Chapter 4

four

. . .

Kaitlyn

I frantically search through my desk drawers, scattering papers and pens. My heart pounds as I grow more desperate to find the delicate silver bracelet, the last tangible connection to my parents.

"It has to be here somewhere," I mutter, blinking back tears. The bracelet was the final gift they gave me, on my twenty-first birthday just weeks before the accident that took their lives. That was only two years ago. The loss is still way too fresh, and losing the bracelet feels like losing a piece of them all over again.

My best friend Megan bursts into my apartment, her curly hair bouncing. "Kaitlyn, did you hear the announcement?"

My brow furrows. “No, and I’m sorry, Megan, but I really don’t care about whatever it is. I have to find my?—”

“I know,” Megan interjects, “but what if it’s the bracelet?”

I pause my frantic search, hope and flaring in my chest. I shake my head. “Okay, so what exactly are you talking about?”

Megan fills me in on the announcement that has gone viral. Apparently, some billionaire named Adam Prescott sent out a cryptic message that has taken all the women of the city by storm. He has an item that belongs to a mystery woman, but he won’t tell what it is cause only she will know it. He wants to return it, but she has to identify it and, consequently, herself.

My heart starts beating a staccato rhythm in my chest. Could it be mine? Did I lose my bracelet at the New Year’s Eve party? Oh my god, was the man I kissed Adam Prescott, New York’s most eligible bachelor? "I don't know, Meg…"

Megan grabs my shoulders, her brown eyes intense. "It's worth checking, Kait. You never know. And I know how much that bracelet means to you."

I waver, biting my lip. The thought of facing the humiliation of revealing that I was the idiot who kissed a total stranger makes me cringe. But Megan is right. That bracelet is the last link I have to my parents. I owe it to them to find it, and I'm desperate enough to try anything.

"Okay, how do I respond to this announcement?" I finally say, steeling myself. Megan squeals and grabs my hand to lead the way.

My heart pounds as we approach the front desk of a massive skyscraper, anticipation and dread coursing through me in equal measure. I can't shake the memory of New Year’s Eve, the searing kiss that branded my lips and ignited a hunger I've never known. I’ve dreamed of that fucking kiss every night since it happened. It’s insanity.

What if it's him? What if Adam Prescott is the man I kissed? I mean, on one hand, I’ve have my bracelet back. On the other, I’ll be permanently embarrassed for life. I’ll probably have to crawl under a rock and hide forever.

Megan's voice snaps me back to the present. "Excuse me, we're here about the announcement. My friend here lost something very important to her." Megan pushes me forward.

The receptionist looks up, her gaze bored. She’s probably tired of all the women coming through guessing at lost items. "Of course. Can you describe the item?"

I swallow hard, my mouth dry. "It's a delicate silver chain with a small rose-shaped pendant. The petals are a pale pink. My parents gave it to me." My voice wavers slightly, the words heavy with emotion.

She stares at me for a long moment, giving me a long, assessing look before she finally picks up the phone. “Mr. Prescott, I believe we’ve found her.”