White(Robin Joy Wirth) I

“Mr. Davenport, I never thought of this orphanage as an enterprise. We’re only here to take care of these kids,” Bianca Snow told the man as she poured out a cup of steaming hot tea. “Sugar?”
“Two, please,” he answered. She held up the cream and he nodded, so she poured some in. He sipped some before he spoke again.
“Miss Snow, I bought this property with no knowledge of any tenants,” he said. “Just how many orphans do you have?”
“Seven,” she said. “My father inherited the orphanage from my mother. I haven’t taken any children in since we knew about his cancer, but these boys couldn’t be placed before he died. My stepmother purchased this building three years ago and we’ve been here since.”
“This is an office building, Miss Snow. It isn’t meant to be lived in, and I would be breaking the law if I allowed you to stay. It could always be rezoned, but I’m not sure you’re qualified to be guardian to seven kids when you’re little more than a child yourself.”
“I’m twenty-two,” she said defensively. “I never expected my stepmother to callously sell off this building as soon as he died. It was never planned for.”
“Unfortunately, she did,” Davenport said with pursed lips. “I invested money to gain office space for twelve paying customers, one thousand dollars for each suite per month. I can’t take the loss of that revenue. I didn’t make my money by giving it away.”
“I understand, sir,” she whispered tearfully. She bravely looked him in the eye. “But what do you want me to do?”
“May I ask you something personal, Miss Snow?”
“Only if you call me Bianca,” she said.
“All right, Bianca,” he said. “And you may call me Keith. How long have you been caring for these kids alone?”
“Five years,” she said. “As soon as I graduated I took over.”
“You were still a minor?” he asked incredulously. “Bianca, don’t you want anything for yourself? Don’t you want to go to college, have a career, find a good man and make a few children of your own?”
“Sure, someday,” she blushed.
“How old is the youngest orphan now?”
“Ben is eight,” she said.
“You’re on borrowed time,” Keith pointed out. “In ten years Ben will be an adult and leave you as a displaced thirty-two year old with no real training. Do you think you’ll get a job then?”
“Somebody would hire me,” she insisted. “I have plenty of experience in domestic jobs, plus I will have run this orphanage quite a few years by then.”
“Sweetie, don’t you see? You’re not bringing in money. Businesses have to make money to remain businesses. Right now you are homeless. When I take over this building you’ll have nowhere to go, and no rental history either. Plus you have no income. No one will rent you a place with no income.”
“Each kid gets state money,” she said. “They also get medical and food. That’s enough to get us a place.”
“Only a sex-crazed jerk would rent you a place--if you put out--and one can only hope you wouldn’t do anything of the sort,” he said.
“Do people really do that?”
“You bet they do,” he said. “I must be crazy to even be thinking this, but there’s only one thing to do. Bring the kids to my house. It has six bedrooms and I live alone except for the married couple who runs the place.”
“Are you serious?” Bianca gasped. “You’d do that?”
“With the understanding that we find suitable homes for the boys right away,” he said. “As for you, we’ll enroll you in college so you can actually have a chance at a real life.”
“But I can’t,” she protested. “Who will watch the kids?”
“Connie—she’s the wife in the aforementioned couple. Her husband’s name is Dean.”
“Why would you do this?” Bianca asked, feeling suddenly shy.
“I feel responsible for making you homeless,” he said. “If I hadn’t bought the place, you wouldn’t have to leave.”
“If you hadn’t bought it, whoever did might have been much crueler,” Bianca said as her tears finally escaped. “I have no idea how to ever repay you.”
“By getting good grades and succeeding at whatever you decide to do.”


II

“Keith, you must be loaded,” said Ben as he looked around the living room of his large estate. He’d been going on about the size of the place since they’d come through the gates ten minutes ago, and Keith tried hard not to laugh. He didn’t want to hurt the boy’s feelings.

“I’ve got my fair share,” he admitted. “But don’t feel intimidated by that. I have nice things not just because I can afford them, but also because I take good care of them. So don’t break anything, got it?”
“No problemo,” Ben agreed.

The other boys watched silently. They were taking the change in stride, while because Ben had been adopted by Bianca’s father as a baby he had only ever lived with Bianca. How would she handle it if the little guy got adopted? The two were mighty close, almost as if they truly were brother and sister. More to the point, how would Ben handle it? Bianca was the only caregiver he had ever known.

