darkened room. “If you’re a boy, I’ll name you…”

My voice trails as my gaze drops to the front of my denim dress. “Your dad will have some ideas for names I think.”

My baby’s dad.

Donovan Hunt.

The distant sound of a chime interrupts the silence that almost always inhabits my home. It’s the third time my phone has sounded a notification in the past few minutes.

Even though I want to stay in my baby’s future nursery with my thoughts, I know I can’t ignore my phone forever. I push up to my feet and sprint toward the sound.

I dropped my phone and my tote bag on the foyer table when I got home, so I’m not surprised when I round the corner and hear the phone chime yet again. I scoop it up just as there’s a loud knock at the door.

I ignore it in favor of a quick scroll through my recent text messages.

I pass by the flood of marketing ones to focus on one my brother sent less than thirty minutes ago.

Matthew: Hey, Delia! I’m headed over with the best spaghetti you’ve never had…yet. I’m on call at the clinic, so if I don’t show up, you’ll know why.

I respond by swinging open the door to my home to find my brother standing there dressed in blue scrubs.

“Did you get my message?” he asks as he brushes past me with a take-out bag in his hand. “I got spaghetti from Calvetti’s and a cheesecake for dessert.”

Panic shoots through me. I turn to look at my tote bag, but not one of the pregnancy tests is in view.

“You brought dinner,” I point out the obvious. “I already ate.”

“You have to try this,” he says even though I’ve had the spaghetti from Calvetti’s dozens of times.

The restaurant serves the best pasta the city has to offer.

“Before you ask, I can’t join you in glass of wine,” he calls over his shoulder as he heads toward my kitchen. “But you go ahead.”

“I can’t,” I blurt out because I have no intention of drinking if I’m pregnant.

He stops to face me. “Why not?”

“It would be cruel of me to indulge when you can’t.” That falls from my lips without any planning on my part.

He laughs. “Since when?”

“Since now,” I answer simply and add something to it I haven’t said to him nearly enough recently, “I love you, Matthew.”

His gaze searches my face as a slow smile creeps over his lips. “I love you too, Delia. I love you a lot.”

I hold back tears as I rush past him to get to the kitchen. “I’ll grab some plates.”

“I really surprised you by showing up here, didn’t I?” he asks from behind me. “It’s been too long since one of us surprised the hell out of the other.”

If those six pregnancy tests show the results I think they will, I’ll be the one surprising the hell out of him because I can’t keep the fact that I’m having a baby with his boss a secret forever.

CHAPTER FORTY

Donovan

My phone rings again for the third time since Delia left. The answering service won’t let up, but that’s not on the operator. It’s on Leroy’s owner.

I pick it up to glance at the screen. I’m surprised when I see Matt is calling. I answer immediately because chances are he’s calling to ask if I’ll take care of the Leroy situation.

“Hey, Matt,” I say as calmly as I can.

There’s a possibility he may be my child’s uncle. What started as a hell of a lot of fun on a cruise ship has turned into something more. Something that I’ve wanted for years, but haven’t had the courage to wish for until now.

“Donovan, my good man.” He chuckles.

I am a good man. I’ll be the man that Delia needs to me to be, and the man she deserves regardless if she’s pregnant or not.

“Let me guess,” I steer the conversation in the direction I want it to go. “You want me to take care of the Leroy situation.”

“Handled.” That one word takes a small slice of stress off my plate tonight.

“You handled it?”

“Finally.” He laughs louder. “I’ll see the old guy and his owner tomorrow morning at nine a.m. sharp. Don’t be surprised if he moves from your roster over to mine.”

“I can only hope.” I laugh, too, but it’s muted. “Did you call to give me that good news?”

“That and more.” The sound of traffic filters through the call.

“You’re on the move,” I note. “Are you on your way to the clinic? What’s happening?”

“I’m on my way to meet my fiancée.” His voice softens. “She’s been studying up a storm so I’m going to surprise her at the library with some flowers.”

Faith Upton is on course to becoming a doctor. I know she’ll succeed. Her commitment to her goal is awe-inspiring. Matt never shuts up about how brilliant she is and how devoted she is to acing every course she takes on her path to earning her degree in medicine.

Before I can say anything, he continues, “I just left Delia’s. I brought her spaghetti from Calvetti’s.”

My interest is immediately piqued at the mention of her name. “It’s the best Italian food in the city.”

“You know it,” he says. “Delia went on a cruise a couple of months ago. I was going to ask about it since I know Faith would love something like that for our honeymoon, but time got away from me.”

I’d give him my opinion of the cruise but he still doesn’t know I was on it with his sister.

“Anyways,” he goes on, “I’ll need a week or a week-and-a-half after the wedding for that getaway. I wanted to give you ample time to work that into the schedule.”

It’s still months away and I appreciate the heads-up, but I’ve already blocked out his schedule for the fourteen days after the wedding because I knew the request was coming.

I can’t help but ask about the woman I’m crazy about. I frame it in a way that I hope won’t raise his suspicions. “What did Delia think of the spaghetti?”

“She barely touched it.” He sighs. “Dammit. I have an incoming call. It’s the service. It looks like my surprise for Faith will have to wait.”

I won’t sleep tonight. I can’t, so I do something I’ve rarely ever done. “I’ll take it, Matt. Go see the woman you love.”

“Are you serious, Hunt?” I can’t see him, but I know he’s smiling. “Tell me you’re serious.”

“I’m dead serious.” I walk across my bedroom to the closest to grab a fresh pair of jeans and a clean shirt. “Go to Faith.”

“If you ever fall in love, I’ll return the favor.” He chuckles. “I know it’s a big if, but miracles happen every day.”

They do indeed.

“Go before I change my mind, Matt.”

“Thanks again,” he says before he ends the call.

My phone starts ringing in the back pocket of my jeans. It’s just past two a.m. and I’m headed home. The emergency that took me to the clinic could have waited until morning, but I needed the distraction and the owner of the cat that was rushed in needed assurance that the newest member of their family would be fine.

A recently adopted six year old handsome gray haired male cat was brought in with a red bump on one of his hind legs. It was an abscess that was likely the result of the cat’s interaction with a stone fireplace grate. He crawled in looking for a place to sleep. The grate nicked his leg and caused the infection.

I took care of it and given that I could have pushed the appointment back to the morning, I charged our regular rate. The emergency fee that is tacked on is standard when the clinic is normally closed, but I needed something to focus on other than Delia.

I stop before I look at my phone’s screen because I may need to turn around and head back to the clinic depending on what the answering service is about to say to me.

I stare at the screen when I see the name of the caller.

“Delia,” I answer while trying to maintain some composure in my voice. “Are you all right?”

“I’m okay,” she says in such a quiet tone that I can barely hear her. “Did I wake you up?”

I may be a strong proponent of how peaceful this city is at night, but someone not far from here is blasting their vehicle’s horn. It’s fucking annoying, but I still wouldn’t trade living in Manhattan for any other place on earth.

“No.” I slow my pace. “I was called in for an emergency. I’m on my way home now.”

“I thought Matthew was on call.” She pauses briefly before going on, “I saw him earlier. He came here and brought dinner.”

“He told me,” I tell her. “We talked.”

Silence stretches across the line for a few seconds. I anticipate that she’s going to ask me what I discussed with her brother, but that’s not the question that she tosses at me. “Can we talk?”

“Any time,” I say as I start walking again. “You have my full attention whenever you want it.”

“Now?”

A smile spreads over my lips. A guy passing by me, nods his chin and sends a smile right back at me.

I don’t give a shit if he thinks the smile was directed at him. If it brightened his night, I consider that a bonus.

“Now works,” I try to level my tone.

“In person,” she clarifies before I can ask if she wants to do this face to face. “Can you come to my place, Donovan?”

“I’m on my way.”

“I’ll let the doorman know to expect you,” she tells me. “He’ll bring you up.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” I say, knowing from experience that I can get a rideshare fairly quickly at this time of night.

“Thank you.” The distinctive sound of her taking a deep breath follows. “See you soon.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Delia

As soon as Donovan steps into the foyer of my penthouse, I thank the doorman and shut the door.

I tip well, and often, so I didn’t see the need to do it now. I’m a bundle of nerves and it’s not because I’m worried that Matthew will circle back around and catch his boss here.

It’s the middle of the night so I’m confident he’s tucked into bed next to his fiancée.

“Your home is beautiful, Delia.”

For a very long, I wanted to answer that by saying that it’s not my home. I’ve been here for many years and in may ways it still feels that way, but I’m learning to accept the gifts that Grace gave to me and I don’t just mean the tangible things.

She encouraged me to give myself space to find my destiny.

I am almost there in terms of my professional path and I think I’m there personally, too.

“Thank you,” I say. “Are you hungry?”

He lets out a low chuckle. “I kind of am.”

“I have leftover spaghetti I can warm up,” I offer. “There’s cheesecake, too, although I’ve already eaten two slices of that.”

“All of that sounds great.”

“Is water okay to drink?” I ask. “I don’t have any beer or wine or anything like that here. I think I have some juice.”

“Water suits me fine.”

I take a step back from where we’ve been standing next to each other in the foyer. Even though it’s the middle of the night, I changed twice before he got here, finally settling on a pair of black yoga shorts and a purple T-shirt.

Just as I’m turning to start toward the kitchen, Donovan reaches for my hand. “I’ll always be here for you. I meant what I said, Delia. Whenever you need me, I want you to call. Whether it’s day or night…just like you did tonight.”

I test the waters of the conversation I want to have with him. “Even after the baby arrives?”

His entire face lights up with a smile. He’s so seriously good-looking that it’s striking. It’s impossible not to stare at him. “Did you take a test?”

“No,” I answer while squeezing his hand. “If I am pregnant, I’ll be able to reach out night or day?”

He stares into my eyes. His brow furrows slightly, but he answers without any hesitation, “I’ll always be here for both of you. I’m never that far away, Delia. Whether I’m at home or at work.”

That’s comforting and lessens the uncertainty that has taken hold of me since I realized I may be pregnant, but I’m feeling something else too.

We’ve always been clear that our relationship is based on fun, but a part of me wonders what it would be like to raise this baby as a couple.

“Let’s eat and talk,” he suggests, breaking my train of thought.

I nod and without saying another word, I start toward my kitchen.

Donavan finishes the last of the spaghetti in his bowl. “Martina Calvetti is untouchable.”

I smile because I agree. I’ve been frequenting Calvetti’s for years, dating back to my high school days. I’m still stunned that Matt thinks I never indulged in the spaghetti. I’m sure I’ve sampled every single dish on the menu, including several more than once.

“She is.” I nod. “So is Nicholas Wolf.”

He laughs. “You caught me staring at that book on the counter.”

I jerk a thumb in the direction he’s referring to. “How could I not? You were in a trance I think.”

“I was,” he admits. “That’s Blurred Consequence, Delia. The book isn’t set for release for another two months.”

“I know.” I’m still a bundle of nerves inside but talking about anything other than the six pregnancy tests in my tote bag in the foyer is helping keep me somewhat calm. “His sister gave me that copy the other day.”

“You’re damn lucky.”

He’s right but it has nothing to do with the book. I’m lucky because I’m sitting in my home with a man who might be the father of my baby and he’s mature and kind.

“I can read you a little of it,” he offers.

I want that very much but I want something else more.

“Maybe later,” I say. “I think I’m ready to take a test.”

He pushes back to stand. “Where should I be when you do that?”

I search his face for more understanding but come up empty since the only thing I see is concern for me. “What do you mean, Donovan?”

“I want to be here with you when you take it,” he tells me. “If that’s what you want. If you want me to take off, I’ll go, but only as far as the lobby. I know I’ll need to sit until you share the news.”

I manage a smile despite the fact that my heart is thundering inside my chest. “Stay with me. We’ll find out together.”

He offers me his hand. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

I take it and allow him to help me to my feet. I feel as though my knees are shaking uncontrollably, but when I glance down they’re not moving at all.

He pulls me toward him gently so he can kiss me softly. “I’m glad you called me tonight, Delia. Thank you for doing that.”

