Page 312 of When a Soul Cries

“Mmm-hmm. Try again.”

Her shoulders dropped. “I don't know.”

There it was.

I took her hands carefully, making sure I didn't disturb anything. “Talk to me.”

Sol looked down at our joined hands. “I love him.”

“I know.”

“I want to marry him.”

“I know that too.”

“But everything happened so fast.” Her voice cracked. “Sugga, a few months ago I didn't even know him. And now I'm standing here in a wedding dress about to become his wife.”

I squeezed her fingers. “Then let me ask you something. Is Roman forcing you?”

Her head came up immediately. “No.”

“Do you feel like you owe him because of everything he's done?”

“No.”

“You scared of him?”

“No.”

“You trust him with Halo?”

“Yes.”

That answer came faster than all the others.

I smiled. “Do you love my son?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Yes.”

“Then stop counting months like time is the only thing that tells you whether something is real.”

One tear slipped down her cheek.

I wiped it away before it could mess up her makeup. “Uh-uh. We ain't ruining this face before my son sees you.”

She laughed through her tears.

I smiled too, but something inside me had already shifted.

There was something I needed her to know.

Something neither of my sons knew.

I stepped back and sat on the edge of the bed, then patted the space beside me. “Come here. Carefully. I ain't paying for no torn wedding dress.”

Sol gathered enough of the dress to sit beside me.

For a moment, I just looked at her.