Free Romancing a Stranger by Shady Grace

Prologue
July 2010
    Hold time dear to your heart , the fortune cookie had said. “Whatever,” Milli slurred, as she stumbled down the brick path leading to her row house on Boston’s Beacon Hill, totally smashed.
    After another date gone horribly wrong, she’d drunk so much wine she should look like a grape. She shook her head in self-pity, lost her balance, and ended up sprawled over the low cedar bushes bordering the walkway.
    Ugh . “Why?” she shouted at the stars. “What is it with me and losers?”
    Milli discovered tonight—on her thirtieth birthday of all nights—that the guy she was seeing still lived with his mother. He was in his forties.
    A bitter laugh rose up in her throat. So much for going to his place for hot birthday sex.
    Well, at least the Chinese buffet was delicious.
    Shame crept up her face and she bit back a sob. The cedar branches poked her back. Her feet ached from her new heels. She’d worn her best dress tonight, and now all she had was a prickly embrace from the cedar bush. How much more pathetic could she get?
    All her life Milli had wanted love and companionship, which was probably why she caught the attention of less-than-adequate men. Maybe she tried too hard. Maybe she wore her hair the wrong way. Maybe her lipstick was too bright.
    Enough of this , she thought, wiping her tears away. She struggled to sit up in the bushes and tore the sleeve of her dress in the process.
    “Oh, you fucking—” She let out a frustrated growl and yanked her arm away from the bush. Heat crawled up her neck and face from the sudden movement, making her dizzy.
    “Is that you, Miss Bishop?”
    The blurry image of Milli’s neighbor, Wilfred Bigsby, leaned out his window.
    “Yes, Mr. Bigsby. It’s just me—your single, drunk, pathetic neighbor.”
    The old man chuckled. “Oh, shush, girl. You’re young, beautiful, live in the best neighborhood in town, and have plenty of time to find a good man. Did you get your package?”
    “What”—she stifled a burp— “package?”
    “There was a delivery man here while you were out. Strange thing it was.” Wilfred paused, as if struggling for the right words. “The van he pulled up with wasn’t one I’ve seen before for mail, especially at this time of night. Anyway, I offered to take the box and give it to you when you got in, but he said no. Left it on your doorstep he did.” Another long pause. “Oh, don’t forget the power is going out at midnight, and Happy Birthday!” He disappeared back in his house, sliding the window shut behind him.
    Milli swore under her breath, thinking old Mr. Bigsby was a nosy old fart. How did he know it was her birthday unless he was flipping through her mail again?
    Maybe she should take him on a date. Desperation could make a woman go out with an annoying old man, and she was desperate, all right. Hopeless and pathetic.
    Sure enough, a small brown box sat on her step.
    Milli lifted and examined the package under the porch light. Mrs. Millicent Blackwood was labeled on the top with no return address, but the receiver address was hers. How odd. They got her first name right, but the last name didn’t ring a bell. And the lettering looked like ancient calligraphy. She stared at the name on the label again, feeling a sense of uneasiness worm into her stomach.
    Milli cast a glance to the street and surrounding doorsteps. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Shrugging off the strange feeling the package gave her, she shoved it under her armpit and fumbled to get the key in the slot.
    The door opened, and pitch-black met her eyes. Throwing her keys in the general direction of the hall table, she kicked off her heels and switched on the lights.
    Like so many days and nights before, she was met with silence in her home. No laughter of children or the comforting welcome of a man. She didn’t even have a pet to greet her at the door. Her life was a pathetic mixture of hard work and drunkenness.
    She made her way to the