He awoke lighter than he had in years. It was the kind of morning where the body woke up refreshed and content of a good night's sleep even before the mind caught on.
Julian stretched a hand across the sheets, ready to pull her close and start the day with a kiss.
Instead, cold linen met his palm.
He blinked, turned. Her pillow was empty. The bathroom door was open. No water running. No shower steam. Just quiet.
He sat up, heart thudding before the reasons caught up, he saw it on the dresser. A note addressed to him in her neat handwriting, on the back of an old note card.
He read it twice, once like a CEO scanning a memo, once like a man. Relief came first, Brooke meant safe. Brooke meant she wasn't hurt, wasn't lost, wasn't walking out into a storm alone.
