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His lips twitched in something that wasn't quite a smile. "You don't know who I am, do you?"
Nicole frowned. Well, that's a little presumptuous, don't you think.
"Am I supposed to know who you are?"
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When Nicole Brattan flees Pittsburgh with her young nephew, Lou, her only priority is to keep him safe. She escapes to New York City and, with the help of an old friend, finds more than just a place to crash. Nicole is given a fresh start and a job as a barback at the Crowne Plaza, one of Manhattan's most elite and luxurious establishments.
Nicole is determined to lay low and protect the life she's rebuilding, but everything changes the night she finds a smug stranger in the bar, after hours, playing piano and helping himself to top-shelf whiskey. Unbeknownst to her, this stranger is non-other than Marcus Ortega, the hotel's enigmatic and insufferably charming hotel manager.
Their first meeting is anything but warm. But as barbed exchanges give way to late-night conversations, their chemistry becomes impossible to ignore.
As Nicole's carefully guarded secrets begin to surface, she must decide if she's willing to risk the safety she's fought for... or open her heart to a future she never expected.