Chapter 263: His Name in My Dreams
Easter~
The morning sunlight spilled like liquid gold across the pavement as I walked Rose to her preschool, her little hand wrapped tightly around mine. The small brick building ahead looked the same as always, but something felt...off. Or maybe that something was me.
Just minutes ago, we’d been talking with Jacob—my new neighbor. The dreamy one with the lazy smile and eyes that looked like they knew secrets you wanted to hear. It was just small talk, really. But the second he said, "Bye, Daddy Jacob!" and I had to turn and walk away? It felt like someone had pressed pause on a really good scene before I was ready for it to end.
Ridiculous, I know. I barely knew the guy. He was just being polite. But there was this strange tug in my chest, like I’d walked away from something important. Something I wasn’t supposed to walk away from. I mean, who feels that much over a two-minute conversation?
Rose’s fingers squeezed mine tighter, and I glanced down. Maybe she sensed my weird energy—or maybe she just didn’t want to go inside yet. I didn’t blame her. I kind of didn’t want to let go either.
We reached her classroom and her little unicorn backpack bounced as she skipped in. She turned, her green eyes—so much like mine—sparkling. "Bye-bye, Mommy! Say hi to Daddy Jacob!"
I tensed.
Miss Clara, her teacher, arched a curious brow, but I gave her a small smile, then crouched down and kissed Rose’s forehead. "Remember what I told you, baby? Jacob’s just our neighbor, okay?"
Rose pouted. "But he’s not just the neighbor. He’s special."
I touched her cheek and whispered, "We’ll talk about this later." I didn’t want to ruin her morning with another debate about imaginary ’magic men’ and wolf daddies.
I left quickly after that.