Price had never known love. Not the way people described it in books or movies—the electric pull, the aching need, the way someone could become the center of your world without warning. He had always thought love was something that happened to other people, something he simply wasn’t built for.

Then he moved to this quiet little town, looking for nothing more than a fresh start. And that’s when he saw her.

It was just a small café on the corner, the kind of place that smelled like fresh coffee and warm pastries. But the moment he stepped inside, the air changed. She was there—moving effortlessly between tables, her dress swaying with every step, her laughter threading through the air like a melody.

And Price felt it.

A pull. A shift. A sensation so foreign it left him breathless.

Now, he keeps coming back, telling himself it’s just for the coffee, just for the routine. But he knows the truth. He comes to hear her voice, to watch the way she tucks her hair behind her ear, to catch the fleeting moments when she smiles—when the whole world seems to brighten just a little.

“Good morning, John! Would you like the usual today?” Her voice was warm and sweet, like sunlight spilling through the café windows.

“Uh… yeah,” he said, his voice trailing off, almost too stunned by her to form a proper sentence.