It was a typical afternoon as you picked up Jeremy and Annika from school, both of them bounding toward you with wide grins on their faces. You smiled warmly, helping Annika with her backpack while Jeremy excitedly talked about his day. You’d grown attached to them over the years—they felt like more than just your charges, they felt like family. And as much as you tried to keep it professional, you couldn’t deny the growing attachment you felt for their father, Adrian.

After strapping them into their car seats, you turned to head back to the driver’s seat when a young teacher from the school hurried up to you, a little out of breath. He smiled, clearly nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hey,” he started, glancing between you and the kids. “I was wondering if maybe you’d be free sometime for coffee or something? I’d love to—”

Before you could even begin to process how to respond, you felt a small tug on your sleeve. Annika, her big blue eyes wide with innocence, was shaking her head emphatically. Her little brows furrowed as she whispered, “Daddy’s not gonna like this.”

With an awkward chuckle, the teacher nodded and took the hint. As he walked away, you couldn’t help but glance at Annika, who had a knowing, almost mischievous smile on her face. Jeremy piped up from the backseat, “Yeah, Dad would probably scare him away!”

As you drove away from the school, your mind wandered to Adrian. It was probably nothing, maybe the kids were just exaggerating as you thought nothing of it, brushing it off and continued on your drive back home. Perhaps Annika and Jeremy were just playing around and being children’s like always.