Saved by the Bride

chapter Fourteen

“I’ve got some great news.” Annika addressed the town meeting with a wide smile.

“You’ve convinced Bridget Callahan to change her mind?” Melissa’s hopeful expression was replicated around the room.

She shook her head, swallowed a sigh and tried to think about the best way to get the message through to everybody that Bridey getting married in Whitetail was never going to happen. “I think we all have to accept that train has left the station. Bridget Callahan wants to get married in Chicago and it’s time to let that idea go.”

Nicole stood up and addressed the room. “We’ve got four weddings booked now.”

“Four?” A clutch of unease gripped her that she was not only out of the information loop but that she hadn’t been at the fourth bride meeting.

“You weren’t available, Anni, but don’t worry, we showed her your portfolio and she’s going to contact you.” Nicole turned back to the room. “This bride’s getting married next May and she wants to have the ceremony in the gazebo, her photos on the town hall steps and then travel in Al’s carriage to the Supper Club for the reception. She wants Mrs. Norell to make her cake and she asked if we had a wedding photographer we could recommend. Now that’s something we need to think about because right now, Whitetail doesn’t have one.”

“Anni,” Mrs. Norell beamed, “this will please you. See, there’s one new job for the town.”

One job. One! Annika gripped her gavel in exasperation and brought it down hard on the lectern. The sound reverberated around the room.

Some people blinked at her, others jumped in their seats and as Nicole sat down, she shot her a questioning look loaded with disapproval.

Annika tried not to mind Nicole’s expression and justified her action under the heading of “whatever it takes.” “And it’s new jobs that I want to tell you about. We have an electronics company from Mississippi looking to open a branch on the other side of the Mason-Dixon line, and the owner’s expressed interest in Whitetail. He’s coming next week for a tour of the town.”

A murmur of interest buzzed around the room. “How many jobs, Anni?” Clint Eklund asked. “As many as Reggies?”

She shook her head. “Initially ten jobs but that’s ten more than we have right now and ten jobs that are reliable and not seasonal.”

“Actually, Anni,” Melissa said, “we’ve had an inquiry about a winter wedding from a bride whose fiancé is a snowmobiler. They want the wedding to be part of a snowmobiling weekend. I suggested a perfect-white, velvet A-line wedding dress with fur trim.”

All the women in the room started nodding their approval and Al’s eyes lit up. “I could restore the old sleigh. That would be perfect for winter weddings. There’s nothing like the sound of sleigh bells tinkling.”

“That’s if you can hear them over the roar of a blizzard.” The strength of Annika’s annoyance surprised her. She usually had more patience. “People, a winter wedding this far north is fraught with logistical problems. Who in this town has ever got married in winter?”

Four hands shot up including Nicole’s, and Annika’s face instantly burned. She wished she could snatch back her words. She remembered that pretty wedding on a miraculously perfect blue-sky winter’s day that had dawned after a week of blizzards. Everyone had taken it as a sign—a blessing on a union that would stretch long into the future. Seven years later it had been tragically cut short.

“I’m sorry, I take it back but can we please just focus on Long River Electronics?” She shuffled her papers. “This is really an important meeting for us all. I can’t stress this enough so I think we need to work really hard at giving the owner of this company a true Whitetail welcome.”

Farmer Luke, a good friend of her brother, gave her a smile. “You can rely on us, Anni.”

Murmurs of agreement buzzed around the room and no one mentioned weddings. Annika blew out a breath of sheer relief.

Things were finally back on track.

* * *

Two hours later, Annika called into the cottage to deliver a gorgeous arrangement of sunflowers that had arrived for Kathleen. “These have to be the happiest flowers I know.”

“They are cheery,” Kathleen agreed. “Would you mind filling them up with water for me, please?”

Annika picked up the small plastic watering can and looked at the numerous vases of flowers dotted around the cottage. “Would you like me to go through them all and weed out the dead ones?”

Kathleen’s grateful expression said it all. “That would be wonderful, thank you. I really should tell Geoffrey that I have enough flowers but...”

Annika knew how she felt. “It’s lovely to be treasured.”

“It is, even if I have no clue how long it will last.”

She glanced at the older woman wondering if she was trying to tell her something, which was crazy because Annika knew exactly how long she and Finn had—Labor Day was their end point. “But you’re enjoying it while you can.”

