The rain had just started to fall over the small town of Willow Creek, the kind that wasn't heavy enough to send people running, but steady enough to make the streets shimmer like glass. Elena Harper tugged her thin cardigan tighter around her shoulders, regretting for the tenth time that she hadn't checked the weather before leaving the library.
Her shoes splashed against the wet pavement as she hurried down Maple Street, eyes fixed on the glowing café at the corner. A warm cup of tea—that was all she wanted. Nothing more, nothing less.
But fate had other plans.
The moment she pushed the café door open, the wind caught it, slamming it back harder than she expected. She stumbled forward, colliding with someone just stepping out.
Hot coffee sloshed dangerously close to the rim of a paper cup before steady hands caught her by the elbows.
"Whoa—easy there."
Elena blinked up, meeting the sharp hazel eyes of a stranger. He was taller than most, his damp hair falling across his forehead in a careless way, and his voice carried a calm steadiness that contrasted with her clumsy entrance.
"I—I'm so sorry!" she stammered, pulling back quickly. "I didn't mean to—"
"No harm done," he interrupted, a half-smile tugging at his lips. He held up the cup. "Still full. That's a win."
Elena couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. It was rare for strangers to take her awkwardness so lightly. She nodded politely and stepped aside, but before she could slip past him, he spoke again.
"You come here often?" he asked, as though they weren't strangers who had just crashed into each other.
Caught off guard, Elena hesitated. "Sometimes. Why?"
The stranger shrugged, eyes glinting with something between curiosity and amusement. "Just wondering if I'll have to guard my coffee every time I step out."
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but his tone wasn't mocking—it was teasing, warm even.
She gave a faint smile, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll try not to be a danger next time."
And with that, she escaped into the café, heart beating faster than it should have for such a trivial encounter.
What she didn't see was the way he lingered at the door for a moment longer, glancing back through the glass as though trying to memorize her face.
For Elena Harper, it was just another clumsy mistake on a rainy afternoon.
For Liam Carter, it was the beginning of something he hadn't expected at all.