A Morning Of Accidental Touches - Episode 3
633 Words
Snowflakes drifted lazily past the cabin windows the next morning, turning everything silver-white. The air smelled like cinnamon, pine, and something buttery drifting from the kitchen.
Luna slowly woke up, wrapped in a soft blanket, the faint hum of holiday music coming from downstairs. For the first time in hours, she didn’t feel like crying.
She followed the warm scent all the way to the kitchen — and froze.
Dominic stood at the stove.
Gray sweatpants.
A black long-sleeve shirt clinging to the muscles on his back.
Steam rising around him as he flipped pancakes like a man who knew exactly what he was doing.
He didn’t notice her yet.
But she noticed him.
Every little detail.
He finally turned, and their eyes met.
“Good morning, Luna,” he said, voice warm and low. “I hope you slept well.”
She nodded, pushing her hair back nervously. “I… tried.”
He gestured to the kitchen island. “Sit. Breakfast is almost ready.”
Luna sat, hugging her hands together. Watching him move around the kitchen was strangely soothing — he was calm, controlled, and quietly powerful. A complete opposite of Ethan’s chaotic energy.
Dominic placed a plate in front of her: pancakes topped with strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar.
“You didn’t have to do this,” she whispered.
He looked directly at her.
“That’s exactly why I did.”
Her stomach fluttered.
Before she could speak, Aria bounced downstairs.
“Daddy! Luna! Breakfast!”
She grabbed a plate and sat between them, completely oblivious to the tension filling the air.
As they ate, Luna felt Dominic’s gaze on her more than once — quick glances, checking if she was okay, watching her reactions, as if her emotions mattered to him.
When she reached for the syrup at the same time he did, their hands brushed.
A soft spark.
Dominic pulled his hand back slowly — but his breath shifted, tighter, enough for her to notice.
Aria, thankfully, was too busy drowning her pancakes in syrup to see anything.
After breakfast, Aria dragged Luna outside to show her the frozen lake behind the cabin.
But Aria got distracted by something on her phone and ran inside, leaving Luna alone for a moment.
The snow crunched softly under her boots. Luna stepped forward, staring at the beautiful frost-covered trees… then stepped a little too close to an icy patch she didn’t see.
Her foot slipped.
“Ah—!”
Before she could hit the ground, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, steadying her.
Dominic.
He must’ve followed her outside.
His grip was firm, warm even through her jacket. Luna found herself pressed against his chest, breathless, eyes wide.
For a moment, the world stopped.
Snow falling.
Heart racing.
His hand on her waist, holding her upright.
“Careful,” he murmured, his voice deeper, rougher, too close to her ear.
“The ice is thin here.”
Luna tried to step back, but he didn’t let go immediately — his hand lingered one second too long.
One second that felt like a confession.
She finally looked up at him, their faces inches apart.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
His jaw tightened. His eyes dropped to her lips for half a heartbeat — the briefest, forbidden moment — before he forced himself to step back.
“You should stay closer to the cabin,” he said, controlling his voice. “It’s safer.”
But the way he looked at her said something else entirely:
I can’t stop wanting to protect you.
And that scares me.
Luna exhaled shakily as he walked back toward the porch — but she knew one thing for certain:
Her heart wasn’t slipping because of ice.
It was slipping because of him.
- Writer
