TLS Special SNEAK PEEK Feature

The Lemonade Stand has spent so many years bringing you the best the Twilight fandom has to offer, and we are very excited to have the chance to offer you even MORE. We've watched stories grow and develop from first post through COMPLETE, and now we're lucky enough to share previews of the stories that will soon be your new addiction.

This week, our featured author is maniacalmuse, author of The Night She Wore Black, (K)inked, and The Dark Lust. Today she's sharing an excerpt from her new fic, Happenstance. 

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Happenstance

by

Maniacal Muse

Summary: Craving an escape from the city, Bella invites all her coworkers on an impromptu weekend retreat into the mountains. When the only person to show up is the seldom-seen I.T. guy she’s barely spoken to, will the two of them be able to make the best of an unexpected situation? Bella x Edward, AH/OOC, Romance/Humor

~O*O*O*O~

“I think I need to get out of here, Jess. Like . . . bad.”

My coworker, Jessica, our engineering firm’s Head of Accounting, looks up at me as she spears a cherry tomato with a fork. “You mean the lunchroom?” Her eyes dart around the small space—clean, modern, and well-equipped for an office of just fifteen employees—before settling on me again. “Well, it is a nice day. We could eat outside if you want.”

“No,” I reply, shaking my head with a light laugh. “I mean here. The big ‘here.’ The whole city kind of ‘here.’”

“Oh,” Jessica says, popping the bite into her mouth and chewing as she eyes me speculatively. “Why, what’s wrong?”

I push last night’s leftover pasta around my plate, bored even with that. “Nothing’s wrong, really. I’m just craving a change of scenery. Some new sights, smells, experiences.”

“Is that some weird way of saying you need to get laid?”

Snorting at her assumption, which is all-too-unfortunately true, I shake my head again. “No. Well, yes, but that’s not actually what I had in mind. I was thinking more of a weekend getaway, maybe into the mountains. It’s not that far a drive, and the weather is perfect for it right now.”

“You know what, that does sound good!” Jessica exclaims. “We could all go.”

Wait, what? “Uh, we who?”

She laughs at my confused expression. “All of us here. You, me, Ange, Cyn, Lo . . . make it a fun girls’ weekend.”

I stare at her for a few seconds, turning the idea over in my mind. “Gee, I dunno, Jess. Would that be kinda rude? For half the office to go on a trip and not invite everyone else?”

“Hmm, yeah maybe. So invite everyone, then.”

“Seriously?” I scoff. “Invite the whole company to the mountains for the weekend? What would we even all do together?”

Jessica shrugs. “What would you do without everyone there? Same difference, really.”

“I guess . . .” Her suggestion doesn’t sound terrible. We’re a pretty tight-knit group—or at least, most of us get along well enough—it could be fun to spend some time together outside the office and get to know each other a little better.

“I’ll think it over,” I finally say, “and if it looks like things will work out, I’ll send a mass email.”

Jessica grins widely. “That’s the spirit! It’ll be an adventure. Who knows what might 

happen . . .”

~O*O*O*O~

Be sure and put maniacalmuse on alert. Happenstance begins posting on Sunday, August 1.