“Did you get the classes you wanted, Bianca?” Keith asked as they all sat down for dinner. In the two weeks they’d been in his home, so far dinner was the only time they ever got to talk.
“Yes, thank you,” she answered politely. “I’m taking archaeology, algebra, and anatomy.”
“So, you have all A’s even before you start,” he teased her. On a more serious note he added, “Ross and Dan may have found a home, by the way.”
“Oh. That’s good,” she answered less buoyantly. “Did you meet the parents yet? Did you like them?”
“Yes, we did,” Ross answered. “They’re actually the adoptive parents of a schoolmate. When he told them what happened they were more than ready to help. They wanted to take on the whole lot of us, but Dan pointed out that it would be too big of a job, even for Tilly.”
“Tilly? Is that the mother?”
“Yeah, she’s really great, too,” Dan said. “She cooks the best food ever.”
“Thanks,” Bianca said with an overly sweet smile.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Bee,” he said apologetically.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I'm tired, that’s all.”

After dinner Keith grasped Bianca’s hand and brought her to his den. She plopped into a wingback chair and looked at him expectantly as he shut the door.
“Are you getting empty nest syndrome before the nest is even empty?” he inquired as he sat in a nearby chair.
“He made it sound like I can’t cook,” she grumbled. “I’ve never had this much free time before. It feels strange to be useless.”
“Maybe I should take you with me tonight.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To a comedy show at The Palace,” he told her. “It might take your mind off things.”
“I don’t have anything to wear,” Bianca said with a blush.
“I’ll take care of it,” Keith promised her. “Be ready by seven.”


III

Keith chuckled at Bianca’s reaction to the rather grandiose club the two approached. Admittance itself was no small fete for most people, but Keith simply walked to the front of the line.
“Hey, why did you let those two in?” one man growled. “Nothing like favoritism.”
“Part owner,” the security guard growled.
“Oh, okay, man,” said the other guy as he backed down.
“Come with me,” Keith said into Bianca’s ear as he pulled her toward the main hall. “Do you need to use the little girl’s room before we go in?”
“I’d rather use the women’s room,” she commented.
“Fair enough,” he chuckled. “I keep forgetting you’re not a kid, too.”
“Darn, I thought this dress was working,” she teased as she patted his backside, then retreated before he could comment further.
“It is working,” Keith said as he watched her go.

“You ready?” she asked brightly when she came out. Keith refrained from admitting just how ready as he wrapped an arm around her waist and led her inside. Her little shiver laid another log on the fire.
“This should be fun for you, Bianca,” he said in her ear as he pulled out her chair. He hadn’t meant to graze his lips along the flesh, but his wayward mouth had a mind of its own. He took a seat beside her, and their knees were almost touching.

Bianca closed the distance as she turned to talk to him. His hand was on the table, and she squeezed it as she said, “I’ve never been to a bar before, let alone a club. This place is so full of people it almost makes me dizzy.”
“Want a drink, Bianca?” he asked. “Maybe a lady’s drink, like a sloe gin fizz?”
“My stepmother likes tequila sunrises,” she said. “I tasted one once, nice and fruity. Could I have one of those?”
“Sure, sweetie, whatever you want,” he answered as he waved to a waiter.
“Did anyone check her ID?”
“Bruce, why would I bring a minor in here and order her a drink? Do I look like I want to lose my liquor license?”
“Sorry, Mr. Davenport,” he said contritely.
Keith told Bruce to get Bianca a sunrise, and give him scotch on the rocks.
“Can I taste yours?” asked Bianca when the drinks arrived.
“Sure,” said Keith as he put her straw into his drink instead of her own. Bianca leaned forward to sip, and gave him a spectacular view of her cleavage.
“Bianca, you don’t hang around men much, do you?” he asked as he put her straw into her own drink. She made a face, so he added, “You didn’t like it?”
“It’s fine, it just needs to sit till it gets colder.”

Keith sipped the drink and had to agree. Then he sipped Bianca’s drink with her straw. “That’s pretty good. But I’m much too manly to be caught drinking one of my own.”
“Really?” she chuckled. “Just how manly are you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he teased.
Bianca put a hand on his knee as she whispered up into his ear, “Yes, I would.”
Keith gasped, and grabbed the hand to hold instead.
“Why’d you do that?” she asked.
“You really don't know,” he said as he kissed her nose. “I did that so things won’t start to grow. That dress is working way too well.”

