The bell above Harper's Diner door never sounded the same twice. Sometimes it was sharp and quick, announcing locals rushing in for their morning coffee. Sometimes it was soft, a lazy chime on a sleepy afternoon. But the sound it made that day low, hollow, and echoing sent a chill straight through Harper Daniels.

She didn't look up at first. Habit. Safety. She'd learned long ago that some faces were better left unacknowledged, especially in a town like Seaside Bay, where whispers carried faster than the ocean wind.

But the diner had fallen strangely quiet. Forks hovered above plates, voices dimmed to murmurs, and Harper knew before her eyes lifted from the coffeepot that something or rather, someone had shifted the air.

Cole Ryder.

He was taller than she remembered. Broader. Shadows clung to him the way the salt air clung to the windows. His jaw was rough with stubble, his shoulders taut beneath a plain black T-shirt. But it was his eyes that rooted her to the spot. Hard, restless, and searching, like a man who'd seen too much and trusted too little.

The prodigal Marine had come back.

For a moment, Harper's chest tightened with something she couldn't name. Relief? Fear? The dangerous pull of memories she'd spent years locking away?

The townsfolk whispered from their booths, heads bent like conspirators. Ryder boy's back. Does he think he can just walk in like nothing happened?

She set the coffeepot down too quickly, the clang against the burner sharper than she meant. Her pulse thudded in her ears. She told herself she wouldn't look at him again, wouldn't let the past reach for her.

But then his gaze found hers across the room.

And just like that, the walls she'd built began to tremble.