Heavy boots clomped on the stairs and the door closed with a bit of a thud.
“Anna?”
“In here,” I called out.“Snooping.”
“Hardly.”He walked closer and checked his watch.“Getting hungry?”
I nodded.“But I’d love to makeyoubreakfast.”
“No way, this is my house and you are my beautiful guest who deserves to be doted on once in a while.”
The heat blooming across my cheeks was unstoppable.
He offered his hand and without hesitation, I linked fingers and followed him to the kitchen.
While explaining his morning routine, he whipped up a quick breakfast.Eggs sunny side up, toast, and a bowl of mixed berries.The coffee was already poured and the steam curled lazily from the mugs.
It wasn’t fancy but any stretch of the imagination, but itwasperfect.
“This is the part where I apologize,” he said, setting a plate down.
“For what?”
“For the fact that this is decidedly not breakfast in bed.”
I laughed, surprised by how warm the very thought made me feel.
“But,” he added, turning toward the counter.“I’m open to negotiations.Maybe someday.”
The casual way he said it, unassuming as if it wasn’t a big thing, made my chest tighten anyway.
We sat at the small kitchen table, knees brushing occasionally, sharing easy conversation that didn’t feel like it was filling space.He asked about my favorite breakfasts with the kids.I teased him about how seriously he took his coffee.He admitted, without shame, that he burned toast more often than he’d like.
It felt...domestic.
The realization caught me off guard.
From the depths of my pocket, my phone buzzed.Pulling it out, I smiled without hesitation.A text from my first born, Josh.
Hey.Confirming pick up is at 4?
I typed back.Let me double check.
When I looked up, Tristan was watching me, not with impatience or concern, but something quieter.
“They okay?”he asked.
“They’re good,” I said.“They always are.”
He nodded as if that answered more than the question.
I opened my flight tracking app and double checked.Assuming no more interruptions as the strike had ended almost nearly as fast as it had started, departure from Victoria was at 2:10 with arrival in Edmonton at 4:45.
I updated Josh with the expected arrival time, to which he sent me a thumbs up.
Tristan and I finished eating slowly, neither of us rushing to stand, to move, or to acknowledge the clock ticking somewhere outside our bubble.Eventually, he leaned back in his chair, studying me with a thoughtful expression.
“You know,” he said, “you’re good for this place.”
