Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice

DORIS EVANS scurried through the crowded airport, searching frantically for the lost and found office. Her heart pounded against her chest and her breath shortened and quickened as she pushed her way through the throngs of people. She felt panic rising inside her, and her hands trembling as she fumbled through her pockets, looking for her phone.

OH, DORIS! YOU AND YOUR SCATTERED BRAIN!

How had she misplaced her purse? There were important things in there that she couldn't afford to lose.

Just when she was about to lose it completely to panic, she spotted a sign pointing to the lost and found, and she hurried towards it, feeling a glimmer of hope.

She shoved past someone as she reached the entrance. Subconsciously, she apologized hastily before proceeding to the clerk's desk.

Doris cleared her throat. "Uh. . . Hi, there!" She said, addressing the clerk. "I lost my purse some minutes ago."

Desperate, she pleaded with the clerk, explaining that she had her passport and other important documents in the purse. Luckily, someone had just brought in the same purse she had described.

"Is this your purse?" he asked, holding up a small black handbag.

Doris' eyes widened in recognition. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "That's it. That's my purse! Oh! I was really starting to panic. Thank you so much!"

After going through the identification process and whatnot, it was released back to her.

Before she turned to leave, relieved with the fact that her belongings were retrieved, she asked the clerk, "Do you have a clue who might have found my purse? I would love to thank him personally."

"Oh? He was just standing there on the phone a few minutes ago."

Doris remembered blindly bumping into someone right at the entrance. "Ah! Thanks again," she cried. Then she hurried out. Hopefully, she would catch up with whoever the lifesaver was.

She spotted the tall, dark-haired hunk, cladded in a white and black checked suit, who was still on his phone. She recognized him immediately. When she'd bumped into him earlier, she'd slightly noticed his unique sense of fashion and his refreshing essence.

"Excuse me. . . Excuse me. . ." she called, chasing after him. When she drew closer she tapped, his shoulder. "Uh, excuse me, I learned you found my purse. I can't thank you enough. This—"

"Doris. . .? Doris? Is that you?"

A moment of silence saturated the air as their eyes met, and Doris felt jolts of electricity running through her body. His gaze was intense and magnetic, and she couldn't look away.

It couldn't be. . .

Doris finally managed to break the silence, her voice trembling slightly. "Brad. . .?"

There was an awkward pause as the two of them stood there, looking at each other in disbelief. The tension in the air was palpable as if they were both waiting for something to happen.

Brad's gaze was mesmerizing, and Doris could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her pulse revving, giant butterflies flapping her wings in her stomach.

As much as she tried not to, a brief flashback of their time together flashed through her mind. The late nights, the whispered conversations, the stolen moments of passion. It had been a whirlwind, but it had ended so abruptly.

And now here he was, standing right in front of her, glowing in his beautiful, heart-tingling smile, making her break the promise she'd made to herself four years ago. . .

NEVER FALL AGAIN!