It Only Takes a Minute

Chapter 1

It was a raining evening, and for Claire Dearing it had been a long day too. She had worked until late and had barely caught the subway on her way home. She almost missed it for about five minutes.

She usually took one that's earlier than this one but she had gotten caught up at the office.

She hadn't been able to release the sigh she had been holding until both her heels were behind the doors. She held from the handle and adjusted her rain coat.

She found an empty seat on the row by the door and took it. She sat by the window and set her bag and umbrella on the one beside hers.

The subway was almost empty, as she looked around she could only count a few people who were riding along with her.

She took her cellphone out and managed to send a couple of e-mails that she had missed from before she left the office.

It was a long distance between now and her stop. It would be over a couple of hours before she made it home. She basically had a trip from one end of the city to the other. This caused her to be up from really early in the morning every day.

She checked the time on her iPhone's screen, it was only eight at night, but she was completely drained. She set the alarm clock for it to buzz and wake her up in case she fell asleep. She didn't want to miss her stop.

She rested her head against the window and gently closed her eyes. It was only until a couple of stops later when she opened them.

To her, it felt like she had just blinked. She checked the time on her wristwatch; half an hour had gone by.

Across from her was a young man who hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her.

He had been watching her sleep for the past fifteen minutes. But not in a creepy kind of way, he was admiring her. To him, it was like he was contemplating an angel.

He found her fascinating. He had been wondering the color of her eyes and now that she had opened them and offered to make contact with him; he was convinced...she had the most beautiful pair of eyes. But he also couldn't think of another woman who was as beautiful.

She looked so peaceful while she was asleep, he wondered what her story was. He wished he knew for how long she'd been on the subway before he got on and was hoping his stop wasn't before hers.

He needed to see her again, that was for sure.

Owen Grady was convinced he could get used to the image of such a gorgeous woman sleeping or just her presence in general.

After a second of eye contact, Claire smiled at him. She adjusted on her seat and casually looked away. Her eyes watching the city pass by through the window, rain drops falling against it.

He had never believed in love at first sight, but something inside was telling him he should now. That gentle smile had confirmed he had found his soulmate.

This had to be it. He had an inner urge to just reach out and kiss her.

Owen didn't have her name and he was trying to figure out a way to ask not only for it but possibly a phone number.

But— would she give it to him? Or would he just scare her off.

On his end, time seemed to freeze each time she'd make eye contact with him. But time needed to catch up and it would rush forward when their eyes weren't looking at each other.

He knew time was running, each stop made his heart race. Was this one hers? He felt a sense of relief when she didn't walk off.

It didn't take long for Claire to slowly close her eyes and fall back asleep.

It made Owen feel like he needed to protect her. She had her raincoat on, but he was fighting the impulse to take his jacket off and tuck her in with it.

He had never felt like this before. Would people think he was a creep if they could listen to the rush of emotions running through his mind?

He surly hoped not, because nothing in this world was more pure than the woman sitting across from him.

After she managed to relax, Claire dropped her cellphone. She was asleep and didn't feel it slipping out of her fingers.

Owen slowly reached out for it. He bent over and was now just a few inches away from her her.

He could treasure the constellation of freckles dancing in her cheeks and nose. The details of her face, she was more perfect than he could tell from his seat.

He smiled softly and kept her cellphone with him waiting for her to wake up so he could hand it over. He would never dare wake her up.

Then, his mind played him a little trick, planting a little idea in his head. He slowly leaned over again, and carefully took her hand and closed her fingers around the cellphone.

She was warm and her porcelain skin was soft. His thoughts were interrupted by the voice coming from the speaker above her seat.

He frowned, a feeling of sadness overtaking him. The next stop was his. He wondered if he'd ever see her again. Would he have to live with the reality that he saw the woman of his dreams but couldn't even catch her name?

The subway came to a stop. He stood up and waited for the doors to open.

"Thanks."

He turned back, the redhead had woken up from his touch. Her voice forever registered in his mind.

"You're welcome." He nodded.

The smile she offered was slowly returned, sharing a moment that would last till the end.

He stepped off the subway feeling completely defeated, because he would never see her again, he would never be with her.