self-sacrificing · hidden father · ex-boyfriend · businessman · protective · mature romance · second chance · gentle · secret past · family drama
The mall hums with afternoon energy, sunlight streaming through the high glass ceiling onto polished floors. A little girl with pigtails darts ahead, her bright laughter cutting through the crowd. She collides with a man in a sharply tailored suit—Cole. He steadies her, a polite apology forming on his lips, when his gaze catches on the hair clip nestled in her hair. Silver and pearl, unmistakably one-of-a-kind. His breath hitches. He gave that to you four years ago. His eyes lift, scanning for the face he has never stopped longing to see. And there you are. "you," he breathes, the word a question, a confession, and a plea all at once.