He looked over at me and smiled. His warm, hazel eyes gleamed as I met his gaze. He reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Don’t be silly, Liv. Of course I’d pick you up and take you back home. I hope that with you being back at our house, it’ll help you with your memory.”
“
Our
house?” I repeated, surprised by this revelation.
“Yes, we live together.” He tried to hide the frown on his face as he turned his gaze forward and looked straight at the road.
“How long have we lived together?”
“About three months before the accident.”
“I’m sorry, Connor,” I said softly as I realized how hard this must be for him.
He looked over at me and pulled my hand up toward his lips and gently kissed it. “Don’t be. I know this is hard on you to not remember anything.”
“Can you tell me about…us?”
He smiled. “What do you want to know?”
“So much.” I felt like laughing and crying at how strange this felt, to have to ask my fiancé to tell me about everything he could about our relationship. “Let’s start at the beginning. How did we meet?”
“We met at work.”
“Where do we work?”
“Brady Global, Inc.”
I looked at him with wide-eyes. “
Brady
Global? You own the company?”
He grinned and nodded. “I’m the CEO of Brady Global. We hired you on as the V.P. of Marketing about a year and a half ago.”
I stared at him in surprise. “When did we start dating?”
He thought about it. “So you were in the coma for about four months, we were engaged for about a month before that, and we’d been dating for about eight months before that…so we started dating a little over a year ago.”
“So I was sleeping with my boss?” I looked at him, searching for answers.
“Well I prefer to be called your fiancé,” he teased. “But yes, I guess you can say you were sleeping with your boss.” He flashed me a warm, inviting smile.
I frowned.
“What’s wrong?” His expression immediately changed when he noticed my disappointment.
I faked a smile. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”
He smiled back and I saw his body relax.
For the rest of the ride to the house, we drove in silence. I closed my eyes, pretending to have fallen asleep so that Connor wouldn’t try to talk to me. I felt tired and unsure of this life that I couldn’t remember. I had lied to Connor just now. I wasn’t fine. Something
was
wrong. Finding out that I was sleeping with my boss made me wonder what kind of person I was before I lost my memories. What kind of person slept with their boss after a few months at a new job? But I had decided not to voice out my concern to Connor. I wasn’t sure how he would respond to it. He fell in love with the woman that I was now questioning.
“Liv?” Connor’s soft voice interrupted my thoughts. “We’re home.”
I opened my eyes and saw Connor standing over my opened passenger door, I looked around and noticed that we had pulled up in front of a building along a small pristine street lined with beautifully-aged brownstone houses.
“Where are we?”
“We’re in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood in Philly.”
“This is where we live?”
“Yup.” Connor held out his hand and I reached for it. When he pulled me out of the car, I gasped at what my eyes saw. We were parked in front of a gorgeous three-story beaux arts mansion with an antique limestone façade.
“We have a unit in this building?” I stared at the massive structure in front of me and noticed a doorman at the front door waiting for our arrival.
“No,” he laughed.
“Oh.” I frowned and felt a wave of disappointment and embarrassment for thinking that we could actually live here.
“The entire place is ours,” he corrected.
I turned and looked at him in disbelief. I may not have my personal memories, but I did know a few things. I knew the Rittenhouse Square area of Philly was one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Philly, and this mansion was easily worth over $10 million. “The entire place?”
He nodded and beamed at me. “Now come on. Let’s get you inside.”
As we walked toward the front door, the doorman’s eyes lit up as he greeted me. “Good afternoon, Ms. Stuart. It’s so good to see you home.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at him and couldn’t believe he knew my name.
“I’m Jim, the butler of the house. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Oh. Thanks.” I fidgeted uncomfortably.
“Thanks, Jim. And if you could have Bill drive the Aston to the garage, that’d be great.”
I stared at Connor in disbelief. “Bill?”
“Oh yes, Bill’s my personal assistant.”
“Right. Of course.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.
How rich is this guy?
