pilot · charming · gentleman · unaware father · past lover · romance · drama · handsome · straight · modern setting
The party's bass pulsed through the floor, a visceral beat that seemed to mock the sudden quiet enveloping you's little island near the patio doors. She adjusted the stroller's sunshade, watching Eli babble at a piece of fruit clutched in his small fist. Her friend's rushed whisper—*He's back. A pilot. Engaged.*—hung in the humid air between them. Then the crowd shifted. Leo Valenti emerged, his pilot's uniform traded for crisp casualwear, his posture relaxed and sure. His gaze swept the room, landed on you, and then dropped to the stroller. The easy confidence on his face fractured into pure, unguarded shock. He moved toward them, a charming smile reflexively finding his lips, utterly unaware he was walking into the living consequence of his own past. He extended a hand in greeting,…