Ava never imagined that quick stop at the coffee shop would change her life. She stood quietly in line, waiting for her turn to order coffee .
The bell chimed above the door, and suddenly every head turned including Ava. She glanced up and found herself mesmerized by the man walking into the shop.
He was older, but his sharp features and quiet confidence made him undeniably handsome. She kept staring completely unaware of everything around her, until he crossed the room and stood right in front of her.
Ava blinked and looked up at him, her heart skipping as she wondered when he come to stand so close. Then she realized his lips which looked perfect were moving, it took a moment to realized he was saying something to her.
oh -were you talking to me?" She asked, suddenly aware of how close he was.
A knowing smile tugged at his lips as he caught her staring her cheeks warming with embarrassment. "Ava?" he asked gently. "The barista is calling you".
Her cheeks burning, Ava turned quickly, grabbed her coffee, and rushed out of the shop, not knowing his eyes followed her with quiet interest as she left . As soon as she turned the corner, she let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. A small smile crept onto her lips s she tried to push thoughts of the handsome stranger away and focus on work. She was already late.
Ava walked into the company where she worked as an accountant, her heels clicking softly against the floor. She kept to herself—she had to. Things hadn’t always been this way, but one incident had changed everything. A coworker’s boyfriend had asked her out, and when she refused, he turned the story against her. His girlfriend, another colleague, believed him at first, accusing Ava of trying to seduce him. Even after the truth came out, the whispers didn’t fully disappear. Ava was beautiful, and in a place filled with quiet competition, that was enough to make her a target. So people kept their distance and she let them. It still stung, but she had learned to live with it. At the end of each day, she would offer a polite goodbye and leave without lingering. She didn’t mind the solitude. As an orphan with distant relatives, she had grown used to finding comfort in her own company.
She threw herself into her work, sorting through documents and trying to silence the lingering thoughts of the handsome stranger. It bothered her more than she wanted to admit how drawn she had been to him. At twenty-eight, she had never experienced anything real when it came to relationships. Just a few failed dates and one particularly bad kiss that had ended any curiosity she once had. She had never gone further than that. The men she encountered were never worth her time, or her trust. Growing up, her mother had moved from one man to the next, leaving Ava with more questions than answers—especially about the father she had never known. Maybe that was why she kept her distance. It was easier not to expect anything at all.
Ava could hardly wait for the workday to end. All she wanted was to go home, rest, and enjoy the comfort of knowing it was Friday no office, no stress the next day. She had plans with her neighbor, her closest friend and a single mother, to spend the afternoon at the park. It sounded simple, ordinary… but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. What Ava didn’t know was that she was about to see the handsome stranger again and that from that moment on, their fates would begin to intertwine.
.