“No,” I said, voice cracking. “I don’t know anything. Just ‘Caleb.’ And that’s not even real.”
“Damn…”
I covered my face, ashamed of what I was about to say. “I fell in love with a stranger,” I whispered. “And now I’m carrying his baby. Bree… what the hell is happening to my life?”
Bree exhaled slowly. “Baby… I don’t know. But we gon’ figure it out.”
I sat in my thoughts, thinking about what was coming. Bree’s words held no wait right now because I didn’t feel figured out. I felt undone.
I sat on my bed hours later, scrolling through old photos from the resort. Sunsets, food pics, random snaps but not one of him. We were too busy vibing and fucking each other to touch our phones. I Googled “Caleb + Resort + 3 nights + private suites.”Nothing. I tried “Caleb + business trips.”Nothing.“Caleb + tall light-skinned beard rich,” and still came up with absolutely nothing. I laughed at myself. A pathetic, exhausted, half-choked laugh. I didn’t know his last name., or where he lived, or what he did for a living. I Didn’t even know if the nigga was single, taken, married, poly—nothing. He was basically a fantasy… A week-long fever dream.
A man I was never supposed to see again. Except now, I had a piece of him growing inside me.
Every night, I replayed that bathtub moment. His hands on my hips, his voice in my ear,
his dick deep inside of me, exploring every part of my body. I wondered if he ever thought about me too. If he woke up remembering me or lied to himself the same way I did. If he ever whispered “no strings” while wishing he’d said something else. I pressed a hand to my stomach.
“What the hell is happening…” I whispered to the dark.
I wasn’t just pregnant… I was in love with a man who didn’t exist, At least… not in my world. Not anymore.
Chapter 10
Niko
Christmas passed up there in those mountains, but it didn’t feel like Christmas to me. No holiday cheer, or family, or pretending to be happy. Just snow, heat and bending that pretty ass woman over every chance I got. I hated the holidays. Always did. Too many memories I spent years trying to forget. But somehow, wrapped up in her for that week, it was the first Christmas in a long time that didn’t hurt. That should’ve been my first warning. By the time I got back to Dallas, it was damn near New Year’s. I told myself I’d leave everything from Winter Haven right where it happened—Her laugh… her slim thick body, the way she moaned when I was knee deep in her pussy, I lied to myself.
The minute I stepped off that plane, I threw myself straight into work. I had shit to do anyway — media runs, private tastings, new menu launches for the Buckhead and Miami spots, staff meetings, franchise talk, investors blowing up my phone. I stayed moving because staying still wasn’t an option. It was the nights that fucked with me. The silence in my high-rise condo, when I’m sitting still and my brain finally stops moving is when she invades every thought I tried to ignore.Elise. I knew thatwasn’t what her mama named her. She hesitated before she said it, but I let her keep the lie because I had one too.
One night I got drunk and even tried calling Winter Haven. I played it cool and asked the front desk lady if she could connect me with a guest who checked in under Elise Winters. I tried flirting with her mean ass, but she shut that shit down fast.
“We don’t release guest information, Mr. Frost. Privacy policy.”
I’d ran into a brick wall. I had no last name for her. No real name and no clue to even figure out who she was or where to find her. I decided to do what I did best… keep my head down, handle my business and pretend she wasn’t living rent free in the back of my head every day. I was in the Plano kitchen going over the final touches on a tasting menu when my phone buzzed. I almost ignored it until I saw the name. My mother. I stepped away from the line and answered.
“Ma, what’s up?”
“Niko, baby… I need you to come by the house,” she said. Her voice was soft, but there was a shake underneath it I hadn’t heard in years. “Tonight, please.”
That alone told me something was wrong. “You alright?”
“I’m fine.” She paused. “It’s your father I’m worried about. And the company. We need to talk.”
“I’ll be there in an hour, ma.”
“Thank you, baby.”
I hung up, gave my sous-chef a few instructions, and headed out.
The Frost estate sat behind a gate that screamed money. I had grown up there, but it had never felt like home. Home was thekitchen I built with my own hands, and the restaurants that carried my name in the streets. Still, when my mother called, I came. I already knew what the hell she wanted to talk about. She’d called me while I was up at Winter Haven, and I ignored it on purpose because I wasn’t trying to hear another word about this proposal bullshit my father had cooked up, but Ma wasn’t the type to push unless something was really wrong. And the sound of her voice on the phone earlier was something I couldn’t ignore.
She met me in the sitting room; hands wrapped around a mug I was sure held the black coffee she always drank when she was stressed. Her hair was pinned back neat, like she was trying to keep herself together, but her eyes told a different story… she was tired. This talk wasn’t about ego or tradition or my father’s obsession with legacy; something was actually wrong.
I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You good?”
“I’m managing,” she said, which was Ma’s way of sayingno, but I’ll tell you when I’m ready.
“Sit.”
