iting to be filled with new memories. She kicked off her shoes, the Pride and Prejudice first edition still clutched in her hand. It wasn't jus

age confirming the time and place-a small, intimate Italian restaurant he knew. Clara found herself re-reading his texts, dissec

already there, standing when she approached the table, his smile just as warm and inviting as she remembered. He

chair. "I was starting to think you were an elu

ly at ease. "And you, Liam, ar

fears. Liam spoke of a backpacking trip through South America, and Clara shared her quiet longing to see Venice. There was a comfortable intimacy growing between th

gan, leaning forward slightly, "tell me mo

th heart, perhaps overlooked classics, new voices that deserve to be heard. I want

face. "That sounds... incredibly beautiful, Clara

l, and the city lights twinkled like distant stars. Outside her door,

tonight, Clara," he said, his voi

welled. "You to

ed in, and his lips met hers in a tender, hesitant kiss. It was soft, lingering, and full of the quie

he whispered, his

" she replied, a

sweet echo of a night that had firmly written the second chapter of their story. The