To Renna Rose Lancaster, Aadam Callahan was her first taste of magic-the boy who made her world feel livelier, brighter, like anything was possible. Together they crafted a bond that felt unbreakable-a universe where dreams were shared under starlit...
"You took my heart away.What else do you want to take from me?" he smiled.
"How about your last name?"
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It's honestly baffling how someone so soft can be so damn stubborn.
I watched her as we trudged back toward the cabin, her hands clutching the edge of my jacket like it was some lifeline, her face still puffed and red from earlier tears.
Her lips were moving-rambling, actually-but I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy feeling guilty.
She's too sensitive for this world. Too sensitive for me, at least.
I swear, I could tell her the sky is blue, and she'd cry because it's not her favorite shade. She's incredibly good at making me feel like the worst human alive when she cries.
I made a mental note: Never joke about anything remotely serious with Rose unless I'm prepared to grovel for an hour.
"...and the cathedral should have these huge stained-glass windows, Aadam! Oh, and flowers-so many flowers. Peonies, lilies, roses! What do you think about a twelve-foot veil? It'll need five bridesmaids just to hold it up!"
If anyone had told me eight years ago that the little girl next door-Renna Rose Lancaster, who once cried because her ice cream fell-would grow up to be this... brazen, I'd have laughed in their face.
I thought I'd bagged myself a sweet, shy little angel who'd just nod along to everything I said. Instead, I've got this unstoppable, rambling tornado of a girl who's currently planning our wedding before I've even popped the question.
I shook my head, suppressing a laugh. "Twelve feet? Sweetheart, you're five-foot-nothing. That train'll drag you halfway down the aisle."
She ignored me entirely, barreling ahead with her vision,"We should definitely have a string quartet during the ceremony-something elegant and timeless. Maybe Pachelbel's Canon. What do you think, Aadam?"
What did I think? I think you've lost your damn mind.
"I'm praying for a mute button right now," I mumbled under my breath.
How is she so tiny yet so loud?
She stopped abruptly, turning to me with wide, accusing eyes. "Are you even listening, Aadam? You're not taking me seriously."
"I think," I said dryly, "that you've officially lost it. Sweetheart, we're not even engaged!Don't you think this is a bit... premature?"
She gasped like I'd just suggested we elope at a courthouse. "Premature? Aadam, we've been together forever!"
"Forever," I repeated, deadpan. "we've been back together for like six months. And I'm eighteen. Eighteen! I haven't even finished med school."
She waved her hand dismissively, as if my age and career aspirations were minor details. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that we're in love. And when you're in love, you plan weddings. It's just what people do."