I nod. “It’s time to find out if we’re going to be parents.”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Donovan

Life doesn’t often grant you moments that become etched so deeply in your memory that they are an integral part of who you are and dictate every decision you make going forward.

Even before Delia enters the main living area, I know that I’ll remember this morning for the rest of my life.

The sun hasn’t risen over the city yet, but the view from the window I’m next to is quintessential New York City. Park Avenue is beyond the glass and although most of the city is still waking up, there are dozens of people rushing down the sidewalks while others pass them in cars, SUVs and trucks.

“Donovan?” she calls to me in a voice that is laced with emotion.

I bite my bottom lip to quell everything I’m feeling because regardless of the result, I’m in love with her.

I spin and I know. I know instantly because there’s a bright smile on her face and her hands are resting on her shirt over her stomach.

“We’re having a baby, Donovan.”

The words surround me. I feel as though they’re cloaking me in a future that I only ever dreamed was a remote possibility for me.

“Delia.” I rush to her and gather her into my arms. “Delia.”

“I’m happy,” she whispers. “I’m so happy. Are you?”

I step back so she can see the answer within my eyes. “I’m so fucking happy.”

“You are?” she questions, studying my face. “Truly?”

“Truly.” My voice cracks. “I can’t tell you how happy.”

She nods. “It’s still very early so we can’t tell anyone. When Bianca was pregnant she didn’t share the news with any of us until she was more than three months along.”

Her sister-in-law took the safe route. We will, too.

“I’ll need to find a doctor,” she muses out loud. “I have a doctor, but I need an OBGYN. I can’t exactly ask Faith for a recommendation.”

I can’t tell if she’s thinking about that in terms of Matt finding out, but that’s inevitable at this point.

I’m all for waiting another six weeks to be sure the pregnancy passes the crucial three month mark, but we’ll have to tell her brother about it at some point before our baby arrives.

Our baby.

I’m having a baby with the woman I love.

“I have a friend who I’m sure will be more than happy to take you on as a patient.”

“Really?” Her gaze finds mine and I see joy there. I see nothing but joy in her beautiful brown eyes.

“Dr. Hazel Waverly is her name.” I steady my hands on her shoulders. “I’ll reach out when you’re ready to see her.”

“Soon, I think, right?” she questions. “I’ve never had a baby so I’m not sure, but I think I need to take vitamins. She’ll help with that.”

“She will,” I assure her.

“We’ll do this together?” Her hands jump to her face to swipe away a rush of tears. “We’ll co-parent, right?”

I want a hell of a lot more than that, but baby steps seem appropriate right now since we’ve gone from almost strangers to expecting a child together in the span of six weeks.

“We’ll co-parent our child, Delia,” I stress each word. “I’ll be here every step of the way.”

“I’ll need to get a crib,” she whispers. “You’ll need one for your house, too.”

I don’t want that. I want this baby to have one crib, one changing table, one home and I want that to be wherever Delia wants it to be, but she’s not on the same path that I am in that regard and now is not the time to profess my love for her.

“There’s plenty of time for all of that,” I say as I stare at her.

“I’ll make a list,” she tells me. “I always make lists when it comes to important things and this is the most important thing ever.”

“For me, too.”

Her gaze roams my face. “You’re going to be a dad, Donovan. You do know the baby is yours, right?”

If she were anyone else I’d likely demand a paternity test, but this is Delia. My heart knows that this baby is mine.

I nod. “I know.”

“We’ll need a custody agreement, I guess.” She glances down before her eyes are right back on mine. “That’s important, isn’t it?”

Unable to answer, I simply look at her.

“I don’t need child support or anything like that.” She blows out a breath. “You won’t either, will you?”

“No,” I answer succinctly. “We can figure all of that out in a few months.”

I want that window of time so I can find a way to get her to understand that I’m the man for her.

“We will.” She blows out a deep breath. “Everything’s changed, Donovan.”

I take a risk and reach out to cradle her beautiful face in my hands. “In the best possible way.”

A single tear falls from her eye. “It must have happened on the ship. I messed up the timing of my birth control pills, then I got sick from the shrimp scampi and couldn’t keep anything in.”

“Then I took you raw after we bathed together,” I continue our story.

Her tongue trails over her bottom lip. “I’ll never forget that.”

Neither will I.

I press my lips to hers for a soft kiss but she deepens it almost instantly when she wraps her hands around my biceps.

We break apart just as moan leaves her. “Come to bed with me?”

I don’t know if she’s asking for more than comfort, but I’ll give her whatever she needs. “It would be my pleasure.”

“That’s what I want,” she whispers, her gaze giving that away as it drops to the front of my jeans. “Pleasure.”

I’ll give her that every chance I get for as long as I get, so I hike her up so she can wrap her legs around my waist. “Tell me where I’m headed to, Delia.”

“My bed.” She glances over her shoulder. “It’s the last door on the left.”

With my hands on her ass, I carry her down the hallway while she rests her lips against my neck. “I love when you fuck me.”

I love you.

Those three words that I’ve been holding so tightly within me for weeks almost fall from my lips, but I keep them in because tonight is not the night for that.

Tonight, I’ll make her come under my touch again and again.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Delia

I swing open the door to my penthouse open fully expecting to see Donovan standing there even though he left no more than five minutes ago.

It’s not him.

It’s Mr. Winters. His gaze trails over my messy hair to my inside out T-shirt before it lands on the book in my hands.

“Delia,” he says with nothing but amusement in his tone. “Good morning to you.”

It is a good morning. It may very well be the best morning of my life.

“Hi, Mr. Winters.” I greet him with a smile, thankful that I took the extra time to tug on a pair of jeans before I bid Donovan goodbye.

I almost didn’t take that extra step but he kept tugging at the waistband of my panties in an effort to get back into bed.

I almost relented but I had to remind myself, and him, that he has a job to get to. He took off out of here after giving me one last kiss.

After we made love very early this morning, I read him two chapters of the book in my hands. He wanted more but I was exhausted, and as I drifted off to sleep, he jokingly told me that he was going to borrow the book unless I gave him a kiss.

I tried, but my lips were as exhausted as the rest of me.

“I brought you something.” My neighbor holds up a brown paper bag that is stamped with the logo from my favorite bagel shop.

It’s less than a block away and I’m convinced that I can smell them baking some mornings when the breeze is just right and I have my windows open.

Not wanting to appear rude, even though I’m still short on sleep, I motion toward my foyer. “Please come in.”

He does, never taking his gaze from my face. “You still have that glow, Delia.”

I can’t help but smile because that glow comes courtesy of all the good things in my life, including the baby.

“You look great today, too,” I say in reply to his compliment.

“I am great.” He places the bagel bag on the foyer table. “I just saw someone I haven’t seen in years. He was leaving our building as I was coming back from getting our breakfast.”

Mr. Winters hasn’t owned a pet in the time that I’ve been living here, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not talking about Donovan. People meet in the most unlikely places in this city.

“Maybe he was leaving your apartment,” he adds with a wink. “He’s a tall fellow. He has dark hair and what I think girls your age would call dreamboat eyes.”

He just described my lover to a T, but I only smile.

“He was in a rush.” He shakes his head, as he goes on, “And on the phone, so I didn’t get a chance to say hello to Victor.”

“Victor?” I ask, surprised that he didn’t say Donovan.

Just by the physical description alone, I was certain that he was talking about the man I spent the majority of my night with; the same man that I’ll share a child with in roughly seven and a half months.

He nods. “I met him when I was living in Indianapolis years ago. Victor waited tables at my favorite bistro. I always told him to come to New York because the restaurant scene here is second to none, but he told me Indianapolis was in his blood and he’d never leave.”

“Maybe he’s here visiting a friend?” I offer even though it’s quite a coincidence that a man he knows from another city would be in Manhattan visiting someone in our building.

The world is a small place, though.

“Or maybe somewhere along the way, he took my advice and he was bitten by the New York bug. Once you’ve lived here for a time, it’s hard to leave this city behind.”

It’s true.

I’ve considered uprooting my life twice. Once was when I was with Aiden. I thought my dream of our Paris love affair would become the reality that would span my lifetime but it turned into a nightmare when he dumped me like a coward.

Going back to the city of lights wasn’t on my radar until recently. The draw to go back this time has nothing to do with a man and everything to do with me, but so much has changed in the past twenty-four hours that I need time to catch my breath and think.

“I wouldn’t say no if you offered me a cup of coffee to have with the bagels.” Mr. Winters winks at me. “We can talk about that book you’re holding onto so tightly. Have I ever mentioned that I’m a fan of that author?”

Laughing, I head toward my kitchen. “In exchange for the bagel, I think I can get you a personalized copy of it.”

“No!” he gasps. “It isn’t even in stores yet.”

I glance over my shoulder to see a shocked expression on his face. “I have connections.”

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

Nodding, I smile. He has no idea. No one but Donovan knows about my biggest secret and I intend to keep it that way for at least the next few weeks.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Donovan

I don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to keep quiet about the fact that I’m going to be a dad. To top that off, I’m in love.

“Why do you look like you’re about to explode?” Reid questions me. “Did you win the lottery or something?”

I did. I won the life lottery when I boarded the cruise ship weeks ago.

My life hasn’t been the same since. In fact, it’s getting better and better by the day.

“Or something,” I say with a grin. “Let’s just say I’m glad you’re my cousin.”

He doesn’t buy it. Instead, he shakes his head. “Spit it out. What’s got you so happy, Donovan?”

I plan on telling Reid everything after Delia has had a chance to sit her brother down and explain that I’m the father of her baby. I’ll be right beside her if she wants that. We haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet, but when we do, I’ll stress to her again that Matt’s future here at Premier Pet Care is secure.

He’s an excellent veterinarian with a promising future and more importantly, he’s my child’s uncle.

Regardless of how I fit into Delia’s life in the future, I will be a permanent part of my child’s life.

I want it all - the woman and our baby. I hope to hell she’ll want me the same way one day.

“I saved a lizard’s life today,” I tell my cousin. “Isn’t that reason enough for being happy?”

“If you’re the lizard, sure.” He laughs. “Or the lizard’s owner, I suppose.”

“Both are as thrilled as I am,” I say with meaning because it’s true. “It’s been a stellar day.”

“Yet, you don’t want to extend that happiness into the evening by taking your favorite cousin out for a steak dinner?”

I glance over his shoulder and out my open office door. “Melody is in town? Why didn’t you tell me?”

His head falls back in laughter at the mention of his younger sister who is currently in school in Colorado. “Fuck you. You know I’m your favorite.”

He is. My relationship with Melody has always been on solid ground, but my bond with Reid is strong. We’ve shared both good and bad times and have held each other up through some dark days.

“Let me guess.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re going to see Delia.”

I shush him with a stern look and one word that I bite out through clenched teeth, “Quiet.”

He glances over his shoulder. “Matthew still doesn’t know?”

Shaking my head, I punch his bicep. It’s not hard enough to hurt, but solid enough to really grab his attention. “Shut up, Reid. He has no idea.”

Both of his hands dart into the air. “All right. I’ll drop it.”

Footsteps approaching shut us both up.

I wait with bated breath to see who will appear in my doorway and when I spot Matilda’s smiling face, I breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

“Hi, Donovan.” She grins at me before offering Reid a more open smile. “Hi Donovan’s cousin.”

He chuckles. “Hey, Mrs. Wolf.”

“It’s Tilly,” she reminds him before she looks at me. “My calendar just popped up a reminder that you’ll be away for two days next week. Is that still the case?”

I acknowledge that with a nod before I cement it with two simple words. “It is.”

“Good to know.” She types something on her tablet. “You have a patient waiting in exam room one. I can assist.”

That’s my cue to take off, so I pat Reid’s shoulder. “Duty calls.”

He stops me by grabbing the sleeve of my lab coat. “Where are you off to next week, Donovan?”

“It’s a conference,” Matilda offers. “He goes to a few of them each year. Our Dr. Hunt likes to keep up with everything happening in the field of veterinary medicine.”

If the clinic ever needed a spokesperson, Matilda would land the job without question. Her unwavering support is impressive, but in this case it’s unnecessary since I had no intention of sharing my travel details with my cousin.

