I reached out to touch some of the delicate fabric, realizing that everything in this place had to be specially hand-sewn, unique, and, undoubtedly, cost a considerable amount. Again, I felt uneasy. First the jewelers and now this.I didn’t feel right accepting all of these expensive items. But, I thought back to what James had said earlier. If I was to be the new Mrs. Derek, then there was essentially a type of image that I needed to maintain.Better still, none of these clothes were really who I was. “James, this is really beginning to feel like too much,” I told him. “This is merely a marriage of convenience, after all. It’s not as though I need fine attire for everyday life.”“I want to give you the best of everything. All you need to do is follow my arrangements.”As soon as we were through at the tailor’s, James instructed the driver to take us to a high-end restaurant that happened to be owned by Crescent Moon. As expected, we were seated immediately at a private table while James w
I snapped my head around to face him and glared. “No, James! This is stretching things too far. You can’t just make all of these major decisions and expect me to go home with you,” I stated. “You are going to take me back home—to my home! Now!” Of course, James kept his demeanor resolute while I w
The second Lily and I turned around, we saw that we’d been confronted by a beautiful, well-dressed woman whose expression was laced with haughty scrutiny. Behind her, was a small group of women that mirrored her same look. She arched a manicured brow and pursed her lips. “A face I've never seen,
“I...I don’t,” I struggled to clear my throat. “I don’t see the need for us to, you know, need to share a bed—a room.”My face flushed uncontrollably as I felt James’ eyes peer into my. Good God. There was no way I could have sounded any more of a stuttering mess if I’d tried. There was nothing, tru
The door swung open and an unimaginable wave of fear took hold of my nerves. There was always going to be a small part of me that hoped it was Lily. But I knew better than to assume that it was her. After all, even as the headmaid, there was no chance that she would purposely barge into the master b
“Yes,” I told James shakily.I felt James’ heavy gaze drop to my lips before lifting back up to lock onto my eyes. He stood there for another long pause until he turned on his heels and headed toward the dining room. Had that been a look of disappointment in his eyes?I wasn’t sure.After breakfast,
‘Was he thinking of taking me to the movies? Maybe an art gallery? Oh, perhaps some kind of museum? Perhaps, he’d plan a cute picnic in the park?’Then again, this was James I was dealing with. It was truly difficult to associate a man like him with any of the ideas that came to mind.He certainly d
Dr. Harold pulled his gaze away from his various screens to shoot me a hesitated glance. “Well, uh...Let’s just say that it’s not entirely my place to talk about such things. Anyway, just a few more minor tests to get through and we should be just about done here.”After Dr. Harold had finished up w
[James’ POV]James was at a loss for words. Impossible. Completely impossible.He couldn’t believe what the screen was showing them all.“Edward,” he snarled.“That can’t be true,” Kristen hissed. “He’s supposed to be dead!”“Mm, perhaps not,” Lana said. “Remember, he didn’t take the Moon Tear direc
I couldn’t believe it. The day of the wedding was finally here. From what I could see upon my first arrival at the vineyard, everything looked perfect. Thanks to Diana, Lana, and Kristen, the place was decorated beautifully. Even though James was busy getting ready in his own room, I could tell th
Life had become fast and furious the moment I was cleared to return home with the babies. With the help of James, we returned to the house and were greeted by a very excited staff. Lily was absolutely losing herself when she first saw the twins bundled up in their swaddles.“Oh my goodness! Just loo
A Month Later...It seemed like many things had changed since the night Edward had vanished from all our lives. There was no longer that pending, dreadful sense of worrying looming over our heads. Many of James’ relatives had, undoubtedly, changed their outlook on me since that Crescent Moon Annual
Tonight was the Crescent Moon Annual Dinner event...and my anxiety was clearly on the rise.‘Get it together, Mia,’ I thought briskly to myself. ‘It’s just one evening, nothing you can’t handle.’My brother was awake and on the mend and I had been taking an excessive amount of honey supplements for
James and I had rushed back to the hospital as fast as when we first heard about the incident. By the time we reached the main desk, I was wheezing and out of breath.“Mia, for the love of God, please calm down,” James huffed.Honestly, had I not been pregnant, I would have gotten there faster...Non
I was thankful for the brief distraction my baby shower had offered. I hadn’t realized just how much stress and aggravation my body was undergoing until I took that much-needed break for myself.Although I was able to put my thoughts about my brother and his condition at ease for the time being, my
[James’ POV]James knew, deep down, that he was taking a huge risk being where he was. Hell, if anyone had told him that he would be back in David Durant’s home, sitting in front of the man himself, James would have broken out in excessive laughter.He fought for not only his life but the life of Mi
I felt utterly beside myself.For the past few days, I felt as though I’d been running on autopilot. Every morning I would get up and try to be functional in some way, but it was terribly difficult. The nursery was all but completed. What I needed was a distraction, something to occupy my time to ge