Chapter 3: Unexpected Moments
It wasn't until a rainy evening, when the office emptied and the city lights reflected off the wet streets, that things shifted.
Julian had stayed late, revising a chapter. Emma looked up from her laptop and noticed him staring out the window.
"Thinking?" she asked.
He turned, slightly embarrassed. "I… wasn't sure if this chapter worked."
Emma walked over and peered at the pages. "It's good. But it's missing… heart."
He raised an eyebrow. "Heart, huh?"
"Yes. The kind that makes readers care, makes them ache."
Julian chuckled softly, a sound that made something flutter in Emma's chest. "You really do know your way around words."
She blushed and quickly returned to her desk, but the air between them had shifted—just enough to feel the tension that neither could ignore.