Annie Samson woke up with one serious problem.
She could still remember the way Brian had kissed her.
She stared at the ceiling, one hand resting over her chest as though she could physically restrain her heartbeat.
It was useless.
The moment she closed her eyes, she remembered his hand around hers, the warmth of his lips, and the way he had asked for permission instead of assuming she would say yes.
Then she remembered that she had kissed him again.
I kissed him first.
Annie pulled the blanket over her face.
“This is a disaster.”
From outside her bedroom, Margaret Lewis knocked twice.
“Miss Annie, breakfast is ready.”
“I’m dead.”
“Then I’ll inform the family that you won’t be attending breakfast.”
Annie immediately sat up. “Wait. I’m alive.”
“Unfortunately, I suspected as much.”
Annie narrowed her eyes at the door. “You’re becoming more disrespectful.”
“I learned from you.”
Before Annie could respond, Margaret walked away.
Annie sighed and climbed out of bed. She moved toward the mirror, studying her reflection. Her hair was untidy, her face slightly flushed, and her lips looked entirely ordinary.
Which was ridiculous.
They had been kissed by Brian Starks.
They should at least look more impressive.
She leaned closer to the mirror.
“Pull yourself together,” she muttered. “It was only a kiss.”
Her phone vibrated on the bedside table.
Annie glanced at the screen.
Brian: Good morning. Did you sleep well?
She froze.
A smile appeared before she could stop it.
Annie: I was busy regretting my decisions.
His response arrived almost immediately.
Brian: Which one?
Annie: Kissing an arrogant man.
Brian: You kissed me twice.
Annie’s mouth fell open.
Annie: You counted?
Brian: I remember everything you say and do.
She stared at the message, suddenly unable to think of a clever reply.
Then another message appeared.
Brian: Have breakfast before you start regretting things.
Annie’s smile softened.
Annie: Did you eat?
There was a brief pause.
Brian: I’m about to.
Annie: That wasn’t an answer.
Brian: I ordered breakfast.
Annie: Send proof.
A photograph arrived a moment later. It showed a plate of eggs, toast, fruit, and oatmeal on a polished office table.
Annie examined it suspiciously.
Annie: Where is the coffee?
Brian: On the other side of the table.
Annie: Good. You’re learning.
Brian: Will there be a reward?
Annie blinked.
Then she typed:
Annie: Perhaps. If you behave.
His answer made her heart stumble.
Brian: I’ll try.
Annie pressed her phone against her chest.
“This man is dangerous,” she whispered.
Not because he was cold or powerful.
Because he was learning how to make her smile without even being present.
By the time Annie entered the dining room, the entire family was already seated.
Eleanor looked up first. “Good morning, sweetheart.”
“Good morning, Mother.”
The words came naturally now.
Eleanor’s expression warmed, but she didn’t make a fuss. She simply reached for the serving dish and placed some eggs on Annie’s plate.
Nicholas, however, had no such restraint.
“Look who finally decided to join the living.”
Annie sat down. “I was considering remaining dead, but I remembered that you would probably steal my breakfast.”
“I would never.”
“You stole my strawberries yesterday.”
“That was an emergency.”
“Your emergency was that you wanted strawberries.”
“Exactly.”
Emily laughed quietly while William folded his newspaper.
Linda glanced at Annie’s phone, which she had placed beside her plate.
“You’ve been smiling at that phone all morning.”
Annie picked up her fork. “Maybe it told me something funny.”
Nicholas leaned forward. “Did Brian tell you a joke?”
“No.”
“Did he send you money?”
“Why would he send me money?”
“Because you look happy, and I know you don’t smile for free.”
Annie pointed her fork at him. “Be careful. I charge interest.”
Before Nicholas could respond, Annie’s phone vibrated again.
Everyone’s eyes shifted toward it.
Annie quickly picked it up.
Brian: Eat properly.
She immediately typed back.
Annie: You’re becoming bossy.
Brian: You started it.
Her lips curved.
Nicholas groaned dramatically. “That’s definitely Brian.”
Annie looked up. “Are you monitoring my phone now?”
“No. Your face is giving you away.”
“My face is innocent.”
“Your face looks like it has received a marriage proposal.”
William lowered his newspaper. “Marriage proposal?”
Annie nearly choked on her juice.
“Nothing!” she said quickly.
Nicholas grinned. “I didn’t say it was from Brian.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I was thinking many things.”
“Think quietly.”
Eleanor tried to hide her smile behind her teacup.
Linda, who had remained quiet, studied Annie for a moment. There was something different about her—not a dramatic change, but a softness that hadn’t been there before.
“You seem happy,” Linda said.
The table grew slightly quieter.
Annie glanced at her.
Then she looked down at her breakfast and shrugged. “Maybe I am.”
Linda nodded slowly. “Then don’t let anyone make you feel guilty about it.”
Annie’s expression shifted.
It wasn’t the kind of warning Linda usually gave. There was no sharpness in it, no hidden accusation.
Only sincerity.
Annie looked at her carefully. “Are you feeling well?”
Linda frowned. “Why?”
“You just said something kind. I’m concerned.”
Nicholas burst out laughing.
Linda picked up her glass. “Eat your breakfast.”
“There she is,” Annie said with satisfaction.
At university, Annie tried very hard to behave normally.
