And then a tiny tornado in reindeer pajamas came flying past him, screaming at a pitch only dogs should be able to hear, "Daddy, there's a princess at the door!" Lily's eyes were huge, her missing front tooth making her look even more adorable, and Sophia started laughing. "Not a princess, sweetheart. I'm Sophia." Lily's jaw literally dropped. You're Sophia Lauron from the magazine.
Daddy, she's famous. She grabbed Sophia's hand and dragged her inside before anyone could say another word. And the apartment was small but warm and decorated for Christmas with obvious care. The kind of home that had love baked into every corner.
Lily pulled out a shoe box overflowing with drawings. And Sophia sat on the floor in her designer jeans and went through each one genuinely impressed because this kid had talent. Real talent. The kind of eye for proportion and flow that couldn't be taught.
These are incredible, Lily. Have you ever tried draping fabric? Lily shook her head, confused, and Sophia grinned. Watch this.
She grabbed a bed sheet and showed Lily how to drape it over a chair to create different silhouettes. And within minutes, they were both on the floor giggling and creating makeshift fashion designs. Jake watched from the kitchen doorway with hot chocolate mugs in his hands and his heart doing things it hadn't done since Sarah died. Because Sophia was sitting on his floor in $100 jeans, teaching his daughter about fashion design, and looking more relaxed and happy than she'd looked in any of the put together photos he'd found when he Googled her last night.
"You're good with her," he said, handing Sophia a mug covered in whipped cream. Sophia looked up at him and smiled. "She makes it easy." They spent the afternoon like that, the three of them, and it felt weirdly natural, like they'd been doing this forever. And when Lily climbed into Sophia's lap to show her a particularly complicated dress sketch, Sophia felt something in her chest crack open that she'd kept locked up tight for 2 years.
"Are you Daddy's girlfriend?" Lily asked with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, and Sophia choked on her hot chocolate while Jake turned bright red. "Lily, we just met. You can't just ask people that." Lily looked between them with a six-year-old's brutal honesty. But you like her.
I can tell you smile different. Jake opened his mouth to deny it, but Sophia was laughing. And Lily kept going. And Daddy needs someone nice because he's been sad since mommy died, but he pretends he's not.
The room went quiet and Jake's expression shuttered. And Sophia realized they just crashed into territory way deeper than a second date usually went. I'm going to go check your car, Jake said, his voice tight and disappeared downstairs to the garage. Before Sophia could say anything, Lily looked worried.
"Did I make Daddy sad?" Sophia pulled her close. "No, baby, you didn't. Your daddy just misses your mommy a lot." Lily nodded like this made perfect sense. Aunt Emma says that's why he needs someone new to love so he can be happy again.
and Sophia's heart just absolutely shattered because this little girl understood way too much. Lily played with Sophia's bracelet, then said casually, "Daddy's worried about the garage." Sophia's attention sharpened. "Why is that, sweetheart?" Lily shrugged. "Some fancy people want to buy our building. Daddy said we might have to move." Sophia felt ice slide down her spine.
"What building?" Lily pointed down. "This one. Morrison's garage. It's on Market Street." the little mall place with the pizza shop and the dry cleaners.
Sophia's vision tunnneled because she knew that property, knew it intimately, had the acquisition paper sitting on her desk with the address circled in red, and the building they wanted to demolish to put up her flagship store was the garage directly below her feet. The garage Jake owned, the business he'd built, the dream he'd promised his dying wife he'd keep alive, and she was the one about to destroy it. Her phone buzzed with a text from Marcus, her business partner. Board meeting moved to January 10.
Need final decision on Market Street property ASAP. Sophia stared at the message and felt sick because the universe had just handed her an impossible choice. Save her company and destroy the man she was falling for, or save Jake and watch everything she'd built for 10 years crumble into nothing. And there was no world where she got to have both.
Sophia made some excuse about a work emergency that sounded fake even to her own ears and practically ran out of Jake's apartment like the building was on fire and Lily's confused little face asking, "But we were having so much fun," was going to haunt her nightmares for weeks. She sat in her car with her hands shaking on the steering wheel, pulled out her phone, and texted Marcus three words that felt like signing a death warrant. ""We can't buy it."" Marcus called her immediately, his voice coming through the speakers so loud she had to turn down the volume. What do you mean we can't buy it?
That property is our only option. The investors love the location. The timeline works. Sophia, what the hell is going on?
She pressed her forehead against the steering wheel. The owner is someone I know. We can't do this to him. The silence on the other end was so heavy she could feel it crushing her chest.
You're tanking our company for a guy you've known for what, 48 hours? He's a single father, Marcus. That garage is his whole livelihood. His late wife's dream.
I can't just bulldoze it. Marcus's voice went cold in that way it did. When he was about to say something she didn't want to hear. And what about the 200 people who work for us?
What about their livelihoods? You going to look them in the eye and tell them they're unemployed because you caught feelings for some mechanic? Sophia didn't have an answer for that because he was right and she hated it. Hung up the phone and drove home through snow that was coming down so hard she could barely see the road.
3 days went by and Jake's texts kept coming, getting more worried each time. Hey, haven't heard from you. Everything okay? Then Lily keeps asking when you're coming back.
No pressure. just wanted you to know you're welcome here. Then finally, if I did something wrong, I'm sorry. Would really like to see you again.
Each message felt like a knife twisting because she wanted to answer so badly it physically hurt. But what was she supposed to say? Sorry I ghosted you. My company wants to destroy your business, and I'm choosing my career over you.
On day four, Emma showed up at Sophia's office unannounced, and the receptionist looked terrified trying to stop her, but Emma just walked right past like she owned the place. I'm Jake's sister, and we need to talk. Sophia stood up from her desk, professional mask sliding into place. I'm really busy right now.