Tall. Scruffed. An attractive man in a crisp white shirt, jeans, and a trench coat. Reading a newspaper like it’s still 1997. Sunglasses that look suspiciously like we shop at the same spy store.
My pulse stutters.
Harrison?
No.
I thought I saw him yesterday, too. In the grocery store.
The towering height. The broad shoulders. The beard.
And the day before that, at the Excelsior. When I accidentally hit the button for the pool instead of the gym. The doors slid open, and I could have sworn I saw him duck through the hallway.
But when I checked the pool, it was empty.
I’m seeing him everywhere.
Chasing after the ghost of lumberjacks past.
I hate that he’s under my skin.
That he keeps slipping into the vulnerable places I swore I’d locked him out of.
Parts of me that were supposed to be sealed shut.
And yet…
There’s a pull. A low hum beneath everything. That quiet, relentless sense that whatever existed between us is still lingering.
Still unfinished.
Kali’s voice cuts in, bright and exasperated.
“And you won’t even believe how Pierce keeps carrying on with the staff. Insisting they’re hiding you somewhere. Like what are you, a luxury robe?” she huffs. “If you need me to bring you anything at all…”
At this point, I’m barely listening.
I’m too focused on the way the guy just clenched his jaw. The tension. So familiar it makes my pulse misfire.
Like Harrison would.
Ugh. I’m never going to get a moment’s peace until I know for sure.
“Sorry, Kali, gotta go.”
“Wait—”
I disconnect and head closer just as the man shuffles off.
My body reacts before my brain catches up. I’m already halfway out the door, ready to chase him down, when a voice cuts through the noise.
“Viviana. Order for Viviana.”
Okay. This is a crossroads.
Am I choosing my past? Or my future?
A man? Or coffee?
