A Little Something Extra

“Mairi was meddling, which is kind of what she’s supposed to do.”

They lapsed into silence, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it probably should have been.

“I sent you an email.” Jonas felt he had to confess before she read it. “I called off our date.”

“Oh.” The Ewok looked at the floor. “I guess I’d better leave then.”

“No.” He reached out and took her paw in his hand, feeling strangely confident as he did so. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s like I explained online. I get…anxious.”

His face burned at the confession. Aware that, at six-foot tall and with more muscles than your average geek (which, he really should have printed on a T-shirt), he wasn’t exactly the poster child for anxiety disorders. It was embarrassing.

“I understand,” Sadie said. “Really, I do. I have to breathe into a paper bag at the dentist. And that’s just for a checkup. If they have to do any treatments, I need to be knocked out.”

“Yeah, but that’s only at the dentist. I’m like this twenty-four seven.”

“Don’t underestimate how crippling dental fear can be,” she said solemnly. “It got in the way of my career as a dental hygienist.”

His lips quirked as laugher bubbled inside him. “I could see that being a problem.”

She nodded. “All those years spent playing with dental Barbie, and it came to nothing.”

“Dental Barbie?”

“Trust me, it’s a thing.”

Jonas took the first relaxed breath he’d taken in hours as he leaned against the counter. “Do you want to sit outside on the balcony and eat cupcakes?”

She cocked her fuzzy little head at him. “You sure you’re ready for that? It would mean I’d have to take off my Ewok head and paws. I don’t want to rush into the next step in our relationship too soon.”

“And being decostumed is the next step?”

“It is if decostumed is a word.”

He made a show of looking down at himself. “Looks like I’m already a step ahead of you then.”

He was wearing his usual: faded jeans and a black printed T-shirt. This one had a floppy disk and a USB drive on it. The floppy’s speech bubble said, “I am your father.” And the USB’s said, “Nooooo.” He thought it was funny, but he’d have changed into a dress shirt for their date. It was too late now. Their date had already started.

“Since you’re being forward,” she said as she pulled off a paw, “I may as well catch up.”

He watched with fascination as her slender hands appeared. And then, as those hands reached for her full-head mask. It was the geekiest striptease on the planet, and it made his heart race. Slowly, the smooth skin of her throat appeared, then the curve of her chin, followed by her tiny pointed nose, with all those freckles flanking it, and finally, her pale green eyes stared up into his. She placed the head on the counter in front of them. Her hair was in a messy bun, some strands standing on end from the static electricity of the costume. She was stunning.

As they stared at each other, her uneven lips broke into a beautiful wide smile, and she held out a human hand. “Hi, Jonas, I’m Sadie. It’s lovely to meet you in person at last.”

Jonas couldn’t take his eyes from hers as he reached for her hand. When they touched, a shock of pure electricity ran straight up his arm to his heart, and his mouth went dry. He swallowed hard as he smiled back at her.

“Hi, Sadie, I’m Jonas. It’s lovely to meet you in person at last.”

And then, they stood there, holding hands and staring at each other for what felt like an eternity. A perfect, wonderful, calm eternity.

Isobel And Callum Get Married

This story takes place between Rage and Ransom.

“I can’t do it.” Isobel doubled over and wedged her head between her knees in an attempt to ease the spinning in her head. It didn’t work. Instead, all that happened was her dress tried to suffocate her.

“Why did I pick this dress?” She batted at the skirt, but it still remained voluminous. “What was I thinking? There’s so much satin, it’s eating me alive. And it’s white. I can’t wear white. I have two kids, an ex-husband and a teenage pregnancy in my past.”

“I hate to break it to you, honey,” her youngest sister, Mairi, said. “But the two kids aren’t only in your past.”