Chapter One

Moving into a new town is stressful enough but moving into a new apartment when your unpacking everything yourself was seeming like a bad idea now as she lugged yet another heavy box in to the quite large apartment.

She was in Lanview Pennsylvania now which was quite far from Atlantic City, especially when she had spent the night driving here, the only thing that gave her any kind of hope was that everything was going as planned, the apartment was paid for, the lease in her hand, utilities turned on and hopefully by tonight she would be sipping a beer while she unpacked the numerous boxes that now lined the large living room..

This was an exciting time for her, she had just gotten the job of a life time, assisant editor of a large newspaper and she had finally been able to move out of the crappy apartment she had in AC and start over, and that is exactlly what she wanted to do, start over..

The last few months had been hell in AC, she had a wicked breakup with her long time boyfriend, she was stuck at a dead end job working on the boardwalk making basically peanuts for a living but now, finally everything was looking up but she was alone for the first time, alone in a new city, a new apartment, her family still back in AC but she had wanted this, she needed this otherwise she would end up like everyone else living in the southside of AC, poor and on the verge of being homeless, no this was good, the new start she needed..

She carried yet another heavy box that she had in the Uhaul truck and she manuevered herself towards her apartment. This place was swank, much nicer than anything she could of ever imagined she would be living in but then again she would have the paycheck to afford it and then some, a smile curved her lips as she thought about all the freedom she would have now, she almost wanted to shout it into the air if it wasnt for the box in her hand she probably would of, she got just to the top of the stairs of the second floor and like clockwork the bottom of the box split open, dropping all of the contents onto the ground with a clank..

"shit" she said as she scrambled to her feet trying to retrieve the pots and pans that she had carelessly packed, she knew she should of used that extra roll of scotch tape, a hand came down startling her as she fell promply on her ass..

"are you ok?" a deep raspy voice asked as she glanced up through her lashes only to come face to face with the bluest eyes she had ever seen..She was dumbfounded cause attached to the blue eyes was a chistled face with stubble and a goattee, long unruly dark brown hair that draped at the shoulders which happened to be covered in a dark blue dress shirt that matched his oh so blue eyes..And then he smiled, his tongue just slipping out to lick his lucious lips as she blinked at him, she was still on the ground, on her ass, staring at him like some deer caught in the headlights, this guy was hot, like seriously hot.."Let me help you" he put his hand out to her and she reached for it, immediately feeling a charge of electricity that made her suck in a not so quiet breath as she looked at him..

"thank you" she managed to say with a lump in her throat as she stood now toe to toe with this absolutely gorgeous man..She was literally oogling him as she stood there, damn they didnt have men like this in AC, he smiled again, almost a smirk and she immediately flushed as she looked away and reached for a pot from the ground..

"Moving in?" he asked as he reached down and grabbed a pot and looked at it amusingly..

"Yeah, not doing a very good job at it either" she said with a hard swallow..

He picked up the box and inspected it.."it's busted" he glanced at her and she couldnt look at him, she had to look away, damn it why was she acting like a fool right now."come on i'll help you" he said as he grabbed the remaining pots from the ground..

"Oh you dont have to" she began nervously..

"I insist" he grinned and she still stood there.."Lead the way" she quickly scampered down the hallway, begging herself not to fall down as she got to her apartment, her breathing was ragged now, she stepped inside and quickly put the pots onto a couch and when she spun he was right there, like literally right there, she banged into him..

"sorry" she said with embarassment as she backed up some..He walked past her and put them on the couch, looking around her apartment as he did so, she suddenly felt self conscious.."Its a mess in here" she began to ramble..

"well you are just moving in" he grinned as he glanced up at her, damn it he was hot, like too hot, she felt the temperature in her body spike to atleast 100 degrees..She smiled nervously and he began to walk over, he had such a strut about him like a confident strut.."Im John" he put his hand out again..Oh no, she didnt want to touch his hand again, she froze for a second as he looked at her and then she shook it, damn she felt a chill down her spine..

"natalie" she swallowed hard..

