Two Hearts

The First Normal Day

Daniel POV

After our conversation, Laura walked away.

Just like that.

One second she had been sitting across from me, forcing me to say things I hadn't admitted out loud in years. The next, she was gone. And I remained at the kitchen table, staring at nothing.

What the hell just happened? The thought raced through my head for what felt like the hundredth time.

Laura had backed me into a corner.

Normally I would have hated that. Normally I would have shut down. Walked away. Changed the subject. Found an excuse to disappear.

Instead...

I felt lighter. Not completely. Not enough. But lighter.

For the first time in years, I had told someone the truth. Not all of it. But enough.

Enough to matter.

I rubbed a hand over my face and let out a long breath. Something had definitely changed between us. I wasn't entirely sure what. But I knew one thing. I didn't want the conversation to end there.

So I got up and followed her.

I found her standing near the shoreline. The wind played with her blonde hair, tossing it around her shoulders as she stared out at the sea. She looked peaceful. Thoughtful. Beautiful.

The last realization annoyed me immediately.

I walked toward her slowly. For a moment I simply stood there beside her. Neither of us said anything.

Then finally—

"Laura."

She turned. The surprise in her eyes told me she hadn't expected me to follow. Honestly? Neither had I.

Before I could overthink it, I held out my hand.

"Want to go for a walk?"

For the first time in my life, asking such a simple question felt strangely terrifying. Because I actually cared what her answer would be.

Laura looked at my hand. Then at me. And smiled. Not her sarcastic smile. Not her annoyed smile. A real one.

"I'd like that." Then she slipped her hand into mine.

And for some reason, that felt more dangerous than any argument we'd ever had.

We walked along the beach in comfortable silence. The kind of silence that didn't need to be filled. The kind I wasn't used to.

Eventually I spoke.

"Tell me something about your childhood."

Laura glanced at me.

"That's random."

"I know."

She laughed softly.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Everything?"

"You talk enough. You'll manage."

She bumped my shoulder with hers.

"You're impossible."

"That's not an answer."

She rolled her eyes dramatically.

Then she started talking.

And once she started... She didn't stop.

Not that I minded.

For the next half hour, I learned more about Laura than I had in the previous weeks combined.

I learned that she spent every summer at her grandparents' farm. That she'd raced boys through fields and nettles. That she'd climbed trees despite repeatedly being told not to. That she'd broken her arm. Needed stitches after falling near an old shed. Snuck out to village dances.

Learned to ride a bicycle by crashing into a fence. More than once.

I laughed harder than I expected.

And the entire time she talked, her eyes sparkled. There was no bitterness. No regret. Just happiness.

And I found myself watching her more than listening.

Which was becoming a problem.

"And you?" she suddenly asked.

I froze. Of course she would eventually turn the conversation around.

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

She pointed at me.

"You don't get to interrogate me without sharing something."

I sighed.

"Fine."

Laura crossed her arms. Waiting. I hated that look. It always meant she wasn't going anywhere until she got an answer.

"When I was sixteen, I bought a motorcycle."

Her eyes widened.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"My father nearly killed me."

For a second she stared at me. Then burst out laughing. I couldn't help laughing too. Because honestly She wasn't wrong. My father's reaction had been exactly what you'd expect.

Suddenly Laura let go of my hand. I barely had time to process it before she pointed ahead.

"There!"

I looked up. The same little seaside tavern we'd visited before. Laura grinned.

"Race you."

"What?"

"Last one there buys coffee!"

Then she took off running. I stared after her. Completely caught off guard. Then I shook my head and ran after her.

A few moments later I reached the tavern first. Mainly because my legs were longer. Which Laura immediately complained about.

"You're cheating!"

I laughed.

"How exactly am I cheating?"

"You have unfair biological advantages."

"That's not how racing works."

"It should be."

I laughed again.

And realized I hadn't laughed this much in years.

We sat by the window overlooking the sea. Coffee in hand. Talking. Just talking - Movies. Music. Books. School. Friends. Life.

At one point Laura admitted she'd played Spin the Bottle as a teenager. I nearly choked on my coffee.

"You?"

She glared at me.

"What does that mean?"

"You seem too responsible."

"I was fun."

"I'll need evidence."

She threw a sugar packet at me.

The hours passed without either of us noticing. For once, nothing felt forced. Nothing felt complicated. It was just...

Easy.

And that scared me more than it should have. Because nothing with Laura had ever been easy before.

On the walk back, she collected seashells. Every few minutes she'd stop and examine another one.

"This one is pretty."

"You're keeping it?"

"No."

She smiled softly.

"Ellia would love it."

I nodded. Of course she was thinking about the children. When wasn't she?

"You miss them."

She looked down. And I immediately knew I'd guessed right.

"Yeah."

Her voice was quiet.

"We've never been apart for this long before." She took a breath. "I know Chris has every right to see them. I'd never take that away from him."

A pause.

"As a father, he wasn't bad."

I glanced at her.

"But?"

She smiled sadly.

"But we stopped being in love a long time ago."

Something inside me eased.

I hated that it did.

But it did.

The rest of the afternoon felt strangely normal. We cooked together. Or rather—

Laura cooked. I got in the way. Apparently cutting vegetables incorrectly is a serious crime. Who knew?

At one point she threw a cucumber at me. I escaped the kitchen laughing. She threatened to throw another one.

Honestly, I believed her.

That evening we sat by the fireplace. Wine glasses in hand. A Monopoly board spread between us.

"Oh no." Laura groaned. "This game takes forever."

I looked around the cabin. At the fire. At the rain tapping softly against the windows. At her.

"Do we really have anywhere else to be?"

For a moment she simply looked at me. Then smiled.

"No."

Maybe we didn't.

Hours later the game had completely fallen apart. Mostly because Laura kept inventing rules. Which she claimed were perfectly legitimate. They weren't. At all.

When I pointed that out, she accused me of bullying her. I accused her of fraud. It was surprisingly entertaining.

By the time midnight arrived, the Monopoly board had been abandoned. The wine bottle was nearly empty. And somehow we were still talking.

Then I noticed something. A tiny drop of wine near her mouth. I cleared my throat.

"You've got a little—"

"Where?" She immediately panicked.

I laughed softly. Then reached forward. My thumb brushed the corner of her lip. And wiped it away.

The moment froze. Neither of us moved. Neither of us breathed.

Suddenly she was close. Far too close. And all I could think about was the photoshoot. That kiss. The way she'd kissed me back. The way neither of us had pulled away.

My gaze dropped briefly to her lips. Then returned to her eyes.

And for one reckless second—

I almost kissed her again.

Laura cleared her throat.

"Ehm..." She looked away. "It's late."

Right. Late. Of course.

"The kids tomorrow."

"Yeah."

She stood.

I nodded.

Neither of us mentioned what had almost happened. Neither of us trusted ourselves enough to.

I watched her disappear upstairs. And only after she was gone did I finally admit the truth.

Somewhere along the way, Laura had become far more important than I ever wanted her to be. And that terrified me more than anything else.

Because important things could be lost.

And I had already lost enough.