Stopped at a red light, I glanced over to my passenger passed out on side of my car. Miss Danary was completely tuckered out after our date, falling asleep almost instantly the moment I started driving.She had spent the last couple of hours exploring the bookshelves at the café and telling me all about her favorite books and pointing out the ones she had a home. She was so excited by the collection of rare books and new up-and-coming ones that she barely even sat down to take a single sip of water. She dragged me from one shelf to another without any resistance. Leaning against me as she reached for certain paperbacks on the higher shelves. Talking to me with barely any stutter. It was almost as if she had forgotten her fear of being around men. It was the complete opposite of her usual timid demeanor. It was like I saw her for the first time, the real Miss Danary beneath all her protective walls. However, our time was cut short when she realized that it was already 3 PM in the

Croissants. Croissant donuts. Pain au Chocolat. Baguettes. It wasn't exactly the type of sweets that they preferred...Danary asked me if I wanted to join her and Liam on their weekend trips to a library, to which I eagerly accepted. Apparently, there was a lecture that Liam was interested in at the Morgan Library and Museum in midtown this week in particular, so she told me to wait in front of this french bakery shop near the library as a meeting point. I had gotten here a bit earlier than planned and decided to look around the shop to pick out a few snacks, but I couldn't decide what to get them. Liam and his mother tended to like fruity desserts, which this bakery shop didn't exactly have, leaving me confounded. Instead, the bakery had a lot of freshly baked bread, but I didn't know what type of bread they liked. Sourdough, wheat, or just normal? Soft or crusty? Lighter or darker bake?Maybe I could get them baguettes, butter, and some specialty jams... They had freshly in-hous

I checked my phone for the umpteenth time today. There was still no response. I messaged him this morning with our usual good morning text messages while I was getting changed for work, but he still hasn't responded, even though he almost always replies within 10 minutes. I haven't seen him all day at work either, but it was already almost noon. Was he not coming in today? But he would tell me beforehand if that was the case or at least let me know in reply to a message, right? Or was I expecting too much? After all, Rafael is a busy man. He's the head of Cordova Industries, the wealthiest and most powerful man in the country. I couldn't expect him to always think of me when he had other things to do. Maybe I was just being overly paranoid, but I couldn't stop myself from feeling antsy about his absence. He did seem to be growing increasingly tired over the last week.Even though he still always came to my house to have dinner with Liam and me, I could tell that he was exhausted

I woke up with a heavy weight draped over my body in a wonderfully warm embrace. My senses were filled with the soothing scent of a familiar deep cologne, and all I wanted to do was snuggle up even further into big... firm... pecs?My eyes immediately snapped awake when I realized that I had not been cozying up to a bunch of pillows. Rather, I was lying on Rafael's broad chest and rubbed my cheek against his pecs like some sort of pervert.My cheeks immediately flushed at the sight of his naked form laying underneath me. I could feel every inch of his muscles naturally flexing under my touch.In my panic from finding him in such an ill state, I didn't have a chance to fully appreciate his lack of a shirt until now. I was too busy replacing the towel on his forehead and trying to make something for him to eat out of the few ingredients that he kept in his apartment.He had been asleep for the most part, letting his fever die down with rest, but he did wake up briefly last night. He was

Mrs. Cordova was a highly energetic person, to say the least. She had a bubbly personality that could easily draw a long person in, the exact opposite of her quiet husband and her son. But she also had an air of confidence to her that demanded respect despite the fact she was nearly as short as me.With an arm hooked with mine, she bombarded her favorite cafe with a boisterous voice, asking for her usual seat. I wanted to shrivel away under all the eyes that were instantly drawn to us, but the employees seemed to be used to Mrs. Cordova's bubbly personality as they happily showed her to her "usual" seat and laughed at her antics as she randomly pointed new things in the cafe from the last time she visited.I was a bit uncomfortable with everyone's attention. They whispered very poorly to each other about us, asking about who was with the madam of the Cordova household. However, Mrs. Cordova easily pulled my attention away from their whispers with the mere mention of Rafael's name.She