Page 55 of When Love Takes Root

That was the issue.

She felt like a door I had no business touching yet.

Juice turned the purple, stuffed elephant over in his hands and studied me. “You ain’t denying it enough.”

“I noticed her,” I said.

He sat up. “Oh, we getting somewhere.”

“Relax.”

“No, sir. This is growth. I feel like I need to call Aunt Yolanda and tell her to warm up her intercessory voice.”

“Don’t start.”

“I’ve been waiting on a reason to be messy in a meaningful way.” I let out a short laugh. Juice grinned. “I’m serious, though. You haven’t been interested in anybody in a minute. You see fine women all the time and look at them like they invoice attachments.”

“Because I have work to do.”

“Work never stopped a man from having eyeballs.”

“My eyeballs work fine.”

“They sure did today.” I gave him a look. He held up both hands. “I’m just saying. You weren’t nasty with it. You weren’t doing too much. But you saw her. And she saw you seeing her too.”

That had me quiet again.

Because I thought she had.

Not in a bold way. Not like she was inviting anything. But there were a few moments where her eyes caught mine and stayed before she pulled them back. A second too long. A breath too honest. A quick glance down, then away, like she’d noticed something in me and didn’t want to admit it to herself either.

A moment like that could make a room feel smaller if a man wasn’t careful.

I was careful.

I had to be.

Her grief still had a seat in every room she entered. Her children still needed her steady. Her shop needed real work. The last thing she needed was a man confusing attraction with permission.

“Whatever I felt, I’m not acting stupid behind it,” I said.

Juice nodded. “I know. You got too much sense for that.”

“I’m grown enough to know attraction doesn’t give me rights.”

He looked at me for a second, then nodded again. “That’s why I said something. Because if you ever did step to her, you’d step right.”

“If.”

“Yeah, yeah. If.” He grinned. “Look at you, leaving the gate cracked.”

Calista looked around with approval. “See? Civilization.”

“I was civilized at my shop.”

“You were held hostage by responsibility.”

Leilani rested one hand beneath her belly. “And hunger.”