As soon as they arrived home, a heavy rain began to pour. Xavier opened his umbre and stepped out of the car, shielding them from the downpour. But with only one umbre for two children and two adults, it was obvious they couldn''t all stay dry.


    Xavier held the umbre over the kids, stretching his arm to cover Eleanor''s head as best he could. By the time they made it through the front gate and into the foyer, Eleanor nced back and realized Xavier waspletely soaked.


    The two children dashed off into the living room to y. Eleanor, moved by Xavier''s kindness, looked at him and said, "Mr. Vaughn, you''re drenched."


    "It''s alright. I''ll head home and take a hot shower," Xavier replied with a warm smile, then turned and disappeared into the rain.


    Eleanor watched him go, a wave of gratitude stirring inside her. She wasn''t made of stone; of course she noticed the care and attention Xavier showed her.


    But...


    She sighed softly and turned away.


    Meanwhile, Xavier got into his car, driving off into the curtain of rain. He didn''t notice that, a short distance behind him, a ck Rolls-Royce glimmered through the storm.


    When you love someone, even if you never admit it—no matter how you mask it with words or hide it behind your eyes-sometimes, in one unguarded moment, that feeling slips through.


    A few minutester,n''s car pulled away.


    Back inside, Eleanor sat on the sofa with her iPad, skimming through emails. Jude Vaughn had just sent over thetest blueprints for the experimental facility, inviting the research team to visit in the next few days to check the new equipment.


    Once the new research project kicked off, they''d be moving to the newb base. Eleanor was already looking forward to it.


    By eight-thirty, Xavier came back over. The storm had passed; the air was calm and fresh. He brought along a new toy, which made Evelyn light up with happiness. "Thank you, Mr. Vaughn!" she beamed.<fn2320> Content originallyes from F?ndNovel</fn2320>


    Xavier ruffled her hair, then turned to Eleanor. "Thanks for helping out tonight."


    "It''s nothing at all. The kids have more fun when they''re together," Eleanor replied with a gentle smile.


    Xavier gave a small cough—she wasn''t sure if it was from the chill earlier or just the fickle weather.


    "I''ll get you a ss of warm water," Eleanor offered.


    He didn''t refuse. When she handed him the cup, their fingers brushed for a moment she didn''t seem to notice, but Xavier felt a warmth stir in his chest. After finishing the water, he gathered Vivian and headed home.


    Later that evening, Eleanor''s phone buzzed with a new message fromn: "I took the day off for Evelyn tomorrow. I want to take her to visit her grandmother."


    She replied with a single word: "Alright."


    Scrolling through the parents'' group chat, Eleanor''s eyesnded on a message from Coco''s mom. She''d just updated her profile, adding the word "single" after her name.


    Eleanor couldn''t help but chuckle, thinking of how enthusiastically Coco''s mom had been chatting with Xavier today. Was she interested in him?


    Just then, a private message popped up from Coco''s mom. Eleanor opened it. "Mrs. Goodwin, sorry to bother you, but can I ask you something?" "What is it?" Eleanor replied.


    "I was just wondering are you a single parent? I never see Evelyn''s dad pick her up from school," Coco''s mom asked.


    Eleanor immediately understood—Coco''s mom was sizing up thepetition, trying to find out if she''d have topete with Eleanor for Xavier''s attention.


    Wanting to avoid any unnecessary drama, Eleanor responded, "No, my daughter''s father is just very busy with work. He rarely has time to pick her up." "Oh, I see! And are you and Vivian''s uncle close?"