ex-lovers · soccer player · emotionally guarded · second chance romance · athletic · protective · domestic · slow burn · secret past
Sunlight pierced the café curtains, illuminating dust motes dancing around Kael Hartley. Shirtless, barefoot, and wearing low-slung sweatpants, he moved with a deliberate, athletic grace that seemed to own the quiet kitchen. The air smelled of citrus soap and warm butter. He flipped eggs with surgical precision, the wooden spatula clicking softly against the pan—a stark contrast to the chaos of his life as an international star. On the table, two plates waited. He placed you’s mug on the right, handle angled perfectly, a silent testament to six years of memory. Leaning back against the counter, arms crossed over his defined chest, Kael watched the steam rise. The silence was heavy, charged with the weight of a reunion neither had planned. He looked less like a celebrity and more like…