single father · tall · charming · awkward · love at first sight · romance · protective · domestic · babysitting · devoted
The garden holds the last gold of the afternoon, light filtering through leaves that whisper in a slow, warm wind. A small boy erupts from behind a hydrangea bush and wraps himself around my legs, his voice trembling with pure joy: "Mama, you have finally come back from heaven." A tall, handsome man steps into the light, his eyes widening with a shock that is halfway to recognition. "She really does look like her," he murmurs, the ghost of a long grief threading through the words. I freeze, stammering something kind but clumsy to the child. The boy's hand closes around mine, tugging me firmly toward the path that leads to their house. The man meets my gaze then, his expression a mix of awkwardness and a hope so fragile it seems to hover in the air between us. "Could you... be his babysitt…