“Exactly.” Kathleen smiled. “Finn tells me you’re an artist, which is something you failed to mention when I was rambling on about the Art Institute.”

Her heart kicked up but she kept her focus on pulling out the dead flowers which ironically reflected her artistic career perfectly. “I was interested in hearing about the program.”

“You’re very kind. I do love it and it’s one of the things that gets me up out of bed in the mornings.”

She wondered what else Finn had told his mother and then she remembered her promise to him a week ago when she’d been painting the mural. “Kathleen, what do you know about the failure of the Raybould Gallery?”

“Ryan Raybould should be shot for what he did to his family’s and the city’s art heritage.” Kathleen’s eyes sparked with indignation and her shoulders rolled back. “His great-grandfather would have disowned him and wept, had he been alive when the collection was sold to pay Ryan’s gambling debts. That young man’s addiction took a lot of people down with him and sadly, many of the artists who held exhibitions there in the last year never got paid.”

She’d believed Finn when he’d told her that her exhibition wasn’t the reason things had failed but the fact he’d wanted her to hear it from another source made her warm and tingly. Kathleen was looking at her but without any expectation of a comment and she realized Finn had kept her secret and he hadn’t told his mother about her connection to Ryan or the gallery. Perhaps it was Kathleen’s indignation or perhaps it was just the passing of time, but something made her say, “I exhibited there.”

Concern whipped across her cheeks. “Oh, I do hope you didn’t lose money or artwork.”

“No, nothing like that.” Just my ability to paint.

“Well that’s good to know. Is any of your work part of a permanent collection?”

Annika shook her head as the words immature, derivative and lacking substantive style—words that were carved on her heart—got converted to audio and boomed in her head. “My work is a long way from being in demand.”

Kathleen gave a quiet smile. “It only takes one painting, Annika.”

But she didn’t have another painting in her. Annika wrapped the dead flowers in paper and walked toward the door. “I’ll take these and put them in Dana’s compost bin.”

“That’s a good idea. Can you tell me, is Finn coming back tonight?”

Kathleen’s hopeful gaze sent a thread of sadness through her. Both of Finn’s parents wanted to see their son but they seemed to feel they couldn’t ask him about his plans. Both were depending on her. The sadness suddenly twisted back on her when she realized she was in a similar position. Finn came and went and she was the one always waiting.

But that’s implicit in an affair and you’re not family.

The thought failed to reassure her.

As if on cue, her phone chirped, announcing an incoming message, and she pulled it out of her pocket. Reading the liquid display, she hugged a smile to herself. “He says midafternoon tomorrow.”

“Perfect. If you’d asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to be laid up with a severely sprained ankle, I would have said ‘no.’ But it’s giving me extra time with Bridey and Finn, and I had a lovely afternoon with Hank last weekend.”

“I’m glad it’s all working out for you.” Annika could feel water dripping onto her leg through the paper and she slid open the glass door.

“Finn doesn’t say much about his life, Annika, but I know for a fact you’re the first woman he’s ever brought to the cabin.”

“Well, he didn’t really bring me. I pretty much arrived uninvited when I lost my rental accommodation and he refused to let me stay at the warehouse.”

“As it should be. I did try to raise him to think of others but he mostly thinks of work. Sean and I didn’t give him the best example of marital harmony.”

Annika didn’t know what to say to this except, “I imagine divorce is tough on everyone.”

“I do hope my son is treating you as well you deserve.”

Her mouth fell open and this time nothing came out.

“You’re dripping water on the floor, dear.” Kathleen picked up her book and started reading, signaling the end of the conversation.

Annika tripped over the sliding door flange as she walked out.

* * *

Bridey didn’t have to weigh herself to know she’d lost five pounds. Her face looked longer and her engagement ring spun loosely on her finger.

“I’ve made your favorite.” Esther slid an enormous slice of pie across the counter—deep lemony-yellow custard and a decadent amount of meringue, complete with a hint of a golden brown on the fluffy peaks. “Eat.”

Bridey plunged her fork into the pie knowing it would be filled with the wonderful combination of sugary sweet and sharp tangy taste, but when it reached her mouth it lost its flavor. She pushed the plate away. “Just coffee, Esther.”

The housekeeper rolled her eyes. “Whatever it is that’s bothering you must be catastrophic if you’re not eating my pie.”