"well the pleasure is all mine natalie" he smiled and she felt dizzy as she stood there.."How much more do you have" he asked as they let go of their hands..

"Umm.." she couldnt speak, she silently chastized herself for acting so childish, he probably thought she was crazy or something.."Not to much...I...I got it" she began as she fidgeted with her hands.. Get a grip Natalie, she scolded herself..

"I dont mind" he began as he walked out of her apartment and she stood there for a minute, she had to take a deep breath as she stood there and then she quickly scurried out into the hall, he was standing there and smiling.."You know there is an elevator" he said as he smirked at her..

"oh" she said suddenly feeling like an idiot, of course there would be an elevator..

He didnt move until she got next to him, he had to be atleast six two and all muscle, he was really really devine.."where are you from Natalie" he asked as she got next to him and he began to walk, he passed the stairs and made his way to the elevator and she felt her heart race more..

"Atlantic City" she said quickly as he pushed the button to call the elevator, she was silently freaking out as she stood there trying to be nonchalant..

"Good ole' AC, its been quite a few years since i have been back there" he said as the elevator opened and he stepped in, she forced her legs to move inside of it and he hit another button as the doors closed..

"Your from Ac?" her voice was higher than she liked and she quickly looked away..

"Born and raised" she could see him grinning from the corner of her eye..

"cool" she said quickly and then immediately regretted her choice of words..

"cool" he smiled..

The doors opened and she quickly stepped out, god he was intimidating, she had never been intimidated by anyone, especially not a man, she began to walk to the truck that waited in the large parking lot..

"Long drive" he said as she got to the back and went to open it but he did it for her, his body brushing against hers, god he smelt so good, she inhaled him deep, he smelt of body spray and pure man..

"it wasnt too bad" she said quietly as he reached inside and grabbed two large boxes, she grabbed another one and followed him back to the elevator, he put one of the boxes in front of the moving door and it stopped, he turned and headed back to the truck, she stood for a second and just looked at him, man he had a nice ass, he wore black dress pants and they fit him deliciously nice, she swallowed hard and quickly put the box down and scurried back over to the truck, he had two more boxes in his hand and she grabbed the last remainding box..

"see, not so bad" he grinned and she nodded her head as they made their way back to the elevator, she was sure she would have a heart attack soon if she had to be around him much longer, they stepped back in the elevator and he moved the box, allowing the door to close shut and he looked at her, neither of them saying anything as they held boxes..

He stared at her the entire time they were in the elevator and she finally had to stare at the wall, when the doors opened she nearly ran out as she quickly got to her apartment and put the boxes down and immediately turned for the elevator again to get the remaining boxes, she almost bumped into him in the doorway and he put the boxes down..

"I got them" he said as he walked back down the hall and she stood nervously at her door, he came back into the apartment and placed the boxes on the ground and ran his hand through his long dark hair, damn his hair looked soft.."well thats it" he began as she stood there uncomfortably, not knowing what to say...

The sound of his phone ringing broke the silence and he pulled it from his pocket, all the while staring at her.."Mcbain" he said quickly and she hurried to move some of the boxes.."Ok..." he continued and then pulled the phone from his ear.."I have to take this" he said and she spun to face him..

"thank you again" she said as she shoved her hands nervously into the pockets of her jeans..

"anytime Natalie" he nodded his head.."I'll see you around" he said as he left the apartment and resumed his conversation without missing a beat, she quickly walked to the door and stared into the hall, he stopped at the elevator and turned in her direction, she felt like the kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, she immediately stepped back inside and closed the door, her heart racing as she bust into laughter at her own behaviour, she quickly wiped the silly thoughts from her mind and continued to unpack, it was going to be a very very long night..

Natalie fell onto her couch absolutely exhausted after two hours, she had a cold beer in her hand and her feet up on the couch as she sipped the refreshing beverage, she still had a ton of boxes to go through but the essentials were unpacked and that was all that mattered..

A knock on the door alerted her as she jumped slightly and looked at it, for a second her heart raced, was it John, she quickly laughed it off as she got up and headed over, of course it wouldnt be him, she opened the door to a brown haired girl, her big brown eyes wide as she smiled big, her hair in a pixie cut..

