Warner's POV
I never thought I would see her again. Arlene. I never really got over our encounter from years ago. Meeting your soulmate wasn't something that happened every day. The fact that she appeared to be married with children hit me like a freight train.
We hadn't talked much that night, but our connection had been electric. The way she whispered my name in the darkness. How her hands had explored every inch of me. She asked for nothing after letting me take her in ways that still haunted my dreams. The vinyl record was all I could leave behind. If I had stayed until she woke up, things would have ended badly for both of us. Did she ever think about me?
She looked as stunning as the first time I collided with her in that hotel hallway. This encounter felt just as dangerous as the last one. That itch I thought had finally disappeared was stirring back to life, and I didn't want it to.
"You made quite the scene at the airport," James said, dropping into the armchair across from me.
"I ran into someone," I explained, my jaw tight.
"Do tell," Winston pushed my leg off his coffee table. His wife shot me a disapproving look.
"Sorry," I apologized and sat up straight, the tension in my shoulders obvious.
"Who was it?" Celeste asked, leaning forward with interest.
"Do you guys remember the girl from six years ago?"
"The girl that inspired the album that followed?" James's eyebrows shot up.
James laughed. "Yeah, we remember Arlene."
"That's who I ran into."
"What?" They all sat up at once. I couldn't help but laugh at their reaction.
"Did you at least get her number?" Winston smacked my leg hard.
"No, I didn't. Even if I had, she's married now. Has two kids."
"That sucks," Celeste tapped my knee sympathetically.
"Yeah." It really did hurt like hell.
"Did she get fat at least?" James asked with a smirk. We all laughed despite the tension.
"Not even close. She cut her hair short. She looked incredible," I admitted, sinking back into the couch. "Her daughter looks exactly like her."
"That's sweet. What did you say her name was?" Celeste asked.
"Arlene," James answered for me.
"Let's see who the lucky bastard is that married her," Celeste laughed, pulling out her phone. "Do we have a last name?"
"The sign her driver was carrying read Brooks," I said, my stomach twisting.
"She's native?" James asked.
"I think so. Mixed maybe. She has these incredible dark blue eyes. Like navy blue," I nodded. They all laughed at my dreamy expression.
That sounded pathetic, even for me.
"Are you sure? All that comes up with that name is the new CEO of Royal Keller in Southern California."
"Wait, that might be her. She said she was a fashion designer when we met. She had sketches all over her hotel suite."
"No way," Celeste laughed and handed me her phone.
"That's her," I nodded, my heart racing. They all crowded around to get a look at the screen. She had really made something of herself.
"She's gorgeous," James nodded appreciatively.
"I'd think about her all day too, if I were you," Winston said before getting a sharp slap to the back of his head from his wife. "Sorry, baby."
"They're adorable," Celeste wiggled next to me excitedly. "Look at the little boy. He has a guitar." She switched to a picture of the child sitting on Arlene's lap while she strummed for him when he was about two years old. The baby was mesmerized. "He plays too." She moved to the next video of the boy at his current age playing a customized baby blue electric guitar. "Did she try to make him look like you?"
"That's her husband's influence," I said, rolling my eyes.
"I don't see a husband anywhere," Celeste said, continuing to scroll. "Wait, here." My stomach clenched when she stopped. "This is from about three years ago."
I still hated the picture. Some guy had his arms wrapped around Arlene. He was looking at the camera, but the way she was gazing at him suggested they were much more than friends. It shouldn't have bothered me. She didn't belong to me. In fact, I barely knew anything about her except that she was incredible in bed.
"I don't think she's married," James said as Celeste kept scrolling through Instagram. "Hey, look at this."
They held the phone out for me. The picture we had taken outside the elevator appeared on screen. We were both laughing genuinely. I hadn't laughed like that in ages.
Before her, everything had felt gray and empty. I'd had nothing. I had never experienced writer's block like that, and I hadn't suffered from it again since.
"That was a perfect night," I admitted. They all chuckled knowingly.
"If you see her again, check for a wedding ring," Winston smacked my chest firmly.
"I'm going to get some rest. That was an exhausting flight," I said, standing up. "Sorry about the chaos today."
They all waved me off. I took a scalding shower and collapsed into bed. Curiosity got the better of me, and I reached for my laptop. I typed her name and watched as pages of success filled my screen. Fashion shows, awards, magazine covers, and articles about her achievements.
One article grabbed my attention. It detailed her rise to the top and how she overcame the struggles of being a single mother. A single mother? How did that happen?
Who would be insane enough to abandon her?
This woman was perfect in every way.
Then I noticed the ages of her children. I laughed nervously for a moment. Her kids were five years old. Five plus nine months equaled almost six full years. My heart began pounding as I sat up abruptly. I went back to her social media and scrolled to our picture together.
There were over a hundred photos above it before I found an ultrasound image. I reached for my wallet to check the napkin with the dress sketch I had stolen from her suite. She had written a date in the bottom left corner, and I felt nauseated.
"Warner," James burst into my room without knocking. I immediately slammed my laptop shut, perhaps too forcefully.
"You're not doing what I think you're doing, right?"
"What? Of course not."
"Whatever. I was researching your woman."
"She's not my woman," I shook my head firmly.
"Her kids are five years old," James jumped onto the bed beside me. "Wouldn't it be crazy if they were yours?" He laughed. "What were you actually doing?"
"Nothing," I shook my head again. James snatched the laptop.
"You were stalking her." He opened it and showed me the cracked screen. "You broke your laptop, idiot."
"Damn it," I took it back, confused about how that had happened. My control had been slipping lately.
"If you weren't stalking, it was definitely something else," James declared smugly.
"Get out of my room," I tossed the laptop onto the floor.
James laughed and headed toward the door.
"I know what you were doing," he nodded confidently. I grabbed a pillow and launched it at him. James closed the door just before it could hit him.
"This can't be happening," I sat up, struggling to breathe evenly. "You didn't do this."