Unfortunately, Jane Park had known her for too long to be fooled.
“You’re smiling,” Jane said the moment Annie sat beside her.
“I smile.”
“Not like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like someone has been privately complimenting you.”
Annie took out her notebook. “Maybe I complimented myself.”
Jane leaned closer. “Did Brian kiss you?”
Annie’s pen stopped moving.
That was enough of an answer.
Jane’s eyes widened. “He did!”
“Lower your voice.”
“Oh my goodness.” Jane grabbed Annie’s arm. “When? Where? How? Was it romantic? Did he say something afterward? Did you—”
“Jane.”
“Did you kiss him back?”
Annie slowly turned toward her. “You ask too many questions.”
“That means you did.”
Annie opened her notebook. “We kissed.”
Jane stared at her.
“Twice?”
Annie’s silence confirmed it.
Jane pressed both hands over her mouth, but her eyes were shining with excitement.
“You like him.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You kissed him twice.”
“He asked permission.”
Jane’s teasing expression softened. “He did?”
Annie nodded.
For a moment, she looked down at her notebook.
“He didn’t rush me,” she admitted. “He waited for me to answer.”
Jane studied her face. “And how did that make you feel?”
Annie opened her mouth, ready with a sarcastic response.
Nothing came out.
Because the honest answer was too frightening.
Safe.
Wanted.
Seen.
She lowered her gaze. “It made me feel like I had a choice.”
Jane’s smile became gentler. “That’s important.”
Annie looked at her. “Don’t become sentimental. It’s disturbing.”
“I’m being a good friend.”
“You’re being suspicious.”
“Fine.” Jane straightened. “Did he say he loves you?”
“No.”
“Did you say you love him?”
Annie’s fingers tightened around her pen.
“No.”
Jane didn’t tease her this time. “Are you close?”
Annie thought of Brian carrying her beside the river. Of his hand holding hers. Of the way he looked at her as if he wasn’t searching for anyone else.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “We’re getting close.”
Jane nodded. “Then don’t rush just because it feels good.”
Annie glanced at her.
“Since when did you become wise?”
“Since I realized you need supervision.”
Annie picked up her pen. “I’m charging you for emotional counseling.”
“Put it on my bill.”
“Lunch and dessert.”
“Of course.”
Annie smiled and turned toward the front of the classroom as Professor Miller entered.
But even while the lecture began, her phone remained warm in her pocket.
And she found herself wondering whether Brian was thinking about her too.
Across the city, Brian sat in his office with a report open in front of him.
He had read the same paragraph three times.
Jason Vale, seated opposite him, noticed.
“You’re distracted.”
“I’m working.”
“You’ve been staring at the same page for five minutes.”
Brian turned the page.
Jason leaned back. “Ah. A brilliant strategy. Change the page and pretend the problem has disappeared.”
Brian ignored him.
His phone lit up.
A message from Annie.
Annie: Professor Miller is discussing cardiac output today. If you collapse from skipping lunch, I’ll be very disappointed.
Brian read it twice.
A faint smile touched his mouth.
Jason noticed immediately.
“There it is.”
Brian looked up. “What?”
“That expression.”
“I don’t have an expression.”
“You do. It’s the one you wear when Annie texts you.”
Brian placed his phone face down.
Jason grinned. “Did she ask if you ate?”
“Yes.”
“And did you answer honestly?”
“Yes.”
“Did you send proof?”
Brian said nothing.
Jason laughed. “You’re finished.”
“I’m not finished.”
“You’re sending meal photographs now.”
“She requested proof.”
“And you obeyed.”
Brian’s gaze sharpened. “Would you prefer I return to skipping meals?”
Jason’s smile faded slightly.
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
Brian looked away.
Jason leaned forward, his voice quieter. “Then keep doing what you’re doing. Not because Annie orders you to. Because you need to stay alive long enough to annoy her for the next forty years.”
Brian’s expression became unreadable.
But his hand moved toward his phone.
He opened Annie’s conversation.
Brian: What time do you finish class?
Her response came several minutes later.
Annie: Why? Are you planning to appear dramatically outside my university again?
Brian: No.
Annie: Good. You have a company to run.
Brian: I want to see you tonight.
Annie didn’t answer immediately.
Brian waited.
For a man accustomed to decisions being made within seconds, waiting for her reply felt strangely significant.
Finally, her message appeared.
Annie: Dinner?
Brian: Dinner.
Annie: You’re paying.
Brian: I expected that.
Annie: And you owe me dessert.
Brian: What did I do?
Annie smiled at her phone in the middle of the lecture.
Annie: You kissed me and made me think about it all morning.
Brian stared at the message.
For the first time that day, he completely forgot about the report in front of him.
Then he typed:
Brian: Then I owe you more than dessert.
Annie’s breath caught.
She read the message again.
And again.
Her cheeks warmed.
Jane glanced over. “What did he say?”
Annie locked her phone and placed it beneath her notebook.
“Nothing.”
Jane narrowed her eyes. “That is absolutely not the face of someone who received nothing.”
Annie turned toward the professor, pretending to concentrate.
But beneath the desk, her fingers remained wrapped tightly around her phone.
And for the first time, she wasn’t afraid of what might happen if Brian became important.
She was beginning to wonder what would happen if she let him.