First rule of riding the subway:

Don’t talk to strangers.

Don’t even look at anyone.

But what if they’re grouchy and gorgeous and you’re sitting right next to them?

I always did like a challenge.

I want to turn that frown upside down, but he barely looks at me.

I take a chance and poke the bear, and to my shock, he plays along and growls back.

The more we meet on the train, the more I realize he’s not the uptight grump I first thought. Then one night, there he is—in my world, in my space…his tongue in my mouth.

Mind blown.

But I’m no fool. A man like Nash Roman doesn’t date a guy who sells suits at Macy’s.

Nash is prep school and Ivy League, and I’m night school while working two jobs to pay bills. Nash is fine wine, expensive restaurants and handmade suits, and I’m beer, corner takeout, and a lucky find at Goodwill.

What am I—street-smart Ethan Moreno—doing, playing in his world? This man is older than me, way richer than me, and has already made it clear he doesn’t believe in love. I should walk away. Instead, I’m falling for him. Hard.

Nash couldn’t care less if his father doesn’t think I’m good enough or if people gossip because we’re so different. I need to trust in him and us, but I’ve been burned before.

And just like the Uptown Number 2, sometimes you have to travel a different route to get to the final destination:

Forever.

Matt Haynes

Voice