Jillie I was utterly confused. Jarren was acting odd, and I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but I knew how to find out. Turning, I began to head into the room but stopped only a few steps over the threshold. Air trapped itself in my lungs. Even with his back to me, I would know him anywhere.“Aaden,” I stated softly.“Happy birthday, baby girl.” He responded, turning to me.“What are you doing here?”He smiled slightly. “I haven’t missed a birthday you’ve had since Kindergarten.”“I thought you said-”“I know what I said,” he said, cutting me off. “Let’s just say that Jarren can be very persuasive when necessary.” He finished rubbing his jaw.           I sat on the bed and just stared at him for a moment. I would have to

Jillie  “It’s Halloween!” Mina yelled as she burst through my bedroom door. While I nearly had a heart attack, Jarren just rolled his eyes and tightened his arms around me. We had been lying down watching a movie before she so rudely burst in.“Don’t you knock?” I questioned. “How did you get in the house in the first place?”“I have a key, duh!” she exclaimed with a goofy grin.“Who gave you a key?” I questioned with a raised brow, preparing myself to strangle Jarren.

Jarren It was hard to believe that Jillie was already twenty-eight weeks pregnant. It seemed like time was ticking by quickly, and it wouldn’t be long before our baby was here. I still hadn’t told her that I was going with Christen, even though I was sure she already knew. For some reason, I just couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. It would only serve to upset her, and I didn’t want that.            Pulling myself from my thoughts, I looked over to the screen from the chair I was sitting in beside the bed Jillie was lying on. Hollie was pointing out the baby’s body parts to us. Excitement was written all over Jillie’s face, and I couldn’t help but smile. It amazed me how far she’d come from the first time Reid told her she was pregnant. She went from deni

Jarren             Long after Kaileeh returned to the house, I sat on the bench, staring into the trees. There was so much going on around me, and for the first time, I felt helpless, crippled by the intensity of the situation. It didn’t seem that I could catch a break. When I thought I had one thing under control, something would happen to make it more difficult, or something else would come up altogether.             Dread was something that I was beginning to feel quite often, and that was rare for my kind. Life was constantly surprising people, but I felt as if I’d had my fair share of surprises in the three hundred and twenty-eight years I had been alive. Someone, somewhere, thought differently.            I was so caught up in my thoughts that I

Jillie I sat in the front row with Jarren and about fifteen guards surrounding us. It was the first time we’d ever had to have protection around us, other than our royal wedding. Well, it was the first time that I could actually see them. Jarren informed me that they were there every time we went out or I went out without him and other people around. It was cold in the building, and even with all of the people surrounding me, it was still freezing, probably because their body temperatures were in the fifties.            Jarren took off his suit jacket and gave it to me. I nestled into it and lay my head on his shoulder. For some reason, I had thought the Golden Sweetheart Awards would be like something you see on television, and in a way, I guess it was. Everyone nominated for something sat down to a n