a stood by her window, watching the city stir awake, coffee warming her hands. But the lingeri

he night before echoe

rying the gh

he version of herself she'd grown used to seeing. Yet benea

hone

nt pancakes. Mediocre coffee.

smile tugged

k: I don't do

d me. These are purely

escaped. Against every i

-

ivy-covered walls and mismatched chairs radiating cozy charm. He

ted, standing as sh

sed, sliding into th

d, flagging do

ts of their messy pasts carefully shared like delicate offerings. Yet e

sentmindedly. "I'm not go

eady. "I noticed. But you're he

lse sk

flecting slightly. "What

graphs," he admitted. "It's easier to hide

lower the camera,

intensity replacing humor. "Sometime

hem thickened wit

ore, a familiar voice cut

ma

ood ra

rt

in his pockets, the same calcu

rter pressed, eyes na

a shot back, her walls

otective instinct flash

a added firmly,

t he stepped back, muttering,

into the crowd, Am

calm but resolute.

est-fear, anger, gratitu

, seeing no judgment,

in her ar

be, it was okay