“Were we close, Debra. Did we talk a lot?”

“No, not really.”

“Why not?”

“You and Mr. Brady were both very busy with work. You guys were always on the go.”

“Oh.”

She smiled and looked back to the pan in front of her. “Just give me a few minutes, and I’ll have a peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich ready for you before your walk.”

I immediately looked at her in surprise. “How do you know I like that sandwich?”

She laughed. “You ask me to make it for you a lot.”

I frowned. “But…Connor says he’s never heard of me mentioning it before.”

Another laugh escaped her lips. “Yeah. You never ate it in front of Mr. Brady. You said it was a secret guilty pleasure, something you ate since you were young. You thought it was a little silly and unsophisticated to eat as an adult, especially one who was to be the future Mrs. Brady. So you asked me not to mention it to others.”

“Oh.” I frowned, trying to take in this new information. “Can you be honest with me about something, Debra?”

She looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. “I will try my best.”

“Do you think I’ve changed since I lost my memory?”

She smiled. “Well, it is hard to say.” She paused to think over her answer. “I don’t think so. You were always kind to me. But you do seem more relaxed now than you were before your accident.”

“I do?”

“Yeah. You were always in a rush, and working a lot. It was almost like you were afraid to slow down and relax.”

“I see.” I realized Debra had confirmed what Anna had mentioned a few weeks ago—that I had consumed myself with work as a way to grieve over the loss of my mother. My heart ached as I thought about the woman I’d seen in my flashback this morning. I wished I could remember everything about her.

***

Twenty minutes later, Jim had dropped me off at the running trails. I’d insisted on walking, but much like Debra, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Thanks for the ride, Jim.” I got out of the car as he held the door open for me. “You know, you really didn’t have to drive.”

He smiled. “It’s really my pleasure, Ms. Stuart.” Unlike Debra, he refused to call me Liv, even when Connor wasn’t around. “Please give me a call when you’re ready for me to pick you up.”

“Sure,” I lied. “I might stay out for a while, maybe grab dinner with Anna. So don’t worry about me. If I need a ride, I’ll give you a call.”

As I watched Jim drive away, I let out a deep sigh, feeling as if I could finally breathe for the first time all day.

The cool autumn air felt nice against my skin as I walked along Kelly Drive, the path that followed along the river. I knew immediately why I’d liked this trail. It was quiet and removed from the noise and hustle and bustle of the city. I felt more relaxed here.

After about fifteen minutes down the path, I found myself walking past the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I got off the running trail and headed toward the museum. It was a beautiful museum, and I sat down at the lush, green lawn at the foot of the steps—the “Rocky Steps” from the Rocky films—that lead up to the entrance of the museum.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed as I sat there watching people walk up and down those museum steps, but at some point, I must have dozed off.

A familiar voice woke me up.

“Well hey there, stranger.” Something about this man’s voice caused the hairs on my arms to stand up, and my eyes flew open to look toward the direction of the voice.

I pushed myself back up to a sitting position and saw that it was him, the man who had caught my fall at the front entrance of the hospital two weeks prior. “Oh, hi.” I couldn’t hide the fact that I was surprised to see him.

“Ethan,” he reminded me.

“Oh right.” I’d remembered his name, but he didn’t need to know that. “I’m Olivia,” I added.

“Liv.” He grinned and winked at me. “I remember.”

My eyes immediately took in his dark faded jeans and the worn leather jacket that seemed to hug against his muscular build.

He must have noticed my eyes moving up and down his body because his lips curled into a wide grin as he pulled off his aviator sunglasses. “Stop undressing me with your eyes…,” he began as he sat down next me on the lawn, “…and start using those luscious lips of yours. We’ll both get what we want sooner.” His voice was rich and husky, and I felt my body respond to his words.

“I—I wasn’t,” I finally said with indignation and looked away from him, focusing my gaze on the “Rocky Steps.”

“I was just joking.” He playfully nudged my shoulder. “Can’t a guy tease a girl?”

I looked back to him and raised an eyebrow at him.

He laughed. “Okay, so maybe I was only half joking. But you can’t hate a guy for trying.”

“And why are you trying?” I challenged. Then I made the mistake of looking into his intensely dark, brown eyes, causing me to inhale sharply as a wave of nerves crashed through me.

He held my gaze as he leaned his body toward me until we were just inches apart. “Because I like you. You’re feisty.” He grinned, and to my surprise, it was oddly sincere behind his casual, don’t-give-a-shit persona.

“I’m engaged,” I finally said and blinked, breaking our locked gazed.

“That’s too bad,” he responded coolly, making no attempt to move away.

I watched in silence as his hand moved a loose strand of hair from my face and brushed it behind my ear. I knew I should move away from him, but something froze me in place.

“So how are you feeling?” There was a warm smile on his face as he studied me.

“What do you mean?” I managed to ask, confused by his question.

“Well, when we met two weeks ago, you had just checked out of the hospital. So I assume you went in for something health-related. I was just asking how you are now?”

“Oh. I’m fine.”

“That’s good. So you like art museums too?” He motioned to the museum behind him. “I sometimes come here on my days off.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I realized that I wasn’t sure if I’d liked museums before, but there was definitely something about the idea of a building filled with art that caused me to stop there.

“You guess so?” He cocked his head and studied me.

I looked away from him. “I can’t remember.”

“Oh?”

“I was recently in an accident…” I wasn’t sure why, but it felt nice to get this off my chest, to face the truth head-on. “And when you met me, I’d been recovering at the hospital after waking up from an eight-day coma. Since I woke up, I don’t remember many things about my life.”

There was a brief silence as he absorbed what I’d said. Then he chuckled lightly and playfully nudged me, “Well, that explains our odd conversation about your name and whether or not you knew me.”

I giggled. “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry that’s happened to you.” There was a deep sincerity in his voice that took me by surprise. Then he looked at me and I could see the sadness on his face. “I can’t imagine losing all of those memories. Whether they were good or bad memories, they were yours, and they shaped you to the person you are today.”

“Yeah.” I turned away, trying to blink away the tears. I realized that in the past two weeks, this was the first time someone tried to imagine and understand what I was going through, and acknowledged the importance of what I had lost.

Then I cleared my throat and forced a smile on my face as I looked back at Ethan. “So you have the day off?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Yeah. What about you?”

“I’m…I’m currently taking some time off from work.”

“Oh? To recover?”

I nodded. “So what do you do, Ethan?” I tried to push the conversation away from me.

“I’m a freelance consultant for various businesses.”

I laughed. “Okay, that’s vague.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Feisty and honest. I’m liking you more and more, Liv.”