"Hey im Gigi your neighbor" she said in a bouncy overly hyper way as she shoved a fruit basket at natalie..

"Hi, Im natalie" she said as she grabbed the basket.."thank you" she began as Gigi peered inside..

"I was wondering when someone was gonna move in" Gigi said with a grin..

Natalie stood there nervously for a moment.."come in" she said as she moved out of the way and Gigi happily skipped in..

"its a great place to live" she began as natalie put the basket of fruit down.."so im like the official apartment welcome commity" Gigi grinned.."do you mind if i?" Gigi said as she grabbed a beer from the table and opened it..

"go right ahead" natalie said with a grin, she honestly didnt know how to feel about this, she didnt have many friends in AC, she never had time for them, this was odd for her..

"so where ya from natalie" Gigi took a seat on the couch, making herself comfortable as natalie stood nervously..

"Atlantic City" she said as she grabbed her own beer and took a sip, this girl had way too much energy..

"cool, ive never been" Gigi sipped her drink.."so are you living here alone or what?" she asked as she stared at natalie..

"Yep just me" she said nervously as she sipped her beer some more..

"Very cool i will have to show you around, mainly old people living here" Gigi said with a smile..

"Ok" Natalie said quietly..

"well except for the hottie in the penthouse, he like owns this place" she grinned big, natalie couldnt help but wonder if it was the same guy she had met earlier, but it couldnt be, could it? When she had gotten the apartment she had gone through a rental agency, she hadnt even met the owner..

"Oh" Natalie said as she sipped her drink..

"but dont worry about him he is harmless" Gigi grinned.."so what brings you to lanview"

"a job" Natalie said as she sipped her drink, she wasnt use to having conversation with random strangers even though this one seemed fairly harmless..

"Oh yeah, where?" she grinned, Natalie could tell she was definitely a nosey buddy..She stood uncomfortably sipping her drink.."Oh my god im being so rude, im sure you have like a million things to do, right" Gigi jumped up now..

"Yeah im kind of busy" Natalie said quickly..

"well me and you will definitely have to hang ok, im right next door so if you need anything" she grinned big..

"thanks" Natalie said with a smile..

Gigi quickly finished off her beer and placed it on the table than walked to the door.."see ya" she said as she skipped out and Natalie stood there shaking her head, ok so this place was just a tad bit weird, she quickly locked the door and made a mental note to steer clear from Miss Hyper, she turned and looked at her boxes and sighed, she was gonna be up all night doing this, she quickly got to it..

Natalie had slept about three hours before the sun rudely awoke her, she made a mental note to put curtain up asap, she stared at the incredible mess in her apartment, boxes still strewned everywhere but atleast they were all but empty, she moved to the kitchen as she yawned and she began to fill her coffee maker but she immediately realized she had no coffee, actually she had no groceries at all and she huffed, she couldnt function without her coffee and so she quickly threw her hair up into a messy pony tail, she had remembered seeing a small diner a few blocks away, she would get a cup of coffee and maybe something to eat and then finish fixing up her place cause tomorrow was the big day, her first day at her new job, she smiled at the idea and then quickly headed out of her apartment..

The small diner was exactlly two blocks away, it was called Carlotta's and it was quaint, actually all of lanview was pretty quaint much different than the busy streets of AC, she quickly ordered herself a coffee and a plate of pancakes, the place smelled amazing and she couldnt get the smile off of her face as she sipped her coffee..

"New in town" she heard a male voice say and she turned to see what looked like a busboy standing behind her, he had short cropped hair, big brown eyes and a very muscular build underneath the white tank top he wore..

"That obvious?" she said with embarassment, she wasnt use to small towns...

"Just a little" he grinned and then put his hand out.."Christian Vega" he said with a smile..

"Natalie" she said as she shook the guys hand..

"I hope you ordered the pancakes they are to die for" he grinned...

"actually i did" she smiled as she sipped her coffee..

"Christian dont scare away the customers" the woman who had taken her order said with a smile as she came over with pancakes, so many pankcakes it made Natalies eyes bulge and her stomach rumble at the sight.."Dont you have work to do" the woman said to him with a grin..

