I looked at myself from head to toe, in the long wall mirror in the hallway, studying my appearance. Blonde hair tied into a loose bun, with strands falling down the sides of my face. Beige cardigan that hung by my sides and topped off my white sweater. Ripped, washed out blue jeans. White sneakers.

Feeling content about my looks, I walked off to the kitchen area with a smile on my face, to find my daughter on her tiptoes, measuring the rice.

The amazing smell filled my nostrils as, step after step, I got closer to the stove. I think it's fantastic how the template of every dish alone can smell this amazingly good.

"Is the rice ready, love?" I asked as I approached her. She nodded and hummed in agreement and I gave her my approval to drop the rice on the pan, which was filled with nothing but olive oil, chopped onions and garlic.

With a wooden spoon, I stirred the rice, gently and slowly. After placing the lid on top of the pan, I made my way towards the table - located in the centre of the kitchen -, and took a seat on one of the chairs, while Lexi followed me.

"Mummy, can you braid my hair?"

"Sure." I smiled and tapped on my lap with my hands. "Hop on."

She did as told with a bright smile on her face, and, with a bright smile on mine, I ran my fingers through her blonde hair before dividing it into three large chunks, preparing for the braiding.

We did this a lot, me and Lexi. We'd often spend our time cooking and, just like everything in life, cooking takes time. And we must have patience for the ingredients we drop onto the pans to become food. So, Lexi and I usually spend the rest of our time at the kitchen table doing all sorts of things while we wait for the food to become a meal. She draws, I write down recipes I create, she does her homework and I help her with it.

At the sound of the bell ringing, I turned off the little radio I kept in the kitchen, shutting off the jazz music that was currently playing in the background.

Knowing exactly who it was that we were expecting, Lexi beat me to it, and ran off to the front door, looking at me for permission to open it. I gave her a nod and she opened the front door, a huge grin on her face.

"Uncle Luc!" She said, jumping up and down in excitement.

"How's my little princess doing?" Lucas asked her, before bending down to hug her and kiss her cheek.

I walked to the front door and gestured for Lexi to scooth to the side so they could walk inside the house, with all their kids and their belongings.

My brother Lucas and his wife Nicole, with their two kids, were coming over for dinner tonight. It was my first Saturday night off in a while, and I decided to invite them over to catch up and spend some time with my nephew and niece.

Nicole came into Lucas' life almost four years ago. Their love was practically written in the stars, and after a year of dating, she got pregnant with my nephew - Leo. They got married right before having him and, a couple of years later she got pregnant with my niece - Violet -, who was now just turning six months old.

Nicole and Lucas make a really cute couple and they make really cute kids. They are pretty much the closest thing to a perfect couple.

I liked Nicole right when I met her for the first time, and time only allowed for me to know and like her more, and for us to grow closer. She is pretty much like the sister I never had.

"Ah, she's perfect." I said, almost in a whisper as I looked down at Violet, who was laying on the stroller.

"She is." Nicole agreed with a beaming smile. "Each day that goes by, I am more and more in love with her."

Leo, craving attention as usual, walked to where we were, and stood between me and the stroller.

"You're very handsome too, young man." I said before ruffling his hair with my hands.

He smiled and happy to get what he came for, he ran off to the couch, taking a hold of the TV remote right away, looking for some cartoons to watch.

"It smells so good, Mel." My brother said while he removed his jacket and helped his wife remove hers as well.

"I'm making my mushroom risotto." I announced.

"Oh, I love your risotto!" Nicole enthusiastically said, taking her hands to her face in a praying gesture. "I really needed this type of comfort food. Having two kids isn't easy."

"I bet." Was all I said before making my way to the kitchen to check on the boiling rice, but ended up finding my daughter on her tiptoes, mixing the contents of the pan.

"How is it, sweetheart?"

"I think it needs to cook a bit more." She said in her small, yet adorable voice and I found myself smiling.

She put the spoon down by the stove, and ran off to the couch to join her cousin on watching what sounded to me like Mickey Mouse cartoons.

"She's the spitting image of you. In every single aspect." Nicole said while she picked up Violet and sat her down on the high chair that I had prepared at the end of the table for her.

"I know." I replied while I distributed the wine glasses on the table. "She's my little mini me."

"Did you pump?" I asked my sister in law, who took a seat on the chair next to her daughter. With Violet still being six months, Nicole was still breastfeeding, but I knew how she loved a good wine glass.

"Yes!" She gave me a smirk before pointing at the bottle I held in my hand. "I need that vino tonight."

She asked me if I needed help with anything and I politely denied, happy to prepare and organise this dinner for them.

Not too long after, it was time to add the mushrooms and the butter, and in between catching up with Nicole and propping some kisses on Violet's chubby cheeks, dinner was done and everyone gathered around the table to eat.

"This is spectacular." Nicole said, taking bite after bite of the risotto.

My brother let out a satisfied sound. "This is exactly what I didn't even know I was craving for."