Bridey closed her eyes and thought about the brief and tension-filled phone calls she’d shared with Hank all week. She’d called on Sunday night and apologized for not waiting until he’d had breakfast before starting the wedding discussion. He’d said, “Thank you, Bridey.”

Nothing else. Nothing about the wedding, nothing about how he’d been less tolerant due to being hungover, not even an “I’m sorry too”—absolutely nothing.

What did it mean? She felt like she was tiptoeing through a minefield and their conversations—if you could call them that—had been filled with distance and long pauses. Unable to face talking about wedding venues again because she was worried it would bring them back to the argument, she’d sent him an email telling him she’d chosen the InterContinental. His reply had been, “Okay.” Four small letters that bruised her heart.

She didn’t know what to think and she didn’t know what to do. Every time she mentioned the wedding to Hank during their evening phone call, she pictured his face tightening and his eyes closing as if the thought of marrying her was akin to torture. Her mother had actively tried to talk to her about the plans two or three times this week, but her interest and enthusiasm had stung like salt in an open wound. When Kathleen had asked her what was wrong, she couldn’t voice the dread-filled words that constantly crawled through her and she’d fled from the cottage.

Now she accepted the coffee mug that Esther had slid across the counter and went for a general answer. “I miss Hank.”

“He was here five days ago.” Esther briskly filled the sink with hot, soapy water.

That’s not what I mean. He’s been missing since we got engaged. “I know.”

“And?”

And I think he’s regretting the idea of marrying me. “And...I don’t know. Last weekend he seemed different.”

Esther stilled her hands on the edge of the sink. “Honey, he looked exhausted last weekend and, believe me, after two weeks of stress a man is rarely communicative.”

Ignoring the memories of the strained phone calls during the week, Bridey clung on to this bit of news like a personal floatation device in a stormy sea. “You think he was just tired?”

“That man was asleep on his feet.” Esther scrubbed the large lasagna dish. “The drama at the plant’s over now. Your Hank’s going to be arriving soon, so stop your moping and go put on a pretty dress. Your father’s hosting a party tonight and it’s perfect weather for dancing under the stars.”

She dreamily thought of how Hank expertly spun her around the floor at their engagement party. “Hank can dance.”

Esther smiled. “I noticed. He even made me feel light on my feet.”

Bridey stood up feeling a lot happier. Esther always had the best advice and if Bridey had been thinking more clearly earlier in the week, she’d have talked to her a lot sooner. She thought about the new backless dress she’d bought and smiled. It had a bodice that hugged her tight, accenting all the right curves in all the right places before floating out from the waist in layers and layers of gauzy chiffon. It would knock Hank’s socks off and hopefully a lot more than that. She instantly pulled out her phone. This weekend she wasn’t leaving anything to chance. She didn’t care if there were comments and winks. This time she and Hank were going to stay in town at the motel and have mind-blowing sex, no matter what.

Esther inclined her head and the faint buzz of the helicopter got increasingly louder. “Sounds like you don’t have to wait any longer.”

A whoop of delight spun through her. She gave Esther a kiss and ran out to the helipad, excitement simmering. The shiny, black machine with its enormous rotors lowered down neatly onto the big, white H, and then with a slow whine the engine noise died away. The pilot opened the doors and Finn stepped out with a smile and a wave, which Bridey returned as she gazed beyond him.

He gave her a hug. “Hey, sis, where’s Annika?”

She distractedly returned his hug. “I’m guessing the office or the studio. She’s almost as much of a workaholic as you are.”

Finn grinned, pulled out his phone and started to walk toward the house.

Bridey bounced up and down on the balls of her feet and held her breath. Hank would be out next. Hank would stride over to her, swing her up in his arms, kiss her on the lips and say, “I’ve missed you so much. Let’s never argue again.”

The sun reflected a golden haze as Hank disembarked but instead of walking toward her, he immediately turned back toward the helicopter and extended his arm inside as if he was assisting someone else.

Had some of her father’s guests flown up? She’d thought the party was for the neighbors but she hadn’t actually inquired given that her mind had been elsewhere.

She watched in jaw-dropping astonishment as one by one, Hank’s parents alighted from the helicopter.

“Bridey.” Marion walked toward her with open arms. “Surprise.”

Stunned, she hugged the older woman and tried to catch Hank’s eye but he was standing next to his father and pointing something out on the helicopter.

