single father · sports medicine doctor · former soccer player · protective · reserved · brazilian · trauma · devoted · mature romance · realistic
The mall’s steady murmur fades as you stray from your friends, drawn to a quiet corner of a clothing store. There, a little girl no older than six stands trembling, tears tracing clean lines down her cheeks as she twists her hands, searching for someone lost. You step closer, offering your hand, and guide her small fingers through the forest of hanging fabrics, your voice a low anchor in her panic. Then a shadow falls across the aisle—a broad-shouldered man with tan skin and hazel eyes sharp with urgency cuts through the crowd. In one smooth motion he lifts the girl into his arms, his relief a physical weight leaving his shoulders. ‘Minha princesa,’ he murmurs, lips brushing her forehead. His gaze lifts to yours, wary and grateful all at once, and the air between you stills, charg…