As I set up the picnic beneath an overhanging tree, Alexis chased the boys, who squealed in glee. I also eavesdropped on their conversation.

“So, you’re Liam’s kid, huh?” she asked Cooper.

“You know my daddy?”

“We grew up together.”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“Mm. I haven’t been around for a while.”

“Why?”

I paused, waiting for her answer. “Mmm.” She deflected. “Austin and I lived in the city.”

Cooper enthusiastically beamed. “And now you brought him back. Please don’t leave. Austin is my best friend.”

“Yeah, Mum! We won’t leave, will we?”

Alexis hesitated before ruffling their heads. “No. We’re going to stay.”

I could have sworn my heart was going to give out by how fast it was pumping. Be still my heart.

I had avoided direct eye contact with Alexis since arriving at our lake. Countless emotions simmered, and I didn’t want to slip and give her a glimpse into my chaotic mind.

As we finished lunch, the boys returned to the playground, and I took the opportunity to wander along the lakeside to steal a moment for myself. Over time, I hadn’t shaken the habit of going there. To think, to reminisce, to sort through my thoughts.

All afternoon, when Alexis wasn’t looking or had her back turned, I openly appraised her. It was a special form of torture.

In so many ways, she was still my Alexis. Yet, a whole other woman altogether.

She was a mother, and a great one, at that. Just from a glance, I could tell how much she and Austin adored each other.

A flash of regret ignited when I watched her in that new role.

All of it could have been mine. It was everything I had always envisioned—my wife with our children, laughing and playing under the cloudless sky, seeping sheer happiness and nothing else.

It was a lost moment that could not be relived, but it was bittersweet to dream about all the same.

My intuition felt her before my body could even react. I was staring out over the water as she tentatively came up beside me.

“I forgot how beautiful it was here,” she said, her tone soft and wistful.

I didn’t reply—I couldn’t.

“Owen.” She turned full-bodied to look up into my face, and I had no choice but to return her attention. Alexis’ expression was hesitant, almost scared.

I did that to her. Baby, don’t be scared.

I braced myself, but once again, she bulldozed through my expectations.