Chapter One

TWENTY YEARS LATER

Charlotte sleepily reached for her iPhone as her alarm went off. She used to hate waking up, but being married to a CIA agent changed things. If waking up at three in the morning was all it took to hear her husband"s voice, then—-

No.

Her chest tightened as she crashed back into reality, and tears were already trickling down her cheeks by the time Charlotte managed to open her eyes.

It was always like this.

Always.

Ten years had already gone by since Land...went away. Ten years. But every time Charlotte woke up, her mind would still manage to forget this. In those few seconds that her mind would be swimming in the gray waters of her subconscious, Charlotte would be all excited and eager, thinking that she would soon hear Landon"s voice over the phone. She would try to remember the time zone of Land"s current location, and whether his last instructions were for her to call him or wait for her phone to ring. She would think of all sorts of things, and it would all feel so, so real...until it just suddenly did not.

I miss you so much, Land.

Her body curled into a ball, but it still wasn"t enough to ward off the pain. His absence was like an unseen wound that never healed, and although Charlotte had long learned to mask her never-ending grief, it was impossible not to cry when she was alone. Impossible not to remember the precious times - God, they were so, so precious - when Land would be back home after completing a job, and they"d spend every waking moment together, just the two of them at home. Laughing. Talking. Cooking. Eating. And having lots...and...lots...and...lots...of sex.

If she were to make a chart of their daily activities, sex would"ve had the biggest slice in the pie, and oh, the things she had ended up doing (and saying!), and all because she couldn"t get enough of her husband"s deliciously sexy body...

The memories of how Landon had turned her into a perv made Charlotte blush even now, but the feeling of embarrassment also helped ease the pain in her heart, and her tears gradually dried.

Someday, she promised herself.

Someday, she"d be with Land again.

But for now...

Charlotte turned her gaze to the window, and a faint smile gradually formed over her lips. Her hotel was one of the few places in Tokyo that could guarantee stunning views of Mt. Fuji in days of clear weather. And even though it was supposed to rain today, the skies outside were a lovely shade of blue, and there was barely a cloud to hide the snow-capped peak of what was arguably Japan"s most famous landmark.

She grabbed her iPhone and padded barefoot to the window to take a photo. She had never been the type to enjoy taking photos before, but ever since Land...went away, it had become her favorite way to cope.

With every photo she took, Charlotte liked to think that there"d come a day when she"d be able to show them to Land, and she"d be able to share with him all the things he had missed.

But still...

I wish you were here, Land.

Twenty years ago, they had made a pact about traveling to Japan only when they were in their thirties, and this trip was all about making that dream come true for the both of them. Land might not be with her now, but...who knew, right?

A few weeks ago, she had struck a bargain with God, and she liked to think that He had heard her out. In return for doing all she could to help her sister-in-law find her Mr. Right, Charlotte had asked the Big Guy in heaven if He could lend her back her own Mr. Right, even if just for a day.

Obviously, her request was anything but realistic, but Charlotte didn"t care.

I just miss him so much, God.

So, so much.

So please.

Please.

Please.

Please let me see him, even just in my dreams.

****

IT WAS ONLY SEVEN INthe morning by the time Charlotte checked out of her hotel, and after confirming the details for luggage transfer, she was once again free to savor the sights that she and Landon only used to dream of.

Although it was still the first week of March, and sakura or cherry blossoms had yet to bloom, most of the establishments lining up the streets of Shinjuku already had their spring campaigns in full swing. Starbucks had sakura-flavored drinks, Mister Donut had sakura-shaped doughnuts, and she remembered seeing at the airport"s 7-11 last night that even her favorite chocolate snack Pocky had released a limited-time flavor in celebration of spring.

All of this had her mouth watering, but Charlotte wanted to walk off some excess carbs first. Last night had been her first time to order ramen from a vendo, and the experience had her so giddy like a kid, she had ended up ordering a lot of extras just so she could keep pushing those buttons. Extra bowl of noodles. Extra meat. Extra egg. Extra everything, actually, and that was why she still felt full even now.

Since Google Maps told her she had ample time to spare to get to the station, Charlotte paused every so often to take photos, all the while talking to her husband in her mind. Did you see that? Check this out, Land. Isn"t it cool?

A smile broke over her lips when Godzilla"s head popped out from one of Shinjuku"s many tall buildings. Oh my goodness, Land! Will you look at that?

Her husband was such a huge Godzilla fan he had watched all of the movies in the franchise, including the ones released mainly for the local market.

Maybe I should check in for a night there, Charlotte mused to her husband. What do you think?

The thought had Charlotte happily occupied as she turned away and finally set out for the train station. The receptionist had asked earlier if she wanted one of the hotel"s service cars to take her to Ueno, but Charlotte had declined the offer with a smile. If Land was here, he would undoubtedly take the train, and so that was what she wanted to do, too. Or rather, she had hoped it was something she could do...until she realized this was easier said than done.

Shinjuku"s train station turned out to be much bigger and busier than she expected, and when she remained as lost as a headless chicken after fifteen minutes, Charlotte knew it was time to wave the white flag.

She typically hated having to ask for help, but she also didn"t want to risk arriving late for her meeting. While this trip was mainly for her and Land, Charlotte did have some work to do, and from what she knew of Japanese culture, punctuality meant a great deal to locals.

