ion in her head. It wasn't just his words that had stuck with her, though they had certainly made an impact, it was the quiet confidence he exuded, the way he

rt gallery, the mundane chores of life, and the constant weight of her broken heart. Every time she stepped into her office

as a breeze, a fleeting moment of connection in the middle of a storm she wasn't sure she would s

ering yet again to the conversation with Austin. She glanced at the clock on the wall. She had half an hour left before closing time, but it felt like a lifetime

familiar sound that caught her attention

as A

traffic outside, all became a faint background as she locked eyes with him. He stood in the doorway, tall and compos

on her. "Austin?" The name left her lips before she could

apologetic tone that she remembered from their earlier conv

d yet strangely familiar. She took a step toward him, unsure of whether to invite him in or ask him what brought him here. T

d too curious but unable to resist the pull of wondering what had brought him b

was choosing his words carefully. "Just needed to clear my head," he replied, glancin

I wouldn't call it peacef

thoughtful. "Sometimes, the best place to thi

something. At least, it felt like it meant something to her. It wasn't just a chance encounter, it felt

adn't intended to stay for too long. But there was something in his posture, a subtl

ther she was being honest. She found herself wanting to ask him questions, but

ntence with a hint of amusement in his voice. There was no cond

raction in the café. She was so used to closing herself off from others, to keeping everything neatly wrapped in the box she had created for h

mitted, her voice a little softer now. "But I don't mind t

as used to, from the kind of people she typically had in her life. The people she trusted, and those she allowed herself to get close to, were usuall

ughts, almost as if he had been reading her mind. Kate felt a jolt in her

g uncomfortably. "It's just... I'm not used to trusting peo

stepped forward, closing the space between them just slightly, b

ple don't just appear without a reason. But sometimes... sometimes we need som

hey were too raw, too open for her to immediately understand. But she felt the

ght now," she replied, her voice barely a w

derstood. "That's all anyone can do,

, neither of them needing to say more. It was as if the words they had already spoken were

e first time in a long while, that maybe, just maybe, there cou

maybe, Austin wa