Page 146 of When Love Takes Root

I shook my head. “You talk too much.”

“And you feel too much to be acting this calm.”

My jaw tightened, but there wasn’t any anger in it.

He knew me. That was all.

Juice lifted one brow. “You like her.”

I kept my eyes on the panel. “I do.”

Juice leaned closer, grinning again. “Nah. You said that too regular. Say it with your chest, Electric Slide.”

I cut my eyes at him. “Don’t call me that.”

“You like that woman.”

I let the silence stretch.

Then I looked toward Celeste again. She was smiling down at her notebook, one hand pressed lightly against the inspection folder like she needed to feel proof that the worst of it was over.

“I do. And I know what that means.”

Juice studied me for a second, then nodded. “That’s all I was checking.”

“Thought you were testing outlets.”

“I multitask. My gifts are numerous.”

I huffed a laugh.

He turned back toward the dryer bank. “Still smiling at hardware though. Hate to see a strong man fall.”

“Front outlets are holding,” Darnell called from station four.

I pushed to my feet and wiped my hands on the cloth tucked into my pocket. “Check them under load.”

Darnell answered from across the room. “Already did. Dryer pulls good. No heat. No flicker.”

“Run it again.”

Darnell looked toward Juice. “He always like this?”

Juice nodded with fake sorrow. “Worse when he cares.”

I looked between them. “I care about all my jobs.”

Juice made a sound full of disrespect. “Mm-hmm.”

I ignored him and crossed toward the panel. The breakers sat in their proper places, everything seated and labeled in a way that gave my spirit room to rest. No double-tapped nonsense. No burned insulation hiding behind the cover. No guesswork waiting inside a wall for the worst possible day to reveal itself.

The thought pulled my gaze toward the front of the salon.

Celeste stood near the reception desk with a client under a cape, one hand resting on the woman’s shoulder while the other held her phone.

She looked up at me and smiled. Not the polite one she gave clients or the careful one she wore when she was trying to keep everybody comfortable. This one was smaller, warmer, and meant for me.

I lowered my gaze to the panel before somebody caught me looking at the owner like I had no employment papers or spiritual discipline.