“Happy Birthday!” my best friend, Amy, shouted to me.

I laughed and ran to hug her. It had been a year since I had last seen her. I missed her.

“I missed you!” I cried.

“I missed you too,” said Amy. “Here’s your present.” She handed me a pink box wrapped in silver ribbon. I couldn’t wait to open it.

“C’mon, lets go to where everyone else.” We walked through the path of trees to the picnic tabl...

The sound of screaming filled Lotilucia's ears. She covered them, groaning and rolling her eyes. It was probably just some overreaction...

Again.

"LOTTIE! LOTTIE, HELP! I'M DYING!" Lorelai shouted. "I'M BLEEDING OUT! CALL 911!"

Lotilucia shot up from her seat, rushing to her sister. The worried look quickly slid off of her face, replaced with annoyance and exasperation.

"You're not dying." Lotilu...

She pulled a book from her backpack and I knew that was my opening. It wasn’t the best, but it was something. We still had three hours till our destination in Amsterdam, and I didn’t see a better one presenting itself. I couldn’t see the cover, but I could make out the reviews on the back.

"Heartwarming!!!"

"A joy from start to finish!"

Alright, so it wasn't my kind of book, but it's still an ...

"You killed my pa!"

"How was I t'know he was yer pa?"

Denali looked at the sinewy ranch hand . She remembered him. Wayne Fordham. She'd seen him working at the Bar-W last summer. Shirt off, sweat dripping... No, she shook if off, reminding herself to focus on the Colt's front sight. She had him dead-to-rights.

Something stopped her, kept pulling her away from cold blue steel to the warm blue ...

“when i told you i loved you i meant it” he said.

“if i told you i felt deeply about you you would believe me”.

the tugging of heart strings is an normal occurrence in his heart.

he believes he has discovered love just to end up dealing with someone else’s damages.

and to tell the truth, it keeps him up at night.

he stares at the ceiling for hours trying to find a remedy for the painful reoccurr...

“Princess Bri, my sweet, magical Princess, I know we've only known each other for three hours, but,”—Bowing his head, he bent to one knee—“from the moment I saw you, I knew we were meant to be together. My true love.” He smiled, and a crystalline tear slipped down his porcelain cheek. “Will you marry me?”

Clutching her heart, Bri blushed—just as her mother had taught her. “Oh, Luke,” she gasped a...

Deborah felt her bosom heave as Roderick’s adoring eyes met hers.

“I cannot bear it any longer. I don’t care who your family is! I love you!”

As they shared a kiss, Deborah thought about all they’d been through.

Their awkward first meeting at the house, where she worked as a lowly scullery maid. Their occasional secret rendezvous. Roderick’s family trying to keep him away from this “commoner....

Teddy has been trapped for two weeks, well at least he thinks it’s been two weeks. It is stuffy, small and smells of cigarette smoke and stale beer. He has no memory of getting to this point. There is only one way in and out of this room and he’s only seen the opening a few times. In order to get out he will either have to jump high, which he won’t be able to do due to his height and weight. Or he...

Riley was a regular Boy Scout, loyal, industrious, and well prepared. Most people would call him a hard worker and a smart guy, nice if not a little bit weird. He always laughed at the wrong places and never knew when to end conversations. Riley was just awkward. Tablet tucked under his arm, he walked up the long curved driveway to the Baconer house or at least what was left of it. The house, a la...

Until I was 23 years old, I had never been romantically involved with anyone. I occasionally went on blind dates set up by family and friends but nothing serious came of it. I thought if I at least had my family and friends, I wouldn’t need to date anyone. Besides, I had my job as an architect so I was working endlessly. My job usually consists of working on projects given to my team and I to work...