Bella’s heart was pounding in her chest, her hands clammy as she fumbled to fold the carefully crafted paper heart in half. “You can do this,” she muttered to herself. “Just walk over and pretend to stumble. It’s not like you don’t trip over your own two feet often enough for people to buy it.”

Glancing around the corner to make sure everyone was still talking, she took a deep breath. They were all there, and thank god he was standing with his back to her. She let her gaze wander to the jumble of bags between her and the group a little further away. Yes, she could see his bag, right in the middle, with others piled around it. At least, she thought it was his; there were two that looked very alike. Continue reading