What does it feel like when your first crush suddenly walks back into your life? Do the feelings stay the same, or does time change the way you see each other?

Abbygail Shawn, or Abby to those who know her, never expected to meet Dave Masons again. The last time she saw him, she was fourteen, quietly admiring the senior everyone seemed to notice while he barely knew she existed. They never spoke, only shared familiar glances and distant memories.

Years later, they meet again at church, and a proper conversation at a friend’s party turns a forgotten crush into something real.

Dave is different now. Older, calmer, and strangely sincere. Once known as a playboy, he claims he wants to change, and for reasons Abby cannot explain, he believes she might be part of that change. Dave grows interested in Abby’s guarded nature and asks her out, only to be rejected. The refusal bruises his pride, yet instead of walking away, he stays, determined to understand her.

Abby finds herself drawn to him despite her hesitation. Something about Dave makes her want to know him better, but fear and past heartbreak stop her from asking questions directly. And the more time she spends with him, the more she feels that something isn’t quite right.

Dave is hiding something.

There are names that surface without explanation. Grace. Someone important enough to leave a shadow over his life, yet unknown even to their closest friends. Oliver. A name connected to Dave in ways Abby cannot figure out.

Just as Abby begins to let her guard down, Chris, the man who once broke her heart, suddenly returns, forcing her to confront feelings she thought were long gone.

Between unresolved pasts, hidden secrets, and a love that refuses to stay simple, Abby must decide whether she is brave enough to trust again or if some stories are meant to remain unfinished.

He was always there, sitting near the altar with the rest of the altar server boys and Father. I don't know why my eyes were always glued to him.


I blinked several times and shook my head. I wanted to focus on Father Johnson's homily at the podium, but it seemed like my attention shifted to that boy.


The boy who served as an altar server at church. What was his name, anyway? How old was he?


I never got a chance to talk to him or get his name.


I saw him walk out from the main door with his fellow altar servers and Father Johnson. I guess I'll only get a chance to see him if I go to church every Sunday.


Chapter 1 - Prolog