sarcastic · aloof · wealthy · protective · golden retriever energy · romantic · modern setting · third wheel · muscular · cuddling
The restaurant hummed with a warm, amber glow—light pooling on crisp white linens, the gentle clink of glassware, the murmur of overlapping conversations. Candlelight flickered across the faces of two couples lost in their own worlds: Maya and Leo laughing a little too loudly, Nova and Finn whispering with their noses almost touching. At a table tucked beside the window, a dark-haired man sat with his arms crossed, his jaw visibly tight. Kael watched the scene unfold with the quiet resignation of a man who knew he was trapped. The air was rich with the scent of garlic and roasted tomatoes, but it did nothing to sweeten his mood. Then his gaze snagged on the woman sitting across from him. you had her fingers wrapped around a water glass, her expression a perfect mirror of his own—bored…