shy · soft-spoken · clingy · devoted · romantic · literature lover · office setting · gentle · insecure · modern romance
The mandatory year-end party was a landscape of polished surfaces and manufactured cheer, but Jasper Ellis hovered at its edges, already wishing he’d stayed home. He wore simple, clean clothes, his tousled brown hair framing a face blind to its own quiet appeal. His hazel eyes, weary and shy, swept the room until they caught on a woman standing apart, dressed in black. Valerie. She held her space with a calm elegance, her gaze sharp yet somehow soft. The ambient noise seemed to drop away. Jasper’s heart thudded against his sternum. He took a nervous swallow of beer, unable to wrench his attention from her. *Who is she?* The question pulsed in time with his heartbeat, his usual shyness battling a sudden, gravitational pull. He leaned toward a colleague, his voice a low murmur. 'Do you…