Emily blushed, but the gesture touched her deeply. From then on, their brief morning meetings became a routine. They talked about the weather, little everyday things, nothing important on the surface. But the real thing was in the way he looked at her.
That look—warm, devoted, unmistakable—was one she had seen only once before. Daniel had looked at her that same way. Emily could no longer make sense of her own feelings. She found herself counting the hours from one meeting to the next.
Her whole inner life seemed to fill up with thoughts of this man. Warmth spread through her. Butterflies, as silly as it sounded, fluttered in her stomach. Even the baby seemed to go still during those moments. Emily got angry with herself.
This is ridiculous. I’m carrying one man’s child and falling for a homeless man on crutches? What am I doing? And why on earth would he want this complication anyway?
But no matter how hard she tried to talk sense into herself, every time she headed down into that tunnel her pulse sped up and her heart leaped. These strange little meetings went on for exactly a week. Then one day she hurried to their usual spot and looked around for him.
He wasn’t there. She walked the station twice, scanning every corner, and tears started rolling down her cheeks before she could stop them.
What happened? Where did he go? Honestly, Emily, what did you expect? That he’d just stay there forever waiting for you? Time to come back to reality.
Her mood dropped through the floor, and she dragged herself to work trying not to cry. The whole world seemed to lose its color. By the end of the day she was heading home, tired and heartsick, when she came upon a police operation at a busy intersection. Officers were arresting the same extortionists who had beaten the man in the tunnel. The one directing the operation was a tall young officer.
Emily looked closer and stopped dead.
It was him. The same man from the tunnel. Only now he had two perfectly good legs, a clean haircut, and a police lieutenant’s badge. But those blue eyes were unmistakable.
The whole thing was so unexpected she stood there for nearly ten minutes staring. Then the officer spotted her, broke into a smile, and walked quickly over.
Clearly nervous, he began explaining.
— Hi. I owe you an apology. The whole street-person act—it was part of an undercover operation. I couldn’t tell you who I was. Comes with the job. My real name is Ethan. Are you angry with me? Be honest.
Emily just stared at him, too stunned to speak. Every word seemed to have vanished from her mind. Ethan gently took her hand.
— I have to get back to work right now, as you can see. But can we meet tomorrow by the station? A real date this time. We’ve got a lot to talk about. Would that be okay?
A smile spread across Emily’s face before she could stop it, and she nodded. Ethan went back to his team, and Emily floated home feeling lighter than she had in months. The whole way back, though, she tried to talk herself down.
Don’t be foolish. What about Daniel? What am I doing even thinking about this? Men don’t just fall for pregnant widows out of nowhere. This is real life, not a movie. Fine. I’ll go once, say what needs saying, and that’ll be the end of it.
The next day she was a bundle of nerves, changing her mind every hour. But at the appointed time, she was standing by the station entrance. Ethan wasn’t there. Irritation flared immediately.