Marion hooked her arm through Bridey’s. “We were so sorry to miss your party and very touched that your father invited us up this weekend.”

“Dad invited you?” As she tried to absorb that bit of news, she glanced over her shoulder at Hank.

He crossed the short distance between them and kissed her on the cheek as if she was his sister. “Hello, Bridey.”

Before she could say anything, Bob’s voice hailed him. “Hank, come on back. The pilot’s offering us a seat in the cockpit.”

Marion shook her head and with a conspiratorial air, she leaned into Bridey. “Boys and their machines.”

Bridey could see herself about to be separated from Hank and there was no way was she allowing that to happen. “Actually, Marion, I love helicopters.”

“I expect you do having grown up around them but it’s all new to Bob and Hank.” Her future mother-in-law patted her hand. “Let’s leave them alone to talk engines and we’ll have a lovely, cozy chat about the wedding.”

No!

Bridey opened her mouth to suggest a counter plan but her brain drained at Hank’s wide mouth curving into a quiet smile—the one she’d fallen in love with the day she met him. A silent sigh wove through her and she knew that Esther’s prediction was correct. Hank was here and everything was going to be all right.

“If you’re talking weddings,” Hank said, “then I’m definitely staying with Dad.” He walked off with a wave.

The fear that had been momentarily waylaid by her conversation with Esther, barreled back into Bridey with the force of a tsunami, making her sway on her feet.

“Oh my. Is that the house?” Marion’s eyes lit up and she tugged on Bridey’s arm and started walking. “I’d love a tour.”

Bridey had no choice but to follow.

* * *

Had Kathleen’s ankle allowed it, she would have been pacing. As it didn’t, she sat stabbing a cross-stitch sampler with a needle and thread, but she was unpicking more than she was keeping. Tonight, Sean was throwing a small party for Bridey’s future in-laws and she was going. She shouldn’t be nervous. Last night she’d faced down the beast of her anxiety and spent an hour with Dana and Sean. Logan had implored her to go to his cookout and without Bridey or Finn in attendance, she’d had to summon all her courage to go. Although she’d only stayed an hour and had spent a lot of it chatting with Logan, she’d unexpectedly enjoyed herself.

Sitting down with Dana had seemed surreal and they hadn’t done much more than discuss the weather. Dana had inquired politely about the Art Institute program and Kathleen in turn had asked about Dana’s children’s charity. To an outsider it would have sounded like polite, social chitchat but it had been so much more than that—it was a new beginning. Sure, at the start, she’d felt on edge but it had faded quickly once she recognized in Dana a mutual desire to find a level of connection they could both feel comfortable with. What that was exactly, she wasn’t certain.

A rap sounded on the glass and she looked up in surprise as it was too early for the quad bike transportation to the party. Dana stood on the other side of the glass with a traveler coffee cup in her hand and a nervous look on her face.

Kathleen thought she probably wore the same look. She waved and called out, “Come in.”

Dana gave a tentative smile and slid open the door. “Hello, Kathleen.”

Hostess Kathleen kicked in. “Hello, Dana. Have a seat. That coffee smells good.”

“It’s hazelnut. My guilty pleasure. Sean says it’s...” Dana trailed off and her face pinked up.

“‘A poor excuse for coffee.’” Kathleen finished the sentence. “A poor excuse being anything that Sean doesn’t like.”

Dana nodded. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned—”

“Don’t be sorry. You’re married to Sean and of course you’re going to mention him in conversation. You’ve made a better success of things with him than I did.”

Dana shrugged. “Perhaps I was lucky enough to meet him when he was finally ready to settle down.”

“And you didn’t have to get married.” Kathleen smiled. “Thankfully, there was another wife in between us which means you and I have no reason to dislike each other.” She fiddled with her own coffee cup and decided on honesty. “Although, you should know that I envy you Kylemore. A lot.”

Dana met her gaze. “I understand. I love this place too.”

Kathleen could see and hear the truth of Dana’s statement and she made herself give this warm woman the compliment she deserved. “You’ve done a wonderful job with the garden.”

“Thank you.” Dana’s smile lost some of its tentativeness. “I guess you put yourself into this cottage like I’ve put myself into the garden. I know a part of me would shrivel if I had to leave it behind.”