He pats my cheek. “He’s a good guy.”

I pat his right back but it’s a touch harder. “Don’t you ever forget that.”

“I won’t.” He shakes his head. “I can’t. Safe travels, Donovan and stay happy. I like how it looks on you.”

I fucking love how it feels, so I intend on staying this happy for the rest of my life.

It’s not uncommon for me to arrive home after a long day to find a delivery waiting on my doorstep. It may be a bag of groceries I ordered before I left the clinic, or a case of the sparkling water I sometimes indulge in during the summer months.

Tonight, I find the most precious gift on the concrete steps that lead up to the door of my home.

Delia is there, sitting on her ass in a pair of jeans and a white blouse. On her feet are flat sandals and her hair is braided to the side.

I stand and stare at her as she keeps her gaze on her phone’s screen.

She has yet to notice me and I’m okay with that. I just want to soak in her natural beauty and this moment in time.

It’s only been twelve hours now since I left her penthouse but it’s felt like a lifetime to me.

When her gaze drifts up, she smiles. “Hey, you.”

“Hey.” I smile. “Have you been waiting long?”

She shakes her head in response. “I should have texted or called, but I thought I’d drop by and see if you were home yet.”

There’s a sexy sleepy note in her voice that makes me want to scoop her up and take her to bed.

“I’ll get the door.”

I offer her my hand as I make my way up the steps. She takes it without question using it to leverage herself as she stands. “Thank you.”

I want to tell her that she never has to thank me for another thing because anything I can do for her is a gift. It’s a pure gift and I’ll never get tired of doing everything in my power to make her life easier, or more fulfilling.

“Are you hungry?” I ask as we near the door.

She sighs. “Maybe a little hungry. Do you have any berries?”

Blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are a staple in my refrigerator now. If the market has ripe blackberries when I drop in, I grab those too.

“Load of berries.”

A smile crosses her lips. “A big bowl of those will hit the right spot.”

I unlock the door and motion for her to step inside first. I follow close behind before locking the door for the night.

She’s the one who reaches for the light switch so the foyer can be bathed in soft light as we remove our shoes.

That simple action is almost too much for me. I don’t know if it’s the emotions of the day finally catching up to me, or the realization that it felt right watching her do something as simple as switching on a light when she walked in.

In a sense it feels as though we arrived home together just now.

She turns back to glance at me. Her brows pinch together as she studies my face. “Are you all right?”

I lean forward to kiss her forehead. “I’m good. I’m really good.”

“Me too.” She pops up to her tiptoes to press her lips to mine. “Now, about those berries.”

I steal one last kiss knowing that I’ll need more when I take her to bed tonight. “I’m on it. I’ll get you a glass of cold water to go with it.”

“You always think of everything,” she whispers.

If everything is her, she’s right. I can’t stop thinking about what my life would be like if I had more time with her like this; more nights, more days… forever.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Delia

Satiated, I roll onto my back and close my eyes. “Have you ever fucked someone so hard that they couldn’t walk afterward?”

Silence fills Donovan’s bedroom.

It’s so quiet that I force one of my eyelids open to see if he passed out next to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. The man fucks with so much power that it has to take everything out of him.

His hands are resting on his face but his chest is clearly moving. He’s breathing heavily. “You. Try and get up, Delia. I bet you another orgasm that your knees are weak.”

“I might as well blow you now.”

That generates a series of low chuckles from him. “Did I just win the bet?”

“You know what you do to me.” I slap his bare chest as my gaze wanders to his semi-hard dick. “You’re like a fucking machine. To clarify I mean you’re a machine when it comes to fucking.”

His hands separate to give me a clear view at his eyes. “If you’re satisfied with what I do in bed, I don’t give a shit how what you call it.”

“Perfection?” I smile, knowing he can see it. “Addictive?”

He moves both hands until they are resting on his chest. “Are you addicted to me?”

I am, and it’s so much more than the sex.

I’m addicted to his laughter, and the way his eyes light up when he’s talking to me. I’m addicted to the sound of his voice and the way he looks at me.

“Yes,” I whisper. “I am.”

“We’re even then.” He stares into my eyes. “I’m so addicted to you.”

My heart thunders inside my chest. I have to take a breath but it does little to calm it.

He rolls to his side, his hand reaching out to me. His index finger trails down my chest until it stops between my breasts. “I’m grateful, Delia, for this.”

“This?” I cup my left breast.

He lowers his head to briefly take my nipple between his teeth. A light bite is enough to lure a groan from me.

“That hurt,” I complain but there’s no weight behind it.

“You liked it.”

I nod. “I did.”

He does it again before he follows it with a soft lick. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for your tits, and your pussy and that beautiful ass of yours, but that’s not what I was talking about.”

I sense that but I need and want to hear it straight from his lips. “What are you grateful for, Donovan?”

“That you’re a part of my life,” he explains, his gaze stuck on mine. “That we’re going to have a child together.”

“A wonderful child.”

“So wonderful,” he agrees. “You’re going to be a phenomenal mother, Delia.”

That hits me so hard that tears instantly well in my eyes. “I hope so.”

He brushes them away with a soft swipe of his fingers over my cheeks. “I know so. You’re the most remarkable person I’ve ever known.”

I should point out that we met less than two months ago, but I don’t. Instead, I take the compliment with the same grace in which it was offered.

“We’ll make a great team,” I say. “A great parenting team.”

He swallows hard, but only agrees with a nod.

The past twenty-four hours have been filled with so much emotion for me. I sense it’s been the same for him.

“Should we sleep now?” I ask as I inch closer to him.

He pats his chest. “Use me as a pillow.”

I rest my head against him, relishing in the scent of his cologne and the masculine smell of his skin. “Goodnight, Donovan.”

He strokes my head softly. “Goodnight, my Delia. I’ll see you in your dreams.”

I walk into Wolf Candy wearing one of the signature shirts that Nikita designed and a smile that could light up New York on a stormy night.

“Someone got laid,” she says. “I wish it was me, but…”

“But you’re happy for me?” I question.

“More like jealous,” she jokes. “It’s been awhile for me, Delia. My pussy has cock amnesia.”

I laugh so hard that I almost drop the coffee cup in my left hand.

She rushes over to grab it from me. “I desperately need this today. This one is mine, right?”

Since it’s the larger of the two cups I’m holding, I smile. “It makes you seem greedy when you take the big one.”

“I could say the same for you.” She grins. “It was a big one, wasn’t it? I mean I smile when I get fucked, but never like that unless he’s packing something serious in his pants.”

“Oh, he is.” I nod.

She sips from her cup. “Are we talking about Donovan? Is that still going on?”

I scratch my neck. “Maybe?”

“Is that code for yes?”

I shrug. “It might be.”

“Why are you being coy?” She glances at my cup. “And why are you drinking herbal tea?”

I curse inwardly. I was going to toss the tea bag in the trash at the café after it had time to steep, but it slipped my mind when I noticed Matthew was texting me. Fortunately, all he wanted was to wish me a good day. I returned the sentiment in a text of my home with a happy face emoji attached to it.

“I drink too much coffee,” I lie while tugging on the tag attached to the tea bag by a string.

I was craving a cup this morning before I left Donovan’s townhouse to head home, but I don’t know the rules about caffeine and pregnancy so until I see Dr. Waverly, I’m cutting myself off of it.

“I don’t drink enough.” She winks. “Are you ready to get to work?”

I take a sip of the tepid liquid in my cup and manage not to make a face since it’s not nearly as satisfying as the coffee I typically indulge in. “Point me to where you need me, Nikita. I’m all yours for the entire day.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Delia

It’s been a week since I found out I’m pregnant. In that time, I’ve slept more than usual, I’ve seen Donovan less than usual, and I had the absolute pleasure of speaking to Hazel Waverly on the phone.

Donovan was the one who set that up, and even though I’m scheduled for my first in person appointment next week, Hazel reached out to introduce herself to me yesterday.

She assured me that she’d take the best possible care of the baby and me, and then recommended a brand of pre-natal vitamins for me to begin taking immediately.

As soon as the call was over, I picked some up and took one.

I did get the chance to ask her if it’s normal for me to still be feeling nauseous almost every morning. She told me gently that it was and after giving me some sage advice on how to deal with that, she reminded me to be kind to myself and to let my body guide me toward what it needs including extra sleep at night.

“I’m worn out,” Matthew announces as he enters the living room of Roman and Bianca’s apartment. “I should sneak back down to my apartment and grab some shut eye.”

That would only entail a short elevator ride since Faith and Matthew live in an apartment three floors below where we all are gathered now.

“Can I come?” Georgie asks. “I’m tired, too.”

She adds an exaggerated yawn to that. Dora rolls her eyes. “Knock it off, Georgie. You know that Uncle Matty just wants to kiss Auntie Faith in private.”

Faith giggles. “Busted.”

I glance at my future sister-in-law. Her long blue hair is a shade lighter than it was the last time I saw her. When we first met, it was pink. She pulls it all off with effortless ease. She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met.

The same can be said for Bianca. She’s currently sitting on a chair with her young son cradled in her arms. I’ve barely been able to take my eyes off of them because in just a few months, I’ll be experiencing what she is every single day.

“I did that before we got here,” Matthew tells both girls. “Besides, Auntie Faith doesn’t mind if I kiss her in front of all of you.”

He demonstrates that by leaning down to kiss his fiancée softly on the lips.

“So gross.” Dora covers her eyes.

“So romantic,” Georgie adds her opinion to the mix. “I hope my finance see does that to me, too.”

Her mispronunciations are few and far between nowadays but when they do happen they always bring a smile to my lips.

Georgie has worked hard to nail each word she utters since Dora is quick to point out when she doesn’t.

“Fiancé,” Georgie corrects herself before her sister has the chance.

Dora races over to her to pat her on the back. “You did it.”

Watching the two of them together has always made me wish I had a twin.

It hits me then. The realization that I may possibly be having twins suddenly washes over me.

I glance down at my flat stomach. It’s hidden beneath the light blue short-sleeve blouse I’m wearing.

“Are you okay, Delia?” Faith asks.

I look at her face. We’re sitting next to one another so I’m not surprised she noticed what must look like shock and awe on my face.

Twins run in my family. Roman and Matthew are identical, as are Dora and Georgie. As cute as two babies would be, I’m still getting used to the idea of having one.

“I’m good,” I assure her even though I don’t believe it myself.

Her hand darts out in search of mine. “You’re sure?”

I take it for a squeeze. “Positive.”

She nods, but I see skepticism in her blue eyes.

“I’ve been stretched thin because I’m the only vet who has had his feet firmly planted in this city lately.” He laughs. “Or at the least the only vet at Premier Pet Care who hasn’t had the chance to steal a few days out of Manhattan recently.”

I know all about what’s been happening at the clinic since his boss filled me in.

Carolyn had scheduled time off this past week for a short summer getaway with her boyfriend and her son. She started back at the clinic yesterday, which is when Donovan left for a conference in Boston.

“Donovan’s off to another veterinary conference?” Roman asks as he enters the room with a bottle of beer in his hand.

The rest of us, including Dora and Georgie, are indulging in a tropical fruit punch that Bianca prepared. After I took my first sip, I was hit with the reminder of my time on the cruise since the punch had the same coconut and pineapple notes as some of the alcoholic drinks I indulged in while I was on vacation.

It’s virgin everything for me in terms of beverages for the foreseeable future.

Matthew lets out a low chuckle. “Sure he is.”

That doesn’t sit right with me but before I can question him on it, Dora announces that she’s going to draw a picture for her little brother. Georgie follows her out of the room as they head to the art station set up in their bedroom.

“So, is your boss at a conference or not?” Roman laughs.

Matt shrugs. “Maybe this time he is.”

“What does that mean?” I ask.

That catches Faith’s attention enough that she turns to look at me. Her gaze studies my face until her fiancé’s voice draws her eyes back to him.

“He leaves New York on the regular,” he explains. “A couple of months ago he took a secret vacation for about a week.”

That tracks since I was on that secret vacation with him.

