The Secret to my Heart

Prologue

The city always had a distinct scent to me. I was unable to put my finger on what that scent was or what it meant. As the cold Chicago air nipped at my nose, I smiled. This was my favorite time to be back at home, with the city all lit up for Christmas. I had my car valeted and made my way up to the hotel I was staying at, which was weird, because I had spent most of my life in a small apartment in the loop with my parents.

The hotel was decorated in Christmas spirt. It was something that could only be captured at Christmastime. It smelled like burning cinnamon and candy cane. I paced upstairs and suddenly felt the void of spending the holidays alone. My parents were both traveling the world like they always said they would when I grew up, and I was fresh out of college, so their vacation was passed due, and their apartment was vacant and sold.

So here I was.

I was unfortunately never one of those girls who made friends easily. Growing up, my nose was always buried in some sappy romance novel or in my school books.

In college I found myself. I was an introverted girl with a taste for fine arts and a family that would love me. I made a few friends, found my way to a flat iron, and swapped my simply-mascara rule for a face that would attract the wrong people.

But through it all I wanted love. all I craved was love.