Two Hearts

It Was Nothing, Wasn't It?

Laura POV

I honestly don't remember how I got into the car. Everything after the kiss felt blurry.

Like my body had simply gone through the motions while my mind remained trapped somewhere else entirely. Somewhere between the photographer's last instruction and the moment Daniel's lips touched mine.

I sat in the passenger seat staring out the window as the city lights blurred past. Every few seconds I caught myself touching my lips. Then immediately stopped. Because that was ridiculous.

Absolutely ridiculous.

It had been one kiss.

One stupid photograph.

Nothing more.

Then why couldn't I stop thinking about it?

Every now and then I glanced at Daniel. He sat behind the wheel exactly as he always did. Calm. Controlled. Focused on the road.

Not a trace of emotion crossed his face. Not a hint that anything unusual had happened. And that left me with only one question.

Was I the only one losing my mind?

I wasn't exactly a woman who kissed random men. For more than ten years, the only man I had ever kissed was my husband. And before Chris? A few awkward teenage boys during games of Truth or Dare and Bottle behind school buildings.

Those barely counted.

Most of them had been clumsy, nervous pecks followed by embarrassed laughter.

This had been different. Completely different.

Daniel's kiss had been gentle. Patient. Unhurried. As if for one brief second neither of us had been acting anymore. And somehow that scared me more than anything.

I could still remember exactly how it felt.

The warmth.

The closeness.

The way everything around us had disappeared.

For a moment it felt as if I were still standing there in that studio. Still trapped inside that kiss. And a small, selfish part of me didn't want to leave.

Didn't want reality to come crashing back. Didn't want to forget.

The realization hit me so suddenly that I nearly laughed. What was wrong with me?

The man drove me insane.

We argued constantly. Half the time I wanted to throw something at his head. And yet here I was replaying one stupid kiss over and over again.

When we finally reached home, neither of us said much. Just a quiet goodnight.

Then we disappeared into separate bedrooms.

As if none of it had happened.

The next morning arrived far too quickly.

I felt like I'd only just closed my eyes when my alarm started screaming beside my bed. The only thing keeping me sane was the fact that it was Friday.

The weekend was finally here.

After everything that had happened this week, I desperately needed a chance to breathe.

Today I was also meeting Chris. The first time since the divorce. Nearly a month had passed.

The thought filled me with conflicting emotions. Part of me wanted to see him. To know how he was doing. To make sure he was okay. But another part of me was terrified - What if we argued? What if he blamed me? What if seeing him reopened wounds that were only just beginning to heal?

The truth was painfully simple.

Our marriage had ended long before the divorce papers arrived. We had stopped being partners. Stopped choosing each other. Stopped trying.

Somewhere along the way, love had quietly transformed into routine. Into habit. Into two people sharing a life without truly sharing themselves anymore.

It was sad.

But pretending otherwise wouldn't change reality. Sometimes the truth hurts precisely because it's true.

The day disappeared surprisingly fast.

One moment I was making breakfast. The next I was standing in the middle of a battlefield while the children argued about what they wanted to bring for the weekend.

Normally I ignored these arguments. Most of them were about absolutely nothing. But today we were running late.

Chris and I had agreed to meet in the city center in an hour. Every few minutes a wave of panic hit me.

This would be my first weekend away from the children. For years I'd rarely left them with Chris for more than a few hours. The idea felt strange. Uncomfortable.

Yet deep down, I wasn't entirely sure that was what scared me. Because every time I imagined the weekend ahead, another thought appeared.

Daniel.

For the first time we'd be alone. No children. No distractions. No buffer between us. And somehow that terrified me even more.

Especially after the kiss.

Since the photoshoot we had barely spoken. A simple good morning. A quiet goodnight.

Nothing else.

Before that, we'd at least made progress. Small conversations. Questions about our days. Tiny steps forward.

Now it felt as though we'd been thrown backward.

Not completely.

Daniel wasn't running away anymore. He was present. Physically. But somehow he also felt farther away than before.

Part of me wanted to talk about it. To ask him what he was thinking. What that kiss had meant. If it had meant anything at all.

But I already knew how that conversation would end - With an argument.

It always did.

Somehow Daniel managed to pull every possible reaction out of me. And I still had no idea how. I've always been a calm person. Patient. Reasonable.