“Whenever there’s a conference in Boston, he jumps at the chance to go.” Chuckling, he shakes his head. “Carolyn wanted in on the one happening this week, but Donovan wouldn’t even hear of it. He insisted that he needed to be the one representing the clinic.”

“He does own the clinic,” Roman points out. “You can’t fault the man for wanting to be the face of the business he’s built.”

“You’re right.” Matt nods. “That would hold a hell of a lot more weight if he actually showed up at the conference.”

“He’s not in Boston?” Bianca asks.

“He’s there,” Matt answers as he takes a seat next to his fiancée. His hand falls onto her bare knee since she’s wearing a cute pink sundress.

“What’s the problem then?” Bianca questions him. “He said he’s going to a conference in Boston and he’s there.”

“He checked in at the conference.” He gazes at her face. “One of Carolyn’s friends sent her a picture of the two of them checking into the conference yesterday.”

My stomach sinks a little since he didn’t say if that friend was a man or a woman.

Since I always get a notification when Donovan posts anything to his social media pages, I know that picture never made it on any of them.

“Carolyn showed me.” He laughs. “Donovan was grinning from ear to ear, and since he hasn’t attended any of the symposiums since, I’d say he’s having a hell of a good time with Carolyn’s friend.”

My stomach does more than just sink more. It churns inside my body. A wave of nausea hits me.

“Carolyn’s friend told you they’re together?” Bianca asks.

Matt shakes his head. “Not outright, but she did tell Carolyn that Donovan has skipped the same symposiums she has.”

I stare at my brother trying to make sense of everything he’s saying, including the next words out of his mouth. “It’s not the first time Donovan’s taken off for a conference where he’s missed out on the actual conference.”

Bianca and Roman both laugh, but she’s the one who turns to Matt. “He’s single and gorgeous. You can’t fault him for having fun.”

Emotion bears down on me, but I bite back tears with a hard swallow. “Excuse me, please.”

I slide to my feet to head to the washroom. I need to splash cold water on my face. I need to calm the hell down.

It’s been weeks since we told each other that we weren’t sleeping with other people. Since we’ve never circled back to that conversation and we agreed that our relationship was just fun, maybe Donovan has decided to have “fun” with other women, too.

“Delia!” I hear Faith’s voice behind me as I near the washroom door. “Do you need anything? Can I help you in some way?”

When I turn to look at her, I see nothing but concern in her eyes.

She must see pain in mine because she rushes toward me to wrap me in her arms. “I’m here for you. I’m always here for you.”

I break down in her arms. A sob escapes as I cling to her in the hallway of my brother’s home. “I’m tired. I’m just so tired.”

She steps back to guide me into the bathroom. Once the door closes, she wipes the tears from my cheeks. “Whatever it is, I want to help if I can. If I can’t, I want you to know that I love you.”

Nodding, I let the tears flow. “I love you, too.”

She wipes my cheeks. “I may not be a doctor yet, but I do know all about doctor patient confidentiality and we’ll be sisters soon, so I need you to know that I’d never a repeat a word of anything you tell me, Delia.”

The urge to blurt out that I’m having a baby with Matt’s boss is strong but I won’t put her in a position where she’ll feel compelled to keep a secret of that magnitude from her fiancé.

“Thank you.” I sniffle my way through those two words. “I think I’m just worn out.”

“I get it.” She brushes a strand of hair from my forehead. “If you want to bow out of dinner, I can get you home.”

“I’ll stay.” I need my family around me now even if none of them have any idea about what’s going on in my life.

If I go home now, I’ll cry myself to sleep. I may as well eat before I head out to do that.

“I’ll give you some privacy.” She reaches for the doorknob. “If you ever need me for anything, I’m here for you. Always.”

“That works both ways.” I hug her again. “I’ll always be here for you, too.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Donovan

I cut my trip to Boston short because I sense that something isn’t right in Delia’s world.

That concern stems from the fact that she hasn’t returned any of my phone calls and her two word response to the countless text messages I’ve sent her over the course of the past twenty four hours was curt.

I glance at my phone to read the short exchange again.

Donovan: I’m worried about you, Delia. Please let me know how you are.

Delia: I’m fine.

I followed that up immediately with a call, knowing that she was literally cradling her phone in her hands, but it went unanswered, as did every text I’ve sent since.

I even reached out to Matt to see if he was in panic mode because of something happening with his sister, but he was handling a work emergency and didn’t have time to get into anything beyond telling me that everything was great back in Manhattan expect for the broken leg on the schnauzer he was about to cast.

I exit the rideshare I took from the airport and step onto the sidewalk outside of my home.

As tempted as I was to go directly to Delia’s penthouse from the airport, I didn’t. I couldn’t. I made her a promise that I wouldn’t show up unexpectedly, and I intend to keep every promise I ever made to the woman.

My plan is to do that forever if she’ll allow it and I want it to reach beyond the scope of my role as the father of her baby and her “fun” fuck partner.

If this short trip to Boston taught me anything it’s that I never want to be away from her again.

The lure that has repeatedly taken me to that city in recent years is strong, but my feelings for Delia far surpass that. I love her. If I doubted that in the least before I boarded the plane headed out of New York, I don’t now.

I glance down when I feel my phone vibrate in the pocket of my suit jacket. I tear it out as quickly as I can, hoping beyond hope that it’s Delia wanting to talk to me.

It’s not.

It’s my mom.

Her life in this city was marred by so much pain that as soon as I graduated with my master’s degree she took off in search of a spot on this planet that would offer her happiness.

A two week vacation to the wilds of Montana has extended into more than a decade of happiness with a man who adores her.

My father couldn’t be that man for her, but Barry Neagle is. A retired rancher and lover of nature, he’s given my mom a place to land that involves endless love and admiration.

I’m happy for her and even though I haven’t had the opportunity to visit her in more than a year, I’ll change that once the baby arrives. I want her to meet her grandchild as soon as possible.

“Hey, Mom, “ I answer the call on the second ring. “How are you?”

“I’m almost perfect,” she answers my question the same way she always does. “Are you?”

I was until something shifted between Delia and me, so I spin my answer to reflect what I hope is still my reality. “I’m happier than ever.”

“Really, Donovan?” Curiosity edges her tone. “What’s going on?”

I know she’s expecting one answer, and I wish to fuck I could give her that, but I can’t. At least not yet, so I sigh. “I just got back from a conference.”

“Oh.”

I can almost feel her hope evaporating over the line, so I take the conversation on a new path. “How’s your garden looking, Mom?”

There isn’t a distraction big enough to steal her attention away from the missing piece of her heart, but my question does lure an answer out of her. “There’s nothing quite like eating vegetables you’ve grown. If you came to visit, you’d find that out in person.”

“I will,” I offer the same vague promise I always do.

My presence there in her place of solace will come with as much pain as happiness. My face is a reminder of a loss so profound that she can barely speak of it.

“I hope so,” she whispers. “I just wanted to check in on you.”

That’s the cue that she needs to go, so I lean into that. “I’m good, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Her voice cracks. “Take care, okay?”

“I will,” I close my eyes as I say the words. “You too, Mom.”

Donovan: I’m home, Delia. I’m here if you need to talk, or if you just want a big bowl of berries.

I reread the text message that I sent Delia thirty minutes ago.

I’m not surprised that she hasn’t responded to it. It’s nearing eleven now and if there’s one thing I know about the first trimester of a pregnancy, it’s that sleep is a necessity.

I learned that fact and many more from the book I picked up at a shop at the airport before I boarded my flight to Boston.

It’s obvious that the author of the book wrote it for expectant parents, but with an emphasis on the pregnant partner. I soaked up as much knowledge as I could since I spent hours reading it. I want Delia to feel as supported as I can and that means I need to have a thorough understanding of everything she’s going through and what I can do to help her.

I drop the towel that’s been wrapped around my waist to the floor before I tug on a pair of black boxer briefs along with jeans.

The shower I had was badly needed. I stood under the hot water letting it beat down on me as I closed my eyes and wished for a future that I fear is slipping out of my grasp.

I’m pissed at myself for going to Boston. It may have cost me the woman I love.

The sound of my doorbell ringing fills not only the room, but it sounds an alarm on my phone, too.

I scoop it up and open the doorbell app, expecting it to be the delivery guy.

Since I haven’t eaten all day, I ordered a large pepperoni pizza. It’s something I never do, but hunger will only serve to make sleep even more difficult than I already know it will be, and I need to rest.

I need to do that so I can face tomorrow with a clear mind and a solid mission. I want to find Delia and talk to her. I have to understand what’s changed and what I can do to fix it.

I take the stairs down to the main level two at a time.

By the time I’m at the door, the bell is ringing again. “I’m here.”

I don’t say it loud enough for the delivery person to hear it through the door, so I repeat the words as soon as I swing it open, “I’m here.”

A young woman is standing in front of me with an insulated red bag in her hands. Her gaze trails over my bare chest. “Pizza for one?”

I glance past her to a dark SUV idling by the curb in front of my home. The back door flies open and one leg appears followed by the rest of the woman I’m crazy about.

Delia shoots me a glance and even with just the light from the street lamp illuminating her face, I see pain there. I see questions that I know only I have answers for.

“It’s for two actually,” I tell the woman in front of me. “It looks like the woman of my dreams will be joining me.”

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Delia

I wait until the woman delivering what looks like pizza to Donovan descends the steps. She pauses briefly on her way to a white sedan to smile at me. “You’re one lucky lady.”

“The pizza is that good?” I manage a small smile.

“The man you’ll be sharing it with is.”

Jealousy shoots through me again. The feeling is becoming all too familiar since it’s been nagging at me constantly since Matt made it clear he thinks Donovan does a lot more than network with other vets at the conferences he goes to.

“He told me you’re the woman of his dreams.” She sighs. “I’d give almost anything to be that to any man.”

Shocked by what she just said, I look toward where Donovan is still standing in the doorway to his home. “He said that?”

“That man loves you,” she whispers. “I’ve seen love before and he’s got it bad for you.”

I didn’t know how badly I want that to be the truth until I realized that Donovan might be out there looking for more fun than I can give him.

She nudges my elbow. “The pizza isn’t bad either.”

I laugh. “I’ll try a piece.”

“Leave a review on our website,” she calls after me as she heads toward her car. “Five stars are always appreciated.”

As soon as she’s back behind the steering wheel, I look at Donovan.

“The pizzas getting cold, Delia,” he says. “If you’re not in the mood for that, I can give you some berries or pickles and ice cream.”

Smiling, I shake my head. “Pizza will hit the spot.”

“Let’s get inside.” He jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “I really need to put on a shirt.”

“Do you really need to?” I question as I reach the bottom of the steps.

He huffs out a deep laugh. “If you prefer me this way, I’m good with it.”

I take the steps quickly until I’m right in front of him. “Ignore the fact that my dress is covered in black hairs.”

He squints to try and see them against the dark blue fabric of my dress. “Should I ask what you’ve been up to while I’ve been gone?”

That opens the door for me to ask a very similar question, so I do, “Should I ask what you’ve been up to since you’ve been gone?”

His gaze locks on mine. “You should, Delia. I want you to.”

Surprised by that, I nod. “I will.”

He steps aside to grant me access to his home. “You were at the animal shelter visiting old Ralph, weren’t you?”

Nodding, I step inside the foyer. “I spent most of today there.”

“I spent most of today thinking about you,” he admits as he shuts the door behind me.

I stop mid-step to turn toward him. “Is that all you did today?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “I didn’t just think about you, Delia. I worried endlessly about you.”

My silence was necessary for my own peace of mind. I had to think. I had to plan and I had to weigh every scenario that was racing through my head since I saw Matthew last night and he blurted out his suspicions about his boss.

“Pizza first and then we’ll talk?”

He considers my request before he nods slowly. “That works for me.”

I kick off my sandals and start walking toward his kitchen, knowing he’s right behind me every step of the way.

I want to clear my conscience before I question him about where we stand, so I do just that without any warning, “I’ve been offered a job in Paris.”

He stops mid chew. “What?”

I skim a fingertip over the empty plate in front of me.

I wanted to eat the pizza straight from the box, but Donovan grabbed two small plates from the cupboard, white linen napkins, and then poured two glasses of chilled water.

