Chapter 15
Niko
Morning came faster than I expected, which was fine because I didn’t get a wink of sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes that woman was right there again.
My brain kept trying to figure out how the hell everything flipped that fast. I got up faced my face, brushed my teeth, threw on a black thermal and some joggers and headed straight to the lodge.
I didn’t even bother eating. I moved through that place with one thing in mind. Find her.
I checked every part of the retreat and came up empty.
My pulse spiked with each empty room. Every face I passed that wasn’t hers pissed me off even more.
I ended up by the front desk, hands in my pockets, heart beating harder than it should for a man who was supposed to be unbothered, but I was bother as fuck
The clerk straightened when she saw me. “Good morning, Mr. Frost. Is everything alright?”
“No,” I said. “I need some help.”
“What can I do for you, Sir?”
“I’m looking for a guest,” I told her. “She checked in a couple nights ago under Elise Winters.”
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. “I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t release—”
I pulled my wallet out and dropped a hundred dollar bill on the counter.
“I’m not asking for her social security number,” I said. “I just need to know her real name and if she’s still here. That’s it.”
She swallowed, glanced around, then slowly started typing. I could read guilt all over her face.
“There is a note on the account,” she said. “It was booked under Elise Winters, but the legal registration name is… Noelle Sterling.”
Noelle. A real name this time.
“And her cabin?” I asked.
She hesitated. “Cabin Seven.”
Not far from the cabin I was staying in. I leaned in. “Is she still here?”
The clerk looked back at the screen and winced. “According to the system… Ms. Sterling checked out last night.”
For a second, everything around felt distant. Damn. She didn’t just run… she left my ass I nodded once and walked off before I said some sideways shit to the wrong person.
I found myself at the bar again. Early as hell, but I needed to sit somewhere before I lost my mind.
The bartender slid me a shot, I tossed it back and told him to bring two more.
I had a name now. I couldn’t do shit but wonder with that fake ass name because I couldn’t find her anywhere, but I’m sure Noelle Sterling had an internet trail.
I pulled my phone out, opened Facebook and typed her name in.
Her profile popped up instantly. The profile picture was of her at an event, wearing a black dress that hugged every curve, that soft smile I knew too well now.
I scrolled through photos of weddings she planned, corporate parties, and before-and-after shots of ballrooms and lobbies she decorated.
She looked good in every picture. She was fine as fuck and successful.
Atlanta locations tagged all over her page.
I kept scrolling, then paused on a picture of a tiny hand grabbing her finger.
The background was blurry but you could tell it was something pink.
Caption: My whole heart in one photo.
It was posted five months ago. My chest tightened as the thought evaded my mind but I wasn’t sure.
I scrolled back further and stopped on a boomerang of a sonogram on a light box with heart emojis.
That was posted about eight months ago. I started feeling anxious as fuck but I kept going.
My thumb paused on a mirror selfie. Noelle was standing in her bathroom in a fitted dress, hand resting low on a small but clear bump.
Caption: Didn’t expect this plot twist, but God doesn’t miss.
The date on the post damn near knocked the breath out of me. It was exactly two months after Winter Haven last year. I did the math twice in my head even though I knew I didn’t need to.
“That’s my baby,” I muttered.
Not maybe or could be... that was my child.
I scrolled back up to that baby hand picture.
My gut was telling me what I knew to be true.
Shit just went up a notch because I wasn’t just thinking about her anymore, this shit was completely different and left field as fuck.
I backed out of the photo and kept scrolling until a flyer caught my eye.
Holiday Royalty Gala – Atlanta.
Presented by Sterling & Co. Events.
Date: two days from now.
Her company was tagged and her name was in the caption so I knew she would be there, or at least hoped she would. That was all the motivation I needed. I backed out on Facebook and went to Toni’s contact. She handled all my travel accommodations. She picked up on the second ring.
“Mr. Frost. Everything okay?” She asked.
“Aye, I need a flight to Atlanta today,” I said. “Private or first class. I don’t give a damn what it cost. I just need to be there before tomorrow night.”
“Say less. Leaving from Asheville?” she asked.
“Yeah. Also book me a suite at The Regent?”
She clicked keys in the background. “The Regent., got it. I can get you the top floor.”
“Bet,” I said. “Two, maybe three nights.”
“You running or handling?” she asked.
“Handling,” I said. “I’ll explain later.”
“I’ll text you the itinerary in the next thirty minutes,” she said. “Need anything else?”
“Nah. You good. Appreciate you.”
I hung up and stood there for a second, phone still in my hand. This wasn’t about lust anymore or a week-long fantasy. This was about my child. A whole human out there with my blood and my last name nowhere in sight.
I found Victoria in the lounge, curled up in an armchair with a book and a mug of something hot. She looked up when she felt me standing there.
“That was fast,” she said. “The lodge is still standing so what happened?”
“I found her name,” I said.
Her eyebrows lifted. “And?”
“And I’m not staying the rest of the week,” I told her.
She set the mug down slowly. “Okay. What happened?”
I sat on the chair across from her, leaning forward, elbows on my knees.
“Her real name is Noelle,” I said. “She checked out last night.”
Victoria winced. “Damn. So, she did leave early.”
I nodded. “Yeah. But I found her Facebook.”
“And?”
“And she has a baby,” I said. “A little girl I think. The timeline lines up perfect. She posted a sonogram eight months ago, and belly picture exactly two months after I left this place last year. I did the math… that’s my kid, V.”
Her eyes softened, all the playfulness gone.
“You sure?” she asked.
I looked at her, offended. “The math is mathing so, yeah. I’m a hundred precent positive on this?”
“Good point,” she said quietly. “So, what now?”
“I saw a flyer on her page,” I said. “She’s running some big Christmas gala in Atlanta in two days. I got Toni booking my flight and a hotel right now. I’m going.”
She nodded like she already expected that. “Does she know you’re coming?”
“No,” I said. “She ran last night soon as she saw you, remember? She probably thinks you my fiancée for real.”
Victoria snorted. “That explains the look on her face. I thought she just didn’t like my dress.”
“This shit ain’t funny, V.” I said, but a small part of me wanted to smile at how unserious she could be even now.
“Relax,” she said. “I hear you. You’re going to Atlanta to talk to her. To see the baby. To figure your life out. I’ll stay here and play the happy almost-bride for both our families for a few days. I’ll say you had an emergency with one of your restaurants or a TV thing. They’ll believe it.”
“You sure?” I asked.
“Niko, I’ve been covering for you and myself since this fake engagement started,” she said. “I got this. Go handle your business. That little girl didn’t ask to be a secret.”
Those words sat heavy in my chest.
“Appreciate you,” I said.
“Just do me one favor,” she replied.
“What?”
“Be honest with her,” Victoria said. “She don’t need media-trained Niko. She needs the real you. Ugly parts and all.”
I stood and grabbed the back of the chair for a second. “Yeah. I know.”
She picked her mug back up. “Text me when you land. And Niko?”
“Yeah?”
Her mouth curved. “If she swings on you, you deserve the first hit.”
I huffed out a breath. “I probably do.”
I rushed back in my cabin, I threw clothes into my suitcase and sat on the edge of the bed for a second, staring at the floor.
Last year, I left this mountain thinking I was walking away from a wild week and a woman I’d never see again.
This time, I was leaving knowing I had a daughter in Atlanta who had no idea who I was.
That shit ended now. I picked up my phone and opened her page again.
My thumb hovered over the picture of that tiny hand.
“I’m on the way, Babygirl.” I said under my breath. Then I zipped my bag and headed out.