Put it in. I'm ready." The sound that came from Kit's throat wasn't compliant, but he fed her without further comment. A dense, smooth and very cold cake melted on her tongue. "Mmm, that one's powerful," Sabrina said. "Chocolate fondant cake. I thought we could make them in bite-size molds so the guests can sample without feeling guilty." "Except that one bite isn't always enough." "Are you greedy?" He nudged against her thigh. "No, but I am selfish," she replied. "What's the difference?" "Greedy grabs. Selfish...savors." Sabrina moved her leg into the pressure, rocking her hips. "I want to savor you," she said. "I've been here for the taking." She was ready to sample every inch of Kit in bite-size gulps. Delaying had only made her more ravenous. "Your chin is covered in chocolate dust." He swiped at it with his thumb. She heard a smacking sound. "Umm. You taste good." "A kiss would taste even better," she purred.
Chapter 1 Prologue
"SOME WEDDING," Sabrina Bliss said to her sister. "I nearly lost it when the minister got to the 'till death do us part' part." Mackenzie would understand what she meant.
"That's why I pinched you!" Mackenzie tried to put on a scolding face, but warm laughter bubbled up instead. "It's so rude to laugh in the middle of a wedding ceremony."
Sabrina smiled, feeling oddly light and cheerful despite her doubts about the marriage. "You'll notice I didn't object, either."
Mackenzie blinked. "Do you have objections?"
"Mmm...no, not really."
"But you're not optimistic."
Sabrina tucked her fist beneath her chin, fingers tightening around the small velvet box in her palm. She should give it up, but...she just wasn't sure about letting go.
"You know I don't believe in fairy-tale endings," she said.
Sabrina and Mackenzie had come out onto the balcony of the Fontaine Hotel to catch a quiet moment together, away from the reception. They'd found their newlywed parents, Charlie and Nicole Bliss, dancing beneath the starry sky on one of the brick paths of the hotel's rose garden. Light and music spilled from the open French doors, dappling the scene with a particularly picturesque version of romance.
Bah, humbug, Sabrina thought, without much conviction. Her emotions were too close to the surface. Luckily she had plenty of experience in not letting them show.
Mackenzie was the opposite. And clearly a goner. She'd welled up throughout the ceremony, and now her gaze was pinned on their parents, her big dark eyes shining with hope.
A couple of months ago, Charlie and Nicole Bliss had confessed to their daughters that they'd never quite managed to fall out of love despite their divorce of long standing. They'd decided to give marriage another try. Sabrina and Mackenzie had been stunned. Aside from the occasional family Christmas dinner or birthday party, they hadn't known that their parents were seeing each other. Naturally, Mackenzie found it all so touching and romantic. Sabrina wasn't as ready to forget the perils of the rancorous divorce, even though it had taken place sixteen years ago, when she was thirteen. And she sure didn't want to be around if the shrapnel started to fly again.
"Maybe it's not a fairy-tale ending," Mackenzie said softly. "Maybe it's real."
"Ha." Sabrina raised a champagne glass to her lips. "When reality hits, I give them six months."
Mackenzie wrapped a hand around her sister's arm. She squeezed, making Sabrina wish she could take back her words. Mackenzie was a squeezer, a patter, a cheerer-upper. And a very good friend. They'd been apart for too long. Mackenzie was settled in New York City while Sabrina went wherever whim took her.
"You're so cynical, Breen," she said, reverting to the family nickname.
Did that mean they were a family again?
Sabrina shrugged. While she might have her doubts about her parents, Mackenzie was as reliable as a rock. The sisters had very different personalities, but they'd turned to each other for comfort after the divorce and had been close ever since, even when separated by thousands of miles.
"Look at the divorce statistics," Mackenzie continued. "If half of all marriages fail, then Mom and Dad already have their divorce over and done with. This marriage is practically a sure thing."
Sabrina scoffed. "Your numbers are skewed. I'd definitely double down on that bet." She'd learned the lingo in Reno, where she'd once worked as a cocktail waitress after a stage magician had fired her for screaming bloody murder during a botched saw trick. "Here I thought logic was your strong suit."
"This isn't about logic. You've got to have faith."
"Faith? How?"
Mackenzie gazed past the balcony to their parents. "Look at them. Tell me your heart doesn't melt."