Bianca tilted her face up a bit more so her lips were too close, and he had to taste them, however briefly, and he knew there could be no turning back. That kiss was not one they’d soon forget.


IV

They walked out to the car a few hours later holding hands. Before he unlocked it, Keith turned her to face him.
“What’s up?” she asked with a smile.
“Bianca, I’m not sure about—this,” he said, indicating their joined hands. “I don’t want to be the sex-crazed jerk I warned you about.”
Bianca squeezed his hand. “Just because you want me does not make you a sex-crazed jerk,” she said lightly. “You’re not a jerk at all.”
“No, just sex-crazed?” he asked with a chuckle.
“I hope so,” she answered. “But only if it’s for just one person.”
“No sharing? Darn, and here I thought I’d invite home half the club.”
Bianca held her side as she laughed. Her antics were contagious, and the two stood there cracking up as a group of people walked by. They laughed even harder as they realized how crazy they must look.

“C'mere,” Keith said, pulling Bianca against him. He leaned down and kissed her several times, and his tongue swept over her lower lip, asking permission. She opened her mouth so he could taste her.
“Mmm, fruity goodness,” he teased.
“Should we maybe not do this in front of the others yet?” she asked softly. "They might think it’s too soon, at the very least.”
“They’ll just have to handle it, babe, I’m addicted already,” he answered, and kissed her even more soundly than before.

Bianca took a deep, shaky breath as she leaned into him. “I’ve never gone on a date, either, just so you know.”
“Never been kissed, either,” he added.
“How do you know?” she asked curiously.
“I can just tell,” he told her. “Now, enough making out in the parking lot. Let’s get you home, sweet thing.”
“Wait, how does one end a first date when you’re both headed for the same house?” she asked him. She could tell by the look on his face that the question made his mind wander in a less than chaste direction. “I mean if you’re not trying to be sex-crazed just yet?”

“Get in the car, Bianca,” he told her as he opened the door. She couldn’t stop giggling as she sat down and he went around to the other side and got in to drive. He finally pulled into their driveway and turned the car off, then turned to her again.

Bianca didn’t have to ask what he wanted. She’d been feeling it, too. The slow burn had been building up all the way here, and the pot was ready to boil over. Their lips met in a passionate joining that left them both breathless.

“There, that was your end-of-date kiss,” he said resolutely. “And if you don’t want me to be sex-crazed tonight, I suggest we part company when we hit that door, and you go put on some granny gown or something.”
Bianca laughed. “I don’t have any granny gowns.”
“I’m in trouble,” he lamented as he wrung his hands melodramatically. “Do you at least have the decency to have pajamas at all?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” she said on a purr, and left him sitting in the car as she skipped inside.


V

“Good morning, Bianca,” said Keith from his vantage point on the living room couch. “I see you’re dressed for the day.”
“I’ve got class in an hour,” she said, trying not to smile. It did her no good when he looked at her like a dog who was hoping for a bone.
“The kids are all gone,” he said casually, still not moving from his reclined position in any way.
“Are they?” she answered, still watching him from about four feet away.
“C’mere,” he said, and barely managed to lift his head before she kissed him for all she was worth. He pulled her on top of him and held on for dear life. “Bianca, remember you’ve got class. Don’t start something we can’t hope to finish.”
“I swear, you’re more of a virgin than I am,” she complained as he set her on her feet again.
“No, I’m not,” he said. “I’m just remembering that you are, and trying to take this slow.”
Bianca sighed. “What if I don’t want slow?”

Keith was on his feet now, and he pulled her up against him. She could feel his desire against her belly, and it set her off again. “I’m old enough to know what I want, you know.”
“And so am I,” he said. “I’m not going to make your first time a quickie.”
“Shut up and kiss me, Davenport,” she barked as though giving him orders.
“Sir, yes, sir!” he said with a mock salute.
“Um, just so we’re clear on this, you do know I’m a girl, right?”
“Hell, yes, I know,” he said, and spent the next several minutes enjoying that very fact.

