They met at a gallery opening neither of them wanted to attend. William was there because a client insisted; Charlotte because her editor needed a review by Monday. They were the only two people staring at the same painting — a stormy seascape — for nearly twenty minutes.

He finally broke the silence: "It looks like a very expensive mistake." She laughed so hard she knocked over a glass of champagne. They talked until the gallery closed, then kept talking outside in the rain.

Two years later, William proposed in front of that same painting, which he had quietly purchased in the weeks before. Charlotte said yes before the ring was even out of the box.