Chapter Twenty-Three

The next morning came too soon.

The bakery was quiet—only the low hum of the ovens and the faint scent of sugar and yeast filling the air. Kaelani stood behind the counter, slipping a fresh tray of pastries into the heat, the soft glow from the oven brushing her skin. She’d been there since before dawn, like always. The first to arrive, the only one awake while the rest of the town still dreamed.

Her body moved on autopilot, but her mind was elsewhere—still tangled in yesterday. Julian’s sudden appearance, his voice, his eyes. The way his presence had burrowed under her skin like a splinter she couldn’t pull free. She hadn’t slept at all last night, afraid to close her eyes, afraid to see him.

Because in her dreams, she was too weak for him. Too willing.

Kaelani rubbed her temple, leaning back in her chair once she’d retreated to her small office. The soft tick of the clock filled the silence. Her eyes were heavy, burning. Just a minute, she thought. The bakery didn’t open for another hour. Just a minute to rest.

Her head tipped back against the wall. The world dimmed.

When she opened her eyes again, she wasn’t in her office.

She stood outside the grand hall of her old pack—the air crisp, music faint in the distance. Her reflection shimmered back at her from the glass-paneled doors: the red dress from the boutique window, hugging her frame like it had been made for her. Her hair was swept up in an elegant updo, loose curls framing her face, a vision both foreign and familiar.

For a heartbeat, she almost didn’t recognize herself.

Kaelani reached for the handle and pushed the glass doors open.

Stillness greeted her.

The grand hall stretched wide and golden, chandeliers glittering overhead, their crystals scattering soft light across the polished floors. But the space was empty. The tables—draped in white linen, trimmed with gold—stood untouched. The candles flickered, though no one was there to light them.

Of course.

She almost laughed. Leave it to her subconscious to grant her the one thing she’d always wanted—and still find a way to make it hollow. A dream ballroom without dancers. A wish granted without a heartbeat inside it.

Her heels clicked softly as she wandered in, fingertips grazing the edge of one of the long tables. Silver cutlery, crystal glasses, folded napkins that would never be used. She trailed her fingers along the curve of a chair, her chest tightening with something she couldn’t quite name.

Then her gaze caught on the corner of the room.

A record player sat there, gleaming and enticing, as though waiting for her.

Kaelani crossed to it, her pulse steady but her throat tight. She lifted the lid, fingers trembling slightly as she set a vinyl onto the turntable. The needle dropped with a faint crackle, and then—

Wise men say… only fools rush in…

The soft voice of Elvis Presley filled the empty hall, echoing through the still air like a memory brought back to life.

Kaelani’s lips parted, her eyes falling shut as the melody wrapped around her.

But I can’t help… falling in love with you.

Kaelani let the song carry her, her body swaying gently to the rhythm. The music echoed through the empty hall, every note settling deep in her chest. For once, she didn’t fight it.

But then—arms slipped around her waist.

She gasped, the movement instinctive, her body stiffening as she turned.

Julian stood behind her, close enough that the heat of him brushed against her skin. His eyes caught hers—intense, unguarded, pulling her in the way they always did.

“Why is it always you?” She breathed, more to herself than him.

He didn’t answer. He only extended a hand, silent invitation in the gesture. She hesitated, searching his face for a reason, a lie, a crack in the illusion. But before she could pull away, he closed the space between them, his hand finding her waist, drawing her in until there was nowhere else to go.

They began to move—slowly at first, her steps uncertain, his sure. The song guided them, each sway in perfect rhythm, as if the world itself had been waiting for this dance.

Neither spoke. Their eyes held, a thousand unsaid things suspended in the air between them.

And then, as the music softened, Kaelani’s resolve slipped. Her hands found his chest, resting there, and her head tipped forward until it too nestled against him, grounding her in the moment with unexpected comfort she had not realized she desperately needed.

Julian exhaled—quiet, almost reverent—as the tension drained from her body. Relief washed through him like a tide. He drew her closer, his arms circling her fully now, holding her as though afraid she might vanish if he loosened his grip.

He lowered his head, brushing his face against her hair. The scent of her surrounded him—warm, familiar, maddening. His eyes closed as his cheek came to rest against the top of her head, their hearts moving in time with the song.

For a fleeting, impossible moment, the world outside the dream didn’t exist.

The song played on, the melody soft and slow as the world around them began to shift.

The chandeliers above flickered once—then dissolved. The gold and marble of the grand hall melted away like watercolor in the rain. In their place, an endless expanse of night unfolded around them, vast and glittering. Stars bloomed where candles once burned, their light cascading in slow motion across the floor.

Take my hand…

The ceiling vanished, replaced by a sky so wide it seemed to breathe. Shooting stars streaked across the darkness, their trails illuminating Kaelani’s red dress like fire and satin entwined.

Take my whole life too…

Still, neither of them noticed. Their eyes stayed closed, bodies moving as one, swaying beneath a cosmos that bowed just for them. Her head rested against his chest; his breath moved through her hair in slow, steady waves.

For I can’t help… falling in love… with you…

As the last verse lingered, Julian’s head lifted slightly. She looked up, meeting his gaze as his fell to her face—soft, luminous, eyes glistening with tears that never fell. Something inside him twisted sharply, painfully, at the sight.

The stars shimmered in her eyes, and for a moment, he thought he could drown in them.

Then slowly—almost unconsciously—he leaned in. His hand brushing against her cheek, his thumb tracing along her plump bottom lip.

Her breath caught. Her lashes fluttered. She didn’t pull away. Her lips parted just slightly, welcoming the moment she swore she wouldn’t let herself want.

Their lips hovered—so close that his breath fanned against her skin—when—

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

A shrill alarm shattered the moment. The stars above fractured like glass, the night sky collapsing around them in a rush of sound and blinding light. The grand hall reassembled in an instant, empty and cold once more.

Julian’s eyes darted around. “What is that?” He asked, confusion rough in his voice.

The smell hit them next—sharp, acrid. Burning.

His nostrils flared. “Is something—”

Then Kaelani’s world ripped away.

She jerked upright in her office chair, heart hammering, the blare of the fire alarm still screaming in her ears. The air was thick with smoke.

“Oh, shit.”

She bolted from her chair, sprinting down the short hall into the kitchen. Black smoke poured from the oven. Flames licked the tray of pastries she’d forgotten, curling up the sides.

“Fucking hell!” She shouted, grabbing the fire extinguisher from the wall and yanking the pin. A blast of foam hissed through the haze as she doused the small fire, the sound deafening in the tiny space.

The flames hissed out. Silence fell again, broken only by the fading wail of the alarm.

Kaelani leaned against the counter, chest heaving, flour smudged on her cheek, her pulse still racing—not from the fire, but from the dream that refused to let her go.