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Chapter 1
Emersyn
I tried my best to balance the bag of groceries in my hand and the phone in the other. After leaving my book club tonight, I was ready to crack open the latest novel we'd picked up.
“Are you home yet?” Sanya asked.
Leaning down I stumbled to pick up the keys on the ground, when a large hand reached out, snatched them up, and held them out to me. Rising straight up, I stared into the sexiest, darkest coal black eyes I'd ever seen before.
“Do you need some help?” he asked. His deep gravelly voice pierced my heart.
“Ye-Yes,” I stammered, clearing my throat. He extended his hand holding the keys. He grazed my fingers. With deliberate intent to not stare, I took the keys back.
“Emersyn, are you okay?!” Sanya yelled.
I nodded like she was here in front of me, instead of on the phone to answer her question. I felt like I was in a trance gazing at the man in front of me smoking a cigar. Smirking at me, he took the phone out of my hand without protest and spoke to Sanya.
He angled a glance down at me. “Emersyn looks fine to me,” he said into my phone.
I finally blinked, my eyes coming out of the weird spell he had on me and glared at him. “That's my phone!” I snapped, rolling my neck and poking my lip out.
I tried to grab the phone out of his hand.
“Who is this?” Sanya barked.
Licking his lips, the stranger closed the space between us. “Tell her you're okay, Emersyn.”
Why I would consider going along with his command left me confused. But in the next breath I found myself following his order. “Sanya, I'm fine.” I hung up the phone and turned on my heel to walk up the stairs of my apartment when he stepped in front of me again.
His large, calloused hand stretched out to me. “I'm Esteban Munoz.”
Glancing down at his offered hand, I shook it, feeling his tight grip. I pulled away to avoid his intense stare and lowered my eyes.
My skin became erect with goosebumps. “Emersyn Randolph,” I murmured. Meanwhile I was cursing in my head for giving him my real name.
He cocked his head to the side. “Nice to meet you, Emersyn.”
Sliding the key in the door, I looked over my shoulder as he stood at the bottom of the stairs. I stepped inside my apartment and shut the door behind me. I immediately headed to the window, moved the curtain aside, and watched Esteban slide inside a long stretch limo I never noticed.
“Esteban,” I whispered, easing my jacket off and stepping out of my high heels. I’m exhausted from this long day. After the book club meeting, I told Sanya I would have lunch with her tomorrow after she gets off work at the bar. I put my groceries away then poured a glass of wine, thinking about the man that I ran into who held me hostage with his beautiful stare. His intensity gave me chills all over again.
The last date I had was three months ago and the guy only wanted to come back to my place and have sex. I pretty much put myself on a timeout with dating men because they all turn out the same as my ex-boyfriend, Dwayne. We were college sweethearts, and I thought we were headed for marriage one day, but I got the shock of my life when a woman showed up at my college dorm room pregnant. Now three years later, I see them happy and in love on social media.
Living in New York and working as a cashier at a bookstore was my dream. All of my life I wanted to be surrounded by books and meet my favorite authors. Being single in the city, I lived through all of the romance novels’ characters, hoping I’d one day run into the man of my dreams and fall in love.
“Wishful thinking, Emersyn.” I snickered, gulping the rest of my wine. Undoing my ponytail, I let my braids fall down to my back, turning the channel on the tv to the local news and pausing at what was being shown.
“We have the opening of the nightclub Passions in one month and the billionaire bachelor and owner, Esteban Munoz, is letting women come in free for the first weekend. Wonder who will be on his arm?” the Channel Seven News anchor reported. I froze, staring at the same face I met a little less than an hour ago.
“Esteban Munoz, billionaire bachelor,” I muttered, reaching for my phone, then dialing Sanya’s number.
“Emersyn, this better be good.” Sanya’s groggy voice seeped through the phone.
“Sanya, you won’t believe what happened to me.”
I heard her yawning through the phone. “What happened?”
“The guy that picked up my keys from the ground? I saw him on tv.”