I told him any real New Yorker wouldn’t dare eat pizza with utensils when I noticed him heading toward the drawer where he stores his forks, knives and spoons. He laughed and sat down next to me at his kitchen island before telling me that he never had eaten pizza that way and never would.

“It’s at a university there.” I take a deep breath. “I’d be teaching a course in humanities to begin with, but there’s a potential for more.”

He rubs his face, stopping to suck in a deep breath. “I’m happy for you, Delia.”

“Are you?”

His gaze meets mine. “If this brings you fulfillment, yes, I am. I want that for you more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”

I believe him. It’s not just the tone of his voice. It’s the way he’s looking at me, or maybe it’s into me. I swear that this man can see my soul.

“What if I go?”

“I’ll go with you.” There’s no hesitation at all in his words or a break in his gaze. “I’d go anywhere with you.”

“As a co-parent to our baby?” I question, skirting around the real question I want to ask. “You’d give up everything here to move to Paris with me for our child?”

He arches his neck back. Silence sits between us for what feels like endless moments even though I know it’s not more than a few scant seconds.

When his gaze falls back to my face, I see something within his eyes I’ve ached to see. I may have allowed myself to not want this, but now that I’m staring right at it, I’ve never wished for anything more.

“I wouldn’t be giving up anything if I followed you to Paris.” His hand reaches for mine. “I’d be gaining everything. I love you, Delia. A life with you is all I want. It’s all I’ll ever want.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Donovan

I’d blame it on the pizza, and my lack of sleep, but the truth is that I just handed my heart over to Delia Hawthorne and I’m so fucking relieved.

The weight of that confession has been bearing down on me for weeks and now that it’s out there, I feel free, so I repeat the words again so there’s no mistaking how desperately I mean them, “I love you with all of my heart, Delia.”

“I love you, too.”

I stare at her lips. I didn’t just hear that. There’s no way in hell that this woman sitting in front of me feels exactly the same way I do. She’s never indicated that she wants more than fun and a co-parent arrangement with me.

“You love me?” I ask, my voice cracking as I do.

“I do,” she answers in a way that briefly conjures up an image of her in a white wedding dress and me in a tux facing each other with rings on our fingers.

“Delia,” I breathe out her name slowly. “You’re sure?”

“I thought I loved someone once,” she tells me. “But I know now that’s not what it was.”

I’m not shocked to hear that she cared deeply for a man in the past. She’s a kind woman with an enormous heart. It makes sense that another man would have made her feel cherished and adored.

“He never made me feel the way you do,” she explains her eyes welling with unshed tears. “You make me feel as though I’m the only person in the room, or the world for that matter.”

“You are to me.”

That parts her lips in a soft smile. “I doubted that a little bit since you went to Boston.”

“Why?” I ask. “What did I do?”

“Nothing,” she assures me. “Matt mentioned something last night about you going to conferences but not actually attending them. Then he said there was a picture of you with one of Carolyn’s friends.”

“Who knew Matthew was such a gossip?” I toss her a grin.

“My emotions were all over the place.” She shakes her head. “I’ve spent today thinking about Paris, and New York, and our baby, and our future.”

I drag her hand to my lips to kiss her palm. “I don’t care if that future is here or in Paris or the North Pole. I mean that, Delia. I’ll go wherever your dreams take you.”

“Not to the North Pole.” She laughs before that fades. “Not to Paris either.”

Confused, I perk both brows.

“I’ve been offered the job a few times, and this was the first time I’ve seriously considered it,” she admits. “I gave myself a hard deadline to make a decision about it, but then I got pregnant and fell in love and my decision was clear.”

“You’ll marry me one day?”

Her mouth falls open. “Donovan!”

“One day, Delia.” I kiss her softly on the lips. “I’m not asking today although you’d say yes.”

She nods. “I might.”

I laugh. “You would.”

“I love learning,” she shifts the subject back to more stable ground.

I know I caught her off guard with the semi-marriage proposal, but I’ll circle back to it in due time.

“As much as I’ve loved learning, it’s time for me to use that knowledge in a way that benefits other people.” She studies my face. “I have a couple of ideas I’d love to run by you sometime.”

“Anytime.”

“Soon, but not now.” She yawns. “I want to talk about Boston and the other conferences.”

That discussion will take time and more emotional effort than I have the capacity for right now. I just learned that the woman I love is in love with me. I want her in my future so that means I need to share my past.

“We will talk about all of it tomorrow.” I cradle her beautiful face in my hands. “Let me take you to bed, Delia. You need to sleep.”

She nods. “I do.”

Again, those words spark another image within my mind. This time it’s of her in that wedding dress, twirling in my arms on a dance floor as the people we love surround us.

All of the people we love, including the one I love and miss who lives in Boston.

CHAPTER FIFTY

Donovan

I’m brewing tea when Delia shows up in the kitchen. Since everyone at the clinic still thinks I’m in Boston, I have the entire day to devote to my love.

I know it won’t be an easy day but it’s necessary if I’m going to ask this woman to trust me with her heart and that of our child’s going forward.

My parents’ marriage was blown apart by secrets my father held close to the vest for years. I won’t allow that to happen in my relationship with Delia.

She turns to her side and lifts the T-shirt she’s wearing to reveal her pink panties and bare midriff. “Am I showing already?”

I close the distance between us with hurried steps, dropping to my knees on the floor as soon as I’m close enough to wrap my arms around her waist. “Not yet, beautiful.”

Her hand finds my head. Her fingers tangle in my hair. “Are you sure, Donovan? I think I am.”

I lean back to run a palm over her smooth, flat stomach. “I’m sure.”

She stares down at me with such reverence that I want to confess every sin to her. I want to absolve myself of all the guilt I’ve carried for years and beg for her forgiveness even though the man I seek that from is miles away.

“What if there are two babies in there?” she whispers. “Twins run in my family.”

There it is. The open door I need to walk through, so I do.

I stare up and into her eyes. “Twins run in mine, too.”

She breaks free of my grasp as her hand jumps to cover her mouth. “What?”

I know what she fears. She’s still adjusting to the idea of giving birth to one child. The remote possibility that we’ll be parents to two newborns in a few months is unfathomable to her.

I’ve thought about it over and over again since I found out she’s pregnant.

I haul myself back up to my feet and adjust the waistband of my sweatpants. “There are twins in my family, Delia.”

“Are one of your parents a twin?” she questions, her gaze searching my face for the answer. “Or do you have twin cousins? Are the twins identical or fraternal?”

I reach for both of her hands. “Delia.”

She takes my hands in hers and squeezes tightly. “What is it? Did something happen to one of them?”

“I’m one of them,” I say, keeping my eyes locked on hers. “I’m a twin.”

Laughing lightly, she shakes her head. “What? You’re not a twin.”

“I’m a twin,” I repeat, the words sounding almost foreign to me. It’s been so long since I’ve said them out loud. “I have a twin brother.”

Her bottom lip quivers. “Since when?”

A smile ghosts my lips. “Since we were born twelve minutes apart, thirty six years ago.”

“He looks just like you,” she says, not asks. “He does, doesn’t he?”

There are differences now. We’re still the same height and judging by how he carries himself in a suit, we’re near the same weight.

“He has a beard,” I whisper. “His hair is slightly longer than mine.”

She nods slowly. Tears fall down her cheeks. “Victor.”

Stunned, I step back, my hands darting to the center of my bare chest.

“I don’t…I don’t…I’ve never met him, or seen him for that matter,” she stammers through all of that. “I think my neighbor met him, though.”

Confused as hell, I brace a hand on the wall to keep myself upright. “I’m not following.”

She moves closer to wrap her arms around my waist. As she stares into my eyes, she explains, “I think my neighbor, Mr. Winters, met Victor in Indianapolis years ago.”

“Vic lived there for a few years,” I blurt out. “He was married back then.”

“He waited tables.” She goes on, “Mr. Winters met him then. The morning you left my apartment, Mr. Winters saw you in the lobby of our building. He described you to a T, but then he said the man he saw was named Victor. I didn’t put the pieces together then.”

“Until now, you didn’t realize one of the pieces existed.”

She nods. “Why haven’t you ever mentioned him? Why hasn’t Matt ever told me that you’re a twin?”

The next words out of my mouth are laced with shame but they’re my truth. “I haven’t spoken to my brother in years, Delia. It’s been years.”

Her unending compassion is shining bright this morning because after I confessed that I haven’t spoken to Victor in years, Delia took my hand and brought me back into the kitchen.

She finished making the tea and prepared a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and a bowl of fresh berries.

I didn’t say a word as I watched her move around my kitchen as if she belonged there. She does. I want her here or I want to be in her home on Park Avenue every day when I wake up.

Our address doesn’t matter to me. What does matter is that we journey through this life together.

I push my plate aside and glance at her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“You didn’t know me sooner.”

I smile at that. “You know what I mean, Delia.”

“I know that you’re a good man and sometimes shit happens.” She runs her hand over my shoulder. “I have three brothers so I understand how strained those relationships can be at times.”

The difference is that she is close with all of them. Matthew has told me as much.

I had the same bond with Victor until our parents’ marriage imploded. Our father forced us to take sides. Neither of us wanted to but I stood by our mom. Victor felt compelled to do the same for our dad.

The argument that ensued between the two of us was laced with accusations and punctuated with actual punches.

We never spoke again after that day.

Twenty years is a hell of a long time to hate one of the people you love most in the world.

“We said things to each other that can’t be forgiven.”

“Words are words,” she whispers. “They sting. They can fucking destroy people, but there is almost always a way back if both people want that.”

“He doesn’t want it,” I assume based on the fact that I’ve never heard from Vic.

My mother hasn’t either.

“Did he tell you that recently?” she studies my face.

I see the moment realization washes over her. “Does he live in Boston, Donovan?”

“Yes.”

“You went there to see him,” she says with a finger pointed at me. “That’s why you went. It wasn’t to fuck Carolyn’s friend.”

I can’t help but laugh at the audacity of that. “I’ll never fuck another woman, Delia. You can count on that.”

“I know.” She pats her chest. “I feel that here.”

“I went to spy on him,” I admit. “I’ve done that for years. Jesus, this is so fucking embarrassing.”

Her hand finds my cheek. She guides my face so that our eyes can meet again. “Never be embarrassed to tell me anything. Ever. You miss him, don’t you? Your heart is telling you it’s time to put the past behind you.”

That’s exactly what it’s been telling me for the past two years, but I’ve never found the courage to approach my brother even though I’ve trailed him through the streets of Boston for hours on end. I even followed him out west when he was attending an awards dinner.

“I have no idea what to say to him, Delia.”

She pats my cheek softly. “Hi is a good start.”

“Hi?” I chuckle. “It can’t be that easy.”

“You won’t know that unless you try,” she tells me. “If you want me to go with you, I’m there, but I’ll understand if you need to do it alone.”

The offer to accompany me on a trip that may change my life forever means more to me than she can know. “Thank you.”

“I’d do anything for you, Donovan,” she whispers before she leans close to kiss me. “Anything.”

“That works both ways.”

“I know.” She nods. “I know.”

I make a spur of the moment decision because with her love and support, I finally have the courage I need to face my past. “I’ll book a flight back to Boston.”

“Today?” she asks with a smile. “Will you see him today?”

“Yes.” I kiss her cheek. “I’ll go see my brother today.”

“I’ll go see mine today, too,” she whispers. “I know I’m not quite past the first trimester, but the stress of keeping all of this from Matt isn’t good for me or the baby.”

“I can push my trip back a day or two,” I say, wanting to offer her the same support she’s shown me.

“I can handle it.” She smiles. “I’ll drop the news that his boss knocked me up but I’ll follow that up by telling him that I’m in love with you and always will be.”

I laugh. “I’ll always love you, too.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Delia

There’s no time like the present to drop a bombshell in my brother’s lap so I ask him to meet me at my penthouse on his way to work.

Since he’s scheduled for a later shift, I have lunch waiting when I hear the knock at the door.

It’s roasted fresh vegetables served on a bed of butter lettuce with a tangy honey mustard dressing.

