Free Chosen by a Stranger (Craved Series #5) by Hazel Kelly Page A

didn't
end up together.
    I loved her too fucking much.
     
    I knew because between my head and my balls, I didn’t know which
ached more with her being so far away.
     
    Her sweetness was in my milkshakes. Her smile was in the sunshine.
Even the swaying of the palm trees reminded me of how her hips moved when she
walked.
     
    What the hell was she doing right now?
     
    I pictured her from behind- the way her curves tapered in at her
waist as she sat at her desk, exceeding client’s expectations. I pictured her head
cocked as she stood admiring the flowers I got her in their new vase. I
pictured her holding my watch in her delicate fingers and hoped it was still
warm from being worn, hoped she could still feel how badly I wanted her even
from so far away.
    But the visions offered no relief.
     
    None of them were as good as the real thing.
     
    I turned off the shower and grabbed my undersized Thai towel off
the bar behind me.
    "You're killing me, Audrey," I said when my eyes peeked
over the towel and into the mirror.
     
    Suddenly, there was an enthusiastic knock on the door, a knock I
would recognize anywhere.
     
    I rubbed the towel over my head brusquely and wrapped it around my
waist, walking the short distance to the other side of my apartment.
    "Jin," I said, opening the door.
     
    He gave me a big hug, acting as if he hadn't noticed I was still
dripping wet and only half decent.
    "I missed you," he said, slapping my bare back.
     
    "Come in," I said, stepping back and gesturing to my well-worn
futon.
    "You look like shit," he said.
     
    I shrugged. "That's what too many long distance flights do to
a man."
    "And not shaving."
    "You're probably right," I said, feeling my short
stubble.
     
    A set of keys came at me in an underhanded toss, and I snatched
them from the air.
    "Did you get a new bike?" I asked, looking at the key
ring.
    "No," he said. "You did."
     
    "What?"
     
    "My parents wanted to get you something to thank you for
helping Lucky with her English… and whatever else you helped her with," he
said, choosing not to dwell on the fact that my classes often touched on more risqué
topics. "And I told them you needed a new bike."
     
    "I can't accept this," I said, knowing full well that
his parents needed the money they had. "They have a wedding to pay
for."
    Jin shrugged. "You've met my parents," he said. "I
wasn't going to argue with them."
    "Maybe I'll just use it until I have a chance to replace my
old bike," I said, trying not to sound ungrateful. "Then you can look
after this one for me."
    It was obvious that he loved that plan from how pathetic of a job
he did trying to pretend he didn't. "I know better than to argue with you
too," he said.
    "Thanks, Jin. And thank your parents for me." I set the
keys down on the kitchen counter. "Or better yet, maybe I could take them
to dinner some night. You could help me choose a place they’d like."
    "Sure," he said. "Sounds good."
    "I don’t know what’s in the fridge," I said, going to
the bathroom to shave. "But help yourself to whatever."
    Jin nodded once and walked to my short, turquoise fridge, opening
it as I ran a razor under the tap.
     
    "Any movie scripts cross your path when you were away?"
he asked.
     
    "No," I said. "But you know I'm always on the
lookout for you."
     
    "I know," he said, letting the fizz out of a can of
Coke.
     
    I lathered some shaving foam on my face and leaned close to the
mirror.
    "So are you going to tell me what happened with Audrey or
what?"
     
    I froze, the razor suspended over my face. "Or what."
    A moment later, he was leaning in the doorway. As an only child, I
wasn't used to being crowded in the bathroom by people I wasn't sleeping with,
but I made an exception since the idea of personal space was a completely
foreign concept to Jin.
    "Well?"
     
    "She needs time," I said, straightening back up.
     
    "Time for what?"
     
    "Time to decide if she's going to marry me."
    "You proposed?"
     
    I nodded, leaning my chin