Chapter 1
Lily Andrews
The morning sun filtered through the colorful construction paper cutouts taped to the classroom windows, casting rainbow patterns across twenty-four eager faces. I clapped my hands twice, the signal for attention that my kindergartners had learned within the first week of school.
"Okay friends, time to put away our counting puppies and come to the reading carpet!"
Small hands scrambled to drop the toy puppies into bins while I straightened my cardigan and mentally prepared for the next transition. Teaching five-year-olds was like herding butterflies—beautiful, unpredictable, and requiring endless patience.
"Miss Andrews, Tommy put a puppy in his pocket!" Amelia announced, her pigtails bouncing with the importance of her tattling.
"Tommy, the puppy belongs in their home, not in pockets," I said gently, extending my hand. Tommy reluctantly surrendered the tiny blue puppy, his lower lip protruding.
"I was saving him because he was lonely," he explained, eyes downcast.
My heart melted a little. "That's very thoughtful, but he has puppy friends waiting for him. You can play with him again tomorrow."
The day continued in its familiar rhythm. Storytime, recess, lunch, art, and finally, dismissal. As the last child was collected by her grandmother, I collapsed into my desk chair, exhaling the day's tension. After twenty minutes of tidying and planning for tomorrow’s class, I grabbed my tote bag, ready for my daily ritual: coffee, solitude, and a book.
Marie's Coffee Shop sat just three blocks from the school, a converted Victorian house with mismatched furniture and the best vanilla lattes in town. The bell jingled as I pushed open the door, the scent of freshly ground beans wrapping around me like a warm hug.
"The usual, Lily?" Marie called from behind the counter, already reaching for my favorite oversized mug.
"Please. It's been a day, I tell you." I smiled, fishing my wallet from my bag.
As I waited, I felt someone move beside me at the counter.
“You have a bit of glitter there,” a deep voice commented.
I looked at the owner of that voice, a man I'd never seen before, tall with dark hair and blue eyes that seemed to see more than they should. He wore a leather jacket despite the warm weather, a contrast to my cardigan and floral dress. A fuzzy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach when his eyes focused on my lips.
He motioned towards his mouth, then pointed. “Looks like you took a plug from a bottle of glitter glue.” His eyes twinkledwith something that I couldn’t recognize, and then his words registered.
Mortified, I scrubbed a hand over my lips and muttered, “Is it gone?”
He chuckled. “No, but it’s better.”
"Occupational hazard of kindergarten teaching," I replied with a polite smile. "I’m sure it’s all over my body." I bit my lip at my accidental invitation for his eyes to roam over me. I swiped a hand across my brow as I started to break a sweat just from the heat of his gaze.
"I'm Royal," he said, extending his hand.
"Lily," I responded, my face beet red as I accepted the brief handshake.
"New in town?" I asked, making small talk while Marie prepared our orders.
"Just passing through. Nice place, though. Quiet."
Something in his tone made me glance at him again. His eyes hadn't left my face.
"Vanilla latte for Lily," Marie called, breaking the moment.
"That's me. Have a good day," I said, before taking my drink to a booth in the corner.
I lost myself in my novel for nearly an hour before gathering my things to head home. The evening air had cooled, and I pulled my cardigan closer as I walked the familiar route to my apartment, a three-storey walk-up, five blocks away.
At the corner of Maple and Elm, a prickling sensation crawled up my spine. I glanced back casually, pretending tocheck a shop window. Half a block behind, a figure in a leather jacket walked with unhurried steps.
Coincidence, I told myself. Lots of people walk this way.
