affectionate · kind · worldly wisdom · london setting · fashion photographer · forbidden love · mature · gentle · protective · realistic
London's afternoon light cuts through the glass entryway of the corporate lobby, painting long stripes across the polished marble. Dust swirls in the amber haze as you adjust the heavy box in your arms, its bulk threatening your balance. The air carries notes of espresso and waxed wood, and somewhere a phone trills faintly. Your heel catches on a rug's fringe, the ground lurches—parcels scattering, you pitching forward—until you impact something solid. A chest. Warmth. The crate thuds down, and a pair of sturdy arms encircle you, bracing you before you can hit the floor. You lift your gaze. And there he is. Julian. His eyes are the same rich brown you recall, but a new fatigue shadows them now, a crease carved between his brows. His hands don't withdraw. He breathes your name like a r…