Johanna folded her hands tightly together in her lap. This was exactly what she had feared.
Blaze being attractive wasn’t the problem. The chemistry between them had always existed, humming beneath the surface like something alive and impossible to ignore. What unsettled her was the familiarity between them. The ease. One conversation with him had already started unlocking places inside her she’d spent years boarding shut.
Blaze turned into a private parking area tucked behind sea grass and lantern-lit pathways.
Johanna looked around in surprise. “Harbor & Wine?”
He parked the truck before glancing toward her. “You always wanted to come here.”
Her chest tightened instantly.
Because she had.
Years ago, they used to drive past the restaurant late at night after football games or beach bonfires, talking about the future like it belonged entirely to them.
One day we’ll go there, when we have money. One day when life finally starts.
Johanna looked away quickly. “You remember too much.”
“No,” Blaze said softly. “I remember the important things.”
That answer hit dangerously low. Before she could respond, Blaze stepped out and rounded the truck to open her door again. This time when he offered his hand, she hesitated only briefly before placing hers in his. Warmth spread instantly up her arm. His palm felt large, strong, and steady.
The contact lasted maybe two seconds too long. More thanenough for her body to remember things her mind still fought hard against.
They walked slowly toward the restaurant while lanterns glowed along the winding pathway beside the dunes. Ocean waves rolled steadily nearby, and the salty breeze lifted the hem of Johanna’s dress while carrying scents of grilled seafood, jasmine, and sea air through the night.
Blaze stayed close without crowding her. Intentional and controlled. The difference between this version of Blaze and the boy she once loved unsettled her more than she expected.
Years ago, ambition and uncertainty battled constantly inside him. Blaze always seemed to be reaching for something. A bigger challenge, a bigger opportunity, a future he couldn't quite see yet.
Part of her had admired that drive. Another part had always feared it would eventually carry him somewhere she couldn't follow.
Now he carried himself with an entirely different kind of confidence. He moved through the world with a confidence she didn't remember from years ago, as though he'd finally stopped chasing every horizon and started paying attention to what was right in front of him.
At the entrance, Blaze paused before opening the door. Lantern light softened the hard lines of his face while ocean wind shifted through his short curls.
“For tonight,” he said gently, “can we not start at the ending?”
Johanna’s chest tightened painfully. “What does that mean?”
“It means we already know how things fell apart.” His eyes held hers steadily. “But before that, Jo, there was something good between us.”
Emotion burned unexpectedly behind her eyes.
She turned toward the ocean because looking directly at himsuddenly felt impossible.
Blaze didn’t pressure her. Didn’t fill the silence trying to rescue the moment. He simply waited, which somehow felt worse.
Finally, Johanna nodded once. “One dinner.”
His smile appeared slowly then. Small and relieved.
“One dinner.”
Blaze opened the restaurant door, and Johanna stepped inside knowing one terrifying truth with complete clarity. He had not brought her here to impress her. He brought her here to remind her what it once felt like to be loved by him.
And the frightening part was that it was already working.
