Binding Hearts

n't afraid of

uin without breaking a sweat. He could debate, negotiate, argue. But standing across a café from

r

ut inside, it had been panic. A silent, sharp alarm he hadn't heard in years. One g

on the wheel, the other tightening around the worn leather of the steering wheel. Rain streak

dered a coffee and asked about her sketchbook, or Unspoke

he'd let th

ad felt like the

-

stepped into Beanline Café

tagged below a photo of her artwork and a half-drunk cappuccino. That discovery had happened after too

hile his was built on clean logic and careful lines. She'd left paint on her hands at a black-tie event and stil

wasn't sure

t tucked under her on the chair, scribbling in that weathered sk

ked up. Thei

he sm

etense. No

. A quiet hello

between them. But instead, something pulled hi

you doi

belong in

to want thin

tened. Just

-

nto the counter and sank onto the edge of his bed, still i

dozen times but never pressed enter. Her art was everywhere now-Solvance's website, her own page,

. Evelyn didn't seem like someone you j

n't been b

ime in a long time, he let himself feel it-this odd, aching t

lived by the rule: if it's gone, it's

his?

asn't

hed into his mind like

She'd smiled. She wa

he h

-

tie, the city skyline rising grey behind him. His reflection loo

yes were

es of discipline. The part of him that wanted som

had a

yn J

and stared at an upcoming client event-an ar

be t

know wha

e, he wasn't

-