Calvin knew he did great with the surprise visit to the cafe shop. It had been harder than he expected to locate this place. The information he had to go on was the few details Angel had told him subconsciously. Something about a Leah who loved her and would always let her stay in her shop to write.
The few times he asked about Leah, Angel would relate it to that night they met and freeze. He never pried too much, so she wouldn’t suspect. It wasn’t a bribe, but after the movie premiered, he had put more effort into finding it. Thankfully, he was able to.
Angel snuggled closer to him. She still had the smile from when he gave her the sharpie so she could sign her book for Leah. The woman had looked too pleased, so pleased she had asked him to take a few pictures of her, Angel and Gerard with the couple holding the book. He would have brought two if he knew about Gerard early.
It had been a while since his wife directed this pure smile to h
Hana was all smiles as they got home. Not only did she get to see people she thought she would never see again, she would also be attending her first Halloween party. A look at her husband with the many bags of purchase from the boutique toned down some of her excitement. He had refused her help and forbade her from helping him.They hadn’t discussed parties, but Camilla made Halloween sound so exciting. She wanted to experience it, if only once, and with the comfort of people she trusted and loved. They stopped at the door of their apartment, and she slipped her hand into her husband’s pocket to retrieve the key.“Baby,” she began. “We don’t really have to host a party, okay? I was just really excited. It’s not necessary. I can do without a party.”“Have you been to a Halloween party?” Kyle asked. Hana shook her head. “Then we have our answer. We are hosting one. We will make it small, if t
The call ended minutes ago, but Calvin could still hear the conversation in his head. He tried to replay everything Ivana told him in slow motion. She had come in to work today, as usual. It had taken a while for her to get to the entrance because she had rushed back to pay the cab fare. It was the smell that first alerted her to the growing fire, then the smoke. She had called him after calling the fire department.A tap on Calvin’s cheek made him shake his head slowly. He had woken up early to make breakfast for him and his wife before the call came in. Blinking fast helped to clear his vision. His wife was in front of him. He was in their room. When? How did he get here? He couldn’t remember moving.“Hey, it’s okay,” Angel whispered. Going on her knees, she placed her hands on his knees. “I brought you here, okay? You were blanking out, and I thought you wanted to sit.”“KP is on fire,” he told her.
Hana wanted to tell her husband. What if it was Baba not Charles? She looked at Kyle, who was still in bed. She wasn’t sure he was asleep. Sneaking out of the room, she went to the kitchen to make them breakfast. His family had stayed until later at night. There were other food options, but she gravitated to the noodles and pulled out a few packets.Eating it yesterday had helped his mood, or maybe it was his family’s presence. But they could not have his family here always. Right now, she was the only family with him, and she had to make him feel better about this.Done cooking, she made coffee for him and served herself orange juice for her food. A breath escaped her parted lips as she set the tray on the dining table. For now, there was no work. Investigations were ongoing, and no one was allowed into the building until further notice. She hadn’t checked KP’s rankings and that of the last movie. It was top ten for one weekend, and she w
Calvin only needed to hear the first few sentences from his wife before he knew what his answer was. A big, fat, capital no.“I’m not taking money from you,” he said as calmly as possible. He didn’t know how much she meant by six figures, but he knew he didn’t want to take a penny from her. She wasn’t planning to give him part of it, she wanted him to have all. There was no way he would agree. “Thanks, princess. I really appreciate it. But the answer is no.”“Why?”“You worked hard. You deserve it.”“Not really,” Angel replied, folding her arms on her chest. He blinked in shock. “You did all the promotions before you knew it was me. After you did, you still didn’t stop promoting. So, it’s not just my money. It’s our money. Yes, I did the work by writing. But you also helped me, Kyle.”His wife’s intentions
It didn’t make sense to Hana. Her husband still wanted to host the Halloween party. Her immediate thought was no, but she had to be smart and diplomatic about it. She fixed their dinner on a tray and carried it to the dining room. Kyle was on a call when she left to cook. This week, she had been leaving the office without him because his meetings ran late. Andrea would drop her home first, then return to the office to pick up her husband whenever he was done.Camilla called to know if the party would still be holding. That was the only reason she brought up the topic with Kyle. So they could discuss and tell his sister no. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned it or waited until later to do so. If she didn’t experience Halloween this year, she would do so next year or any other time. It wasn’t a necessity.Heading to their room, Hana knocked once and opened the door. Kyle was still in his suit. Talking to his family had helped. They had pulled in f
Hana McKenna still couldn’t believe she had a car. It was a Saturday, and she had decided to spend it with her sister-in-law and her friend, Faye. Both women didn’t look too surprised by the news of the car. She had instructed Alex, her driver, to go have fun elsewhere so she could chill with her friends without worrying about him.“You knew about the car, didn’t you?” Hana asked. “That’s why you weren’t shocked.”Camilla shrugged and took a swig from her glass of wine. “Well, Vinny asked. He didn’t know which car would be best for his wife.”“What did you tell him?” Hana murmured.“To pick anything he liked because knowing you, Hana girl, you wouldn’t complain,” her sister-in-law replied. Hana blushed, using the bowl of popcorn to hide her face. That was true. Baba had put that concept into their heads. “Not even if you hated the
This was Hana’s first party as a host. She had attended parties her parents hosted but never had to be in charge of one herself. Right now, she was in the back hiding away while the party boomed inside.Someone opened the backdoor, and Hana hurried down the rest of the stairs, hoping to avoid them. Her husband must be worried out of his mind, still she scooped the ends of her ballroom gown and hurried. They were supposed to be king and queen.“Baby? Princess?”The familiar voice stopped Hana in her tracks. She turned. Kyle walked down the stairs, ripping off his blue mask to flash her a grin. Her cheeks flushed with shyness.“You found me,” she said.“Of course I did,” Kyle replied. Stopping in front of her, he cupped her rosy cheeks with his gloved hands. She was also wearing gloves, but hers were much fancier. “The party can’t go on without its queen.”“It&
Angel wasn’t at the spot Calvin told her to wait. Where could she possibly be? He had been worried the first time she went off without telling him. Now, he was a tad pissed. He told her to let him know if she wanted to leave. Parties like this weren’t so much his scene. This wasn’t a networking party, it was for fun. He could leave without anyone holding it against him. That was why he asked so many times to know if she was fine staying back or them leaving then.He dropped the glass of wine and bottle on the table they had stood beside minutes ago. If the server didn’t waste his time, he would have been here sooner. She must have gotten tired of waiting for him. He patted his pocket for his phone and groaned. She wasn’t with her phone, so there would be no way for him to contact her. They agreed not to use their phones today.No work. No calls. No emails. No texts.As Calvin was about to go check on his wife, someone gr