It was the middle of October, 9:15 a.m. on a Tuesday, and Claire Williams was late for work. It was a chilly day and Claire shoved her hands into her coat’s pockets as a sudden gust of wind swept down the street.

As she walked up the path that led to her office building, Claire’s mind was preoccupied with thoughts about work, her constant bickering with Jake, the fact that she missed her mother’s call last night and how she would be upset with her now. So she passed right by him and didn’t hear him when he called her name the first time.

But Jesse Crawford was not a man to be ignored.

“Claire, is that you?”

“Jesse? Jesse Crawford? My god, it’s been what—ten years? How are you?”

Her smile was genuine, her green eyes as wide and sparkling as Jesse remembered them. She’d always been a pretty girl, even in high school. Now the angles of her face were more pronounced and her hair was shorter, but she was more beautiful, in some ways. For one of the first times in his life, Jesse found himself speechless.