“Hey, Mr. Davenport, did you want me to wash your—oh, never mind,” said Connie as she came in from the kitchen.
“Sorry, Connie,” he said as he set Bianca away from him. “Sweetie, you’d best get ready for school.”
“You’re probably right,” Bianca agreed, and kissed him one last time before she left the room.
“What’s that all about?” asked Connie with an amused stare.
“When I come up for air, I’ll let you know,” he answered. “Go ahead and wash the blue, Connie. I’ve got a meeting with the board in about two hours."
“Yes, sir,” she said with a smile as she turned to go.
“You’re not going to let this slide, are you?” he inquired with a blush.
“Not on your life,” she answered, and laughed all the way down the hall.


VI

Bianca signed papers releasing interest in Ross and Dan later that day. Keith was not home when the paralegal stopped by, but both of the boys were, and they were quite excited as they watched.
“This is going to be cool,” Ross said. “Thanks, Bianca, you’re a peach. I’ve always thought so.”
She was rather surprised when he kissed her cheek, and then Dan gave her a hug as the woman left.
“You two may as well start packing,” she said as she hid her tears. “There’s no reason to wait any longer for your new family. I wish you both all the luck in the world.”
“And we wish you luck, too,” Dan said. “Oh, how did your date go with Keith last night?”
“Just fine,” she answered. Both boys smirked.
“It really was a date, then?” Ross clarified.
“I guess it turned out to be one,” she said with a blush.
“I knew it,” Dan crowed. “Didn’t I tell you those two had some spark?”
“Knock it off, you two,” she complained. “Ben will be home any minute. Do we really want him to hear that nonsense and start asking endless questions about what sparks are and why would Keith and I have them? I don’t think so.”
“Actually, that would be hilarious,” Ross pointed out. “At least from our perspective.”
“Well, then it’s probably a good thing you two are leaving,” she quipped, and they all hugged again.
“It’s going to be different without you,” Dan told her. “I won’t have anyone to tease.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” she said with a sniffle. “You could always just send me an email.”
“Oh, good idea,” he agreed. “You’ll probably get one straight away.”
“What’s going on in here?” Ben inquired as he stepped in through the sliding glass door beyond the kitchen.
“Ross and Dan got their home,” Bianca told him. “Looks like they’re moving out.”
“Great, I can have their room!”
“We’re gonna miss you too, kid,” Dan commented as Ross just laughed. Some things never changed.


VII

“So, two down, eh?” Keith asked gently as he found Bianca sitting with her head on his desk.
She looked up sleepily and said, “There you are. You took long enough getting home. The new parents already showed up and took the boys away. Though I suppose you could always call them to say your good-byes.”
“I already did,” he informed her as he began to massage her shoulders. “How are you holding up, princess?”
“Princess?” she giggled. “My dad called me that.”
“I’ll bet he did,” he teased her. “You do know Bianca is Italian for white, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” she grumbled. “My mother had a sense of humor.”

Keith nibbled on Bianca’s neck for a moment before he asked, “So, have you found homes for the other boys yet?”
“Yes,” she said hesitantly. “Well, all but Ben, I should say. I sort of didn’t mention him when I inquired.”
“Bianca, why not?” he wanted to know.
“I don’t really want to let him go,” she admitted as tears sprang into her eyes. Keith gave her a big hug and pulled her out of the chair long enough to sit down and put her on his lap. She cried for quite some time, and Keith just held her.
“I had a thought about this,” he finally said. “But it might be too soon to say anything. I don’t know if I should.”
“Just tell me,” Bianca grumbled.
“Well, um, I figured if we wanted to, we could always keep Ben,” he said, blushing.
“We?” she inquired.
“Yeah, you know, as in us,” he said. “We get married, and we adopt the little guy properly.”
“You want to get married?” Bianca asked breathlessly. Since their arms were already around each other it didn’t seem like she could hug him any tighter, so instead she kissed him to show how she felt. “Wait, do you want to marry me for me, or for Ben?”
“For you, silly,” he chuckled. “I thought we already established that I prefer women.”
“Oh yeah, you’re right,” she said. “I forgot about that.”
“I would never let you forget that.”
“Hmm, maybe you’d better show me again, then,” she suggested.
“With pleasure, princess,” he agreed. They didn’t know how much time passed before Connie knocked on the den door, wondering if they were still alive.