In my current state, none of that sounds appetizing to me, but I know Matthew will like it and anything I can do to lessen the blow of the news I’m about to deliver, is helpful.

I picked up the salads on my way home from Donovan’s townhouse. He left before me since he was able to secure the last seat on a flight leaving to Boston an hour ago.

As he faces his brother to confront their past, I’m facing mine to carve a path forward to my future.

I swing open the door to my apartment.

My brother, dressed in scrubs, shoves a handful of fresh flowers at me. “I stopped by Wild Lilac to order a bouquet of roses for Faith and I saw these. You didn’t look happy the last time I saw you, so I thought they might help.”

The last time he saw me was at Roman’s apartment less than forty-eight hours ago. I thought my life was falling apart, but it actually was the springboard I needed to vault into the place I am now.

“They’re beautiful.” I stare down at the mix of wildflowers. “I’ll put them in a vase.”

He follows behind as I walk toward my kitchen. “Are you okay, Delia?”

Emotions already rush to the surface but I force them back with a deep breath. “I’m better than I’ve ever been.”

“So, you’re taking the job in Paris?” Disappointment taints his tone. “You asked me here to tell me that, didn’t you?”

I have so much to tell him, but none of it relates to France. I thought I might want that. I sensed the opportunity could forge a path toward a future in teaching, but I see now that I don’t have to jump continents to do that.

Everything I want is here, within my grasp.

I shake my head, but since my back is turned to him, he doesn’t notice.

“I guess Faith and I can come visit you.” He chuckles awkwardly. “I told Donovan I was considering taking her on a cruise for our honeymoon, but I’ll switch it up and surprise her with a trip to Paris.”

I drop the flowers on the counter and spin back around. “I won’t be in Paris. I’ll be here. I’m staying in New York.”

He rushes at me and picks me up to spin me around. “Thank Christ. I would have missed you so damn much. I’ve never told you how much I miss you when you leave town.”

Tears flood my eyes. “You do?”

He nods. “Even when you went on that damn cruise. I missed you, Delia. I was worried about you being out on the water all alone.”

“I wasn’t alone,” I whisper.

He laughs. “I know. The cruise is filled with people and staff, and I’m sure you made some friends, but still…”

“Donovan was on the cruise,” I blurt out.

His brows pinch together. “Donovan? Donovan Hunt? My boss?”

I touch my lips briefly before my hands fall to the front of the dress I’m wearing. They hover there, over my stomach. “The father of my baby.”

His gaze drops to where my hands are trembling. “Delia.”

I swallow hard unable to find words.

When he looks back to my face, I see tears in his eyes, too. “You’re pregnant?”

I swipe the back of my hand over my cheek. “I’m pregnant, and I’m in love. I’m so in love, Matthew.”

“With Donovan?” He shakes his head. “Holy shit! You’re in love with Donovan?”

I nod. “I love him so much.”

“And he loves you?” he asks. “Does he love you, Delia?”

“More than I ever thought a man could love me.”

He reaches to take my hand in his. “Why am I just hearing about this now? How long have you two been…how long, Delia? When did it start?”

“On the cruise,” I admit without hesitation. “We hit it off. We had fun. I didn’t want to continue when we came back home because of you.”

“Wait!” His hand drops mine and leaps into the air. “What do you mean by that? You didn’t want to continue a relationship with him because of me?”

“Yes.” I suck in a deep breath. “I was scared that when things ended, he’d fire you.”

He lets out a hearty laugh. “He’d never fire me. He’s like a brother to me, Delia.”

A sob escapes me. “That’s how you see him?”

He nods. “He’s my fucking mentor. He’s never steered me wrong.”

I stare at him, stunned by that admission. “You always talked about what he did outside the clinic.”

“He had fun with a lot of different women.” He realizes what he says as soon as it leaves his mouth. “I didn’t mean that. It’s more of an assumption based on how often he pushed the on call shit on Carolyn and me and sometimes women would come into the clinic looking for him after…”

“You also made an assumption about him at Roman’s apartment,” I say, not needing or wanting to hear more about what other women have sought out the man I love.

He straightens his shoulders. “I did. Did you talk to him about it, Delia? Do you know what he’s been doing in Boston for the past few days?”

I won’t get into the details of Donovan’s short trip back home last night, but I nod. “I do know what he’s been doing there. I know why he keeps going back there.”

I expect him to ask why, but that’s not what my brother does. “You trust him. I see that, so I do, too. I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong.”

I’m intuitive enough to know that Donovan won’t mind if I share his truth with my brother, so I do. “He’s in Boston right now trying to repair his relationship with his brother.”

“He has a brother?”

“An identical twin brother.”

“What the actual fuck, Delia?” His gaze trails behind me before it locks back on my face. “Donovan has a twin brother?”

“Yes.”

“I had no idea,” he whispers. “No fucking idea.”

“Please don’t…”

“I won’t,” he interrupts before I can say another word. “I won’t tell anyone about this, Delia. Not about the baby, or his brother, or about you falling head over heels for my boss.”

I manage to smile. “Thank you.”

He moves closer to take me back into his arms for a bear hug. “I have one last question for you.”

I step back to look up into his face. “Ask it.”

“Are you having one baby or two, or maybe it’s three?”

“Shut up,” I snap as I laugh. “As far as I know it’s one, but it’s early and we haven’t had a sonogram yet.”

“I’m going to love this kid or kids with everything I am.” He smiles as tears well in his eyes again. “You deserve all of this and more, Delia. Your life is looking bright and I couldn’t be happier for you.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Donovan

The best disguise in a situation like this is no disguise at all.

I’ve debated for months how I’d get by the security in the building that houses the offices of the company my brother owns, but it turns out all I had to do was smile at the security guard.

He tossed me a wave and with a stroke of his hand over his beard, he called out, “You’re looking good, Mr. Hunt. I like the no beard look.”

As do I. It’s the reason why I always shave at least once a day.

I did just that before I left New York a few hours ago. Delia was perched on the edge of my bed watching as I got ready for this daytrip.

She helped me chose the dark blue suit I’m currently wearing. She was the one who tied my silver tie to perfection and when she kissed me and told me that regardless of what happens today, she’ll love me forever, I knew I was ready.

I board the elevator alone. I’m grateful for that because as it shoots up to the twelfth floor of this building, nerves own me.

The doors slide open on the ninth floor. Two women board. One looks right at me. “Really, Victor? When we were together I asked you to shave the beard. You do it now? Months later.”

I haven’t heard my brother’s voice in years, so I have no clue if it’s similar to mine. I answer her with a shrug.

I don’t want to blow my non-cover now that I’m this close to face to face time with him.

“You’re a bastard,” she tosses that at me before she departs when the doors open on the tenth floor.

The woman who boarded with her looks at me. “I happen to like the look, sir.”

With that she steps off, too. If I knew her name I’d pass that sentiment onto my brother.

As soon as the doors are shut again I look at one of the mirrored walls. I look like me but I also look like him.

I haven’t had to deal with that directly in years. I can’t say I’ve missed it.

When the doors open on the floor that I know is home to the executive offices of Hunt & Associates, I’m greeted with stares from at least a half dozen people.

“Mr. Hunt?” A dark-haired guy around my age approaches me. “I thought you were in a meeting, sir.”

I brush past him and start walking straight toward what appears to be a massive office with glass walls.

It’s opaque so I can’t see who is behind the closed door, but I’d bet everything I own Victor is in there.

I feel him near me. Call that twin intuition or false hope, but I sense he’s close by.

“Mr. Hunt is in a meeting.” A woman’s voice trails me. “In his office.”

“Hey, Mr. Hunt.” Another woman crosses my path. “I love the new look. You look at least five years younger like that.”

It’s just another note to pass onto my twin.

I’m just a few steps away from the closed office door when it swings open.

Wearing a white button-down shirt, dark trousers, and suspenders, I see my face reflected back at me. The only difference is the beard covering his.

Victor finishes rolling one of his shirtsleeves to his elbow as he casually studies my face.

Gasps punctuate the silence behind us. It lures my brother’s gaze past me toward his dozens of employees. “Get back to work.”

The scurrying I hear behind me tells me that they’re all doing as told.

I swallow hard and finally take Delia’s advice when his gaze lands back on my face. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he says back. “Come in and take a seat.”

“Is it Mom?” Victor asks I settle into one of the three leather chairs that face a large steel desk.

I’ve followed his career closely enough to know he owns one of the largest residential real estate firms on the Eastern coast. My brother has made a success of his life. I’m proud of him. Maybe one day I can tell him that.

“Mom’s good,” I assure him. “She’s living…”

“In Montana,” he finishes my sentence the same way he used to do when we were kids.

“You’ve kept tabs on her?”

He rakes his hand through his hair the same way I often do with mine. The simple gesture catches me off guard. “I worry about her, Donovan.”

That shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. He left with our father after our mom realized he was cheating on her. Our dad crawled into bed with our mother’s best friend whenever he had the chance for years.

Our mom wanted out of the marriage, but she wouldn’t say why in front of Victor or me, even though we were old enough to understand. I didn’t learn the full truth until years later when she confessed it all. She didn’t want to tarnish my image of my dad even though he had broken her heart.

Protecting those she loves, or once loved, had proven to be her downfall.

She may have lost a disrespectful partner when she split with my dad, but she lost a son, too.

Victor left town with our father because the lies he told my brother outweighed his ability to see the situation for what it was.

He believed it was my mother who broke her vows. Victor saw her actions as the source for the decimation of our family. I tried to reason with him, but all that got me was a black eye.

“She worries about you.”

That lures his gaze back to my face. “What does that mean?”

If it were decades ago, I’d snap back that I’ve always been the smarter one, but Victor held his own. He graduated with a business degree from a college in Indiana. He started working at a real estate office then, handling rentals.

He got married, but was divorced within eighteen months. A short engagement to another woman followed that, but that didn’t lead anywhere. From what I could tell by scouring social media and every online article I could find about him, he’s devoted his time to his business since relocating to Boston and building this juggernaut of a company that is now worth more than a billion dollars.

His commitment to get to this place in his life is admirable.

“She loves you, Victor.” I scan one of the walls of his office and all of the framed awards and certificates of recognition.

“How do you know that?” His voice is firm and etched with the pain that I often hear in mine when I talk to my mom.

My gaze stalls when I spot a silver frame just to the left of his display of accomplishments. “You love her, too.”

He glances in the same direction I’m looking. “That’s Mom when she was pregnant with us. She was only a few weeks along but look at the glow on her face.”

I stand and approach the frame. I pluck it off the wall and study the image. It was taken so long ago, but the color is still vibrant. Our mom is sitting on a log on a beach somewhere. Her legs are tanned. Her hair is shorter than I ever remember it being.

“Where did you get this?”

“It was the only picture Dad had of her.” He leans back to look toward the ceiling. “Before I cut ties with him, I stole it out of an album he had.”

I want to laugh at his admission that he stole something, but I’m stuck on another part of what he said. “You cut ties with Dad?”

He pushes to stand. “Two, maybe three years ago, now. I ran into an old neighbor of ours from when we were kids. She had a lot to tell me.”

“What neighbor?”

“One of the ones he was screwing behind Mom’s back.” He winces. “From what she said, there were a few of them.”

That’s information my mother doesn’t need to know. The pain of my dad’s betrayal haunted her for years, and even though she’s moved on with Barry, I don’t want to drag up her past for fear it will impact her future.

“Where did you run into this old neighbor?” I question, though it doesn’t matter.

“The Upper East Side.” He clears his throat. “Maybe a block and half from your townhouse.”

I almost drop the frame in my hands. “What? You were there two or three years ago? You know where I live?”

“Yeah to both,” he admits. “I’ve been there a few times since.”

“You’ve been to New York a few times in the past few years?”

“More than a few times in the past few years and at least three times in the past few months,” he admits as he steps closer. “I made it as far as the door of Premier Pet Care before I turned around and walked away.”

I close the distance between us with heavy steps. The picture of our mother is still clutched in my hands. “Victor.”

“What the fuck was I going to say to you?” He shakes his head. “Or to Mom. I broke her heart, Donovan. I destroyed it.”

