Dadcrush 20 03 29 Alina Lopez My Stepdaughter B... < EASY >

They worked side by side for an hour. He taught her how to tell a weed from a sprouting carrot. She told him about her art history exam and how her professor didn’t appreciate modernism. The conversation drifted easily—about her mom’s terrible cooking, his failed attempt at baking bread during lockdown, the stray cat they both pretended not to feed.

And she was too. Whatever happened next—whether they’d pretend that moment never happened or talk about it someday—she knew one thing for sure: she’d be back next Saturday. Not for the garden. For the conversation. And for the chance to see that smile again. Want me to continue the story or write a different version? DadCrush 20 03 29 Alina Lopez My Stepdaughter B...

“I canceled it,” she admitted. “He didn’t laugh at my jokes.” They worked side by side for an hour

“I should probably get cleaned up,” she said, pulling her hand back. Not for the garden

Alina felt her cheeks flush. It wasn't a crush. It was… recognition. He saw her—not as his wife’s daughter, not as a responsibility, but as a person. Smart, funny, a little lost. And in his eyes, she saw something she hadn’t expected: loneliness.