Secret Paradise (Kimani Romance) Read Online Free

of an oncoming headache. “Client issues.”
    “Poor baby. Let me take you out.”
    “That sounds good, but I’m busy.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “This isn’t working.”
    “I’ll wait if you need to switch phones.”
    “Not the lines, us.”
    He paused. “You want something more? Marriage? Fine. I’ll marry you.”
    Nikki laughed at his flippant attitude. “No, I don’t want to marry you.”
    “Why not?”
    “Benjamin, you don’t want to get married.”
    “That’s not the point. Why wouldn’t you want to marry me? I’m a great catch.”
    “Yes, for someone else.”
    “Are you interested in someone else? Are you seeing another man?”
    “No, it’s not that.” She was just bored. Everything about her life had become routine. The wealthy clients and their tirades, the social events. There were no happy surprises or new discoveries. “I just need a break.”
    “We don’t have to go to—”
    “Sorry. I have another call I have to take. I’ll call you later.” She hung up before he could argue.
    Abby came into the room, looking composed again. She straightened the tilted plant. “I’ve called housekeeping.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Is Benjamin stopping by?”
    “No, never again.”
    “Good.”
    Nikki looked at her, shocked. “What do you mean?”
    “You deserve better. When are you going to start designing your own home?”
    “I’ve already designed my place.”
    Abby shook her head. “No, not a place. A home—with a fully furnished kitchen and a big family room.”
    “And a picket fence and lawn?” Nikki shook her head and laughed. “You’re talking to the wrong sister. That’s not me.”
    “Everyone deserves their own space, where they feel complete.”
    “Right.”
    She knew that better than most. That was why she’d become a designer. She knew what a room could do, how it could make a person feel. But she didn’t need a home of her own. She really liked her apartment and the friends and parties she hosted there. She was just restless. She only wished she knew what to do. She was young, attractive, with a good job and nothing really to complain about, yet she felt like running away.
    Nikki stood. “What I need is a challenge. Something big and a little scary. Something to test my skills. Unpredictable.” She looked around her destroyed office and groaned. She obviously wouldn’t find it here. She needed the outdoors; she thought better there. “I’m going to go for a walk.” She grabbed her bag and sunglasses.
    Nikki walked several blocks, but the restless feeling still followed. She crossed over to go into Central Park. Then her phone rang. “Yes?” she said as she saw a driver give another the finger and a young child drop his ice cream on the pavement and burst into tears.
    “It’s Monica. Do you have a minute?”
    “Sure.” She stepped around a pile of dog poop someone had neglected to pick up. “What’s up?”
    “It’s Lucian.”
    She stopped. “Has something happened? He’s been out of the hospital for some time now and I thought he was doing fine.”
    “He is,” Monica said quickly to reassure her.
    “Good,” Nikki said, starting to walk again. Over the past several years she’d become invested in Lucian’s recovery. She’d been just as thankful as J.D. and Monica that he’d pulled through.
    “This isn’t a physical problem. It’s his house. He’s been able to rebuild, but the interior is a problem.”
    “I’m there,” Nikki said without hesitation. This was the answer to her problems. She knew it. Already a sense of excitement had replaced her restlessness.
    “You haven’t let me finish.”
    “You don’t need to finish,” Nikki said, picking up her pace. If she were five years old, she would start to skip. “You need me to help him design his place, and I’m up to the challenge.”
    “I’m glad, but there are a few things you should know.”
    “I’ll find out when I get there.”
    Monica hesitated. “He’s not the