Page 93 of When Love Takes Root

I looked down at the space between us.

“You want some ground rules?” I asked.

She let out a breath that almost became a laugh. “Ground rules?”

“Yes, ma’am. Since your children have a Senate hearing scheduled, and your heart is over there filing appeals.”

That got a real laugh from her, small but present.

I kept going. “Rule one. We don’t sneak. Not because your children get to control your life, but because anything built in secrecy starts feeling guilty, even when it’s not.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Rule two. Your babies get time to feel what they feel. And Jamal’s name never becomes forbidden around me.”

Almost.

She covered her mouth, pressing her fingers there until the emotion passed enough for her to breathe. “Josiah.”

“I mean that.”

“I know.”

“Rule three. If you get scared, say scared. Don’t say busy. Don’t say tired. Don’t say it’s nothing. I can work with scared. I can’t work with a locked door and no explanation.”

She nodded again, slower this time. “That goes both ways.”

“Absolutely.”

“If you feel like this is too much, say that. Don’t disappear and call it giving me space.”

I smiled because there she was, meeting me with honesty instead of hiding behind emotion. “Fair.”

“And don’t let me make all the decisions because you’re trying to be patient.” I lifted my brows. She wiped beneath her eye and looked almost embarrassed by her own boldness, but she kept going. “I don’t need another child. I need a man. A patient one, yes. A respectful one. But still a man who knows how to lead without dragging me.”

My chest heated.

Not desire only.

Respect.

“You want me to lead?”

“I want you to not make me responsible for every step just because I’m scared.”

That was a word.

A heavy one.

I nodded. “Then rule five. I’ll lead, but I won’t drag. I’ll ask, but I won’t beg. I’ll wait, but I won’t pretend I don’t want you.”

Her breath shifted.

There it was.

That current again.

The one I had already taken to God. The one that had been moving beneath every word, every pause, every careful inch of space between us. I saw her feel it too. Her eyes dropped to my hands, then lifted to my face. She swallowed, and her fingers tightened lightly against the edge of the counter.