When free-spirited Debby moves to a quiet coastal town to escape the chaos of city life, she expects solitude, not sparks. But then she meets Higgins, a reserved astronomer who's more comfortable with the stars than with people. As their worlds gently collide, late-night sky watching turns into something deeper. Together, they must navigate love, loss, and the ghosts of their pasts-learning that even the darkest nights can be beautiful when shared. But can a love written in the stars survive when reality begins to pull them apart?
Chapter 1 The late night
Every night at 1:13 a.m. sharp, Debby locks up her small bookshop on the corner of Fifth and Main. It's a quiet life-too quiet, some might say-but she finds comfort in the hush of the city asleep. Then one rainy Thursday, a stranger ducks under her awning just as she's turning the key.
His name is Higgins-a traveling jazz pianist with a crooked smile, soaked shoes, and nowhere to be. She offers him shelter, tea, and, without meaning to, a piece of her heart.
Night after night, he returns, always just before closing, and their late-night conversations begin to feel like a rhythm all their own. He plays the piano in her back room, and she reads him poetry by candlelight. They fall for each other in fragments-between pages and melodies, glances and laughter.
But Higgins's life is built on movement, and Debby's is rooted in place. As dawn begins to threaten their midnight world, they're forced to ask the question neither wants to answer: is love in the quiet hours enough to change the rest of the day?
Julian left at sunrise, promising he'd return. Days passed, then weeks. Just when Ava began to forget the rhythm of his voice, the doorbell chimed-1:13 a.m., exactly.