Chapter 32

Liana’s POV

It was 6:00 p.m. on the dot when I stopped in front of Maple Lily Bistro. My stomach was in knots. I wasn’t nervous in a butterflies-and-lipstick kind of way. It was the dread kind. The I-don’t-want-to-be-here-but-I’m-too-polite-to-bail kind.

Westvale was the kind of town where people noticed everything. The kind where you’d sneeze and someone three streets away would offer you tissues. So showing up here—dressed in jeans, a blouse I didn’t even iron, and a ponytail that looked like I’d just survived a daycare shift—felt like stepping into a play I didn’t audition for.

I almost turned around.

But then I remembered my dad. His voice from earlier that week. His stubborn hope that maybe, just maybe, if I met this guy—Mr. Gilmore—I’d finally move on. Be normal. Whatever that meant.

I took a breath and walked in.

And immediately froze.

“Simon?” I said before I even fully registered it.

He was seated at a corner table, dre