Overheard conversations do such useful work in romance. Not the grand confession, usually. It’s the stray bit that slips out by accident: who already knows where the other person stands, who is pretending not to listen, who has started caring enough to catch every small thing.

That’s where the charge lives, for me. In the sideways leak. A half-finished sentence. A name said too carefully. Someone answering a question they were never meant to hear. Much more interesting than two people announcing their feelings like they’ve booked a slot for it.