RACHEL didn’t sleep well that night, still feeling the soft touch of his lips and seeing that deep attraction in his eyes. For him, age didn’t seem to matter.
“What do I do?” she voiced helplessly, torn between her deep feelings for him and the age factor.
“How do I tell my children that I think I am falling in love with someone fourteen years younger? What would they say?”
That uncertainty weighed heavily on her mind, compounded by the fear that he could one day betray her—just like her ex-husband had.

“I won’t be able to go through another heartache,” she whispered.
She had thought she had found the love of her life when she met her husband and had given her heart and soul to the years they spent together—until that shocking revelation. It hadn’t been easy dealing with that kind of pain, and the healing process took a long time as she picked up the shattered pieces of her life. In her own quiet way, she had battled the emptiness and loneliness, never once considering meeting someone else.

Then, that day when she grabbed hold of a total stranger on the road, something unexpected happened.
“What is my heart telling me?” she wondered.
She buried her face in the pillow, unwilling to answer that question or acknowledge her feelings.

Yet, when she awoke late the next morning, the first thing on her mind was him—Chris. He had messaged her early while she was asleep, and she smiled after reading the text.
“Always with some kind of humour.”
They spoke for a while as she had breakfast, and he somehow managed to take some of the worry off her mind.
“All you have to do is remember the dog.”

She laughed a little, for it was indeed an unforgettable and funny moment.
“And that little laughter just made my day,” he said. “Talk to you later.”
She took a long, refreshing bath and relaxed a little before the children came home. As usual, they were happy to be back.
“Wonderful weekend?” she asked.

“Yes!” they answered in unison.
“We won’t be going next week, though,” Aiden informed her.
“Why?”
“Dad will call you later, but I guess we can tell you now. He’s taking Meredith to Paris for her birthday.”
“Oh, nice,” Rachel exclaimed softly.

The two children looked at her, their expressions a little sad.
“That should have been you, Mum.”
She sighed and embraced them. “We’re past that, okay? And I’m doing fine.”
That evening, as they sat down to dinner, Aiden said, “There’s something Sarah and I would like to say to you.”
“What is it?”

The children exchanged glances, hesitating a little.
“Well?” she urged them.
“We think you need to have a boyfriend,” Aiden stated.
Rachel froze and looked at her children, taken aback with surprise.
“What?”

“You’re not having any fun in your life,” Aiden pointed out.
“And you don’t smile and laugh much anymore,” Sarah added.
Rachel looked at her children and took a deep breath, realising they were right. She responded in a calm tone, “I know I’ve been living a quiet, simple life, but I’m okay with it.”
“You need to change your life a little,” the children advised.

“Really? My eight- and ten-year-olds advising me to have a boyfriend?”
They nodded with innocent smiles, and Rachel couldn’t help smiling, shaking her head in disbelief.
“You know, it’s not that easy. But I can give it some thought.”
Lying in bed that night, she reflected on her children’s advice, knowing it stemmed from seeing how their father was living his life—and realising that she deserved some fun and happiness too. She knew what she was missing, silently battling loneliness, longing for someone to share special moments with.

Now that he had walked into her life, she wasn’t sure how close to let him in, as fear and uncertainty stood between them.
She had to find a way to overcome those hurdles.
That weekend, she and the kids had a packed schedule—watching a basketball game, spending time at the park, enjoying ice cream, and shopping. As they passed a boutique, Sarah pointed to a red mini dress in the store’s window and said, “That will look really good on you.”
The next day, Rachel went to the store and bought the dress.

“Guess I’ll have to make a few changes to my wardrobe, given that I was advised to find a boyfriend,” she chuckled.
Chris called after returning from a week-long project and said, “I miss you. Can I see you this weekend?”
“I miss you too,” was her silent response. After a short pause, she told him, “Yes.”
He came that Saturday night with flowers and a bottle of wine. She had cooked dinner and was wearing the red mini dress.
“Sensuous!” he expressed with an admiring smile.

It was a lovely evening with a touch of intimacy that filled her with warmth. He didn’t want to leave, and, overpowered by his closeness and invigorating masculine scent, she didn’t want him to leave either.
It was a night of passion and bliss as she surrendered to desires she had locked away for years. In that moment, the world seemed not to matter.
And so it began—the change in her life, the way she smiled, her laughter. Her children were happy for her, and her friends were ecstatic about it all.
Rachel looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and saw a glow on her face that came from the happiness within. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, asking herself, Could this last? Would it stay with me?

They became very close, and she invited him to meet her children so she could cross the first hurdle in her mind—the age factor. It went better than expected, with hardly any questions, for they liked him.
Sarah observed, “It doesn’t matter that he’s younger. What matters is that he likes you.”
“How would you know that?”
“The way he looked at you.”

That, coming from her eight-year-old, surprised Rachel again.
Aiden, the boy he was, was impressed with Chris’s knowledge and love for basketball and car racing. He said to Rachel quietly, “If he asks you to marry him, you can say yes.”
“Wow!” she exclaimed with a little laugh.
Now, only one thing weighed on her mind.

Chris knew it, and he told her, “When you’re in my arms, I can feel every vibe coming through your body, and I have felt that fear. But I want you to believe in me and trust me.”
“I so want to,” she had whispered. This time, it was different. This deep feeling of love was unique in its own way.
Chris left a few days later to visit project sites and told her, “I can also change my job so I don’t have to travel too often. We’ll discuss it when I return.”
But one week later, she received a call. He had met with an accident at the work site and was taken to hospital.

“Oh God, no,” she cried.
That message sent her heart racing. At that moment, every other worry in her mind dissipated as she prayed fervently on her way to the hospital, “Please, God, let him be okay.”
His injuries were not too serious, and her tears flowed in relief as she sat by his bedside.
“Hey,” he touched her hand and said weakly, “Don’t cry. I’ll be fine.”

She wiped her tears and inhaled deeply, now free from that nagging fear. She leaned in and said softly, “I want you to know how much you have made my world brighter. I love you more than I can truly say.”
He smiled with relief and said, “You know, if I had known an accident could have made you open your heart to me, I could have had it arranged.”
She laughed. “You’re hurt and can still be funny.”

“Because it makes you laugh, and that is a beautiful sound I love.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.
“From the moment I saw you, I knew I wanted you in my life. And I will love you and make you happy.”