ily's mind wandered. She scribbled notes absent-mindedly, her thoughts drifting back to Ryan. Their friendship had always been easy, but lately, she'd noticed little things about him – the

it was the way he'd phrased the text, or the way she couldn't shake the feeling he'd looked at her differently that morning. "Yeah, free tonight," she replied. "Where did you have in mind?" Ryan's response came quickly: "How about that new Italian place downtown? 7 pm?" Emily's stomach fluttered. She hadn't been to that restaurant