VIII

“Mr. Davenport, this is most irregular,” complained Mirella Snow as she followed him from his limousine into the building she’d sold him. “I had no idea my daughter would not return home once the building sold. We had a falling out, and that was why she was staying there. I figured if I sold the place, she’d have no choice but to come home.”
“Mrs. Snow, why are you really here?” Keith asked irritably. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. You read in the society page that Bianca and I are engaged?”
“I’ll admit that’s how I found out where she’s been all this time, but I hardly think congratulations are in order,” she scoffed. “I’m sure she only wants to marry you so she doesn’t have to take care of herself, and refuses to come crawling back to me.”
“Mrs. Snow, you couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. “The two of us are very much in love. And I do not foresee Bianca inviting you to her wedding.”
“Oh! How rude!” she gasped. “I hope you will have the good grace to at least let her make that decision for herself?”
“As always,” he conceded.
“Good,” she said. “I’ll stop over this evening, and we’ll see how that goes. It may be best if you don’t tell her, or she may not stay home to see me.”
“And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
“Until tonight, then,” the woman huffed, and stormed out.

Several hours later, Ben played a video game while everyone else watched. Connie led Mirella into the living room. The woman took one look at the couple curled closely together under a blanket on the couch and rolled her eyes. Bianca looked up at her like she’d just seen a ghost.
“Hello, Bianca, dear,” said her stepmother with a plastic smile pasted on.
“Hello, Mirella,” she said with a scowl. “I see you still read the society pages.”
“Bianca, why didn’t you tell me where you were?” the woman wanted to know.
“I had no reason to,” she said as she stood and walked into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. Mirella followed her, of course.
“No reason? I’ve been looking for you kids for six weeks, and now all of the sudden you’re just going to get married to a virtual stranger, out of the blue? What do you think your father would say?”
“That I’ve found a wonderful man, and he is happy for me?” Bianca suggested.
“You haven’t known Keith Davenport nearly long enough, child,” she insisted. “I know you. I know that you have always wanted the really big wedding and the house with a white picket fence and all that, but really, darling, you’ve got to stop playing house and look at reality. What happens if you marry and then find out you don’t get along? I’d hate to see you end up dealing with a nasty divorce someday.”
“Keith and I get along very well,” Bianca insisted as she looked over the woman’s shoulder at the man in question with a smile. Mirella turned and looked at him as well.
“Is that so, Davenport?” she asked. “And you’ve told her all about your past, then?”
“If you’re referring to my ex-wife, there’s nothing to tell,” he said. “She left me for someone else, I didn’t push her out the door. I simply wasn’t her type in the end.”
“Yes, I don’t suppose a lesbian would be turned on by you, would she?” the woman scoffed. “But, I must repeat myself here; you haven’t known each other very long.”
“I know everything I need to know,” Bianca insisted. “Now, if you don’t mind, you’re ruining a perfectly wonderful evening, and I really wish you would just leave.”
“All right, I’ll go,” she said. “But I hope you know what you’re doing because you won’t be able to come crawling back to me anymore.”
“I’m sure I’ll survive the loss,” Bianca stated as she opened the front door and motioned the woman out. After she closed it, she leaned back on it with a sigh. “Well, that was sure fun.”
“The only reason I like that woman at all is because I wouldn’t have met you without her,” Keith said as he took her hand and brought her back to the couch again.
“Bianca, did you just throw your mother out?” Ben wanted to know.
“Yes, Ben, I did.”


IX

“It’s gorgeous!” Bianca gasped as she turned in the mirror, seeing her altered wedding gown for the first time. “It fits divinely. I’m so happy, I could just die!”
“You deserve every happiness, my dear,” said the seamstress with a smile. “I’m glad you like it. Now you head off to your class, and I’ll get this pressed and ready for you to pick up next week.”
“Yes, thank you, I will,” she agreed.

Soon afterwards, Bianca was dressed in her jeans and sweater again and headed for the little car Keith had bought for her last week to get around in. She was almost there when she gasped in surprise. Mirella sat in a car parked at the side of the road revving the engine. Then she floored it, heading straight for her.

Bianca ran as fast as she could, and was only seconds away from being run over by the angry woman. She quickly ran to her car as her stepmother sped away with screeching tires. Her heart pounded hard as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed her fiancé.

“What is it, honey, I’m in the middle of a meeting?” he said softly into his receiver.
“I—I think my stepmother just tried to kill me,” she said in a completely panicked voice.
“What? Sweetie, are you okay? What did she do?”
“She tried to run me over,” Bianca said as tears streamed down her face. “Why would she do that, Keith?”
“I don’t know, but I want you to go home right now, and tell Dean all about this,” he said. “I’m sure he’ll keep everyone safe. And call the police while you’re at it to let them know what the woman did. We can’t let her get away with this.”
“All right,” Bianca said with a sniffle. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, Bianca,” he answered. “I’ll be home as soon as I can, okay?”
“Yes, okay,” she agreed, and hung up.

