The Release:
Jasper stood on the hill beneath the endless Texas stars, holding a torn piece of red paper shaped like a heart. He had poured his loneliness into the night sky, asking the universe if there was anyone out there for him.
He let the heart go.
The wind took it, carrying it up into the darkness, and for just a moment, something shifted. The air grew warm. A presence, vast and patient, seemed to stir.
Something had heard him.
Two thousand miles away, a girl named Bella was asking the same question.

“Come somewhere with me.”
Four words. That was all it took to change everything.
Bella looked up at Jasper Whitlock, at the intensity burning in his amber eyes, and felt her heart stutter in her chest. The New Year’s Eve party swirled around them, but he wasn’t looking at the champagne or the decorations or the crowd counting down to midnight.
He was looking at her like she was the only thing in the universe that mattered.
“Where?” she whispered.
“Somewhere the stars can hear us.”

After midnight, when the ballroom is nearly empty, Jasper asks Bella for one last dance. As they sway, the band plays something soft and romantic, and Jasper begins to sing quietly to her. His Southern accent warms every note, the words of the love song floating around them. Bella closes her eyes, completely present in his arms, savoring the intimacy of his voice and their closeness. Even the staff pause to watch, moved by the tenderness of the moment