“She loves you,” I reiterate. “She’d give anything to see you.”

Again, his hand heads to his hair just as mine makes a path to mine. We laugh in unison.

“You need to see her,” I insist. “And you need to meet Delia.”

“Delia?” His dark brows pinch together. “Who is Delia?”

“The woman I love.” I smile. “The incredible woman I love.”

He softly punches my shoulder. “You’re in love?”

“I’m going to be a dad, too.”

“Shut the fuck up.” He launches himself at me, taking me in for a hug I’ve waited decades for. “You’re going to have a family, Donovan.”

I step back to pat his cheek the way I always did when we were kids and sharing a tender moment. “I already do. I have Mom, and now I have you, too.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Delia

“Who knew that both of our brothers were nice guys?” I smile as I gaze at a bouquet of pink roses Matthew dropped off on his way to work this morning. He knows that today is a special day for us.

Donovan laughs. “Your brother is a nicer guy than mine. You’ll see that for yourself when Victor comes to New York next week.”

It’s been weeks since Donovan first visited his brother in Boston. They’ve spoke on the phone repeatedly since then as they’ve worked through their differences.

“He’s coming to New York?” I spin in a tight circle. “Should I wear this when I meet him?”

“You’re going to marry me one day, Delia,” I remind her. “My brother doesn’t need to see you in that bikini.”

I glance down at it. “I put it on to see if I look any different than I did on the cruise.”

It’s been eleven weeks since we got back, and today is the day we have our first sonogram. It’s also the day that we tell the rest of my family that we’re having a baby, or two.

“You’re more beautiful now than you were then,” he says from where he’s sitting on the edge of my bed.

That reminds me…

I turn to face him. “I have a question for you.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” he says before I can get another word in. “I have a ring, Delia. I don’t have it on me because I’m naked right now.”

It’s impossible for me not to notice that since he slid into me bare less than an hour ago.

We stopped using condoms shortly after we realized I was pregnant. The sex has been incredible and frequent. I’m insatiable and he hasn’t complained once about that.

“You bought a ring?”

“Of course, I did.” He chuckles. “I told you that we’ll be married before long. If you want that to happen before our baby arrives, we’ll do it. If you want the baby to be there with us when we exchange vows, I’ll wait it out.”

“I’ll wait for the ring,” I tell him. “I want you to surprise propose to me.”

“That’s a little hard to do.” He accentuates that by stroking his semi-hard cock.

“It’s not a little hard,” I note. “It’s getting very hard again.”

“Because you’re wearing a fucking bikini, Delia.”

“You know what’s underneath all of this.” I gesture up and down my body. “You’ve seen it a million times.”

“It’s a million less times than I want to see it,” he counters. “Strip and climb on top of me.”

I’d weigh the pros and cons of that but I can’t come up with one con.

“We have time before our appointment,” he says, falling onto his back. “Fuck me.”

“That sounds like an order,” I say as I tug on the strings holding the bikini bottoms in place.

“Damn right it is. I want one of your nipples in my mouth in the next twenty-seconds while your sweet pussy takes me deep.”

I don’t need to hear another word before my bikini lands on the floor and I’m on top of the man I’ll never get enough of.

“You wanted to ask me a question before you fucked me earlier,” Donovan whispers into my ear. “What was it?”

I glance toward the reception desk. We’re currently waiting for our sonogram appointment. “How am I supposed to remember anything after what we did?”

“We’ll do it again tonight.”

“Promise?” I ask.

“Promise,” he answers. “What was it? It seemed important. I know I interrupted with my talk about a ring.”

I don’t have to search my memory to recall what I wanted to ask him, but now doesn’t feel like the right time.

“Please, Delia,” he pleads. “Whatever it is, the answer is yes.”

I stare into his eyes. “You’ll move in with me?”

He takes my mouth in a soft kiss. “Hell, yes, I will.”

I considered the idea of selling my penthouse so I could move in with Donovan, but it’s part of Grace’s legacy and I want it to be part of my family’s, too. To that end, I take this discussion a step further since we’re still waiting for the most important news about our future.

“I’m going to accept a teaching job at Fortman Academy.”

Donovan’s face lights up. “The private school? That Fortman?”

“On the Upper West Side,” I say even though I know he’s well aware of where it’s located. “I’ll start teaching third grade next year after I’ve had some time with our baby.”

“I love that plan.”

“There’s more.” I steal a glance at the receptionist. “Since I adopted Ralph, it’s made me think more about what I can do with some of the money Grace left me.”

“You want to contribute to the animal shelter?” He smiles.

“Yes.” I nod. “I also want to start the wheels in motion to set up a fund that will help kids who need tutoring. It’ll take time to work that all out, but Roman is willing to help me with the legal side of things.”

“I’ll do what I can to help with anything you need.”

“Miss Hawthorne?” the receptionist calls out. “We’re ready for you.”

“They’re ready for us.” I reach for the hand of the man I love. “Let’s go see how beautiful our baby is.”

He kisses my palm as we both stand. “Or babies.”

EPILOGUE

Delia

Six Months Later

“A magician named Clever almost made Mommy disappear off of a cruise ship right around the time you were conceived,” I say to my swollen belly.

“What in the ever loving fuck are you talking about?” Callum laughs. “I thought food poisoning was the worst thing you dealt with on that trip. Now, you’re saying you were almost kidnapped by someone named Clever? Is that right? Clever? What the hell kind of name is that?”

“Not a great one.” Donovan strolls into the main living room with a tray of drinks in his hands. “I’ve got beer, and wine. Bianca brought a pitcher of that stellar punch she makes and there’s chilled water here, too.”

“Punch for me, please!” Georgie’s hand darts into the air.

“Me too!” Dora follows that up by grabbing a glass filled with the colorful liquid from the tray.

I smile when I realize Donovan added small pink umbrellas to the glasses for the girls. He thinks of everything.

“You’re going to pop soon.” Nikita approaches where I’m sitting on my couch. “I brought some extra chocolate to tide you over until our sweetheart arrives.”

Our sweetheart. Our beautiful daughter, Grace Marion Hunt, will be in my arms not long from now.

Donovan and I agreed without question that we’d name her after the woman who influenced my life so deeply. Marion is in honor of his mom who has proven time and time again why she’s a hero to both of her sons.

She’s on her way here from the airport now with Victor. Unfortunately, Barry couldn’t make it because he injured his ankle on a hike, but he’ll visit soon. He promised Donovan as much during a phone call last night.

I suggested that Donovan go meet Victor and Marion’s flight, but he told me that his brother wanted more time alone with their mom.

This is the fourth time he’s seen her since they reconnected shortly after Donovan saw him at his office in Boston.

We’ve traveled there together once, and hosted Victor here in our penthouse twice before he purchased Donovan’s townhouse as a base for whenever he visits Manhattan, or their mom makes the trek from Montana to see us.

Mr. Winters laughed when he spotted the twins together in the lobby of our building. Victor recognized him immediately and they shared memories over the course of a few hours and a cup of coffee.

The following day, I let Victor have the honor of giving Mr. Winters a personalized copies of Nicholas Wolf’s entire collection because I knew it would hold even more meaning if Victor handed the books to him.

A knock at the door lures everyone’s gaze in that direction. Roman is closest so he sprints toward it.

“It’s not them,” he announces less than a minute later from the foyer. “It’s Matt and his beautiful fiancée.”

They enter the room together hand-in-hand.

Faith’s locks are back to a light shade of pink. The day she did that, Dora asked for pink hair, too. Bianca compromised by dying the ends pink with a temporary rinse that was gone the next time Dora took a shower.

It was exactly what my niece needed because now she swears she’ll stick with her brown hair forever.

“You thought we were the Hunts?” Matthew shakes his head. “I guess it’s safe to say Victor is the slow twin.”

Donovan laughs. “Is that a thing?”

“It’s a thing.” Georgie nods. “Dora is the slow twin.”

“Um, what?” Dora glances at her sister.

“Add Roman to that list,” Matt quips.

Nikita laughs. “Remind me not to fall in love with an identical twin.”

“You can’t control love like that.” Bianca winks. “I had no intention of falling for a twin, and I did.”

“Same,” Faith says with a light laugh.

“Add me to that list.” I glance at Donovan to find him smiling.

“No way.” Nikita taps her index finger on her palm. “I’m going to fall in love with a man without any siblings because between all of this and my three brothers, the women they love, and their kids, I have all of the family I’ll ever need.”

“You can never have enough family.” Roman moves to touch her shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Delia?”

I rub my growing belly. I’m wearing one of the maternity dresses that Bianca and Faith purchased for me as soon as I started to show. They invited me on a maternity clothes scavenger hunt at a consignment store that Bianca goes to all the time. I picked out a few outfits and when it came time to pay, they split the amount owing right down the middle.

Grace’s generosity has blessed me financially so it’s still hard to accept gifts, but I’m learning to see the value in being grateful for everything sent my way.

Another knock sounds through the room and this time it’s louder.

“It’s Uncle Donovan’s twin!” Dora jumps up and down. “I’ll get it.”

Before anyone can stop her, she disappears around a corner headed in the direction of the door.

“I’m Dora,” she practically yells mere seconds later. “I’m very pleased to meet you, sir and Ma’am.”

Georgie’s arms cross her chest. “She’s nothing but a big show-off.”

“Talk about a big show-off.” Matthew laughs, luring everyone’s gaze to where he’s still standing near the entrance to the living room. “How the hell are you even better looking than Donovan?”

Victor steps into view alongside Marion. Since I’ve only spoken to her via video chat I push myself to my feet.

“We’re identical,” Donovan says as he heads toward his mom and brother. “He looks just like me.”

“You need a new mirror.” Matthew taps his shoulder as he brushes past him. “Or a beard because your brother is a solid ten out of ten.”

Faith laughs. “He is pretty cute.”

“Hey, now.” Matt taps her nose. “I’m cuter.”

I watch Donovan take his mom in his arms before he tugs his brother into the embrace, too.

“Not really,” Dora adds her two cents as she wanders back into the room. “Uncle Donovan and Uncle Victor are cuter.”

“Uncle Victor wears nicer suits than Daddy does,” Georgie points out. “Like way nicer.”

Victor glances at both girls. “I’m liking this Uncle Victor thing.”

“We like you!” Dora and Georgie yell in unison.

I make my way over to my future in-laws. Victor hugs me gently before he makes the introduction. “Delia, this is our mom. She’s the best of the best.”

“My boy.” Marion’s voice quivers before she reaches to pat his cheek. “It’s easy to be the best when you have sons like this.”

I wait until her gaze lands on my face. I drop my hands to circle my belly. “This is Grace Marion Hunt. She’ll be here before we know it.”

She wraps her arms around my neck. “I can’t wait for that day.”

“Me either,” I whisper.

“That doesn’t mean today won’t be memorable,” Donovan says from behind me.

I spin to face him but he’s not where I expect him to be.

The man I love is on one knee in front of me. “Delia, your mom wanted to be here, too, but she couldn’t quite make it.”

Nikita rushes over with her phone in her hand. My mom’s face lights up the screen. “I’m stuck in Bora Bora.”

The room erupts in laughter because if there’s a place to be stranded, Bora Bora is it.

“You look beautiful, Delia,” she whispers. “I can’t wait to hug you all.”

“Get on with it, Hunt,” Matthew says. “We all want to hear her answer.”

This must be it. This has to be the moment I’ve waited months for. I asked Donovan to surprise propose to me, and I think it’s about to happen.

Something else is about to happen, too, because just as he opens his mouth to talk, a burst of something warm and wet floods my panties, seeping down my legs.

“Yes!” I scream at him with nothing but joy edging my tone. “I’ll marry you.”

“Way to ruin the proposal,” Callum says calmly before he follows that with a frantic, “Holy, shit, Delia!”

I glance his way and nod as Faith rushes toward me.

Donovan looks as stunned as I feel. “Did your water just break, Delia?”

Tears blur my vision. “It’s time. Grace is coming now.”

He snaps the lid of the ring box open to give me a preview of the beautiful diamond ring in a platinum setting. “I’m sliding this on your finger as soon as she’s here, unless you want it now.”

