UNTIL I MET YOU

had its usual rhythm-clinking plates, the low hum of chatter, the smell of burnt coffee and frying eggs. She found solace in it, or at least,

circling back to him, like a stubb

omething far more unsettling. Something about the way he saw her-like he was aware of the things she didn't even know about herself.

with someone like her? A waitress scraping by, living paycheck to paycheck, wi

the memory of his eyes-cold, calculating, yet stran

wasn't a coincidence. Not

ment. Aria had just clocked out, exhausted from a double shift, when she stepped out into the street. She didn't know where she w

aroma of fresh-baked croissants that made her stomach growl despite her exhaustion. She usually didn't have the

the few scattered patrons. She pulled out her notebook, intending to catch up o

pen, but she felt the shift in

mi

isted, a familiar mix of unease and... something else

aiting for him, even though she was. Waiting, hoping, praying that he wouldn

t. Of course

ri

hrough the noise of the café, and even though

as her mind scrambled to come up with

look

directly at her with an unreadable expression. His sharp jawline, the tousled dark

a place that had no right

the room as though everything in it were beneath him. "But then agai

roat. Her mouth went dry. "I don'

make you uncomfortable, Aria." His voice was still soft, but there w

tand up. She gathered her things, avoiding his gaze. "I

g, always pushing forward, never stopping long enough to ask yourself what you really want." His gaze softened, but only for a mome

aught in her throat. "Wha

ing. "You keep your head down, get through the day, the shift, the paycheck.

e think he is? No one had ever looked at her like that. Like they c

than she intended, "I don't know what

but there was still something in his eyes, something that was impossible to ignore.

her mind racing. St

lly said, her voice defensive. "I'm jus

tay there long. Instead, it hardened again, like he wa

soft but firm. "Everyone needs someone

eaving her standing there, staring after h

that made her feel like she was standing on the edge of somethin