They settled on the porch steps beside me, Blair dropping down without hesitation, Greyson folding himself more carefully onto the other side. For a while, the three of us just sat there,sipping our coffee in silence. The cicadas filled the space, and I almost convinced myself they’d let me off easy.
But Blair was never one for silence.
“So,” she said, her eyes glinting. “Madison.”
I took a long sip of my coffee. “What about her?”
“Don’t play dumb.” Blair leaned her elbow on her knee, turning to face me fully. “She’s my best friend. I know her better than anyone. And I know you better than anyone. Something happened last night.”
My jaw tightened, but I didn’t deny it. “We crossed a line.”
Blair’s smile softened, though her voice stayed sharp. “About time.”
“It’s not that simple,” I muttered, staring at the yard. “It’s not just her. Olive is part of this, too. If I mess this up, I don’t just hurt Madison. I risk hurting her little girl. And I can’t let that happen.”
Greyson spoke then, his voice calm and even. “You’re already in it, Seth. Whether you say the words out loud or not. Olive trusts you. Madison trusts you. That’s not something that just goes away. The question isn’t if you’ll mess up. The question is whether you’ll keep showing up.”
I turned to look at him, surprised by the weight in his tone. Greyson wasn’t one for speeches, but when he said something, it mattered.
Blair nodded in agreement. “He’s right. I’ve seen you close yourself off for years, hiding behind your work, pretending you don’t need anyone. But this is different. You’re different. Madison and Olive are bringing out a side of you I honestly wasn’t sure still existed. And you can either keep fighting it, or you can let yourself be happy for once.”
The words dug deep, uncomfortable, and true. I wanted to argue, but the memory of Madison’s laugh, of Olive’s handslipping into mine as she showed me her crooked rows of flowers, silenced every defense I might have had.
“I don’t know how to do this,” I admitted finally, my voice rough.
Blair reached over, squeezing my arm. “You already are. You just need to stop doubting it.”
Greyson gave a slow nod. “You don’t have to be perfect, Seth. You just have to be honest. With her, and with yourself.”
The three of us sat there in silence again, but this time it felt different. Not heavy. Not suffocating. Just real.
When Blair and Greyson finally stood, heading back toward the SUV, Blair paused at the bottom step. “Madison is stronger than you think. She doesn’t need you to be flawless. She just needs you to let her in. Don’t waste this.”
They drove off, leaving the yard quiet again, but the silence no longer pressed against me the way it had before.
I looked back toward the guesthouse. The curtains in Olive’s room fluttered with the morning breeze, and I imagined Madison inside, brushing her daughter’s hair, maybe thinking of me the way I couldn’t stop thinking of her.
For years, I had built my life around walls, around control, and keeping people out. But last night had changed everything.
This wasn’t just a kiss. It wasn’t just a moment. It was the beginning of something I wanted to fight for.
Chapter 43
Madison
Sunlight pushed through the thin curtains and spilled across the hardwood. A warm glow that crept toward the couch, where I had fallen asleep after finally seeing Seth out. For a few breaths, I did not move. I laid still and let the morning find me. The echo of last night sliding back through my body in slow, certain waves. The quiet inside the guesthouse felt differenttoday, not hollow, not lonely. It felt settled. Like it was always meant to be.
I sat up and pulled the throw blanket around my shoulders. Lavender lingered in the air from the candle on the side table. Beneath it, I could still find his scent on my skin, a faint trace of soap and coffee, something clean that made my chest tighten in a way that was not fear. It was recognition. We had crossed a line, and my heart knew it.
The old kettle sang on the stove while I pulled my hair into a loose braid. I poured a mug of tea and stood at the sink, looking out the window toward the garden bed we had planted. The soil was dark with promise, the sunflowers standing tall in the bright morning sun. Everything about this morning made me want to search, to look closely at the gentle ways change announced itself.
I watered the little fern on the windowsill and let my mind wander through last night. The way Seth’s knuckles skimmed my jaw. The way he asked without words and waited for me to answer, patient and steady. The way he stepped back when I walked him to the door, as if he understood exactly where the boundary lived and would not cross it without my permission. There had been heat, yes, and I wanted him with an ache that surprised me. There had also been tenderness. I had not realized how much I craved that until it was there.
My phone buzzed on the counter. A text from Blair lit the screen.
Blair
I am down the street, grabbing some new releases at Delilah’s. Coffee later, or should I behave and let you breathe?