Kathleen’s hand tightened on the sampler. “I felt like I’d lost a limb.” She blew out a long breath. “I’m very sorry I was so rude to you at Bridey’s engagement when you offered me the use of the cottage. It’s just it brought back a lot of unhappy memories which, ironically, my sprained ankle has made me face.”

“We’re just glad you’re here,” Dana said simply.

They lapsed into silence that combined fledgling companionship with a thousand unasked questions.

Dana lowered her cup. “I guess you’re wondering why I’m here. It’s Bridey.”

Kathleen frowned. “What about Bridey?”

Dana sucked in a breath. “I know things can get fraught a few weeks before a wedding but she’s at the early planning stages and—”

“She’s already flipping out.”

“Yes. I’m so glad you’ve noticed too.”

“I’ve tried to talk about it with her but she’s not saying anything, but that’s not unusual with Bridey. She tends to hold everything in.” She sighed and voiced a hard truth. “Or perhaps she just holds it in with me. Have you asked her about her extreme focus on all the minutiae?”

“I wanted to check with you first.”

Gratitude rushed in. “Thank you for that consideration. Please do ask her because she might tell you more. I just want her to be happy. I want both my children to be happy.”

Dana nodded. “So do I.”

* * *

It was getting late and the jazz band Sean had hired for the evening shifted down a gear. Finn pulled Annika in close as the slow number started and the saxophone crooned its long and sexy lament. Not that they were on the dance floor any more—he’d danced her away from it during a fast set and they’d taken off their shoes and wandered hand in hand along the shoreline until they’d reached the base of the tree house, which was a good distance away from the main house. The moon was waning but it was a clear night and its milky light danced on the water.

He leaned against the tree, breathing in her scent of wildflowers with a hint of Indian ink, and loving the touch of her against him. He’d missed that so much that he’d flown home midweek just so he could have her warm, relaxed and sleeping body snuggled in against his. Sex with Annika had exceeded his wildest dreams and, not that he had anything against the comfort of making love with her in his bed, but he also knew how she loved it when they gave in to the rush of getting naked where they stood.

With that in mind, he’d spent the week organizing something for Annika and he’d needed some time before dinner to check the arrangements, so today he’d been the one hurrying Hank along so they could leave Chicago on time. It was going to be the perfect end to a huge but fulfilling week. Everything was finally back on an even keel at the Illinois plant, and all their customers were happy. Finn was in a celebratory mood and returning to the lake had never felt so good. Even so, he’d kept Annika close at dinner, expecting the usual fireworks seeing as Sean and Kathleen were within a ten-foot radius of each other. But that had been the biggest surprise of the night.

He wound strands of her hair around his finger loving the idea that he didn’t have to leave the lake or Annika anytime soon, and the weeks between now and Labor Day stretched out before them to be enjoyed. “You might not realize it but tonight you witnessed a miracle.”

She lifted her head and smiled at him. “And what was that?”

“My mother and father managed to sit down at a table and share a meal without any cutting remarks or rapid-fire put-downs. Bridey and I are in shock.”

Slight reproach filled her eyes. “You’re exaggerating, right? With Hank’s parents visiting, of course they’re going to be civil.”

He shook his head. “Sean and Kathleen set the record for post-divorce public scenes no matter who was present including a very well-known New York billionaire. We barely got through the engagement party so tonight was not only bewildering but totally unexpected.”

Her fingers played with the cotton of his sleeve. “I hope for all your sakes it’s a new beginning.”

A bristle of unease prickled him. “Things are fine the way they are.”

Her brows rose but all she said was, “It was nice of Sean to throw a mini party tonight so the Neiquests got a feel for the party they missed.”

Tension started to coil in his belly like a snake. “I think you’ll find it was Dana’s idea.”

She shrugged. “Even so, he didn’t have to go along with it.”

The snake struck. “You might think you know my father, but you don’t.”

“I know the side I see, and I think that it’s different from what you see.”

“Damn straight.” He could picture his evening vanishing into an argument which he did not want so he immediately changed tack. “Why are we talking about my father when we could be making out?”

“Because maybe you need to talk about him.”

Like hell I do. “So tell me, Annika, how’s the painting coming along?”

She tensed in his arms.

Bingo. Her reaction was exactly as he’d expected. Although he knew she’d duck the question and change the subject, it made him sad. Annika had a huge amount of talent and she was hiding from it.

