“Ah ah ah,” I cooed, shoving away his attempt to view the room from my eyes in order to get a glimpse of me, “you can wait, Mr. Brooks.”Edwin’s low growl of annoyance was enough to make me smirk at myself in the mirror.I smoothed down my dress one last time, picking an invisible piece of lint off
Audrey“To Audrey! Our friend, Luna, and savior.”I rolled my eyes at Tina’s last choice of words, but toasted anyway. The red wine instantly soothed my frayed nerves as it went down.“Are you guys sure I didn’t make a fool of myself?” I asked, looking at my friends around the cramped kitchen. “I fe
Just about everyone was here tonight: Peter, Betty, Gavin, Avis, Tina, Eliza, Claudia, and even Charles. Our big, strange, haphazard family.“Have you thought about my proposition?” Edwin suddenly asked.I glanced up at him, recalling the conversation we’d had last night while laying awake in bed. H
EdwinI stared down at the reports in front of me and felt a surge of anger bubble up in my chest.“You’re sure that this is what’s happening?” I asked, glancing up at my Beta. “There’s no way you were mistaken?”Charles pursed his lips and leaned back in his chair. That was all the answer I needed.
“That doesn’t feel like enough,” I said more quietly than I would have liked.My Beta didn’t argue with that. My own mate had been one of the children who was, unbeknownst to her, thrust into this corrupt system. Those adoptive parents of hers were sending checks back to the orphanage every month.A
Audrey“You keep staring at that place,” Avis laughed. “Why don’t you just go in?”“Hm?” I whipped my head around at the sound of my friend’s voice, momentarily causing my neck muscles to ache in protest. Avis was smirking at me from behind her sewing machine. “Oh… I wasn’t staring,” I lied.Avis gi
But, oh, how I wanted to afford it when I stepped in through the front door.The place was exactly as I remembered it, although instead of being stuffed to the brim with overfull clothing racks and piles of shoes, it was spacious and airy.The hardwood floors creaked pleasantly under my feet as I st
AudreyEdwin and I settled at a little round bistro table outside the cafe. It was a warm, sunny day, and we were both eager to sit in the sun and enjoy the fresh air. We ordered a couple of sandwiches and two glasses of iced tea, our cups already condensating with little droplets of water by the ti
“I think you’re going to change so many lives,” I said to Eliza. “Those kids are so lucky to have you.” Eliza looked down, her cheeks pink. “Thank you, Audrey. Really.” Tina piped up next. “And my LGBT counseling department is finally off the ground! ” She paused, leaning into my mother, who was
Audrey After a long flight, we finally touched down in Italy. The sunlight streaming in through the plane window was a promising golden hue, and just the sight of it made me feel like my heart was about to leap out of my chest. “I might need a nap when we get to the villa,” Edwin yawned, shaking
And as I watched, I felt a hand slip into mine. I glanced up, finding Edwin beside me, his gaze focused on the runway but his approval humming through the bond. My mother stood on my other side, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. A lump rose in my throat, and I couldn’t even speak. None of us c
Audrey Edwin and I emerged from the small room, his hand still resting protectively on my back. The hustle and bustle of last-minute preparations immediately hit us, assistants running back and forth, models being ushered into position, and the soft hum of the audience’s chatter drifting through t
“There’s always time,” I whispered, grabbing the wrist of his free hand and pulling it close to peer at his watch. The movement caused him to topple forward, and he caught himself on his other palm, caging me against the hard wood of the vanity. “But maybe not enough time to waste right now.” Edwi
Audrey Before I could even answer his question, Edwin rushed past me and locked the door. When he turned back to me, he was grinning from ear to ear. The sight of that mischievous look on his face made my breath hitch. Once, it had been like pulling teeth to get the man to smile. And now here he
He didn’t need to tell me twice. I tore into the wrapping paper, revealing a soft red scarf. I could tell immediately that it was handmade—there were more than a few uneven stitches, and the outline was lumpy. It was far from perfect. But I loved it all the more for that. “Goddess, Edwin,” I laugh
Audrey The morning of the show was a frenzy. No, more than a frenzy. It was complete and utter chaos. I spent the entire morning from sunup to noon running endlessly from one end of the venue to the other, desperately trying to make sure every last detail was perfect. The racks were lined with c
“Uh… Yeah,” Malakai said. “Coffee would be nice.” A few minutes later, the three of us sat around the table, steaming cups of pitch black coffee in our hands. I kept it bitter, just in case Malakai was here to stir up more shit. It burned a little going down, but I sipped it anyway. Malakai look