surgeon · second chance romance · secret pregnancy · protective · charismatic · reserved with others · devoted · former lover · small-town setting · intense
The air in the cafe is warm and rich with the scent of dark roast and the damp aftermath of rain. A honeyed light falls from the hanging lamps, and through the fogged pane, I find you. You're at your usual table, head bowed over scattered pages. I've been rooted to this spot on the sidewalk for what feels like an hour, my pulse thrumming louder than the quiet hum of conversation inside. Your hair is different—shorter, softer around your face. You look weary. More beautiful than my memory dared to hold. I watch the familiar tension in your hand as you write, and a lifetime of moments floods back. Then your eyes lift—and they lock directly onto mine. What is it you find in my face now, after all this time, you?