Covertly Strong (The Strong Series Book 1) by N.A. Alcorn Page A

his focus still gawking at the stage in complete misperception.
    Julian nudges him and Nix catches his sly grin from his periphery, but he’s too dumbfounded to respond to his friend’s knowing look—a look that says, “This woman is smoking hot.”
    Fuck, he’s right. She is beautiful. She is just as painstakingly beautiful as he remembers.
    He’s rooted to his seat as he watches in stunned fascination. His gut instinct says, It has to be her. A woman he never thought he’d see again continues to talk about her travels to third-world countries and surgical deeds for the organization Project Smiles and under the name Dr. Felicia Santora. There’s no explanation other than the possibility that she’s using a different persona—some sort of alias. The ache in his chest reassures his brain that his eyes are not misleading him. Feelings of confusion and frustration and indisputable anger course through his bloodstream. Every cell inside his body knows that it’s her .
    The woman who is standing at the podium is Sloan Walker.
    Why in the hell is she going under a different name?
    He’s skeptical and curious and acutely aware of every question that races through his mind. So many questions. He needs to know everything. He wants to know more about this woman who is familiar yet so unfamiliar at the same time. He wants to know what she has been up to. He wants to know what she’s hiding from.
    There are secrets behind her chocolate eyes. Those eyes used to be an open book. Nix used to know exactly what they were saying, what they were thinking with just a single glance, but now, those eyes are different—harder, sharper, and undeniably secretive . There is an edge to those eyes that he has never seen.
    So many years have passed since he’s seen her—since he received the last and final letter.
    A letter he’s saved and hasn’t had the heart to get rid of.
    He spent the early part of his twenties trying to track her down but obviously had no luck. It was like she had just disappeared. A piercing pain shoots across his chest as he thinks back on the past.
    Why did she give up? Why did she just disappear? Why didn’t she ever want to contact me?
    A large part of him is angry at her. Angry that something so perfect was tossed aside like it had never meant anything. He thought they’d had a love that could withstand anything, but obviously, he was wrong. Dead fucking wrong. The first year he went without hearing from Sloan, he told himself that it wasn’t because she hadn’t wanted to keep in touch with him. He convinced himself that something had prevented her from reaching out to him. Something had happened and he was sure they would eventually find each other again. But then time continued to pass…and not a word from her. Not a single call or letter… Nothing .
    As the days and months and years went by, Nix finally let himself come to the realization that she wasn’t going to make a reappearance in his life. He spent his mid-twenties trying to find her replacement through one-night stands and fleeting affairs. But deep down, his soul still longed for her. Subconsciously, he knew she was the type of girl who could never be replaced, and eventually, he began to accept the fact that he would probably never experience that type of love again.
    He spent the last several years focusing his priorities on his career. And finding that purpose saved him from going crazy over a woman he had only had the opportunity of spending one year with during his teenage youth. Nix has never shared the story of Sloan with anyone. Most of his buddies would laugh or call him a pussy, and if Nix was honest with himself, he would admit that it still hurts too damn much to remember.
    But now she stands before him and he’s remembering again…

HIS MIND SLOWLY MAKES ITS way back to the present. He glances around the table to see if anyone noticed him endlessly lost in memories. Shock and disbelief consume him.
    Her voice continues to