Chapter 1 THE HOT STRANGER

Nella’s POV

What does it feel like to be rich? To not have to calculate each time I spend? What does it feel like to eat whatever I want and go on as many trips as I desired? The pictures of the beautiful ladies on instagram filled my mind. I would give anything to have my life under control. I’ve never known what it’s like not to live paycheck to paycheck. Creditors calling had slowly become a norm and honestly, I didn’t choose this life, but the harder I try, the deeper I sink. Was there really light at the end of the tunnel or are happy endings merely a facade?

“A penny for your thoughts,” my brother said, setting his cup on the glass table.

I looked into his big, brown eyes. He looked so much like our mother. I miss her.

“It’s nothing,” I say with the wave of my hands. 

Thankfully, the whistling kettle fills the void words can’t. 

“Are you sure?” He presses. “You look paler than I am.” 

“Not funny,” I say.

The chemo had taken a toll on him. On me, on everything. Our insurance could barely cover the cost and I was tied right now. I couldn’t let him know the Doctors said he had a 10% chance of making it through the year, nor could I tell him how bad our finances were and how much I was struggling. I have to be his hope, I have to give him a reason to believe he can fight. He was a fighter and I couldn’t let anything break him, even though it was breaking me. 

“Well, it’s nothing, really.” I say, forcing a smile. He most definitely wasn’t buying this, but he didn’t push further.

“I’ll be out with Dave and John later. I need to trash them in Minecraft…” his bright eyes are locked on mine for a few seconds, “if that’s okay with you.”

My eyes don’t move from his and with a shrug, “sure, be home early and don’t get yourself worked up.”

“Okay, sis.” 

His long legs take barely three steps to where I’m sitting by the table and he wraps his arms around me. I take up the warmth as much as I can. A tiny smile forms on my lips and he returns it, before heading to his room. Sometimes, my fourteen year old brother behaved more like an adult than I did and honestly, I was grateful for him in my life. Without him, I don’t think I’d have pushed myself this far and I don’t want to know what life without him feels like. I am doing everything I can to not experience what it feels like. I know that a lot of things are not within our control, but I had this tiny faith that this one will work out perfectly.

The loud blare of my alarm jolted me out of my thoughts as I rushed to prepare for work at the café. I couldn’t let my mood control the outcome of this job, except I wanted to beg for each meal.

Time seemed to standstill at the café and customers poured in their numbers, which was a good thing so I could hit my monthly target, but it wasn’t the perfect day for all this.

“Nella, could you please wait that table?” Jess asked. My eyes moved in the direction of her fingers, to the table beside the glass window we had just fixed. She batted her eyelids and pouted, which made me chuckle.

“Don’t even think for a second I’m helping you because of the look on your face,” I said, jabbing her playfully. We both laughed. 

“On second thought, I should go. The man looks like my grandmother’s freshly baked cakes, straight out of the oven kind of hot,” she made sure to stress the hot. Without thinking, I let out a loud snort and wished I stoop myself before it came out. Thankfully, nobody else heard.

“Sorry,” I laughed.

“You’re such a mean girl, Nella,” Jess whined.

“I’ll go now. I shouldn’t keep your hot man waiting,” I said with a smirk.

“I hate you,” Jess mouthed.

How I loved Jess! She was the closest thing to a sister and was always there for me and she had proven that to me a good number of times.

“Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to the Biztro. What can I offer you?” A smile was plastered across my face, I don’t think it mattered much at that moment, as he was glued to the device in his hand. 

“A cup of coffee. No milk and no sugar either.”

He still didn’t look up at me. Rude customers were quite regular here, but I don’t know what about this one seemed to infuriate me. I don’t know if it was the way he spoke in a slow, relaxed drawl, or the way he stayed fixated on the screen. I only wished I could give him a quick knock on his freshly cut hair. Maybe it was my period hormones that made everything seem more serious than they were, today.

Five minutes later, I set the freshly brewed cup of coffee in front of him. I wanted to leave, but my feet seemed like they were glued. He slowly lifted up his head and his eyes met mine.

“Are you going to watch me drink my coffee or have you nothing else to do?” He asked. His voice slow and Southern and the words rolling off his tongue in a way that made the rudeness sound…unfairly attractive.

His features were suddenly visible to me. If Jess’ grandmother’s cakes taste as hot as she says they look, God bless her! This man was hot! He looked hot in a dangerous way, that makes you forget what’s safe. The kind of man your parents warn you about, and yet, you somehow always end up with him. 

His eyes were the perfect shade of brown and the new haircut looked so good you’d think he was created with it. His face looked like it could be on the front cover of a mafia book and his lips! They were light pink and looked…

Hold up! There was something familiar about his face. Have we met? He looked gravely familiar.

His eyes widened and his face lost its color, like he was seeing a ghost in front of him. Within the split of a second, he dropped his money on the table and was out of the café, leaving only a memory neither of us could place.

Who in the world is this man and why did he look at me like that?