Chapter 0567

Nina

The morning light filtered through the hotel room curtains and cast soft blue shadows on the furniture. I began to stir, but my eyes were slow to open. After last night, I felt as though! had been hit by a train.

Enzo was already awake. I could hear him moving about in the bathroom, and when he came out, he was drying his hair with a towel.

"Morning, sunshine," he said, catching my gaze as I sat up. "You look wide-eyed and bushy- tailed."

I stuck my tongue out. "I didn't sleep well last night."

He sat on the edge of the bed, his hand gently finding mine under the covers. "I noticed you got up. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his gaze on me. For a moment, I almost mentioned my dream-but I decided against it. "I've just been thinking about what you said last night," I admitted. "About not getting to go on enough dates."

Enzo's eyes softened. "Nina, I didn't mean to keep you up with that."

"No, that's not it," I said, shaking my head. "I was just thinking... we still have time before the baby comes. Why don't we make the most of it?"

He smiled, a glint of hope in his eyes. "That's a great idea. I was thinking, too, how about a date tonight? After work, we could have dinner, see the city. It would be nice."

The idea brought a small smile to my lips. "That sounds wonderful," I said, feeling a flicker of excitement at the prospect of a normal date night.

my hand. "Then it's a date. I'll be back after work

of me wanting to tell him

I said, my voice

hand on the doorknob.

heart raced, but I hesitated. "Nothing, have a good day at work," I

concern in his eyes, but he nodded. "Okay, Nina. I

love you too," I replied as

force-the shadow entity, the sense of impending doom, the image of our unborn child dead in my arms. I couldn't get it out of

to pick up, and when her voice finally

holding.

sounds of banging

voice steady. "Just wanted to chat.

in her voice. You-know-who is on her period. It was either chocolate chip pancakes or my sanity, so I chose

out, "Hey!" Jessica and I burst into laughter, and for a moment,

Jessica said, "how's

through my hair. My gaze caught the reflection in the mirror opposite the bed.

was with the intention of venting about my dreams. But now... Now, in the morning sunlight, hearing the sounds of my friends squabbling on the other end of the phone, I felt

went to the museum

conversation continued, I could feel my tension lifting. We talked about everything, just like we always did: parties, classes, books, art, relationships. Before I knew it, I was milling around the room on FaceTime, holding up various dresses for Jessica to critique for my upcoming date tonight before I finally settled on a short red dress that showed off my

as she popped a bite of pancake into her mouth. Lori sat beside her on the FaceTime call, looking a little haggard but otherwise satisfied with chocolate

shoes and jewelry for the evening. I finally decided that I would just go with my boots, the old tried and

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