Chapter 1All My Love Went to You

My best friend got a divorce.

She left me with her son… and a billion dollars.

I raised him from a boy into a man, and just as I was ready to embrace my life as a single, wealthy woman, my surrogate son saw the box of ultra-thin condoms on my nightstand during a video call.

That night, he scaled the school wall and raced home in a frenzy.

He slammed me against the wall, one hand closing around my neck, the other tearing open the small foil packet.

"Kate," he rasped, his voice a low growl. "If you're so desperate for a man, why not me?"

* * *

Slap!

The sharp crack of my palm against his cheek echoed in the silent room. Nolan’s assault finally stopped, his fingers loosening their grip on my throat.

I scrambled to sit up, gasping for air. My lips moved, but for a moment, no sound came out. Finally, I managed to choke out a few words.

"You're supposed to call me your godmother."

A livid red handprint was already blooming on Nolan’s cheek, but he didn't say a word. The torn wrapper lay on the white sheets, a startlingly obscene piece of evidence. The events of the last few minutes were beyond anything I could have imagined, and a sick, anxious knot was tightening in my chest. I pulled up the fallen strap of my nightgown, desperate to pretend this wasn't happening.

"I understand you're upset about me dating," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "No kid wants a blended family. I get it."

"I promise," I continued, forcing a placating tone, "I'll wait two more years. Until after you graduate college. Then I'll think about my own life."

"But you have to promise me you won't act out like this ever again."

"Act out." Such a simple, sanitized phrase to cover the grotesque scene that had just unfolded. But it was clear my attempt to smooth things over was a pathetic fantasy. Nolan wasn't taking the olive branch.

His gaze was a blade of pure mockery. "Kate, I almost fucking took you right here, and you're calling it 'acting out'?"