Lena's Pov
I told myself I wasn't going to do it. I won't give in to the urge to confront him.
I'd ignore the gift card, pretend it hadn't happened, and continue with my life.
But by the next afternoon, the envelope was still sitting on my kitchen counter like a challenge and mocking me.
Every time I passed it, I'd catch myself wondering how long he'd stood outside the shop. Whether he'd thought about knocking. Whether he'd hoped I'd open the door.
So when I saw him through the bookstore window — leaning against the streetlamp across the road, head tipped slightly toward the drizzle — I didn't give myself time to overthink about what I was about to do.
I grabbed my coat, crossed the street, and stopped in front of him.
"We need to talk," I said without preamble.
A small smile tugged at his mouth. "Hello to you too."
"This isn't a game, Dominic. You can't just… show up with gifts and expect—"
Before I could finish, a small voice behind me squealed, "Uncle Dom!"
*****
I turned just as Eliana barreled past me, launching herself into his arms. He crouched down without hesitation, catching her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Hey, cub," he said warmly, the deep timbre of his voice softening. "Did the lion get her roar back?"
She giggled, pulling out the tiny sketchbook she carried everywhere lately. "I made you something!"
Dominic's brows lifted in mock surprise. "For me?"
"Uh-huh! Look!" She flipped to a page and held it out proudly. A quick, messy drawing of a tall man standing in the rain, with a little girl holding an umbrella over him.
He blinked, the smile on his face shifting into something quieter. "This is… the best thing I've seen all week."
"It's you!" she explained brightly. "And me. You don't have an umbrella, but I do, so I share."
Dominic's voice was low when he replied, but I heard every word. "Looks like you've been protecting me from the very beginning, huh?"
She giggled again. "You can keep it. I made another copy for my room."
I cleared my throat, needing to break the moment before it softened me too much. "Eliana, why don't you go inside and get started on your homework? I'll be there in a minute."
She looked between us, clearly sensing the shift in tone, but nodded. "Bye, Uncle Dom!"
"Bye, cub," he said, his voice gentler than I remembered it ever being.
******
The moment she was gone, I turned back to him.
"You can't do this," I said.
"Do what?"
"Slide into her life like you were never gone. Make her… care about you."
"I'm not making her do anything." His gaze was steady. "She just does."
"That's exactly what scares me," I admitted before I could stop myself.
His brows drew together. "Why? Because it's me?"
"Yes," I said flatly.
We stood there for a long beat, rain pattering around us.
"Lena…" His tone softened in that infuriating way it used to. "I'm not here to take anything from her. Or from you. I just want to know her. To… make up for what I missed. All the time we've spent apart."
"That's not how it works," I said, my voice low but firm. "You don't get to disappear, then reappear and act like nothing happened. People aren't… books you can put back on the shelf and pick up later."
His lips curved — not quite a smile, but something close. "And yet, here we are. In front of your bookstore. Talking."
"That's because I'm trying to set boundaries."
"Then let's set them," he said simply. "Together."
The simplicity of his answer threw me. No argument. No clever remark. Just a quiet agreement.
I finally exhaled, stepping back toward the shop. "Don't show up unannounced again."
He nodded. "You have my word."
I almost believed him.
******
Inside, the bell over the door chimed in the quiet shop.
Eliana was already at the counter, sketchbook open, humming to herself as she drew.
I told myself I'd made my point. That I'd drawn my lines.
But when I glanced out the window and saw him still standing there, hands in his pockets, looking through the glass at the little girl bent over her drawing…
I wasn't sure whose boundaries I'd just agreed to.