
244 readers · 10 chapters · 3 free
The familiar click of my penthouse door echoed through the marble foyer as I stepped inside, dropping my luggage with a soft thud against the imported Italian tile. Six months early. Six months of grueling business negotiations in London, condensed into three thanks to my relentless drive to return home. To return to Dexter. "Surprise," I whispered to myself, a smile tugging at my exhausted face despite the jet lag pulling at my limbs. I'd imagined his reaction a hundred times during the red-eye flight—his arms wrapping around me, his lips finding mine, his voice murmuring how much he'd missed me. How he couldn't wait to start our wedding preparations properly now that I was back. But something was wrong. The scent hit me first—vanilla candles. Rich, sweet vanilla that had never