(This will probably be the only sample from this project – it’s supposed to come out on 3/13)

As tired as I was, that didn’t stop the immediate racing heart and butterflies combo that Trace’s presence coming down my hall set off. Maybe because we hadn’t spoken all day – none of the usual random texts or calls, meeting for lunch – his smile felt especially… potent.

“I didn’t know you weren’t home,” he explained, stopping a few feet away from me. “I didn’t knock or anything, I was just…”...