Chapters (42)
- Dedication
- Prologue
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Chapter Twenty-One
- Chapter Twenty-Two
- Chapter Twenty-Three
- Chapter Twenty-Four
- Chapter Twenty-Five
- Chapter Twenty-Six
- Chapter Twenty-Seven
- Chapter Twenty-Eight
- Chapter Twenty-Nine
- Chapter Thirty
- Chapter Thirty-One
- Chapter 32
- Chapter Thirty-Two
- Chapter Thirty-Three
- Epilogue One
- Epilogue Two
- This Is Forever
- Tempt The Hookup
- Books By Natasha Madison
- Acknowledgments
As soon as I hang up the phone, the door buzzes. I walk over, expecting it to be my food. Instead, Vivienne’s standing there soaking wet, and she’s holding the fish tank in her hands. “Are you crazy?” she shrieks, and all I can do is look at her. “You sent me a pet.”
“It’s a fish. I don’t think it qualifies as a pet,” I tell her, and she shoves the bowl lightly into my stomach.
“Why would you do that?” she hisses as I hold the bowl. “Why would you throw that responsibility at me?” she shrieks.
“It’s a fish,” I say slowly. “An easy fish.”
“Good,” she says, throwing up her hands. “Then you keep it. Send me pictures.” She turns and walks back toward the elevator, all the time talking to herself in French.
“Wait a second, don’t you want to come in?” I ask, looking down at the fish.
“No,” she answers, pressing the button and then the sound of lightning rocks through the walls.
I put the fishbowl down by my feet and run to her, grabbing her hand. “Please come in.”
“You sent me a pet,” she says. “A pet that I need to feed and make sure that it doesn’t die.”
“It was supposed to be cute,” I say, trying to hide my amusement.
“If you want to be cute, send me a pair of shoes!” she yells. “A purse.”
“Fine,” I say. “I promise to never send you anything alive again.” The elevator comes up, and I watch to see if she gets in, but she doesn’t move.
“I walked here, fuming.” She starts to say and crosses her arms over her chest. “Thank God, I put on this jacket.” She looks down at the jacket and so do I. It’s down to her knees, a trench coat of sorts, and it’s tied at her waist.
“Do you want to come in and dry off?” I ask her.
“I’m not wearing anything under this,” she says, and I tilt my head. “Well, I’m wearing my bra and panties.”
“Are you telling me that you walked here naked to return a fishbowl to me?” I ask her, putting my hands in my hair.
“You sent me a pet. A pet.” She points at me, and I take her finger now and pull her into my house, picking up the fishbowl and putting it on the table. “I think it’s even dead.”
I close the door behind her. “Did it come with a box?” I ask her, and she nods. “Did you open the box?”
“Briefly,” she says, crossing her arms over her head. “I read the note and then came here.”
“Naked,” I say, my eyes roaming up and down, wondering what she’s wearing under there. My heart speeds up, thinking about it.