Charlotte turned around, thinking she could look for someone who spoke English, but the moment she took a step forward, she immediately bumped into a chest hard enough to make her nose twinge in pain.

Ouch!

She lifted her head to see who she had bumped into, and her gaze immediately collided with a pair of startlingly blue eyes. "Sorry," she apologized right away, and she would"ve left it at that if the stranger hadn"t ended up speaking at the same time.

"Daijōbu desu ka?"

The man"s Japanese was astonishingly flawless, and Charlotte momentarily forgot she had a train to catch. "You"re Japanese?"

The stranger"s lips twitched, and Charlotte absently observed how the man"s mouth seemed designed to tempt a woman to sin. It reminded her a lot of her husband, actually, since she had always thought Landon to possess the world"s most kissable lips.

"I am, yes." The stranger switched to English this time, which he also spoke with impressive fluency. "My father"s Japanese, my mother American."

"That"s nice," Charlotte said sincerely. It had always been her dream and Land"s to be reincarnated as Japanese, and she liked to think that would happen in their next—-huh?

The stranger was smiling at her, and Charlotte had no idea why that was.

"You haven"t any idea who I am, have you?"

Charlotte frowned. "Should I?" She didn"t know that many Japanese celebrities, but she wouldn"t be surprised if this man did turn out to be one. He might not be as handsome as her husband (no one was), but now that she had taken a good look at Mr. Bilingual here, Charlotte found the stranger to be imposingly tall and strikingly attractive with his sun-kissed blond hair and features that were almost too refined and structurally perfect to be true.

The man took his wallet out to present her with a business card, and Charlotte"s eyes widened in recognition. "You"re Sano Takahashi?" Since his name was very much Japanese while he looked anything but, it would never have occurred to her that he was one of the prospective investors she was to meet for the first time today.

"I was about to take the train when I saw you."

"Oh." It was all she could say at the moment, with Charlotte still trying to figure out whether to feel wary or impressed. Since she had paid a healthy sum of money to have all of her photos scrubbed from the Internet, how did this guy know what she looked like?

Sano checked his watch. "We should get going, if we don"t want to be late." He smiled down at her. "Shall we go together?"

Charlotte thought back to what she herself had managed to glean online about Sano. Although he was the scion of one of Japan"s wealthiest families, he was also considered to be a self-made billionaire, having used his own money to build what was one of today"s most trusted mobile payment services. More importantly, she remembered that he was also a mere twenty-eight to her thirty-six, and since such an age gap automatically made him no different from a little brother in her eyes—-

She smiled up at him. "I"d appreciate that, yes."

"Great."

And then off they went, with Sano suddenly grabbing her hand as he led them straight into the crush of people hurrying towards the ticket gates. Charlotte"s first instinct was to yank her hand out of his hold, but with Sano walking so briskly, all she managed to do was hang on to him lest the mad rush of passengers ended up carrying her away to God knew where.

They barely made it to the train when the doors slid closed, and Charlotte was just about to catch her breath when the train abruptly lurched into motion.

Oh my Lord!

She was about to lose her balance completely when a pair of strong hands suddenly gripped her waist, and Charlotte froze.

"Are you alright?"

Since her husband had been the only man to hold her like this, Charlotte was definitely not alright, and regardless of how good Sano"s intentions were, it was time to let this younger man know she had enough of his touchy-feely hands.

"Could you—-"

Oh no!

Countless passengers suddenly swarmed towards the doors as the train made its first stop, and Charlotte, caught completely off guard, was forcibly spun, shoved, and swung to this direction and that until she ended up...with every inch of her body plastered against Sano"s lean, hard figure.

I am so, so sorry, Land!

She had never been close to any other man like this except her husband"s, and Charlotte had this childish urge to shove herself off him and run out of the train. While her favorite mangas had given her a fairly good idea about Tokyo"s morning rush hours, Charlotte hadn"t expected it to be this crazy, and by the time the train made its fourth stop, Sano had been forced to hold her tightly against him.

FORGIVE ME, LAND!

If she had thought there was the slightest chance she could bend down without being trampled all over, Charlotte would"ve long unlaced her four-inch leather boots and chucked them off. Her stupid boots were to blame for the way she kept losing her balance, and with so many of them squeezed against each other like sardines in a can, Sano"s arms around her were the only reason why she hadn"t accidentally kissed a grandmother in the mouth or bumped off an office guy with her butt.

"Sorry about this." Sano"s voice felt awfully close to her ear, but Charlotte told herself that this was likely unavoidable as well. "Just a couple more stops to go," he murmured, but the words only made Charlotte feel more antsy. The tone he had used, whether deliberate or not, had a rather intimate feel to it that she was completely unused to hearing from another man. Only Land had ever talked to her like that, and she wanted it to stay that way. It was supposed to and should stay that way—-

"Charles?"

Charlotte felt like her world suddenly stopped spinning.

"Are you al—-"

Her head jerked up, and she didn"t hesitate to cut him off, asking, "What did you call me?"

"Charles?"

"My name is Charlotte."

There was a long pause, and then Sano was whispering straight into her ear, "You remember my rule for that, don"t you?"