POV: Yessica | Location: Edinburgh
He was already there.
That stopped her at the door.
Lewis Sterling, at the corner table, jacket on, no tie, hands around a water glass he wasn't drinking from. He was looking at the entrance. He had been looking at the entrance.
Three years. Two daughters. Fourteen months of his therapy sessions she hadn't asked about but somehow knew the count of.
And he was early.
She walked in.
"You're early," she said.
"You're exactly on time."
"Same thing."
She sat. She did not look at the menu immediately. She looked at him.
He looked back. No performance. No prepared opening. Just Lewis, sitting with the weight of everything between them and not trying to put it down.
"I almost canceled," she said.
"I know."
"How do you know?"
"Because you're here."
