“I love you so much,” he said quietly, cupping my face before leaning in to kiss me. “Thank you for being you.”
Our relationship grew deeper as the months passed.
What had started as a friendship had slowly blossomed into something richer and more meaningful. The attraction between us had deepened into a strong emotional and physical connection, and our conversations began to touch every corner of our lives.
One morning, as I stood in the kitchen preparing breakfast, I glanced over my shoulder at Cole sitting at the table.
“How are the shots coming along with the current project?” I asked, cracking eggs into the pan. “What did Liam say about it?”
Cole had stayed over the night before again.He had admitted more than once that he hated going back to his empty apartment now that we were together. Slowly, almost without either of us noticing when it happened, half of his clothes had found their way into my closet.
“Liam loved the shots I took,” he said, chewing on a piece of bacon. “The project is coming along well.”
I smiled slightly as I slid the eggs onto a plate.“Lucas’ game is this Saturday. I hope you haven’t forgotten.”
He wiped his hands and leaned back in his chair.“I haven’t, babe. I marked it down on my calendar.”
“And Emma’s?—”
“Vaccination is tomorrow,” he finished with a grin. “I remember.”His eyes sparkled as he added, “What about dinner and a movie tonight with the kids?”
I smiled as I slid the eggs onto a plate before carrying over a mug of coffee for him. “Sure,” I said. “I’ll check and text you.”
Cole’s fingers brushed against mine as he took it.
My breath caught for the briefest second.
Then Oreo shoved his giant head between us with absolutely no shame.
“Seriously?” Cole laughed.
Oreo barked once before planting himself against Cole’s legs like he had personally prevented a national disaster.
“I think he’s jealous,” I muttered.
“No,” Cole said, scratching behind Oreo’s ears. “I think he’s chaperoning.”
I laughed softly while Oreo leaned harder against him, looking entirely too proud of himself.
After breakfast, Cole kissed me goodbye, then bent down to kiss Lucas and Emma before heading out the door for work.
Sharing the responsibilities of raising the children with him had brought a kind of relief I had not known I needed.
With Harper, even though he adored Lucas deeply, his job had kept him away most of the time.
With Caleb, everything had once felt beautiful but short-lived.
But with Cole… everything felt natural.
I could not remember a single time when he had not been there when the children or I needed him.Sometimes I found myself simply watching him with the kids and wondering how I had been lucky enough to find someone like him.
We respected each other deeply, and that respect strengthened the bond between us every day. We supported each other’s goals, encouraged each other’s interests, and when disagreements did arise, we always made it a rule to talk everything through before going to bed.
Lucas’s bond with Cole had developed into a connection between a father and a son.They cooked breakfast together on some mornings, laughing over spilled pancake batter or burnt toast. On weekends, they played with Oreo in the backyard or sat at the kitchen table while Cole patiently helped Lucas with his homework.
One afternoon, Lucas ran up to him with excitement, lighting up his face.“Cole, are we going to go to another island this weekend?” he asked eagerly.
Cole chuckled.“I’m not sure,” he said. “You liked the last one, huh?”
