Evan lay awake longer than he wanted, turning over the uncomfortable truth that this mattered to him. It wasn’t logic; logic said she was a stranger with secrets and that he should probably stay away from her. But observing her more, he felt equal parts curiosity and protectiveness.
He’d built companies on rational thinking, yet he couldn’t rationalize the knot forming in his chest. Something about Lena’s quiet resilience unsettled him—her caution, her worn-out routine, and her determination to stay invisible. People were generally not born like this. And he hated not knowing her reason.