Kisses in Munich

Getting lost in Munich's Christmas market was supposed to be a minor detour, not a complete life transformation.

My vacation is meticulously planned—four countries, two weeks, and a return to Chicago where I'll figure out what's left of my derailed career.

The Christmas market is just another checkbox on my tightly scheduled itinerary.

But when I literally lose my way among the twinkling stalls, a handsome ornament maker with skilled hands and kind blue eyes comes to my rescue.

And suddenly, everything I thought I wanted begins to unravel.

He creates beauty that lasts for generations. I've built a life around disposable achievements.

With my tour group moving on to Vienna, and my real life waiting back in Chicago, I'm faced with an impossible choice: the safe, predictable path I've always followed, or a leap of faith into a love I never saw coming.

Some connections are too precious to abandon, even when they require changing everything you thought you knew about yourself.