Bianca drove cautiously home with no further incidents. She came inside and found Dean to let him know what had happened.
“We’ll have to keep an eye out,” he said. “It’s not likely the woman is going to make just one attempt.”
“Keith wants me to report her to the police,” Bianca said.
“I wouldn’t do that yet,” he commented. “There’s no evidence, just your word against hers. We’ve got to get her on audio or video incriminating herself, and then call the police.”
“Dean, I’m curious,” Bianca said. “I wasn’t there for the reading of my father’s will. Is there any chance we could find out what it said? I’m wondering if her behavior has more to do with money than it does with jealousy or vengeance—both of which she has no reason to feel.”
“You may be on to something,” he agreed. “I’ll look into it immediately.”
“Good,” she said. “As for me, I could use a shower and a nap. Would you please have Keith come to me as soon as he gets home?”
“Yes, miss,” he agreed.

Bianca stepped into her bedroom and kicked off her shoes before she climbed onto her bed and got ready to lie down. On the bedside table she spotted a fresh, cold drink of apple juice. She thought Connie must have set it there in anticipation of her return, as she’d been known to do in the past. With no pause for thought, she took a big swallow of her favorite drink.

Bianca’s throat constricted almost immediately. She dropped the glass and the rest of its contents right on the bed and grasped her throat, trying to understand what was happening. She could not seem to breathe, and the room began to spin violently around her.

Mirella’s cold, harsh laughter rang in her ears as she stepped out of the shadows to gloat. “Your father left you everything, but once you’re dead it will all be mine. I hope you enjoyed your drink, child, it’s the last one you’ll ever have.”
“What did you do to me?” Bianca managed to get out.
“Just a bit of poison,” she chuckled. “You won’t last long, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”


X

“Bianca? Oh, my God, Bianca?” Ben gasped as he walked into her room. She was lying across the bed at an odd angle, and foam dripped from her mouth. “Connie, come help, it’s Bianca! Something is wrong with her.”
“What is it, Ben?” asked the woman as she stepped into the room. She took one look at Bianca and grabbed her cell phone off the night stand. She pressed three buttons and waited a moment before she spoke, “Yes, I’d like to report a medical emergency. We need immediate help—and I don’t think the patient is breathing. I’m about to begin CPR now. Ben, go out to the house phone and call Keith. Tell him what has happened and to go to the hospital right away. Do it now.”
“Yes, Connie,” he agreed, and ran out of the room.
Dean poked his head in and asked, “What the Devil is going on here?”
“Bianca’s been poisoned,” Connie said as she pumped her chest fifteen times and breathed into her mouth. “Who would do such a thing?”
“She just told me her stepmother tried to run her down,” he answered. “I’ll give you three guesses who did this—and the first two don’t count.”


Bianca opened her eyes to the feel of lips grazing hers, and smiled into Keith’s eyes. Then she remembered what happened, and tried to tell him, only to find that she could barely form the words with her lips, and sound would not come out.

“Hush, it’s all right,” he said. “The police picked up your stepmother a few hours ago and forced a full confession out of her. They ran an analysis on the contents of the glass to find out what she had poisoned you with. Honey, you’re very lucky. It’s not easy to save someone from that amount of cyanide even when you know that’s what was used. Ben must have found you very soon after you drank it.”
Bianca cast him a guilty look.

“Don’t worry, he’s all right,” Keith said then. “With any luck, this little episode won’t even delay the big day. Or the big night, either.”
Bianca blushed, knowing exactly what he meant. The two had decided not to make love until after the wedding, and so far it had been a hard bargain to keep.

“I can see the wheels turning in your head,” Keith told her with a slight chuckle. “I’m sure everything is going to be okay, Bianca. You just need to get a bit more sleep, and when you wake up again I’ll bet you’ll be talking up a storm." Bianca smiled when he said this. Mirella thought the two of them barely knew each other, and yet this man could read her like an open book. It may not always be that way, but right now she was pleased to know he could.

One week later, with a loud, clear and happy voice, Bianca Snow spoke the words she felt with all of her heart. “I do.”

---