pte

he weather came

leaves. The next, the sky shifted clouds gathering thick and heavy, swallowing the warmth in slow

noticed

n," she said softl

first drop struck the pavement betw

, the sky open

ending people scattering toward trees and gazebos. Laughter turned to s

ella sto

ass windows, safe within marble walls. Rain had b

n it felt

a

po

through her blouse, cool against her skin. For a fle

cted witho

ere," h

g it above her head in a futile attempt to shield her. The f

nched," she pro

ed his lips. "I'm

- low, almost restrained, like

standing c

cl

n his face. Close enough to see the tiny scar near his jaw she had never noticed before. Close en

ond them blur

lt as though they stood

slightly on the

t her withou

instinctive, unshaken - pulling her

, neither of

ds remain

tact wa

accid

out it felt anyt

em - subtle, electric, undeniable

cert

cognized one another long bef

breath gr

familiarity, that impossible awareness th

ainst their skin but unable to extinguish th

y before he became aware o

id not p

n't wa

hough his voice had lost some of its steadiness. "Your

?" she ask

omeone

bitterness

accep

g of lines drawn lon

sleeves and calloused hands. He knew w

the distance betwee

mething inside her r

rstand hierarchy. Reputatio

ew the

rain, those rules fe

iably real - was the wa

ay her heart responded t

er gaze to meet him, "those boundar

oss the sky, illuminating the

r face carefully,

re

nstinct t

ound

mething steadier -

hoi

Isabella tightened h

it was no

n acc

inten

cked louder

el felt an odd chill run through him. A strange awareness of

e, something ins

mber

why the thoug

it

, plastering fabric to skin, tracing cold paths

een them had a

longer a

r a coin

omething

ng inev

from Isabella's face. The gesture was gentle - reverent, almost

o the touch wi

rtbeat, the storm seeme

n-soaked moment would one day become a memory

new how little ti

first touch is not jus

he beginning of s

m - beyond thunder and trembl

ie

lent

tc