Perfect! Let's keep
The night air was cool when the market wound down, the last few vendors packing away their wares as laughter and chatter drifted into the distance. Fairy lights still glowed overhead, but the crowd had thinned, leaving only the soft shuffle of footsteps along the cobblestone paths.
"Guess that's our cue," Jenna said, stretching. "I'm heading home before I buy another necklace I don't need." She winked, looping the paper bag of her purchase over her arm. "You two should walk back. It's too nice a night to waste."
Before Ethan could protest, Jenna disappeared into the quiet streets, leaving him alone with Lila once more.
They walked side by side, the silence not awkward but charged. Every brush of her sleeve against his made his pulse jump.
"You know," Lila said softly, her voice carrying in the stillness, "I keep thinking about what you said earlier."
Ethan's stomach tightened. "What do you mean?"
She tilted her head toward him, her eyes thoughtful. "That you… see me. Not just the girl with the paintbrush." A small smile tugged at her lips. "Not many people notice things like that."
For once, Ethan didn't overthink. "That's because I notice everything about you."
The words hung between them like a spark waiting to catch fire. Lila's breath caught—he heard it, faint but undeniable. She looked away, color blooming on her cheeks, but she didn't step back.
They reached the edge of the square where the street opened into a hill. Above them, the sky stretched wide, stars scattered like diamonds. Lila paused, tilting her face upward.
"Beautiful," she whispered.
Ethan wasn't looking at the stars.
Something in his chest urged him forward—to reach for her hand, to close the distance, to finally say what had been trapped inside him for so long. But just as he turned toward her, headlights swept across the street. A car slowed to a stop, and the driver's window rolled down.
"Lila?" a familiar voice called.
Her body stiffened. Ethan's chest dropped like a stone.
Jake.
The ex-boyfriend.
Back again.
And this time, it didn't feel like a coincidence.