Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

I DIDN’T EVEN need a new watch.

I mean, yeah, I wanted one. I lost mine a couple months back on a cruise—slipped off my wrist somewhere between the pool deck and that little sushi bar that always smelled like chlorine. But “need”? Nah. I’d gone this long without one. The only reason I stopped was because I was killing time.

Which is funny, now that I think about it.

That’s how it always starts, right?
You’re not looking for anything. You’re just wandering.
And then something finds you.

It was a little pawn shop tucked between a vape store and a boarded-up pizza place.
Didn’t even have a sign. Just a window full of dust and a bell that jingled like it hadn’t been touched since 1987.

I walked in.
It was… weirdly quiet. Like I stepped into a different kind of silence. The kind you feel in your chest. The air smelled like wood polish, metal, and old leather. It was warm in there. Too warm. Like the shop didn’t believe in time, let alone air conditioning.

The guy behind the counter looked like he’d been there forever.

Old, but not frail. Eyes that didn’t blink enough. Chinese, maybe. Long gray hair pulled into a loose tail. Wore a white button-down with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, like he was either about to fix a watch or curse your bloodline.

He didn’t speak right away. Just nodded at me.

I looked around. Saw some guitars. A typewriter. A globe. A dagger. A Polaroid camera that still had a photo sticking out.

And then I saw it.

A watch.

Just sitting in a little velvet tray, glinting faintly in the dusty sunlight.
Gold rim. Black leather strap. Roman numerals.
Looked exactly like mine. Down to the little chip in the glass.

“Looks familiar,” the man said suddenly.

I blinked. “What?”

He smiled, slow and uneven. “Time’s a tricky thing,” he said, “Always leaving. Never asking. You chase it, and it runs. You ignore it, and it stays.”

I laughed. “I just came in to kill time.”

His smile vanished.
“Careful,” he said, “That’s how it starts.”

He pushed the tray toward me.

“You can have it,” he said. “But there’s a game. A little challenge.”

My stomach fluttered, but I laughed again. “A challenge for a watch?”

“For love.”

I paused. He didn’t blink.

“I’m gonna offer you a chance,” he said, “Two weeks. That’s all. You’ll be dropped into a different time. A different place. You’ll have two weeks to find your true love. Not lust. Not convenience. Love. If you do… you win.”

“And if I don’t?” I asked.

“You try again,” he said, “Until you forget what you’re looking for.”

My throat went dry.

He held out a hand.

“Do you accept?”

I don’t know why I said yes.
But I did. I took his hand.
His grip was warm. Strong. And then—

He nodded toward a black velvet curtain behind the counter.

“Step through,” he said.

So I did.

And then everything—everything—went dark.