Blurb
The summer before my senior year of high school I had only one goal: to make Alden Warner see me as more than his best friend’s annoying little sister.
Finally, my wish came true and he noticed me. In a big way. Too bad that the next morning he had no memory of our night together, leaving me heartbroken, and as I later discovered…pregnant.
For the last four years, I’ve been rocking the single mom thing, making sure my daughter comes first. In fact, everything is going fine—until Alden storms back into my life, as my new boss.
His reappearance wasn’t something I planned for. Add my nosy, meddlesome three-year-old and an overprotective brother, and I’m obviously in way over my head.
My only hope now is that I can sway Alden to see things my way…but you know what they say about the best laid plans…
Prologue
NATALIE
Alden Warner. My brother’s best friend. The boy I’ve loved for as long as I can remember.
I’ve been watching him all night. Which is nothing new—my eyes are drawn to him anytime he’s near.
From the very first time my brother invited him over after school, I was hooked. Even with our almost four year age gap, he didn’t look at me the way Nate and all of his other friends did—with annoyance and frustration.
No, he always looked at me kindness and patience. Even when I was being annoying and clingy. Hell, even when I tattled on them, he never lost his cool with me.
But tonight, I’m not the only one looking. Nope. He’s looking at me too, and good Lord, there’s fire in his eyes.
At first when Mom said Nate would be chaperoning my party for me, I was upset. But then, Nate invited a few friends and seemingly forgot he was supposed to be in charge.
Currently, I’m in the middle of the living room dancing with my friend Alyssa. He’s posted up against the wall in the corner of the room, his eyes freely roaming my body, transfixed as I roll my hips to beat of the music.
There’s something in the air that feels charged. The kind of energy that says anything could happen. The song changes and I close my eyes, hoping like hell I’m not misreading him. Blinking them back open, I scan the room for my brother—he’s nowhere in sight—good.
I set off toward Alden, hips still swaying, and he noticed. Oh, he notices. When I get close, he takes two steps bringing us toe-to-toe. “Small Fry,” he murmurs, his voice a little slurred.
Feeling bold, I run the tip of my index finger down his chest. “Dance with me?”
He too scans the room before spinning me and pulling me into him. With my ass nestled against him…oh, God…he’s hard. He grips my hips and we move together, every roll, every dip completely in sync.
I startle when his lips come down on my neck. “When did you get so fucking hot?”
My stomach—and things lower—clench. This could be it! He’s finally noticing you! The boy you’ve always loved is noticing you! my brain shouts at me.
I grind back into him and turn my face up to his. “It’s not my fault it took you so long to notice.”
His lips descend on mine, capturing them in a kiss that turns my legs to jelly. I fall back into him, using the hard planes of his body as support. He nips at my lip before pulling back.
He smirks down at me, licking my kiss from his lips as he steps away. I instantly mourn the loss of his heat. But then, he takes my hand and sets off for the stairs. Before I know it, we’re in the guest room he always stays in when he spends the night. He sits down on the edge of the bed and loops his index fingers in my belt loops, tugging me forward.
He flicks open the button to my jeans and I gasp, shocked and turned on by his boldness. A boy my age would never dare. When he begins pulling them down my legs, my breathing accelerates. Just as quickly, he strips me of my shirt, leaving me in nothing more than my matching bra and panty set—though, the bra doesn’t last long.
I think I shock both of us when I say, “What about you?”
He drags his hands around to my ass, squeezing it, before trailing up over my sides and to my breast. “What about me, Small Fry?”
“Are you gonna take your clothes off too?”
He leans forward and takes one of my breasts into his mouth. I moan at the foreign sensation. I’ve heard Alyssa talk about how good it feels, but this…this is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. “Do you want me to?”
“Y-yes.” I can hardly get the word out due to the sensations rioting through my body.
He quickly shucks off his clothes and strips me of my thong. He kisses my right hip and then lower before rolling us so that he is poised above me. I’m not sure which has me feeling more drunk—the two beers and shot I took earlier, or Alden’s touch. “You sure, Small Fry?”
“More than ever,” I murmur, meaning it with my entire being.
1
Natalie
The to-do list of my life definitely has “start a family” on it…somewhere way down near the bottom. You know, after things like college and getting married.
I absolutely imagined myself out of freaking high school; yet here I am, two towns over, buying a pregnancy test. And to top it off, my potential baby daddy—who also happens to be my older brother’s best friend and what feels like a lifelong crush—has no clue we even hooked up.
Talk about mortifying.
I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with Alden Warner since the very first day I met him. Thanks to his mossy green eyes and lopsided smile, I was absolutely enamored with that boy…still am, if I’m being honest. And I finally thought he noticed me. I finally thought he saw me as more than Nate’s little pest of a sister. I was naive enough to think that growing boobs and losing my baby fat would make him suddenly realize he wanted me as much as I wanted him.
And I guess, in a way, he did see me. Only, he had his beer goggles on. We fell into bed together with him apparently unaware of my identity and me thinking he was nowhere near as intoxicated as he was.
What was meant to be the most magical night of my life—what I thought was the turning point in our relationship, so to speak—turned out to be nothing special at all. Sure, I lost my V-card to the boy of my dreams, but what’s the point if he doesn’t even remember it? He literally woke up the next morning with no recollection of the fireworks we created beneath the sheets.
The blank stare he gave me when he asked me why I was in the guest bedroom with him the next day will forever be etched into my mind as one of the top five most humiliating moments of my life.
It was around six-thirty in the morning when the need to pee forced me out of Alden’s arms. I slipped on his shirt, along with my panties, before scurrying to the bathroom. I did my business and attempted to sneak back into bed with him. The thought of us waking up together after our night of bliss was something I was eagerly awaiting.
I could just see it so clearly in my mind: I would roll over to face him and he’d lazily blink his eyes open and run his knuckles over my cheekbone before drawing my lips up to his in a passionate kiss—morning breath be damned. Then, he’d declare his love for me, and we would make the long-distance thing, and the age-gap thing and the brother’s best friend thing work. Because, you know…love!