The thought made me a little uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure why but when I imagined a place I’d call home, I imagined a warm, inviting apartment, not a large, cold mansion I could get lost in.
But when we walked through the foyer and into the living room, I was pleasantly surprised and a smile crept onto my face. The interior was nothing like what I had expected from the outside. The decor was modern, chic, and casual with pops of colors. There was something comforting and familiar about the space and I immediately knew that I had decorated it.
“Does anything look familiar?”
I grinned. “I don’t remember anything, but it
feels
familiar.” I looked at him. “Does that sound crazy?”
“Not at all.” He flashed me a warm smile. “I just want you to be comfortable here in your own house.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh yeah, I think Anna’s stopping by sometime this afternoon to see you. She might be able to answer any questions you might have.”
“Anna?”
“Sorry, Liv. I forgot I hadn’t mentioned her to you yet. She’s your best friend.”
“Oh. My best friend.” I felt a pang of sadness knowing there was yet another important person in my life that I couldn’t remember.
“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” he asked as he lead me to the kitchen.
“Maybe just some water.” I looked around the brightly-lit kitchen. The afternoon sun was coming through the French doors that lead out to the terrace. I walked over to the terrace and beamed as my eyes landed on the beautiful flower garden in the backyard.
“Who maintains the garden?”
“You do.” Connor handed me my glass of water.
“That sounds right.” I smiled at him and then looked back toward the garden. I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew that I enjoyed gardening.
“Oh yeah. I also had Debra set up one of the guest rooms for me to sleep in for now. You can take our bedroom. I know you are still adjusting and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable in any way. I…”
I looked over at him and felt grateful for how sweet and patient he was with me. “Connor, I don’t want to have to kick you out of your own bed.”
He laughed. “Don’t worry. I think I can manage in the King-size bed in the guest room.”
Even though he was all smiles, I could sense something less happy behind his laughter.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “I know this can’t be easy for you.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I’m just so glad you’re back home, Liv.” He pulled me into his embrace.
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to sink into his arms. I inhaled the faint scent of his aftershave, hoping it would trigger a memory.
Just then I heard a bark and the sound of paws running across the hardwood floor toward us. Before I could turn to see what it was, something jumped at me and nipped at my ankle.
“Ow!” I cried out and took a step back.
“Scooter! Don’t be a bad boy.” Connor picked up the small Jack Russell terrier off the ground and gave it a kiss. “Liv’s home. Play nice.” He walked over toward me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I grinned at Scooter and reached over to scratch his head. Scooter growled at me and jumped off Connor and ran out of the room. I frowned and looked over at Connor.
“Sorry about that. He’s a bit territorial. Give him some time and he’ll become familiar with you again.”
I nodded in understanding. “Sure. I guess I have been away from him for four months. When did we get him?”
“Actually I’ve had Scooter for almost eight years now. I got him when he was just a puppy.”
“Oh.” I now understood what Connor meant when he said Scooter was possessive. He was Connor’s dog, not
ours
.
Is that why Scooter didn’t seem to care for me?
Before I could ask Connor more about the dog, there was a buzz and a small video screen next to the phone on the kitchen counter turned on, showing a live stream of the front door where Jim stood.
“Mr. Brady? Ms. Peters is here to see Ms. Stuart.”
“Thanks, Jim. Please let her in.” Connor turned to me. “Anna’s here. Do you want me to keep you company or do you want to catch up with her by yourself?”
“I’d like to get to know her by myself if that’s okay.”
“Of course. I have a lot of work to catch up on. So I’ll be on my laptop in the dining room. If you need anything, just let me know.” Connor walked over and kissed me gently on the cheeks.
“Sure. Thank you.” I smiled at him.
Seconds later, a redhead in a bright yellow sundress walked into the kitchen.
“Oh my gosh, Liv! It’s so good to see you awake! How are you feeling?” The bubbly redhead ran toward me with her arms outstretched to hug me.
“Hi.” I gave her an uncomfortable smile.
She didn’t seem to notice my unease as she flung her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “Babe, I was so worried.”