But with Daniel?

Everything was different. Normal simply didn't exist when it came to him. As we were preparing to leave, Daniel suddenly spoke.

"I can drive you."

I blinked.

For a second I genuinely thought I'd imagined it. It was the longest sentence I'd heard from him since yesterday.

"That would be nice." The words left my mouth automatically. And almost immediately I regretted them.

For reasons I couldn't explain.

Daniel POV

Laura barely spoke during the drive home from the studio.

A quiet goodnight. Then she disappeared upstairs.

Was she avoiding me?

Did she regret it?

Stop it, Daniel. I mentally cursed myself.

None of this should matter. I shouldn't even be thinking about it.

For a moment I thought I knew exactly what I needed to do - Leave. Drive somewhere. Anywhere.

Just for a few hours. Get out of the house. Get my head straight.

I even made it to the car.

But once I sat behind the wheel, I couldn't start the engine. Everything that usually felt right suddenly felt wrong. Every decision felt rushed. Every thought felt tangled.

Swearing under my breath, I went back inside.

If I couldn't force myself to leave, maybe I could at least relax.

I poured myself a whiskey. Then another. Then another. And sat alone in the living room trying to forget. It didn't work.

Friday arrived far too quickly.

I barely slept. Not even the whiskey helped.

Work wasn't much better. I spent most of the day physically present and mentally absent. For the first time in years I found myself rereading emails. Forgetting details. Asking people to repeat things. Nothing felt normal.

Eventually I gave up and took the afternoon off. I didn't know what to do with myself.

Which was ridiculous.

I was a grown man.

A CEO.

Yet somehow one kiss had completely derailed my week. And to make matters worse, Laura would be spending the weekend alone with me.

The children were leaving with Chris. Her ex-husband. Their father.

The more I thought about him, the less I understood - How had he managed to lose her?

Because Laura was exactly the kind of woman most men spent their lives looking for.

She cared about everyone. Everything. Usually at the expense of herself. Honestly, what she needed wasn't someone to take from her. She needed someone who would help carry the weight. Someone who would remind her to take care of herself too.

And why exactly was I thinking about what kind of man Laura needed?

I rubbed a hand across my face.

This was getting ridiculous.

When I saw Laura and the children getting ready to leave, the offer left my mouth before I could stop it.

"I can drive you."

She agreed. Though she looked almost as uncertain as I felt.

The drive passed quickly.

The children spent most of it enthusiastically discussing weekend plans and trying to convince their father to take them everywhere imaginable.

I couldn't help smirking - Good luck, Chris.

Those two never accepted no as an answer. I'd learned that lesson myself. The shell collecting. The treasure hunts. The endless negotiations. The cabin.

The memory hit me unexpectedly.

And for the first time in years, even thinking about that place felt complicated.

I parked near the city park.

Laura asked me to wait. I nodded. That was all.

I watched them walk away.

A few minutes later a man approached them. Chris.

I studied him automatically - Tall. Maybe slightly shorter than me. Average build. Blond hair. Nothing remarkable. Completely ordinary.

And what exactly had Laura seen in him? The thought appeared before I could stop it.

I looked away briefly to check my phone.

Then I looked back.

And froze.

Chris had placed a hand on Laura's shoulder. Casually. Comfortably. Like he'd done it a thousand times before.

And Laura...

She didn't flinch. Didn't tense. Didn't immediately prepare for battle.

She looked relaxed. Comfortable.

Different.

That shouldn't have bothered me. It definitely shouldn't have bothered me.

Yet somehow it did.

Then it got worse. Chris pulled her into a hug.

Why is he hugging her?

They're divorced.

Idiot.

Of course he's hugging her.

They share two children.

I internally cursed myself.

None of this was my business. None of it had anything to do with me.

Yet I couldn't stop watching.

Eventually Laura turned and walked back toward the car.

The second she got close, I immediately looked down at my phone. Pretending I hadn't been staring.

When she climbed into the passenger seat, I noticed the sadness in her eyes.

Why?

Did she miss him?

She probably missed him.

The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Ready?" I asked.

Laura fastened her seatbelt.

"Let's go."

And during the entire drive home, neither of us said a single word.

For the first time since I'd met her...

I had absolutely no idea what she was thinking.