“Karl.” “Abby.” He’s standing in a small clearing, surrounded by rose bushes and flickering candles. Behind him is a small gazebo upon which a lone violinist is playing a beautiful classical piece. Karl holds his arms open to me, and I jog up to him, giggling in his embrace. “What’s all this?”
Abby As I step through the front doors of my restaurant, I’m met with the familiar, comforting sound of clinking tableware, voices, and soft music playing over the speakers. Chloe looks up from behind the bar, and her eyes widen as she sees me. “Abby!” she exclaims as I walk over to her. She pul
As the new servers repeat Daisy’s orders, I can’t help but turn to Chloe with a look of surprise on my face. “She’s certainly come far, hasn’t she?” I whisper. Chloe smirks. “It’s a bit hard to believe where she came from, isn’t it?” Next, the two of us walk further; we stop just outside the kit
Karl The sound of soft voices on the other side of the office door is the first thing that greets me. I pause for a moment outside the door, listening quietly. “Hmm… Yes, I think that if we could just get Alpha Brown here for a brief meeting sometime next week, we should be able to resolve this
Ethan nods slowly and tents his fingers on his lap, thinking deeply. “The timing isn’t exactly impeccable,” he says. “But, Karl, to become a king someday… Wouldn’t you want to follow the path of your ancestors?” The path of my ancestors. Just hearing it out loud sends a shiver up my spine. “I’ll
Abby “Oh, Abby, you look…” “I don’t know, guys,” I say, pursing my lips as I turn left and right in front of the tall mirror. “Something about the skirt is just throwing me off.” Chloe and Leah tilt their heads in unison, both gazing at me from the plush little wedding gown shop couch. The sun
“Yeah,” Leah adds. “Abby, the wedding is only a couple of months away, and you’ll be having the baby just a few months after that, too. You really need to make a decision before it’s too late.” I feel myself blanch under their stern gazes. “It’s never too late,” I say with a nervous chuckle. “I me
Abby Karl walks briskly up to me and grabs me by my shoulders, his eyes searching my face. “What happened?” he asks as he eyes me nervously. “Are you okay?” “I just, uh… I almost passed out,” I admit. “I guess I turned around too fast and got pretty lightheaded.” Karl looks at me for a few l
Abby Intrigued, I let Karl take my hand and lead me discreetly away from the reception, weaving through the tables and out a back door into the gardens. A mischievous grin plays on his lips as we giggle like teenagers, ducking behind hedges and scurrying across the lush green lawns. “Where are w
As the music shifts to a slow ballad, I feel a familiar pair of strong arms circle my waist from behind. “There’s my beautiful wife,” Karl’s deep voice rumbles in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. He spins me around to face him, our bodies swaying in time to the soft music. I gaze up at him
Abby The reception hall is cast in a warm, romantic glow, with twinkling lights and the warm flickering of candles on every table. Soft music plays as Karl and I make our entrance, hand-in-hand to raucous applause and cheers from our guests. I can’t stop smiling as we wave to our loved ones gather
Abby The afternoon sun streaming in through the tall windows of the chapel casts the stones in a warm golden light, giving everything a sort of ethereal energy. I stand in the hallway, my arm linked with Anton’s, as the wedding coordinator prepares everyone to walk down the aisle. “Are you ready
Abby As I sit in front of the vanity mirror with the hair and makeup artist circling around me, I meet my friends’ gazes in the reflection; Chloe, Leah, Daisy, and even Elsie are here as my bridesmaids, each of them looking more beautiful than the last. “The seamstress really did do a great job
Abby With a gasp of excitement, I pull the wedding gown out of its box and hold it up in the light. Everything is perfect; the way the beadwork catches the light, the silky texture, the shape. I can’t wait to try it on now that it’s been altered to fit my body. Quickly, I slip out of my clothe
Abby “Abby, why don’t you sit down?” Karl looks up at me from where he’s sitting on the sofa, a look of concern on his face. He pats the spot next to him, but I shake my head. “I can’t,” I say, continuing to pace back and forth in our living room. “I won’t sit down until I hear back about that
Abby As I chop, stir, melt, and saute, the others stand around me, watching intently. The pasta simmers on the stove, the air smelling like warm butter and spices. It’s enough to make anyone’s mouth water. But my focus isn’t on the rumbling in my belly, nor is it even on the lingering pain in my
As we continue searching, I keep thinking back on our last harrowing hunt for black truffles; those poachers nearly shot us. Even now, I can still remember the sound of the bullets whizzing past my head, and the thuds they made when they careened into trees. “We got really lucky,” I say. “If we ha