Years Gone By

At twenty, Asher knitted a scarf for his secret crush, Seraphina Sinclair, and she accepted it at her birthday party. Days after his sister Clara's death, he went to the university to withdraw and overheard Seraphina's friends mocking the scarf, calling it fit only for a foot rag. Seraphina laughed and tossed it beside the trash can. Their eyes met briefly; he said nothing and left.

Six years later, Asher returns to Northgate to expand his clothing brand. On opening day, Sienna, one of Seraphina's friends, walks into his boutique and presses an invitation to Seraphina's birthday into his hand. His business partner Penny tells him Seraphina has spent years searching for a long-lost love whose last name was Grant — the same as Asher's original surname.

Asher unseals the past he buried: his poor family, his stammering first-day introduction, and the winter break when Seraphina, after arguing with Wyatt, tossed him a black velvet box and said it was his.