“I want to have our baby.” I lean forward to kiss him as my family scrambles to get ready to leave. “Then the ring, and then we make it official.”

“Deal.” He stands. “I’ll carry you to the car.”

“We don’t have a car,” I point out.

“She can walk.” Faith laughs. “I’ve called for a few rideshares. It looks like we’re all headed to the hospital to welcome your little one into our world.”

I cling to Donovan as we take one final moment to stare into each other’s eyes.

“I love you, Delia Hawthorne,” he whispers. “You’re my forever.”

“You will always be mine,” I say as a contraction takes hold of me. “Let’s go meet our daughter.”

Despite what Faith said, he scoops me into his arms and marches past his mom and brother on his way out of our home. I catch the broad smiles on both of their faces.

We step out of the penthouse to find Donovan’s cousin Reid exiting the elevator. “What the fuck is happening right now?”

“She’s coming!” I call out to him as he holds the elevator doors open so we can enter. “Grace is coming!”

“Life can’t get much better than this, can it?” Donovan asks me as we rush toward the elevator with a very excited Dora and Georgie right behind us.

“I think it will,” I say with all the confidence I feel in my heart. “I think this is just our beginning and the best is yet to come.”

COMING SOON

A BRAND NEW NOVEL

I agreed to be a stranger’s maid of honor because of the perks.

How was I supposed to know my grump of a boss was the best man?

Reid Hunt has it all – he’s a partner in a private equity firm, his bank account is bulging, and he gets anything he wants at the snap of his fingers.

How do I know?

I’m his executive assistant.

The jerk has me running around New York City at breakneck speed doing menial tasks.

I didn’t earn a degree from a prestigious school for this, but I need the job, at least for now.

So when fun falls in my lap in the form of a desperate heiress looking for someone to be her maid of honor, I agree to do it. It all feels too good to be true including a whirlwind weekend trip to Paris to choose her wedding dress and champagne tasting after work.

I’m having the time of my life until the night I meet the groom and his best man at one of the most expensive restaurants in Manhattan.

Fate gets the last laugh when Mr. Hunt heads straight to our table and sits down beside me.

He’s the worst best man ever. I’m the maid of honor who loves to hate him.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness my life explode.

Coming soon

MORE BOOKS? YES, PLEASE!

Are you up for another series? If so, I have just the one for you, including someone you just met!

Are you curious about Nicholas Wolf and his writing? Read his story now as well as the rest of the Wolf brothers in TENSE.

CHAPTER ONE OF TENSE

Sophia

"Do you like it? Some people have said it's too long. It's thick when you're holding it in your hands, isn't it?" The tone is masculine. It's low and throaty, emanating somewhere from my right.

Such is the conversation on subway trains in New York City. You'd think I'd be oblivious to it all by now. Most people who have lived here for decades have an innate ability to silence the staccato sounds of voices, traffic, and the underlying hum that is constantly hanging in the air in Manhattan.

For those of us who are considered recent transplants, the timbres of the city are still a part of its undeniable charm. I never thought I'd grow accustomed to the constant buzz beyond my bedroom window when I closed my eyes to sleep each night, but now it's the lull the helps me drift off. I've only been here for two years, but I know I'd crave the frenzied energy of this place if I ever decided to move back home to rural Florida.

"I'd like your honest opinion." I feel the slight pressure of a shoulder rub against mine. "Chapter seven is my personal favorite. Have you gotten that far into it yet?"

I glance down at the thick book resting on my lap. I now know, without a doubt, that he's talking to me. I've already had two, one-sided, conversations about the book today. The first was with a woman waiting in line at the dry cleaners. The other was just fifteen minutes ago with the man who owns the bodega by my office. In both cases, I just smiled, nodded and listened to them rattle on about the awe-inspiring detective novel I'm lugging around Manhattan with me.

"I haven't," I answer without looking at him.

No eye contact will make it easier for me to ignore him if he persists. I'm not a rude person, but I do know how to protect myself with a perimeter of ignorance. Men give up quickly if you pretend they don't exist. Most men do, that is. This one doesn't seem to be taking the hint.

"What page are you on?" A large hand brushes against my navy blue skirt. "You've made it past the first chapter, right?"

Physical touching is a no-no. I scoot more to my left, trying to gain a few more inches from him. This train is bursting at capacity with commuters. Part of that is the time of day, and the other is the route.

It's early evening, and I'm Times Square bound. It's one of the few places in the city I'd be happy never seeing again. It's not for me. There are too many people, too much noise; the smells are overwhelming, and the pace is frenetic.

"I'm not trying to accost you." He laughs. It's a sexy growl and a few women turn to see the source. Judging by the way they linger when they look at him, he's not hard on the eyes.

"I'm just trying to get to a book signing," I confess, hoping he'll leave me alone if I tell him, politely, that I'm not looking to hook up. "I need to get this signed for my boss. It's a birthday gift from his wife."

"You're hoping to meet the author? Nicholas Wolf? I heard the line for the signing is around the block. People have been waiting since this afternoon to meet him."

"Dammit." I finally turn to look at him. "You're not serious, are you?"

He's as good looking as I imagined him to be based on his voice. Seriously hot. As in, I-will-give-this-man-my-number-if-he-asks-for-it, hot.

Black hair, blue eyes and the stubble shading his jaw are the appetizers. A perfect smile, chiseled features and his lips, oh those lips, are the main course. He's wearing a dark wool coat and jeans so who knows what dessert is, but it would be delicious. I know it would be delicious.

"I'm serious," he says. "If you get in line now, the store is going to close before you get that book signed for your boss."

I roll my eyes. "I don't get the appeal. I have no idea why Gabriel likes it so much. He told me to read it, so I started to read the first chapter and…" I point my thumb toward the floor.

"Thumbs down?" He knits his brow. "You didn't like it?"

"It's too wordy. I was so bored I couldn't finish it."

He stares at the book before he speaks again, “I take it Gabriel is your boss? You're getting it signed for him?"

I nod sharply.

"Give it to me. I'd like to show you something."

It's not my book, and since we're moving at breakneck speed inside a subway car, it's not as though he can grab it and run. I slide it from my lap to his.

"What's your name?" he asks as his hand dives into a brown leather messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

I watch his every movement. "Sophia. My name is Sophia. What's your name?"

He pulls a silver pen from the bag and before I can protest, he opens the cover of the book and starts writing.

Well, shit. I bet it's his number. I'm not going to stop him. I'll just buy another book for Mr. Foster and keep this one for myself.

He closes the cover of the book with a firm snap, slides the pen back into the bag and turns to look at me. "My name is Nicholas. Nicholas Wolf."

"Sure," I scoff. Does he think I was born yesterday? The author of the book that he's holding in his hands is way too successful to be riding the subway to his own book signing. Nicholas Wolf must have a driver at his permanent disposal to take him wherever he wants to go. Besides, all I need to do is pull out my phone and do a quick search for the renowned author. Judging by the verbose text in the book, Nicholas Wolf is a ninety-year-old retired English professor. "You think I'm naïve enough to fall for that? Nice try but you're not him."

"You don't strike me as naïve." He flips the book over and raises it so the back cover is next to his face. "See the resemblance?"

I've never bothered to glance at anything other than the moody artwork on the front cover and the few scant pages I forced myself to read. There, in the corner of the back cover of the book I've had in my possession all day, is a small headshot of the man sitting next to me.

There's a smug grin on the face of the guy I'm talking to. The photographic version on the book has a sexy scowl, shorter hair and a pair of black rimmed glasses framing his gorgeous eyes. I doubt I would have recognized him as the same person even if I was aware of what the illustrious Nicholas Wolf looked like before I sat down next to him.

Dammit. I insulted him. I told him his book was boring. It's the same work that's won him numerous awards and landed him a spot at the top of every bestseller list there is.

"I should probably apologize for what I said about your book." I try to force a smile.

He narrows his eyes as he studies me. "Were you being honest when you said it was boring?"

I've got nothing to lose at this point. There's no way in hell he'd believe me if I told him I was teasing him about his book being a snoozefest. I didn't like it. I'll never see him again, so there's no reason for me to be anything but truthful.

"I wasn't lying," I confess, but I don't stop there. I need to buffer my words because I know what it feels like to have your creative work torn apart. There are enough bitchy comments on the pictures I've posted to social media to last me a lifetime. Not everyone likes the clothing I design and I'm the first to admit that it stings to read anything negative about something I've worked tirelessly on. "I should mention that I've never read a detective novel in my life. It's not my thing so please don't take my criticism personally."

"What's your thing?"

I squint at him, trying to decipher what's behind the question. He's still grinning, a clear sign that he didn't take my insult about his work to heart. His skin must be thicker than mine if he can face criticism without even a minor flinch. "What do you mean? What thing? Are you asking me what type of books I like to read?"

"I'm not asking that, but let's start there."

I swallow. "I don't want to start there. I want to know what you meant."

The noticeable slowing of the train draws the commuters around us to their feet. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow at lunch to find out. I have a book signing to get to."

"Tomorrow at lunch?" My eyes follow his movement as he stands. "I'd remember if we had a discussion about lunch tomorrow."

"We didn't. I wrote the details down for you in the book."

I flip open the cover to see an address in the West Village and the words 'tomorrow at noon, Sophia' scribbled in blue ink. He didn't sign the book so I could give it to Gabriel. He used it to invite me to lunch.

"This isn't my book." I sigh. "I can't give this to Gabriel's wife now."

"I have an advance copy of my next release in here." He pats the front of his bag. "I'm reading a chapter tonight before I answer questions and sign books. It's yours if you'll have lunch with me."

Why do I feel like this total stranger is coercing me into sharing a meal with him? He's hot and normally I'd find an interaction like this charming, but he still has that arrogant grin plastered on his face. He's confident I'll show and what's worse is that he knows a big part of that isn't related to the book in his bag. "What if I can't leave the office at noon tomorrow?"

He takes a half-step closer to me as people start to migrate to the door so they can rush off once we stop. "Tell your boss…tell Gabriel who you're meeting. He'll probably give you the entire afternoon off and maybe even a bump in pay."

I'm all for self-confidence but Nicholas Wolf's ego is in a league of its own. I want that book though. Mr. Foster isn't just my employer, he's finally becoming a friend and I'd give almost anything to see the expression on his face and on his wife, Isla's, if I present them with a yet-to-be released book written by their favorite author.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sophia." His fingertips graze my shoulders. "This was a pleasure."

A pleasure? That's one way to describe it. I'm leaning more toward the word clusterfuck but maybe that's just me.

Mr. Foster's birthday is tomorrow and I have nothing to show for it, other than a lunch invitation from a man who clearly sees himself as something special. He might be, hell, he obviously is, but men like Nicholas Wolf are a dime a dozen in Manhattan. They know what they have to offer and they're all too aware that their charm is almost irresistible.

Almost. I know that I can resist.

All I have to do is show up for lunch, get my hands on that book and take it back to the office before the sun sets on Gabriel's birthday.

It's as simple as that.

Click here to continue reading TENSE

THANK YOU

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ALSO BY DEBORAH BLADON

The Obsessed Series

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The Pulse Series

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The Vain Series

Solo

The Ruin Series

The Gone Series

Fuse

The Trace Series

Chance

The Ember Series

The Rise Series

Haze

Shiver

Torn

The Heat Series

Risk

melt

The Tense Duet

Sweat

Troublemaker

Worth

Hush

Bare

Wish

Sin

Lace

Thirst

Compass

Versus

Ruthless

Bloom

Rush

Catch

Frostbite

Xoxo

He Loves Me Not

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The Blush Factor

BULL

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Starlight

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Sweetheart

Trust

Greed

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deborah Bladon has never read a romance hero she didn't like. Her love for romance novels began when she was old enough to board the bus, library card in hand to check out the newest Harlequin paperbacks. She's a Canadian by heart, and by passport, but you can often spot her in New York City sipping a latte and looking for inspiration for her next story. Manhattan is definitely her second home.

She cherishes her family and believes that each day is a gift for writing, for reading, and for loving.