Page 91 of When Love Takes Root

The sentence reached her.

Good.

She took a breath and pressed her palm flat against the counter. Her nails were polished deep burgundy, and one thumb worried the edge of a receipt until it bent.

“I panicked,” she said.

I waited.

The shop seemed to still around her words. Outside, a car rolled past with music thumping low. Somewhere in the back, the building gave its usual evening creak. The lights held steady above us, no flicker, no warning, but the air between us carried its own charge.

She swallowed. “This morning, the kids asked where I was last night, and I lied. Not all the way, but enough for it to feel ugly. Skye was being Skye. JJ looked like he knew exactly what was going on. But Kayden, . . . he got serious. Protective. Then I started thinking maybe I shouldn’t have gone to dinner. Maybe I shouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as I did. I don’t want my children feeling like I’m leaving Jamal behind because somebody new made me smile. And I don’t want you thinking I don’t like you, . . . because I do.”

I smiled despite the heaviness. “That sounds like Skye.”

Her eyes lifted to mine.

There it was.

No music. No dramatic lighting. Just the truth standing between us with shaky knees.

“I like you, Josiah. That’s part of the problem.”

My chest tightened, but I stayed where I was. “Why is that a problem?”

“Because it doesn’t feel small.” Her voice thinned near the end. “And I don’t know what to do with something that doesn’t feel small.”

I looked at her for a long second, letting her see I wasn’t backing up because she had given me honesty. If anything, it made me more certain. Not because she was struggling, but because she trusted me with the struggle instead of performing ease she didn’t feel.

“I’m glad you told me.”

Her brows pulled together. “You’re not upset?”

“No.”

“Not even a little?”

“I’m human, Celeste. I’d be lying if I said hearing you question dinner didn’t tug at something. But your fear isn’t disrespect. It’s information. I need to know where the tender places are if I’m going to move right around them.”

Her eyes shined.

I stepped closer then, still slow, still careful. “And I need you to hear me. I didn’t ask you to dinner because I thought your life was simple. I asked because I wanted to know you. The mother who checks her phone every few minutes. The widow who still speaks her husband’s name with reverence. The business owner trying to hold everything together. I saw enough to know there’s weight there.”

She blinked, and a tear slipped before she could catch it.

I wanted to wipe it away.

I didn’t.

Not yet.

“Kayden is scared. He’s not my enemy for that.” Her lips parted. “He loves you. He misses his father. He’s probably been trying to stand in a place no son should have to stand, and now he sees a man near his mother and doesn’t know what that means for the space Jamal still occupies. I can respect that.”

Her hand went to her chest, fingers pressing there like she was holding something in place. “He’s being unfair.”

“He is.” That surprised her. I nodded. “He’s doing too much. We can tell the truth. But grief makes people overcorrect. He’s trying to protect what he couldn’t protect before.”

Her face changed.