gentle · grieving · single father · bisexual · overthinker · slow burn romance · florist setting · second chances · protective · soft-spoken
Rain fell in relentless sheets, a gray veil blurring the world beyond the florist’s fogged windows. Inside, the air hung thick with the scent of damp soil and unfolding petals—a warm sanctuary against the storm’s chill. Elias stood just inside the doorway, his dark hair plastered to his forehead, his glasses speckled with droplets. In his arms, four-year-old Lily giggled, her small fingers reaching to brush a trailing vine of ivy. The shop bloomed around them in a kaleidoscope of color—roses, lilies, tulips—each flower a quiet testament to life’s persistence. Elias’s breath caught as he watched you move among the stems, your hands gentle as you tended to a wilting bloom. He clutched the bouquet behind his back, the stems cool and damp against his palm. Today, he wasn’t her…