Sabrina held the ring box in one hand and sipped champagne from the glass in the other, brooding over the sight of her parents exchanging whispers and kisses after all these years. They were a study in contrasts, much like their daughters. Charlie Bliss was tall and sandy-haired, prone to daydreaming and wild, irresponsible schemes. Nicole was as short, round and stable as Mackenzie, but not as gentle. She could be a bulldozer.
Sabrina truly wished them the best. But whatever faith she had had been left behind years ago, dug deep into the bottom of the backpack she'd lugged between their houses after the divorce.
Six months was generous, she decided. It wouldn't be too much of a shock if they were arguing on the honeymoon cruise, when Charlie wanted to go para-sailing and Nicole chose to snorkel. Every little thing had once been a battle. The arguments were still familiar.
"Sure, they seem devoted," Sabrina admitted. A spring breeze whipped up and stole the words "for now..." from her lips. Loose pink rose petals from the swags draped over the balcony railing scattered like confetti. Cream satin ribbons fluttered.
Below, Nicole's delighted laughter rang out as Charlie removed the jacket of his tux and draped it over her shoulders. He used it to pull her toward his kiss.
Mackenzie sighed. "See that?"
Sabrina nodded, watching. Even her heart had melted...a little. Then the wind came again and she shivered in her whisper-of-silk slip dress. Ever practical and prepared, Mackenzie hooked an arm around Sabrina's shoulders, sharing her pink cashmere wrap and her body warmth. Mackenzie was a home-and-hearth kind of girl. Sabrina was long and lean, built for running.
She was good at that. But then why was she still clutching the ring box so tightly?
Mackenzie stirred. "Doesn't it make you think, Breen?"
"Think what?"
"Mom and Dad aren't afraid to go for it. We shouldn't be, either."
Sabrina drew away. "What are you talking about? Love? Marriage? Me? Not on your life!"
Making a tutting noise, Mackenzie pulled off the wrap and arranged it around her sister. Her long hair covered her own shoulders like a cape. It was beautiful-waist-length, thick and wavy, the color of dark chocolate. She'd been wearing it in the same plain style since she was ten. "No, Sabrina. I mean change. Transformation, renewal, starting over-whatever you want to call it. Change would do us both good."
Chapter 1 Prologue
26/10/2023
Chapter 2 Sabrina made a face
26/10/2023
Chapter 3 Six weeks later
26/10/2023
Chapter 4 Sabrina wagged
26/10/2023
Chapter 5 Mackenzie opened
26/10/2023
Chapter 6 That's for sure
26/10/2023
Chapter 7 Kit was trying to
26/10/2023
Chapter 8 Sabrina bliss
26/10/2023
Chapter 9 I might
26/10/2023
Chapter 10 Wait
26/10/2023
Chapter 11 SEE HOW PLUMP IT IS
01/12/2023
Chapter 12 THE CITY WAS TEEMING
01/12/2023
Chapter 13 NO
01/12/2023
Chapter 14 HE NODDED
01/12/2023
Chapter 15 DESPITE KIT
01/12/2023
Chapter 16 DECADENCE TO LIVE
01/12/2023
Chapter 17 THEN CAME SABRINA
01/12/2023
Chapter 18 KIT WAS ON THE MARK
01/12/2023
Chapter 19 HE SHOOK HIS HEAD
01/12/2023
Chapter 20 I PLANNED FOR OUR
01/12/2023
Chapter 21 YOURE GOING TO GET
01/12/2023
Chapter 22 HER HEART DROPPED
01/12/2023
Chapter 23 WHY AM I
01/12/2023
Chapter 24 SHE CLEARED
01/12/2023
Chapter 25 I CANT HELP
01/12/2023
Chapter 26 THE CHOCOLATIER
01/12/2023
Chapter 27 IT HAD ALWAYS
01/12/2023
Chapter 28 ONLY BECAUSE
01/12/2023
Chapter 29 THIS IS YOUR SISTER
01/12/2023
Chapter 30 IM ENJOYING YOU MORE
01/12/2023
Chapter 31 WHERES KIT
01/12/2023
Chapter 32 HERES WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO
01/12/2023
Chapter 33 TWO WEEKS LATER
01/12/2023
Chapter 34 HARDLY BUT
01/12/2023
Chapter 35 DEVLIN
01/12/2023
Chapter 36 DEVLIN EXPECTED
01/12/2023
Chapter 37 I EXPLAINED
01/12/2023
Chapter 38 WITH NOT SO MUCH
01/12/2023
Chapter 39 CUTE
01/12/2023
Chapter 40 PARDON
01/12/2023
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