Page 1 of Love in Design

Prologue

NATE SULLIVAN

There’s a loud knock on the door. I’m in my kitchen getting ready to head to bed after a fun time at the clubs. I check the time on the stove, and it’s almost five a.m.

“Who could be here at this hour?” I mutter as I walk to the door. I keep an umbrella stand since Seattle loves the rain so much— and always have my aluminum baseball bat handy for occasions of unwanted visitors.

I swing open the door with the baseball bat in my hand to two police officers standing there. Gripping the baseball bat, I slowly move from behind the door. “I have a baseball bat in my hand I’d like to put down.” They nod with their hands on their waistbands, gripping their guns’ handles. “How can I help you, officers?”

“Do you know a Catherine Sullivan?” the bulkier of the two men asks after looking at his notebook.

“Yes. That is my ex-wife. I haven’t seen her in almost six years. Not since we divorced. Why do you ask?”

“I’m sorry to be the bearer of shocking news. There was a car accident last night. Catherine didn’t make it, but your daughter Victoria did.”

“I’m sorry, did you say mydaughter?” The blood drains from my body.

“Yes, sir. You’re on the birth certificate. She’s banged up pretty bad, and we couldn’t find any other family.”

“Catherine stopped talking to her family when she turned eighteen. I was the only family she had until she left me. What hospital is she at?” They give me the name of the local hospital. I thank them, but then they ask if I need a ride— I look a little rough. I nod.

My blood alcohol could be through the roof.

“We’ll stop to get you some coffee.” Feeling around for my phone in my back pocket, we head out.

* * *

Since the accident, I learned Catherine was living two hours from me and never told me about my daughter. Victoria, whose named after my late grandmother that raised me and took Catherine in when she turned eighteen, slept for the first ten hours of me being there. She’d whimper in her sleep, and the nurse reassured me about what to expect as her body was healing.

Two weeks after Catherine’s death, Victoria was still in the hospital. The funeral director helped me a lot with having the funeral after Victoria was released. No one came to her funeral but a few coworkers and me. They all knew about me.

I was the one she regretted.

It’s been a week since the funeral, and Victoria cries out for her. My buddies from college help a lot. Bethani, Ryan’s wife, helped when I had to work and move. I sold my apartment and moved in with Victoria. She lost her mom, so I couldn’t uproot her.

Victoria always knew about me from stories Catherine told her. She’s still not sure about me, though. I told her we would take it one day at a time.

When I lay my head down at night in the bed that used to smell like Catherine, the last thoughts are always the same for me. I’ve lived as a bachelor with no responsibilities except for Cupid’s Arrow.

How the fuck am I going to take care of a child when I’m lucky to keep myself alive?

Chapter One

NATE SULLIVAN

Two Years Later.

“Ryan, I don’t give a fuck what you and Bethani are doing.” I sigh into the phone, pounding my fist on the counter. I’ve been up all night packing for the big move, and I’m cranky. Ryan, my best friend and co-owner of Cupid’s Arrow, would’ve been here three days ago to help me, but his wife is ovulating. They’re trying for baby number twelve, I think.

I can’t blame him, but this move was his idea, not mine.

He always wanted a tattoo parlor in every state. When Jacob, another best friend in our circle from high school and college, heard about this town called Cupid’s Cove in Maine, we all knew it was perfect. I mean, our tattoo shop is Cupid’s Arrow. He thought it would be perfect for me to raise Victoria, too. It’s not the fast pace of Los Angeles.

When we visited a couple of months ago, Victoria made a friend. They FaceTime every day.

“I needed your help,” I snap, hanging up on him.

“Uncle Ryan not coming?” Victoria smiles her toothy grin, which makes me smile.

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