Not His First Choice Novel by Claire

Not His First Choice Chapter 09 More than a year passed. Spring came around again. The apricot tree bloomed again. One weekend at dusk, I went into town for a friend’s wedding. It was outdoors, on a ranch. Sunset light. Beautiful hour. I stood at the edge of the lawn with a glass of wine,

Not His First Choice Chapter 08 After a month in Ridgway, I quit my job at the Denver hotel and moved to the town for good. I went to a small local inn. The owner was a sixty-year-old woman named Margaret who’d been looking for help. I told her I’d done four years of operations

Not His First Choice Chapter 07 I’d been in Ridgway for twelve days. Every morning I woke up to birds. I’d pull back the curtains and see green all the way up the mountains, and for a second, the last twenty-six years of my life felt like a dream someone had left out in the

Not His First Choice Chapter 06 Three more days passed. He drove to Ridgway and found the little inn where I was staying. The high-altitude sun was harsh. He wore a thin jacket, hair mussed by the wind, jaw shadowed with stubble. He saw me. His lips moved. “Nora—” “Why are you here?” My voice

Not His First Choice Chapter 05 Black pop-up. White text. Sitting dead center on the screen. He stared for two seconds, then let out a laugh. “For real?” He tossed the phone face-down on the nightstand. He didn’t come home the next day. He and Lily went to the track. Private track day. He pushed

Not His First Choice Chapter 04 The next day I sat on the edge of the bed, one thought running loops in my head. Eight years of points was enough for a goodbye. In the cab on the way over, I thought about the first time I saw him, back when I was eighteen. Sun

Not His First Choice Chapter 03 The next day, after work, Ethan was waiting outside my office. He had a huge bouquet of red roses in his arms, petals still beaded with water. “Nora.” He came over and pushed the flowers into my arms. The bouquet was heavy. My arm sagged under it. “Last night

Not His First Choice Chapter 02 In the cab, I opened the points app. Every single change, logged in neat little rows. 【Brought lunch +10】 【Didn’t complain about forgotten birthday +50】 【Upset Lily -100】 Every point was a piece of me I’d swallowed down. He never knew—every day I’d been saving, I’d been picturing his

Not His First Choice Chapter 01 At our eight-year anniversary dinner, I ordered a spicy grilled steak. Ethan Cole’s face dropped instantly. “Nora, that’s five hundred points off.” “Did you forget Lily’s severely allergic to chili? She could go into anaphylactic shock.” I didn’t say a word. Because between us, there was a points app.