I thanked them and after a sip of the wine, I turned to Lexi. "What do you think, honey?"

"It's really good. Probably the best one you've made."

Everyone laughed at her response. At eight years old, speaking like an adult.

"She is right." Nicole added. "How do you not have your own restaurant?"

"Do you know a place that's for sale for 0 pounds? And can you hire me staff, equipment, all of that?"

"You're right. But it's such a shame that you're hiding your talent and not sharing it with the world. And making a profit out of it."

"You're telling me!" I rolled my eyes as I thought about it. About my dreams and ventures that were too far gone now.

"I think mummy should open a restaurant." Lexi said, repeating her aunt's words. An opinion that she herself had told me about plenty of times before.

I smiled and ran my fingers through her cheeks in a loving gesture. "One day. Or maybe, one day you'll have your own restaurant."

"Would you like that, Lexi?" Lucas asked.

"Yes." Lexi responded instantly, without giving it much thought. "I'll have my restaurant."

The determination in her voice was so inspiring, it was beautiful to just hear her speak. It might sound silly but I miss being her age, and dreaming without any limits thrown my way. Young innocence is priceless.

"So, what's new with you?" I asked the couple sitting in front of me before I took another bite of the dinner I had cooked.

"We're actually working on something very exciting." Nicole started and looked at Lucas, as if asking for permission to tell me the details. He smiled and she continued. "We had this idea about a children's book. I would be writing and Lucas would be the illustrator. We got a blurb and some designs ready, and we got a meeting with an editor next week."

"Wow." I said, smiling from ear to ear at the news they'd just given me. "I'm really happy for you two."

"Thanks." Lucas said, smiling as well. "What about you, sweetie? Are you happy about the news?"

Lexi nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!"

However, her enthusiasm soon vanished. "Actually, I've been really sad about something."

"Oh no, what happened sweetheart?" Nicole asked, running her fingers down Lexi's back in a comforting motion and looking at me simultaneously, concerned written all over her face.

"L'Amour closed." I explained.

"No!" Nicole said in disbelief while my brother mimicked the same expression of disappointment.

"Yes." I confirmed, with a sad expression on my face, while I swung the wine glass that hung in between my fingers from side to side. "I am gutted."

"Yes, me too." Lexi said, swinging her glass filled with orange juice to mimic my actions. I giggled at her antics and instinctively ran my fingers down her braided hair.

Nicole and Lucas shared an amused expression as they looked at their niece as well, before looking at me.

"Do you know what happened?"

"I don't." I felt the sleeve of my cardigan slide off my right shoulder as I shrugged, but I didn't bother to fix it. "But it must have been something sudden. Just the other week they were open."

"Yeah, that is weird." My brother said as he took a sip of his wine, before shrugging. "Must have been some sort of emergency."

I thought back to my unusual conversation with the customer we had at the restaurant. How weird it was that he knew about the bakery and was so interested in knowing more.

I thought about telling Lucas and Nicole about it, in great detail, but I wanted to avoid making this dinner boring. So, I just went ahead and dropped the information, like it was no big deal.

"We had a customer at the restaurant the other day that overheard me and Olivia talking about it. He knew the bakery as well."

My brother and his wife showed me some looks of interest at my words, but didn't pursue the issue any more.

By the time dessert was served, my daughter and my nephew took their servings to the couch to eat while watching a movie. With the kids now gone, the subject changed, courtesy of my brother.

"So, Mel, how are the dates going?"

I rolled my eyes while I let out a dry, sarcastic chuckle. "They're not. I'm done with it."

Despite knowing I am a damn good single mother, I've always had high hopes of meeting someone great. Someone who loved me unconditionally and, most importantly, someone who loved Lexi just as much as if she was their own daughter.

I loved being Lexi's mom and the two of us had an amazing bond. It's not like she's a troublemaker and I could use a partner and a hand in raising her. I've just always thought it was more than fair for Lexi to have a father figure. After all, I am the reason she doesn't have one, despite not regretting the decisions I've made in the past.

Did I second guess my past choices? All the time. But I don't think regretting them has ever crossed my mind.

"Done?"

"Yeah, it just seems impossible to find a good person. I can pick out at least two or three flaws on the first date."

"Mel, you're never gonna find perfect." Nicole started, reaching her hand out to me across the table. "People are flawed."

I nodded. "I know, I know... But it's not just flaws, it's..." I searched my brain for the right words. "Red flags. I don't want to go back to what I had."

Nicole nodded, understandingly. She knew everything my brother knew about my past. Which wasn't everything because not even my brother - who's also my best friend - knows the whole story.

"I don't think you should give up just yet. You're young, beautiful, with a lovely personality."

"I'm not saying I'm giving up on love, I'm just giving up searching for it." I corrected my sister in law. "Whatever happens, happens."

 * * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Chapter 3 is out and Melanie's past is slowly starting to show itself... but boy, oh boy, there is still SO MUCH to tell! 🤐 If you wanna know more, you just gotta stay tuned for the next chapters!

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Xoxo, Mars