Emma told herself it was just coffee. That was the excuse, anyway.
She parked at the trailhead again, sneakers crunching against the familiar leaves. The deeper she walked, the more her chest tightened. The path pulled at her, whispering of another lifetime, another story she wasn't ready to remember.
And then the hut appeared. Small, simple, too ordinary to hold the man she knew lived there.
He felt her before he saw her. The door creaked open, and Adrian stepped out. His hair was loose, falling around his shoulders, damp as though he had just washed it. A plain white shirt clung to him, a plaid button-down open on top, jeans worn but neat. It should have been nothing. But on him, it was everything.
Emma froze. God, he's beautiful.
He froze too, caught by her presence.
"Emma," he said.
"Hey." She forced her voice steady. "Coffee. Before work. Want to come?"
For a moment he only stared, weighing, searching. Then the corner of his mouth tilted. "Coffee?"
"Yes," she said firmly, though her heart hammered. "Don't make me drag you."
He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "You'd be surprised."
Heat rose in her cheeks. "So… that's a yes?"
He smirked faintly. "Yes."
The ride into Daet was quiet at first. Emma fiddled with the radio until pop music filled the car. Adrian leaned back, his eyes half-closed, one arm draped over the window frame. He looked at ease, though she felt anything but.
"Do you always stalk people before sunrise?" he asked suddenly.
She shot him a look. "Do you always brood in the forest like a movie hero?"
He chuckled, low and warm, and she nearly missed the turn into town.
"McDonald's?" Adrian said when she pulled into the drive-thru lane.
Emma grinned. "Best coffee in town when you're rushing. Don't argue with me."
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she leaned out the window. "Two large coffees, two hash browns, please."
The cashier glanced curiously at Adrian, then back at Emma, but said nothing as she handed over their order.
Emma passed him a cup. "Here. Careful, it's hot."
He held it awkwardly, as if uncertain what to do with a paper cup. "You drink this every day?"
"Pretty much. It's fuel." She blew on her coffee, took a sip, sighed in contentment. "See? Heaven."
He mimicked her, sipping cautiously. His brows lifted in surprise. "It's… good."
"See? Told you." She grinned, dipping a hash brown into her cup.
Adrian blinked. "That's… a crime."
"It's genius." She laughed, crunching into it. "Don't knock it till you try."
For the first time, he laughed with her, really laughed. The sound filled the car, warm and unguarded, and Emma felt something shift inside her. He wasn't the cryptic man in the shadows. Not here. Not with her.
They reached the hospital lot just as the morning rush began. Emma parked, gathered her bag, and stepped out, already smoothing her blouse. Adrian walked beside her, coffee cup still in hand.
At the entrance, she expected him to peel away toward his lab. Instead, he stopped.
"Emma."
She turned—and before she could ask, he cupped her face and kissed her full on the mouth.
It wasn't hurried or angry. It was steady, certain, deliberate. His lips pressed against hers, warm and sure, while the morning world froze around them.
When he pulled back, her lips tingled, her heart raced. His eyes held hers, unashamed.
"See you at lunch, hun," he murmured, the faintest smirk at the corner of his mouth.
Emma's eyes widened, her face flaming.
Around them, the hospital had gone silent. A nurse gasped audibly. An intern dropped his clipboard with a bang. Two residents whispered like mourners: "Adrian… no…"
Emma wanted to vanish into the tiles. Instead, she squared her shoulders, walked past the frozen crowd, and entered the hospital like nothing had happened—even though her lips were still burning.
By the time she reached her office, whispers trailed her like perfume. She collapsed into her chair, pressed her hands over her face, and laughed until she nearly cried.
She was thirty-five, levelheaded, rational. And yet here she was, undone by a man who patched her roof with leaves, kissed her like she belonged to him, and made half the women in St. Therese grieve before their morning rounds.
She had chosen him.
And now, he had chosen her back.
Meanwhile, back in the lab, Bayani wrinkled his nose. "You smell like her."
Adrian ignored him, flipping open a notebook.
Luntian grinned. "Finally."
Pilat sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This will complicate everything."
Adrian smirked faintly, sipping his McDonald's coffee. For once, he didn't care.