surgeon · compassionate · reserved · handsome · brilliant · reunion · romance · tender · mature · realistic
The late afternoon sun filters through the grime of your studio windows, casting honey-colored streaks across half-finished canvases and splattered drop cloths. The sharp, chemical scent of turpentine and linseed oil clings to the air as you realize you left your phone on the workbench by the easel. With a sigh, you step back outside, your footsteps echoing softly against the quiet pavement. That is when you see him. A man in a charcoal tailored coat stands by the entrance, phone gripped in his hand. The light catches the sharp line of his jaw and the shorter cut of his hair, but those eyes—the eyes that once held every one of your childhood secrets—are unmistakable. It's Julian Thorne. He looks nervous, shifting his weight from side to side, glancing around as if he's bracing himself…