Sunday morning dawned warm and bright, the kind of day that mellowed the city in some fashion. The streets pulsed with weekend activity, coffee carts steaming, dogs tugging on leashes, people out for chores.
But in Cole Kingston's upstairs penthouse, time moved more slowly.
Alice stood in his kitchen, bare feet, and an oversized sweatshirt and leggings, flipping pancakes as Sophie sat on the countertop, topping hers with blueberries and whipped cream. Cole leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, watching them like they were a dream he didn't know if he was meant to have.
He couldn't help but think of how naturally she fit. In the space, in his daughter's world… in his own.
"You're going to burn them if you just keep staring at me like that," Alice taunted, eyes still closed.
Cole grinned, his arms straightening. "Guilty."
He moved up beside her and reached for a coffee mug, their arms brushing. She didn't flinch this time. Neither did he.
"How do you do that?" he whispered.
"Do what?"
"Make this." he swept his hand towards the room, towards Sophie, towards the sun dancing across the counters, "home."
Alice's arm paused, spatula in mid-air. "I don't know. Maybe because it is one of my superpowers."
Their eyes met.
It wasn't a job anymore. It hadn't been for a while.
Cole's lips parted to say something, but Sophie was faster.
"May we go to the zoo today?" she asked, already tasting syrup from her fingers. "The actual one. Not the pretend zoo we constructed with couch pillows the last time."
Alice smiled. "That is if I am either the zookeeper or the lion."
"Both!" Sophie grinned.
"Then I'm in."
Cole watched in awe, heart aching and confused all at once. How was this possible? How did something as ordinary as an arrangement turn into something he didn't even know he needed?
"Alright well let's get ready"
"Mrs Lawson will be in today cleaning and restocking"
Alice arched an eyebrow.
"Oh!, Mrs Lawson is our housekeeper/manager
They strolled through the zoo later that afternoon, children screaming, birds singing, and the murmur of conversation providing background noise. Sophie held Alice's hand, darting ahead to the flamingos.
Cole trailed behind by a few steps, watching them, his phone vibrating in his pocket.
He almost didn't pick it up until he saw the name.
Eliana.
He stopped, then answered softly, stepping a few feet from the path. "Hello?"
Well, it's nice to know you're alive," his ex-wife's voice cut in. Sharp. Cold. Familiar.
"What do you want, Eliana?"
"I saw pictures," she said breezily. "Of you. With some woman. Playing family in the park last Saturday. With Sophie."
Cole's stomach twisted.
He glanced at Alice and Sophie. They were laughing over a penguin tumbling awkwardly into a pool.
"You're stalking us now?
"You made it public, not me. People talk. Friends saw you. So, I just wanted to check in and confirm you hadn't lost your mind."
"You mean, confirm someone else was doing something you wouldn't do?"
There was a silence.
"Watch it, Cole."
He spoke quietly. "No, you watch it. You didn't go to one parent-teacher conference, not one school play. Now suddenly you care?"
"I care who's around my daughter."
"Alice is the only reason Sophie hasn't caught on that you're missing."
"She's not her mother," Eliana snapped.
"No," he nodded, "but she's more of one than you've ever made any attempt to be."
He hung up before she could speak.
His heart was beating faster with anger.
"How dare she call him after all these years"
He was working hard at trying to keep himself calm. He wanted to punch a hole in the wall. Maybe screaming would do some good.
He scanned his surroundings for a good location; there was none in sight.
"Come on Cole, you deal with trauma all the time, don't let Eliana get to you worry"
Gulping air, he returned to the trail Alice and Sophie had taken.
What he saw melted his heart
Alice knelt before Sophie, removing a streak of ice cream from her cheek. Sophie laughed and leaned into her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
And maybe it was.
Cole felt something shift in his chest.
Later, when they drove home in the car, Sophie dozed in the backseat, exhausted from the day. Alice shot him a sidelong glance.
"Okay?" she asked.
He nodded hesitantly. "Eliana called."
She stiffened.
"Oh."
"She saw the pictures of the picnic. Isn't happy."
Alice sat with her face to the window, speaking softly. "I didn't mean to cause problems."
"You didn't."
But Alice sounded as though she didn't believe him.
"I should back off a bit, maybe," she said to him. "Just for a little bit. Until it all settles down."
Cole skidded to a stop, the car quiet except for the soft hum of the air conditioner and Sophie's soft breathing.
He faced her, his face set hard.
"Don't say that."
"I just." She swallowed hard. "I don't want to ruin anything for you. Or for Sophie."
"You're not ruining anything. You're the only one who's made any of this make sense."
The room was silent.
Cole reached out, placing his fingers against hers. "Don't leave us. Please."
Her breathing stopped.
"I don't think I could," she whispered. "Even if I wanted to."
----
That night, Alice rested in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
She hadn't meant to fall for him.
She hadn't meant to fall for either of them.
But the fact was, between the make-believe contingency bedtime stories, weekend family pancakes, and the zoo adventure, her heart had stopped playing make-believe.
She was in love.
Love? She shuddered at even the idea of it.
Hopelessly, foolishly, irretrievably in love with a man who never held out more than a fake.
And the scary thing?
She wasn't sure he would ever be ready for more.