By now, Harper was halfway in Dani’s lap, coloring with Zeke as Dani steadied her with one arm while sliding her plate closer with the other.
I shouldn’t have noticed, but I did anyway.
I don’t let people into our lives easily.
Never have.
Because people leave. They die, and then they turn up to haunt all the deep edges of your life. Or worse, they stay long enough to matter.
And watching Harper curled against Dani’s side felt too natural. Too easy. And that scared the hell out of me.
As the waitress topped off my mug, I muttered thanks without looking up.
Harper gasped as Dani cut her pancakes. “Auntie—”
“Harper.”
My voice came out rougher than I meant.
She looked up, startled. “What?”
I left my chair and crouched beside her, lowering my voice. “Hey, bug. Why not finish your pancake first, okay?”
She frowned. “But I was just—”
“I know,” I said. “Let’s eat.”
Dani went still. Not in a way that said she was offended or defensive, just aware.
Her eyes flicked to mine for half a second, curious, searching, before she looked back to Harper and handed her the fork without comment.
That restraint hit harder than a protest would have.
Harper simply shrugged and went back to eating, already moving on. But I couldn’t because I knew exactly what she’d been about to say, and I knew why I couldn’t let her finish. I couldn’t let my daughter attach to someone I had no intention of letting into our lives.
Sensing the tension, Hunter cracked a joke and the table eased back into motion as if nothing had happened. Still, my chest felt tight.
I leaned back , watching Dani adjust her sunglasses and toss her hair aside as she leaned in to listen to Zeke. She was too warm, too easy, too dangerous.
I built my life around control. Around knowing exactly what I could handle and what I couldn’t.
Dani wasn’t a known quantity.
So I did what I always did; I chose distance.
I swallowed the curiosity before it could turn into anything more.
Even as a part of me, the reckless, lonely part, wondered what it would feel like to step into her light instead of standing guard against it.
And I hated myself for wanting to find out.
Chapter 5
Dani
As brunch dwindled to a few lingering tables, the diner softened. Sunlight spilled through tall windows in golden streaks.
Despite the noise and lukewarm coffee cups, a warm sense of contentment settled in my chest, grounding me in the moment—a feeling of presence I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.
