After a moment of thought, I wandered over to the bookshelf, grabbed the first book that caught my eye, and sank into the lounge chair. I let myself get lost in the tranquility, flipping through pages without truly reading, until Lily’s voice called me to dinner.

“You’re even more beautiful in person than in the paintings,” she said suddenly, just as I was about to take my first bite of food. Her words completely derailed me—I froze, fork suspended in mid-air. ...