“Ah, there you are,” Theo said with a grin—one that carried an easy charm but hinted at something more beneath the surface—as he closed the distance between them. “You must be new here.”

It was a warm early afternoon, sunlight spilling through the stained-glass windows as the congregation filtered out after Sunday service. In their small town, Theo Parker could usually name every face that passed through the church doors. But hers? He’d never seen her before. That alone was enough to draw him in.

“Where are my manners?” he said, slipping a hand from his pocket and extending it toward her. “Theo Parker.”