"Mom seriously" the guy said with a roll of his eyes as he flushed with embarassment..

"Im sure the nice girl would like to eat in peace and not with you drooling over her" the woman continued and Cris turned even redder, he quickly walked away and Natalie laughed now, she liked this woman."dont mind my son, he is harmless" she smiled at natalie who politely smiled back.."enjoy the pancakes" she said as she walked away and Natalie stared down at her plate, she quickly picked it up and turned to find a table but right there, right behind her was the blue eyed man, John and she nearly dropped her plate of food if it wasnt for him grabbing it..

"woo there natalie, now that would of been a shame, Carlotta's has the best pancakes" he grinned as he looked at her and she swallowed hard.. He was dressed in a white silk shirt with a few buttons undone and a pair of relaxed jeans, talk about hot, damn!

"thanks" she said as she took the plate from him and their fingers touched for a second, her skin immediately chilled at his touch..

"Hungry?" he asked even though his voice oozed sex, or atleast thats how she heard it..

"yes" her voice came out low but she wasnt talking about the plate in front of her..

"well you wont be disappointed" his tongue lightly traced his lips and she sucked in a deep breath as she stood there..

"Jonathon" carlotta called out and he brought his attention to her and Natalie took the opportunity to find a seat, she didnt trust her legs to keep her upright anymore, she quickly sat down, immediately remembering her state of dress and her hair, god she hated that she hadnt taken any time to atleast look presentable but then again she wasnt expecting to see Mr Sexy either..

She stared down at the pancakes on her plate, suddenly she wasnt hungry at all.."they taste alot better if you eat them" she heard his voice and she glanced up and there he was, his groin level with the table and her eye sight, she stared for a moment and then looked up, her face immediately flushing.."do you mind?" he asked and than sat without waiting for her to answer, she wanted to die as she looked across the table at him.."Finish unpacking?" his voice was smooth and oh so sexy as he leaned back in the booth..

"Yes..just about" she swallowed hard..

"good" he glanced up as a waitress came over and placed his coffee in front of him and then oogled him for a moment..

"Your pancakes will be ready in a minute" she said with a huge blush on her pale face..

"thank you" he said with a nod and then looked back at natalie as she sat there staring at her food and her coffee, he slowly sipped his coffee and she just stared at his lips and then quickly looked away.."By all means eat, they are the best pancakes in town" he began and she took a small fork full of them and put them in her mouth.."Have you been able to find everything you need?" he asked as she swallowed her first mouthful and looked at him..

"yes everyone seems very nice" she said nervously, damn it she couldnt stop blushing it was getting ridiculous now..

"glad to hear" he said with a smile as the flushing waitress came back over with a plate of pancakes for him, natalie had never been so nervous in her life..

"anything else?" the young girl said almost breathlessly but he didnt look at her this time, he stared right at natalie..

"no im good" he smiled and the girl scurried off, he quickly took a bite of his food and natalie had to remind herself not to stare at him, it wasnt like she had never been around attractive men before but damn he was beyond attractive..

They ate in relative silence, she had to force herself to chew, she was damn near hyperventilating as she sat there, why the heck was he sitting with her, she was oddly aware that everyone that came in was looking at them and every woman that came in was literally drooling at the sight of him..

"Now was i right?" he finally asked as he put his fork down and she looked up at him, sipping her coffee, trying to act nonchalant but she was anything but..

"they were good" she said with a smile..

"so what other plans do you have for today natalie" he began and she couldnt help but love the way her name sounded coming out of his delicious mouth..

"Just unpacking and such" she said nervously as she sipped her coffee..She wondered if he had a girlfriend, he didnt have a ring on so he wasnt married and she was half sure that if he had a girlfriend he wouldnt be sitting with her making small talk, why was he sitting with her? But then again someone as hot as him surely had a girl friend, or atleast someone, right?

