The butterflies in her stomach are flapping a million miles a minute. She knows she shouldn’t be this nervous and excited, but something about Marek just sets her body on fire. Yes, the sex is mind-blowing, but it’s more than that. He gets her, and for the first time in her almost thirty years of life, she feels it—the insane connection you can’t describe, but when you have it, you know it’s meant to be. Never in a million years did she think she would be thinking about who her soul mate is, but it’s hard to deny what’s so obvious.

It might seem slightly stalkerish that she found Marek’s address with a quick internet search, but it’s not her fault that it’s really easy to cyberstalk people these days. The very first link that popped up was his address. The fact that he owns his own home means he has at least part of his life together, and that is a complete turn-on. Besides, he can’t be too mad at her when he sees the treats she brought him.

Since the sun finally decided to pop up today and warm everything up a bit, her cute sundress is perfect, and the cupcakes and soup are safely tucked away in her wicker picnic basket. She’s secretly hoping he’s not super sick and will let her stay to nurse him back to health. For half a second, she contemplated wearing Dakota’s nurse costume from last year’s Halloween, but there’s no way she would have easily left the house wearing it. Her roommate was already suspicious enough.

She pulls her car into the driveway and double-checks the address on her phone. Yep, definitely the place. It’s an adorable craftsman-style house with stone and natural wood detailing, but her absolute favorite part is the oversized porch complete with a porch swing. This is the kind of house she could imagine herself living in—with a family, of course. She instinctually places her hand on her belly and butterflies fill her stomach. Maybe she should start looking for a new job. There’s nothing really keeping her at the call center, and the pay isn’t really worth it. She could find something different, and then they wouldn’t have to hide their relationship anymore.

She eyes the porch swing again and can just imagine swinging all snuggled up with Marek on a hot summer night, sipping on lemonade. It sounds absolutely perfect. Completely set on telling Marek her plan to find a new place of employment soon, she knocks on the door. After a couple of minutes and still no answer, she’s about to knock again but the front door swings open.

A little girl with dark raven long hair and bright blue eyes stands in front of her, wearing kitty pajamas. She looks Tinley up and down and tilts her head to the side. “Who are you? You’re not my mommy.”

The girl is absolutely adorable, but if she’s the reason Marek is at home, why didn’t he just say that? It’s one thing for him to call in sick to work, but why did he tell her the same story instead of the truth?

“You’re right, sweetie, I’m not your mommy. Is your Uncle Marek home?” She doesn’t know if Marek has a younger sister or niece, but this little girl doesn’t look much older than four, maybe five. If she’s his younger sister, that’s a huge age gap, so niece is more likely.

The little girl throws her head back and starts laughing hysterically. Her giggles are loud and overly exaggerated, but Tinley can’t help but smile at happiness she’s exuding. The little girl plops herself onto the floor sitting with her legs crossed and stops laughing long enough to say, “I don’t have an Uncle Marek.”

Maybe this little girl is a neighbor or friend’s daughter? Although it seems strange that Marek would miss work to do a favor for somebody else.

Tinley crouches down so that she’s at the same level as the girl and asks, “Oh, is he—”

“My daddy’s name is Marek though, and my name is Luna. What’s your name?”