“They are,” Daniel replied.
Just like that, the quiet intimacy of the morning gave way to the cheerful chaos of family life. A life Holly had slipped into seamlessly.
“Can I pour the juice?” Teddy asked, already dragging a step stool toward the refrigerator.
“I’ll help,” Holly said, steadying the stool as Teddy climbed up. She guided his small hands around the juice container, preventing the spill that Daniel knew from experience was inevitable without supervision.
Daniel moved to the coffee maker, preparing a fresh pot while stealing glances at the domestic scene unfolding in his kitchen. Holly handed Maisie plates to set the table, wiped a smudge of flour from Teddy’s cheek, and moved around his kitchen, his family, as if she’d been doing it for years.
His bear rumbled with satisfaction.This is how it should be. Every morning. Our mate with our cubs.
But beneath the warmth of the moment, dread pooled in Daniel’s stomach as his fears returned. The storm had passed. The roads would be cleared. Real life waited beyond this snow-globe existence they’d created together.
Breakfast unfolded with the same easy camaraderie that had characterized the past two days. Holly cut Teddy’s brioche into bite-sized pieces without being asked, somehow knowing he struggled with tearing the bread himself. She listened intently to Maisie’s cookie decorating plans and offered suggestions for colored icing and sprinkles.
And all the while, Daniel waited for the moment she would mention leaving. But she never once mentioned checking on her car, making arrangements to go home, or moving on with her life.
Instead, after breakfast, she helped Maisie find a missing mitten that had somehow migrated to the bathroom sink. She wiped a sticky smear of jam from Teddy’s chin with gentle efficiency. She stacked the breakfast dishes and started washing them before Daniel could even offer to help.
Each domestic gesture felt like both a gift and a torment—a glimpse of what could be, paired with the fear that it would vanish the moment reality intruded.
“We should get going,” Daniel said finally, glancing at the clock. “I need to open the bakery, and you two have school.” He looked at Holly, bracing himself for the goodbye he’d been dreading. “The roads should be clear enough now.”
Something flickered across her face—uncertainty, perhaps, or hesitation. “Should I... stay here? While you’re at the bakery?”
The question caught Daniel off guard. She wasn’t leaving?
His bear surged forward with hope.Ask her to come with us.
“You could come along,” Daniel suggested, trying to keep his voice casual. “If you want. You could see the bakery and meet the staff. There’s always excellent coffee.”
Holly smiled, and he swore he saw relief there. “I’d like that.”
Relief, he shared. It crashed through him with such force that Daniel had to turn away, pretending to search for his keys while he composed himself. She wanted to see more of his world.
Half an hour later, they left the house, wrapped up in several layers of clothes. Outside, the world had been transformed. Snow blanketed everything in pristine white, the morning sun turning each surface to diamond-sparkle. The air was sharp and clean, painfully bright after days of storm-gray skies.
Daniel helped the kids into the truck, then turned to offer Holly a hand over a particularly deep drift. Her fingers closedaround his, warm despite the cold, and the simple contact sent a now-familiar jolt through his system.
“Careful,” he murmured. “It’s slippery.”
She made it safely to the passenger side, and Daniel closed her door before circling around to the driver’s seat. As he slid in behind the wheel, he stole one more glance at her, half-expecting her to have vanished like some snow-day mirage.
But there she was, real and solid beside him, smiling as she buckled her seatbelt.
“So what’s the morning routine like at a bakery?” she asked, her voice warm with genuine interest. “I’ve always wondered what happens behind the scenes.”
Daniel’s hands tightened on the steering wheel as relief coursed through him, so powerful he felt lightheaded with it. She was asking about his work, his life, his routine.
“Well,” he managed, his voice rough with emotion he tried to hide, “it’s organized chaos, mostly. You’ll see.”
As the truck pulled away from the house, Daniel allowed himself one dangerous moment of hope. She might still leave tomorrow. This reprieve might be temporary.
But today, she was choosing to stay.
Chapter Ten – Holly
Holly’s stomach twisted as they neared the school, too aware of how she must look, drowning in clothes that weren’t hers. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass Daniel and the children. Part of her ached to turn around and retreat to the safety of Daniel’s house, where none of this mattered.
