He’d dressed in seconds, kissing her forehead, promising he’d be back, promising this wasn’t over.
But in his panic, he’d forgotten to leave his number, and she’d been too shocked, too overwhelmed to think to ask.
When she’d woken up alone hours later, the sheets still smelling like him, she’d felt the first cold fingers of doubt curl around her heart.
He was Carter Sullivan. Billionaire entrepreneur. CEO of Sullivan Enterprises. She’d looked him up afterward, seen the articles, the photos of him with beautiful women at charity events and business galas all over New York and beyond.
He lived in a world so far removed from hers they might as well have been on different planets.
Maybe he regretted it. Maybe it had been a moment of weakness, a night of slumming it with the regular people. Maybe he’d woken up relieved that she hadn’t left her number, that he could forget the whole thing ever happened.
Pride had kept her from seeking him out. Pride and fear and the bone‑deep certainty that she couldn’t survive being rejected by him.
Until the test had shown positive.
Until she’d realized she was carrying his child.
That changed everything.
He deserved to know.
She’d spent weeks gathering courage, rehearsing what she’d say. She’d looked up the address of Sullivan Enterprises’ headquarters in midtown Manhattan, arrived early, her heart hammering against her ribs.
And that receptionist—that cruel, beautiful woman—had looked at her like she was dirt on her shoe.
Natalie had tried to explain, had tried to convey the urgency without revealing too much. But the woman’s eyes had been as cold as polished marble, and before Natalie knew what was happening, she was being escorted out by security guards who wouldn’t meet her gaze.
So she’d waited.
What else could she do? Carter had to leave eventually. Had to see her eventually.
She’d stand here all day if she had to.
She just hadn’t accounted for how weak she’d feel. How the humid New York summer would drain her. How her vision would start to swim and her knees would start to buckle.
The glass doors of Sullivan Enterprises burst open.
And suddenly he was there.