She smiled at him brightly. “Did I tell you I’ve got two companies coming up next week to tour the warehouses? I snagged one with my mass mail-outs and just after the town meeting today, Ellery called me with another. Just think, Whitetail might be in the middle of a bidding war and how good would that be for the town?”

“That would be great for the town.” And he spoke the truth. It would indeed be great for the town but he wasn’t so sure it would be great for Annika.

“So we’ve both had a good week.”

He gazed down at her. “I know the perfect way to end it.”

“Do you now?” Her eyes glowed and she rose on her toes, pressing her lips to his. He immediately tightened his arms around her and lost himself in her softness, taste and heat.

Annika sighed into Finn’s mouth as she relinquished control of the kiss and allowed him to take charge. She opened up to the wonder he sent surging through her body. His tongue took a long, slow and tantalizing journey, exploring every nook and crevice until she was weak with longing.

He finally raised his head and with a thick voice filled with desire said, “Can you climb the tree house steps in that dress?”

“If I can’t, I’ll take it off.”

He groaned softly. “You’re every man’s fantasy.”

She laughed, hugging the compliment to herself. “I aim to please.” Already shoeless, she accepted a boost from Finn and started climbing. Ten steps later she was standing in the penthouse of all tree houses, complete with a balcony.

Finn arrived behind her, immediately opened an old tin box, pulled out a flashlight and switched it on. She saw a small cooler, some candles and a box of matches. The hiss of the match filled the air with a puff of sulfur and then by flickering light she saw masses of cushions.

Surprise and gratitude filled her. First a lovely evening where he’d been amazingly attentive, followed by a dusk walk along the lake, which was her favorite time of day apart from sunrise, and now all this. He’d set up a romantic space in the canopy of an ancient tree. “How did you manage all this?”

“I had help. Logan hauled the cushions.”

“Logan knows that we’re...?”

“God, no, he’s eight.”

For the first time, she glimpsed brotherly affection on his face.

“My half brother is all Callahan. I told him I wanted to sleep over in the tree house just like when I was a kid. Of course I hadn’t thought that through very well because he wanted to come too. So to cut a long story short, Logan and I are going kayaking together tomorrow and sometime soon, I’m spending a night here with him. That kid drives a hard bargain.”

Her heart quivered. Finn, who’d started the summer avoiding his little half brother, had now cut a deal with Logan just for her. “You really are a Boy Scout.”

He grinned. “Being Prepared is far more useful than your 4-H stuff.”

“Is that so?” She hooked her hands around his waistband and unhooked the fastener on his pants. “So you don’t want me to pledge my hands to larger service.”

He gazed down at her with the flicker of light reflected in his eyes and spoke softly. “I want all of you.”

He kissed her gently as if she was porcelain and would shatter under his touch, and then, unlike every other time they’d had sex, he undressed her slowly without any trace of urgency. He slid her dress off her shoulders, unhooked her bra and drew it reverently down her arms, and then he stared at her in the candlelight. “I never get tired of looking at you.”

She’d never felt so treasured. She reached her arms up around his neck and he caught her around her waist and laid her down on the makeshift bed. He used his body to worship her and it was only when she was racing toward her third release and begging him by name, that he entered her. Hard and sleek, he eased into her so slowly that it was sheer torture and she sunk her fingers into his shoulders, demanding in a whispered scream that he fill her hard, and fill her now. Only then did he oblige and she cried out in sheer relief that he was finally hers.

“Annika.” He gasped her name as drove into her.

Her body shuddered around him, gripping him tightly as his rhythm swept her up and took her soaring with him. She shattered into a thousand pieces of utter bliss.

Finally, when her breathing had slowed and the fragments of herself had reassembled, she realized that her heart was missing one piece—the part she’d given to him.

Somehow she managed to swallow her cry of shocked surprise and dismay. She’d thought she was so clever and so safe with this affair. She thought she’d protected herself completely but it was all just smoke and mirrors. She had no protection at all—her barricades were trampled and her moat completely drained. She loved him. She loved the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and how he teased her about her clumsiness but caught her when she stumbled. She loved how he lay in bed with her nestled in his arms and talked about his work but also took the time to ask about hers. She foolishly and unwisely loved him with every breath she took.

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she did the only thing she could. She kissed him.