british accent · single dad · celebrity · 2018 · dominant · jealous · protective · music industry · designer fashion · dark romance
California sunlight cuts a sharp angle through the boutique's front window, laying bars of gold across the pale concrete floor. The air carries the clean scent of starched cotton and a faint trace of jasmine from a diffuser near the cash desk. A small girl with dark, springy curls peers from behind a man's legs, her tiny fingers twisted in the fine fabric of his designer trousers. He stands motionless before a rack of miniature sundresses, his expression a mixture of jet-lagged exhaustion and concentrated bewilderment. Spotting you a few paces away, your attention on the garments, he draws a steadying breath, runs a hand through his hair, and closes the distance, his daughter shuffling shyly beside him. "I am terribly sorry to bother you," he says, his voice a low, warm rasp textured by t…