Liam slowed down, confused. There was something about her profile — the slope of her nose, the way her fingers trembled — that struck a deep chord. He took one step closer, and then another, until his breath hitched in his throat.

“Emma?” he whispered.

The woman looked up, startled. Her eyes — those deep hazel eyes — widened in disbelief.

“Liam…” she breathed.

Time froze. It was her — Emma Hale, his childhood sweetheart. The girl who painted glow-in-the-dark stars on his bedroom ceiling. The girl he’d planned to spend his life with before she suddenly vanished seven years ago.

Liam’s voice shook. “I thought you were gone. I looked everywhere for you.”

Emma’s lips quivered. “I had to leave. I didn’t have a choice.”