If there’s one thing I love about reading in a café, it’s the intoxicating smell of coffee mingling with the scent of paper and ink. I looked out the window and caught sight of a couple, lost in each other, the girl giggling at something her lover whispered.

Is this what love feels like? I wondered. Is this how Dominic looks at Alessandra?

I smiled faintly and turned back to my book. A line caught my eye: “And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while, I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart, I love her all the time.”

I retrieved my highlighter from my tote bag and marked the words. Gatsby’s unwavering love for Daisy always stirred something in me.

Just then, the bell above the café door chimed.

A woody, citrusy scent drifted toward me, so captivating it tugged my attention away from the page. I looked up and the world slowed.

He was beautiful. Not just handsome—breathtaking.

His amber eyes locked with mine, and for a moment, neither of us looked away.

Was he walking slowly on purpose? Or had my mind stretched time, letting me take him in?

He stopped at my table, a small, almost shy smile curving his lips.

“Is someone sitting here?” he asked, voice deep and smooth like a favorite song.

For a moment, words escaped me. I just stared.

He tapped the table lightly, jolting me back.

“Oh! No, you can sit,” I said too quickly, my cheeks heating.

He chuckled, a low sound that made something flutter in my chest, and slid into the seat across from me.

I tried to look back at my book, but the words swam before my eyes.

“Are you reading The Great Gatsby?”

His voice was velvet, curious.

I nodded, managing a small smile.

The waiter appeared to take his order, and as the two spoke, I took him in properly.

The sunlight kissed his skin, setting it aglow. His amber eyes were even more mesmerizing up close. His lips—full, soft-looking—moved as he spoke, and for a wild second, I wondered what they might taste like. Coffee? Strawberries? Something entirely new?

He turned back to me just as the waiter left, flashing a smile so brilliant it felt like the sun itself had shifted a little closer.

And in that instant, I knew: I had a crush on a stranger whose name I didn't even know.

Yet somehow, sitting across from him, breathing in the scent of coffee and citrus and something unspoken, it didn’t feel like an ending.

It felt like the very first page.