Nina I was standing in the middle of a dark forest, the air heavy and thick with fog. Moonlight pierced through the canopy of tall pine trees, casting elongated shadows that seemed to dance and flicker in the wind. But I wasn’t alone. There it was again—the shadow entity I had been seeing far
“Luke told you?” I managed. Jessica nodded, her arms folded across her chest. “I can’t believe you’d tell him before us.” “Yeah,” Lori continued. “You’re lucky we love you, or we’d never forgive you.” I had to stifle a laugh. “Alright, alright,” I said, stepping out of the way and letting them
Nina The airport was like a blur of faces—tired, eager, impatient. But there was only one I cared about, one that my eyes searched for relentlessly as I stood by the front door, waiting. It was Sunday evening, and Enzo was set to be here at any minute now. Truthfully, I had gotten so impatient w
Nina The air felt thick with tension, laden with unspoken words that hovered between us like a brewing storm. Enzo looked at me, his usually warm brown eyes now clouded with a kind of unknowable perplexity, as if he sensed the seismic shift that was about to rock our world. “Nina, what is it you
Nina The air between us was stifling. Enzo’s eyes, usually the kind of warm brown that reminded me of a cozy, crackling fireplace, were now a stormy, uncertain hue. He was hurt; that much was glaringly apparent. “You’re asking me if I would’ve had an abortion without telling you,” I finally wh
“Can we...can we take some time? To think? Maybe then we can figure out what we really want,” I whispered. Enzo nodded, his chin brushing against the top of my head. “Yeah, we can do that, Nina. We’ll take the time we need to decide what’s right for us. And whatever that decision is, we’ll make it
Nina The chilly morning wound up turning into a warm and sunny afternoon, and Enzo and I were tired of being all alone in our big house on the cliff. In a last ditch effort to inject some normalcy in our lives, Enzo and I had decided to drive into town to check out the shops, get some fresh air,
Enzo The night air was crisp but not too cold—just the way I liked it. There was something about the solitude of the open road and the rumble of my motorcycle beneath me that put everything into perspective. Nina had been going through a lot, and although I would have loved to be by her side eve
Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the ve
“What... what do you mean?” He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning in closer with a heavy sigh. “I mean, by the time I caught up to them this morning, I only saw them long enough to get that photo before they were boarding a speedboat and taking off. Hell, I’m still not even totally sure wh
Nina My breath caught in my throat as I pulled open the front door expecting to see excited party guests, only to be immediately met with the sight of Luke’s grim expression. His brow was furrowed in a deep frown, his lips pressed into a tight line—clear signs that something was very wrong. “Luk
Nina I huffed out a breath as I hoisted the oversized cardboard box higher in my arms, carefully navigating my way through the living room. Strings of fairy lights poked out haphazardly from the top, and I could feel the weight of glass jars and other assorted decor inside shifting precariously wi
Then, at the last possible second, the scout seemed to find an extra burst of speed. He surged forward, hurtling between two towering oak trees and vanishing into the cover of the forest beyond. “Dammit!” I slammed my palms against the rough bark of the nearest trunk, powerless to do anything but
Enzo The crunch of leaves and snap of twigs echoed through the trees as Matt and I tore after the Schreiber scout. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, the hot summer air burning our lungs. Overhead, a little red bird chirped and flitted through the green canopy of trees; Daphne. But even she wasn’
Shaking my head, I turned without another word and stormed out of the fitting room. I took the two strides across the hall to Jessica’s fitting room and knocked on the door, folding my arms across my chest. “Jess? You in there?” There was a muffled thump in the fitting room, followed by the soun
Nina “How’s it looking in there?” I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica’s fitting room. “Um… decent, I guess?” her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone. “Decent? That’s it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown w
Had I really known him at all, I wondered? Or had I merely been too self-absorbed and naive to see past the facade of unshakable command he projected? After a long silence, I found my voice. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” “He didn’t want you to see his weakness, I suppose,” Angelica replied