Gustaf The small smile that appeared on Isabella's face was enough to light up the room. Since the first time the Monaghan's had shown me a picture of her, I had considered her a beautiful woman, but I hadn't expected her to be even more beautiful in person, as well as funny and interesting.I took an interest in her as soon as I saw her in the arrivals area, and to my surprise, she seemed to reciprocate. The tension that surrounded us whenever we were alone was almost palpable, and yesterday, before Danny arrived, I was about to silence the voice in my conscience that screamed that getting involved with her would be a bad idea.Zachary and Gwen always talked about how much they considered the young chef as a real sister, despite having no blood ties, and after what happened with Katherine almost two years ago, I learned my lesson. I couldn't put our friendship at risk one more time.But I confess that conviction was fading every time I looked at her." So, what was the problem? " Iz
GustafIzzy took longer than I expected to finish getting ready, Danny had already gone to meet Stefan when she returned, prepared to face the negative weather outside.She remained silent as we walked to the car, she continued that way for a few minutes as I drove to the Pine Tree farm outside Fairbanks, until I decided to break the silence." Are you okay? She lowered her head with a weak smile on her face." 'Will you believe me if I say yes?" 'No, but I'll understand that you don't want to talk about it,' I shrugged, giving her a brief glance.After a long sigh, Isabella looked out of the window again, staring at the darkness outside. For a moment I thought how strange it must be for her to leave sunny Miami and end up in a place where it's only four hours of light during the winter. Sometimes not even that." What was I supposed to answer him? Are your grandparents so bad that your parents would rather pretend they don't exist? That's definitely not what I took a vacation for!
Gustaf It wasn't long before we were in the car once again, driving back to the inn, with the tree already in our possession. " 'I didn't expect that guy to know me,' Izzy commented after a few seconds in silence. " 'Almost everyone here knows you. Your friends talk about you a lot," I explained. " 'None of this here is what I expected,' she admitted with a sigh. We spent a few minutes in silence, until I decided to take the opportunity to quell my curiosity about my friends' lives once and for all. " 'You said your story was a fairy tale next to Monaghan's story? For a moment I thought she wasn't going to answer me, but Izzy started narrating next. " After a few weeks after we met, Zachary started coming to my house, we always did our chores together and I also met Katherine. Like you, I thought his parents had died, so I didn't touch the subject. I held back the urge to interrupt her to fill her with questions, waiting for her to finish the story. " One day when he was at m
GustafWe spent the next few hours setting up all the scenery outside, arranging the sleigh and reindeer on one side of the inn, decorating the windows and the front porch, all while chatting about our routine in the kitchen." Then this girl made me leave the kitchen only to complain that her dish tasted unbearably of fish.Izzy was finishing decorating the balcony fence while I looked at all the snow that had accumulated on the lower part of the roof. I'd have to take care of that." And what was wrong with her plate? " I asked, tilting my head and narrowing my eyes to see better through the sunlight reflected off some frozen spots." The problem was that she hated fish and had ordered a salmon dish. " Are you serious? " I stared back at her in surprise." That's better. She asked me to take the fishy taste out of the salmon " Izzy rolled her eyes, making me laugh." I'm going to get a ladder, I need to get that snow off before it falls and hits a guest " I said, heading for the st
IsabellaI was lying on the sofa, sipping a glass of wine, ignoring a movie playing on TV. Danny had been asleep for a few minutes and I had decided to save the night, even though I knew it was hopeless.I couldn't understand how I had ended up there alone after all the signals Gustaf had given me. Had I got it all wrong? His extreme reaction to my invitation clearly showed that I had.What's wrong with me? Doesn't he think I'm pretty? Or did I scare him off with all the talk about my bankrupt family? Or maybe he's one of those guys who believes that a woman should wait for the man's first move." What a nice vacation I've been on," I muttered, going back to drinking.And in the end, I'm watching one of those cheesy Christmas movies. It's not enough what I'm going through with this damn decoration. But deep down, I felt sad and lonely with my self"esteem wounded. I'd expected to spend a great time with my friends, and suddenly I'm stuck here alone with a boy of four and the only pers
IsabellaTo my surprise, despite waking up early, I felt rested. Danny insisted on eating just one bowl of cereal before going to school. I could have insisted on preparing something for him, but at that moment I could only focus on one thing. Gustaf's absence.I hadn't seen him since the fateful invitation, he hadn't shown up for breakfast as usual, and I was beginning to fear that he had run away for good. "Great, I managed to scare off the only one who was helping me "I muttered, opening the fridge.I looked at some English muffins left over from last night's dinner, deciding what to make next. I started taking the ingredients out of the fridge before putting my hair up in a bun, bending down to get a pan from the cupboard."I think I've lost my position as private chef "Gustaf's voice surprised me, sending shivers through my body.I stood up quickly, turning towards the newly closed door, where he was still standing.Embarrassment overtook me as I stared at him, remembering
GustafI watched Izzy eat her cereal, looking relaxed. In my mind I was still going over everything that had happened. I'd spent the night fighting the urge to go to her and accept her invitation, and only showed up after deciding what to say to her and making sure I'd controlled myself.And at that moment I could say that I felt lighter after clarifying everything with her. Izzy handled my situation better than I expected, and I confess that I was even more excited about spending the next three weeks by her side.Isabella surprised me in every way, and something told me that by the end of those weeks she wouldn't stop surprising me."Do I have cereal in my nose? "She frowned, bringing her hand up to her face."What? "The question snapped me out of my contemplation."When people stare at me like that in the kitchen, I either have sauce on my forehead or I'm on fire, neither of which is possible at the moment," she explained, rubbing the tip of her nose.That statement made me laugh, a
Gustaf That's when a scratchy throat surprised us, and Izzy and I hurried away, finding Gwen and Zachary standing in the corridor that would lead to the hotel.I turned my back, going back to taking care of the rest of the cookies, feeling a little embarrassed to have been caught in that situation, especially after what had happened with Amber. Izzy recovered more quickly, running towards her friends and hugging them both effusively."You've arrived, we're both preparing brunch for you! "she explained, while I just waved to my friends."So, you two are cooking together? "Gwen looked suspicious.I saw Zachary whisper something to his friend, who quickly rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen, lighting the pot of water on fire."We're trying to be nice and do something to welcome you, so if you could just stay out of the way, I'd be happy," Izzy muttered."Is that really what you're trying, Izzy? "Zachary teased.I felt uncomfortable in front of that interaction, exposing my re