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

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

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

Isabella "Izzy, that was delicious, I'll get the cookies "Gwen stood up, not seeming to notice anything strange about what had just happened.Zachary and I watched her walk away before turning our attention to each other."What was that all about? "I whispered."I ask you, were you making out in our kitchen? "he returned with amusement.If I hadn't been so good at disguising myself, I'm sure my face would have turned red at having been discovered."I don't know what you're talking about. Why did Gustaf run away from here? "He didn't run away, he was tired."Zach, the only time I saw him run away faster than today was last night when I... you know..." I said back, still whispering.We heard Gwen's footsteps approaching, then fell silent again."He made my favorite, coconut cookies with lemon and almonds, you have to try them, Izzy "Gwen sat down, placing a platter of chocolate and coconut cookies on the table, completely oblivious to our conversation."Gwen, where's the honey? Don't

IsabellaI felt anxious about the conversation, every minute my curiosity grew more and more, and I thought that this time I couldn't leave the subject aside without satisfying it completely.It took us very little time to reach the cafeteria, the place was quiet, Gustaf accompanied me to a reserved table in a corner, ordering waffles and coffee, without even looking at the menu."The waffles here are the best, you'll like them "he assured me as soon as the waitress left."If you say so, I trust your judgment," I replied, not knowing how to bring up the previous subject.For a moment, we remained trapped in an awkward silence, until Gustaf began to speak."Yesterday, I told you that my last relapse was almost two years ago, and it happened because I didn't tell the person I was involved with about my condition.I nodded, feeling my heart race with anticipation."That person was Kate Monaghan, and it didn't end well," he admitted, to my surprise.""Ohhhh," was the only thing I managed