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“I’m shocked the COO is coming to discuss this himself,” Cathy says.
“Yeah, normally, the CMO would handle it,” Tom chimes in. “And you know he’s capable since they’re brothers. But he insisted that?—”
His words are cut off as the door opens, and Mr. Bradford strolls through, along with another gentleman. Words are spoken, but I can’t focus on anything other than the man standing in front of me.
Brown hair, styled neatly, that I ran my fingers through. Stubble along his jaw that I felt against the inside of my thighs. Whiskey-colored eyes that I looked into as I came over and over again.
My heart squeezes in my chest, and my stomach tightens. I open my mouth to speak, but a bout of nausea has me racing out of the room and into the nearest restroom to throw up.
Holy shit, he’s here.
Nathan Bradford, the COO of Bradford Hotels, is Nate. My Nate!
And then it hits me…the hotel in London. Him being able to get me a room.
He wasn’t just there on business. His family owns the damn hotel!
chapter fifteen
NATE
“I’m so sorry,”Cathy, the woman I’ve been speaking to on the phone to coordinate this meeting, says. “Morning sickness can be rough.”
She continues to speak, but everything she says comes out sounding like the adults inCharlie Brownepisodes because the only thing I can hear is, “Morning sickness can be rough.” It repeats over and over while I try to compute what she just said. What this means.
I know what morning sickness is. My brother and sister-in-law have two kids. I run a company filled with women who get pregnant all the time. But what I can’t seem to wrap my head around is why Paige Abrams would have morning sickness.
Is there another type of morning sickness that I’m unaware of? Because unless there is, that means that Paige—my fucking Paige—is pregnant, which means I’m too late.
I started planning this partnership two months ago with Evan, Kingston’s COO. I was hoping it wouldhappen sooner, but there’s a lot involved when dealing with multimillion-dollar contracts.
It’s been four months since I saw her, and the entire time, while I’ve been thinking about her, she was moving on.
“Sorry about that,” Paige says, walking back through the door. “It must’ve been something I ate.”
It’s a lie I don’t call her out on because this isn’t the time or the place, and if she’s moved on, there’s nothing I can say or do. Hell, for her to be pregnant, it must be serious. I waited four damn months, and I was too late.
“Paige Abrams.” She extends her hand and smiles, but it’s not the smile I love. It’s the fake, forced one she gives when she’s upset, but doesn’t want anyone to know. “Thank you for coming all this way.”
“Nathan Bradford,” I say, taking her hand in mine. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She flinches at my greeting, confirming that she remembers me.
“We’re looking forward to doing business with you, Mr. Bradford.”
“Please,” I say, releasing her hand even though I don’t want to lose the connection, “my dad is Mr. Bradford. Call me Nate.”
She nods and walks past me, her floral scent hitting my senses—the one I tried to memorize, but my memories didn’t do it justice.
“Our team has put together some marketing ideas we think will work wonderfully with the collectionwe’d like to pair with your hotel.”
Everyone has a seat, and Paige takes charge, going through their marketing pitch. The idea is genius. Kingston Limited will be creating an exclusive Hotel Collection for Bradford Hotels, where guests who wish to purchase the package will experience different cocktails throughout their stay at our hotel.
I already looked over the marketing plan on the plane ride over and know they came up with damn good ideas, so I don’t feel too bad when I tune out what she’s talking about and spend the next half hour focusing onher.
Her hair has grown out a bit, and she’s lightened it with more blonde. It’s up in a tight ponytail, reminding me of when I took her from behind and she moaned when I tugged on her hair, begging me for more.
Her makeup is professional, and her lips are plump and glossy. I’d bet if I kissed her, she’d taste as sweet as I remember. She’s wearing a simple white button-down blouse and a black pencil skirt, and aside from it being a bit snug on her, she doesn’t look pregnant. Which has me wondering if maybe her assistant was wrong. Maybe it was something Paige ate, and she hasn’t moved on and gotten pregnant.