“Emmmm, your friend is… cute.”Johnson glanced out the window at the back of Hazel's leaving. I took a quick peek at him and joked to him, “You are the type of man my friends like. I can create some opportunities for you two. ”“No, no, no. I'm just curious about what your friends from childhood are like. You rarely make friends in France. I'd better continue reading stories to the children.” Johnson nervously explained and closed the curtains tightly, which made me laugh.After Hazel’d left, I sat on the couch and listened to Johnson finish his story. He was enthralling as a story teller. He used different voices for the characters and everything. The house felt cozy and warm. Comfortable. I realized it wasn’t just the children that had missed Johnson.After dinner, Gladice cleaned up the dishes, then I excused her for the night.“Well, I really should get the kids ready for bed,” I said to Johnson, trying to subtly cue him that it was time for him to go, too.“Sure. I’ll just wait h

Trista’s POVThe day of the big photo shoot finally arrived. I walked into the HS building, my stomach in knots. I was actually nervous about running into Liam. He’d given me my space, which I was grateful for, but I knew we couldn’t avoid each other forever.I got to the dressing room and was surprised to see that Stevia was already there.“Darling!” she said, rushing towards me. She air-kissed me on both cheeks. “Lovely to see you again. You look fabulous! Have you lost weight? You’ve lost weight. You can’t fool me!”I blushed. I hadn’t lost any weight. She was just being kind. But I appreciated it. I wasn’t sure how she would be towards me after the whole media launch debacle. I was thrilled to see there were no hard feelings. In fact, it felt like we were old friends. She linked her arm in mine and led me over to the mirror.Brenda was waiting for me at the table. “No need for a full makeover this time,” she winked. I thought back to the afternoon I’d spent with her and the ma

Liam’s POVThe staff members trickled out of the studio, leaving that asshole Johnson and I alone in the room. He glared at me.I had a bad feeling about this man. The first time I met him, I’d dismissed him. He was just Trista’s boss. No big deal. At least…that’s what I’d thought.But then…Little things had tipped off. The way he ordered her favorite drink. The way he looked at her when she didn’t see. The way he always seemed to hover around her.And then today?The expression on his face when he barged in on us. I knew that expression.Jealousy.He saw Trista in my arms and he couldn’t hide it. He’d been jealous.He was more than her boss. I was pretty sure of it. I was a decent judge of character. It’s one of the reasons I was so successful in the business world. He had feelings for her. I decided to address it directly.“Why are you here?” I asked him.“Because I love Trista,” he replied bluntly.Oh. Bam. There it was. I didn’t expect him to confess his feelings so easily. Appar

Trista’s POVThe children were overjoyed. They bounced around happily in the backseat, clapping their hands. Johnson, too, beamed with pride.The decision to call Johnson ‘daddy’ was a big decision.And I felt like I’d been left out of it.Seraphina whined softly as we drove home. That was odd, since she didn’t usually voice any concerns. She didn’t seem too pleased about this decision, and I didn’t know why. I tried to console her.As far as I know, she only showed this expression when she was scared. The last time she gave me this uneasy feeling was when I was a young adult and first went to a human school. I was in the library until 2 a.m. to study for an exam, and when I came out of the library, I had left my glasses behind.Usually, wolves have better eyesight at night, but that doesn't help us blind wolves.That night we encountered an unknown creature. At first we thought it was a burglar who might be taking advantage of the darkness to rob us. An ordinary human adult is not st

Trista’s POV The next morning at my office, Hazel and I were hashing out the details of the seating plan for her reception dinner.“And…” Hazel said with a flourish, “you and Johnson will sit here.” She put a sticky note on a table at the front.She paused, staring at the seating plan. “You know, I’m a bit surprised you’re taking Johnson,” she said. “Has he ever been to a pack? I mean, like a real werewolf pack?”I shook my head. “No. But there’s a first time for everything,” I said with a smile.“Hm.”I sensed that she had more to say, so I prompted her.“You think it’s a bad idea? Taking Johnson with me?”“Not at all,” she smiled. “Please don’t get me wrong. I support you no matter what. It’s just that, well, I guess I hoped that maybe you and Liam…”I cut her off. “Me and Liam? Are you serious, Hazel? You know what he put me through! You were there!” I couldn’t believe it. Was Hazel secretly holding onto hope that Liam and I would get back together.”“I know,” she sighed. “But pe