"well if you need any help" he began as his attention moved past her and she couldnt help but follow his eyes, they landed on a tall dark haired woman who was walking into the diner, a smile on her face.."Please excuse me" he said as he got up and walked over to the leggy dark haired woman, natalie watched them intently, and there it was, his girlfriend, she suddenly felt disappointed as she stared back at her plate of half eatened food..

She could half hear their conversation, apparently they knew each other well, her appetite now fully gone she quickly got up and headed to the register, she almost laughed at herself for acting so silly..

"so how were the pancakes" Carlotta asked with a smile..

"they were wonderful" she began and then she felt eyes on her, she glanced to see Miss legs staring at her, almost glaring and she quickly looked away, she quickly paid her check and made a bee line for the door, she was more than uncomfortable now..

She opted to jog home, mainly because she couldnt wait to get back there, she needed to burn off some of this crazy energy she had anyways, her mind going back to him and how silly she was to think he didnt have someone, of course he did, he was just being polite, god! She chastized herself for even thinking about anyone, she had come to Lanview to get away from the drama, after her wicked breakup with Brody, she was going to swear off men not drool over the first attractive one she saw..

Inside her apartment she finally relaxed some, she put on her Ipod and turned the music up loud as she quickly got to unpacking some more, she would think of nothing but the music on her Ipod and the new exciting job she started tomorrow..

A few hours later she sat on her couch, a beer in one hand and her phone in the other..

"i miss you too Rex, i told you that you could of come with me" she said to her brother as she relaxed her feet on the coffee table, the place was looking more presentable now, almost all the boxes were folded neatly and in a large closet in the hall..

"You know i would never do good in a small town" he said with a laugh..

"well you atleast have to visit sometime" she said with a smile, she missed him already, she had spent so many years taking care of him when their neglectful mother Roxy was out partying, it was weird being so far from him now, she had almost not even taken the job because of that fact but she knew she had to do this plus the fact that Brody was now prancing around with his new girl, god, Natalie couldnt stomach it no more, did he have no cooth? Of course he didnt, she knew this, he had left her for the girl he had gotten pregnant while they were together no less..

"yeah yeah, soon you will forget about me when your a big shot editor" he said with a laugh..

"assistant editor" she corrected him.."and i would never forget about you"

"Oh we'll see" he sighed..

"aww rex dont make me sad" she began..

"Ok enough with the sappy crap" he said quickly..."any hotties there?" she could almost feel his grin as he spoke..

"well not that i make a habit of checking out chicks but" she laughed.."there is someone" she thought of Gigi, she'd be perfect for her brother, they both had that bouncy attitude..

"Oh yeah...details sis" he grinned..

"well you would just have to come here to see for yourself" Natalie smiled..

"Oh you are so unfair" he laughed..

"i am, aint i" she laughed..."its late rex" she began...

"yeah yeah big shot editor" he laughed..

"assistant" she laughed again..

"whatever" he laughed..."I love ya"

"Love ya too, i will call you tomorrow" she said as she hung up and walked to the kitchen, placing her beer in the trash she glanced out the window into the parking lot..

Her body froze as she saw him, John and that woman, she stared as the leggy woman got in a car as John stood outside it, he stood there as she drove off and natalie just watched him in the moonlight, damn he was fine but then he glanced up, seemingly looking right up at her apartment and she froze and then quickly jumped out of view as her heart raced, had he seen her staring like a damn freak? She couldnt move as she stood there, afraid to look back out the window, instead she slowly backed up out of the kitchen and walked into the livingroom, a knock on her door made her jump and she spun around, staring at it, her heart beating irratically, she quickly walked over and looked through the peep hole, her heart now in her throat as she saw him standing there, his back to the door and she quickly backed up, oh my god he was at her door, she froze, unable to move and then she heard footsteps moving away from it and her heart began to relax, she tiptoed back to the door and peeked out the peep hole again, he was gone, she let out a long deep breath, damn it what was she doing and what was he doing, why did he come to her door again, she quickly made her way to her bedroom, she told herself she wasnt going to think of him, nope, she wasnt, she was being silly, very silly and with that she climbed into bed, her mind desperately trying not to think of Mr Sexy and very much involved blue eyed man..