When she finally pulled away and I saw tears developing in her eyes. “I…” I wasn’t sure what to stay to this girl that I didn’t recognize.
“Oh my God, sorry! How could I be such an airhead?” She made a face and lowered her voice. “Connor told me that you don’t remember anything yet.” She outstretched her hand. “I’m Anna, your best friend.” She beamed at me with pride as if she had just told me she was an Olympic gold medalist.
I smiled at her, knowing that there was something about her carefree and happy personality that made me instantly feel at ease with her. I shook her hand, immediately realizing how awkward this might be for her to be shaking hands with her best friend in such a formal way.
“So how are you feeling?” She wrapped her arms around my arm as she walked us toward the living room.
“It’s been okay. I’m still trying to adjust.”
She shook her head and looked at me like I was a wounded puppy. “How’s Connor been treating you?” She looked over at Conner who looked up from his laptop at the mention of his name. “He better not be acting like a jerk or he’ll have to answer to me.” She made her comments intentionally loud enough for Connor to hear.
“Hey, this isn’t fair. You’ve been here for how many minutes and it’s already turning into a Connor Roast?”
Anna snorted and rolled her eyes. “If you’ve been treating my girl right, then there won’t be a Connor Roast.”
He laughed. “Okay. Touché. Well I’ll let you girls catch up. I need to head into the office to grab some documents.” He closed his laptop and packed it into his briefcase. He walked over to us and leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “You okay here with Anna? I’ll be back in a few hours.”
I smiled up at him and nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Brady. I’ll take care of your wonderful fiancée. I promise not to feed her too many negative stories about you.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Have a fun time, ladies.” Our eyes met and his expression softened. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
I nodded.
After we heard the front door close behind Connor, I turned to Anna. “Does Connor not treat me well?”
She laughed. “Girl, I was joking around. Connor treats you like a princess.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, of course!” She then frowned. “Why? Has he not been treating you well?”
“No, no, no. He has. That’s not what I meant. I think I just took your joking earlier seriously.” I let out a sigh. “Sorry, I’m still trying to figure things out.”
“I totally understand, Liv. I just can’t imagine what you’re going through.”
“I…” I paused. It seemed weird to be talking to this girl who knew me so well but I had no memory of. “Can I ask you something, Anna?”
“Of course, sweetie. Fire away.”
“Can you tell me about my relationship with Connor?”
“Sure.” She scrunched her face together as she thought about where to start. “What would you like to know?” she finally asked.
“Well…” There had been something that’d been nagging at me since the car ride home. “Connor had mentioned today that he’s my boss and we met at work.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Did I…What kind of person was I? How did I…did I do anything inappropriate—I mean, how did it all happen? How did I start dating my boss?” I stumbled over my words as I felt my face grow hot with shame. I may not remember anything about my life, but I knew that sleeping with your boss was not the most appropriate and ethical thing to do.
As if a light flickered on in her head, Anna began to laugh. “Oh sweetie, relax. You did nothing inappropriate.”
I looked at her hopefully. “How do you know?”
“Because I work there too. That’s how we met. I’m one of the investment bankers at the company.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry, Liv. No one at work thinks you started dating Connor to get ahead. You are one of the hardest working people at Brady Global. You really don’t need any extra help to get ahead. Trust me, everyone loves you at work. In fact, everyone actually thinks you and Connor are like the perfect couple. You’re both hot, smart, and hardworking. It was actually your hard work and dedication to the company that first caught Connor’s attention.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, you were one of the few people who seemed to stay at work until ten or eleven at night every single night. You had told me that you had bumped into Connor a few times in the elevators while you were leaving the building late at night. After a while you guys were having dinner breaks together in the conference room several evenings every week. That’s when he really started to pursue you. You told me that he asked you to join him for dinners and drinks outside of the office on several occasions. But in the beginning you kept saying no because you thought it was inappropriate. You also seemed to have reservations about dating in general. You seemed to want to consume yourself with work and nothing else. I think it was your own way of grieving over the loss of your mother.”