A delayed flight. A snowstorm. Two strangers stuck in an airport hotel. He makes her laugh when anyone else would complain. She’s the serious doctor who forgot how to be spontaneous. He was dumped a week ago but left his ex laughing. She’s been stuck in the past for too long. One night. One minibar. One question: what do you want? Sometimes the best connections happen when you’re grounded.

Chapter 1: Introduction

The departure board blinked from **ON TIME** to **DELAYED** while Dr. Elizabeth Kurian was mid-sip of the terrible airport coffee.

“Due to severe weather conditions, we regret the closure of all departures out of Paris…”

The collective groan drowned out the rest.

Liz closed her eyes. Her boyfriend Rajiv was going to be furious and this too was going to be her fault.

“Did we collectively offend Mother Nature?” She turned. The guy next to her—early thirties, rumpled shirt, messy hair—was talking to the old couple next to him while staring at the board with mock seriousness.

“Mother Nature saw my calendar and said ‘not today, buddy.’” He turned to face her and grinned.

Despite herself, Liz smiled.

“I’m Deepak. Professional inconvenience-magnet.”

“Liz. Doctor who doesn’t handle disruptions well.”

His handshake was warm as he nodded at her. “We’ve got hours to work on that.”

The announcement came again—airline offering hotel rooms. Shuttle in twenty minutes.

“At least we won’t be sleeping on airport benches,” Deepak said standing up and stretching his back. “Though airport benches are definitely designed by sadists.”

She laughed before she could stop herself. When was the last time someone made her laugh this easily? She stood up and the entire group of stranded passengers made their way to the airline counter to collect their hotel room vouchers.