Chapter 21
Iwoke to the scent of roses before I opened my eyes.
The fragrance floated through my bedroom, rich and sweet, mingling with the familiar notes of Aris’s cologne that had become a permanent fixture in my bedroom over the past two weeks.
When my eyes finally fluttered open, I found the source—a bouquet of two dozen long-stemmed red roses standing pretty on my nightstand.
A small white card was tucked between the stems, and I reached for it, my heart doing that fluttery thing it’s been doing a lot lately when it comes to Aris.
Good morning, agápi mou. The first of many Valentine’s surprises. - A
Lord, this man.
Pressing the card to my chest, I felt my heart skip a beat, the way it had lately whenever Aris did something thoughtful.
I wanted to be annoyed. Part of me felt the need to tell him he didn’t have to do all of this. I was not the kind of woman who required roses or surprises, or grand Valentine’s Day productions. However, I could not stop smiling like a damn teenager.
I sat up, which was becoming more of a production every day at twenty-five weeks. My physical comfort was plummeting in direct proportion to my expanding waistline, while my professional life soared.
The Black Ember contract had transformed TMW practically overnight. I’d hired three new people last week, and my inbox was overflowing with potential client inquiries. Success, as it turned out, bred more success.
The bed beside me was still warm where Aris had slept. His navy dress shirt hung over the chair by the window, and I could hear the distant sound of his voice from downstairs.
He’s been sleeping in my bed every night for the past two weeks, ever since we returned from Kentucky. He said he wanted to make sure I was getting enough sleep, but we both knew we’d get more rest if we slept apart.
Not that I’m complaining. Waking up next to him feels like the most natural thing in the world.
It had never felt this easy to let someone in. During Tia’s cancer, when the world felt like it was ending, I’d started seeing a therapist.
Dr. Yates was the first person who helped me understand that my father’s inability to stay wasn’t a verdict on my worth. That Kevin’s betrayal wasn’t proof I was unlovable. That the cycle I’d grown up in wasn’t my destiny to repeat.
I believed her, intellectually. But believing something in your head and feeling it in your body are two different continents.
Aris was the bridge.
By the time I made it downstairs, the smell of coffee and whatever the chef Aris had insisted on hiring had prepared lifted my spirits considerably.
I’d protested—weakly, admittedly—when he’d also arranged for my cleaning service to come six days per week instead of one, but he’d simply kissed my forehead and said something in Greek.
My phone buzzed, and Tia’s name popped up, and my heart did a little skip.
Your gift should arrive around noon. Happy Love Day, Mom.
I stared at the message, feeling tears prick my eyes. She remembered our tradition.
Every Valentine’s Day since she was little, we’d exchange small gifts. Heart-shaped pancakes and handmade cards when she was young, then more elaborate surprises as she got older. The reminder that she still carries those memories makes my heart swell with love.
Check YOUR email. ?? Happy Love Day, baby. Love you!
Aris greeted me with a deep kiss as I walked into the kitchen. “You are all dressed up. You look lovely.”
“Thank you. I’m going to church with Mama Nettie.”
“I will join you.”
I wrapped my arms around him, inhaling his cologne. “I would love nothing more than to have you come, but if Nettie sees you, she’ll have questions, and we need to talk to the kids first.”
“We need to talk to them sooner rather than later, yes.” He placed both hands on either side of my stomach. “We are past the halfway mark.”
“That’s what scares me.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. “Tia still hasn’t warmed to the pregnancy. She acts like it doesn’t exist.” Saying it out loud made the ache in my chest sharper.
Tia had always been my person, my safe harbor when everything else felt uncertain. The distance between us felt like losing a piece of myself.
The thought of telling Tia that her husband’s father was the daddy of these babies made me sick to my stomach. Lord, how would she even take that? Her own father-in-law and her mama?
She might think it’s all kinds of wrong, like I’m trying to weasel my way into her adult life after she married his son. Or worse—that I did this on purpose to stay connected to her new family. She already thought I was too much in her business. This would just confirm everything.
“She will be fine,” Aris reassured me. “We will all be fine. I will ensure it.”
I nodded, but his confidence wasn’t reassuring. The situation was too messy for simple promises.
I pressed my face against his chest, breathing him in, trying to find comfort in his certainty when mine felt shaky.
An hour later, I was walking through the doors of Mount Olive Baptist Church. The sanctuary was decorated for Valentine’s Day with pink and red streamers draping from the ceiling and heart-shaped cutouts on the walls.
The choir was humming something soft and gospel-sweet when I slipped in through the side door. The diamond bracelet Aris had surprised me with before I left caught the light as I adjusted my purse strap.
“There you are!” Kandi waved from our usual pew, third row from the front on the right side. She was bouncing her granddaughter Zoe on her knee, the two-month-old was dressed in a red dress with a matching bow. Mama Nettie sat beside her, fussing with her silk scarf.
I slid in beside them, immediately reaching to stroke Zoe’s chubby cheek. “Look at this little love bug angel. How’s Zariah doing?” I asked softly, knowing Kandi’s daughter had been struggling since her boyfriend chose to be with his other child’s mother.
“She’s hanging in there,” Kandi whispered, adjusting the baby’s dress. “Stayed home to get some sleep while I did grandmother duty. Church is good for my soul, and this little one needs all the blessings she can get.” Her eyes moved to my stomach. “That pink is stunning on you, by the way.”
“I agree,” Mama Nettie chimed in.
“Thank you.”
Pastor Williams took the pulpit with his usual commanding presence, his dark suit pressed to perfection, Bible in hand.
The man had always been handsome. Tall, dark-skinned, broad-shouldered, with silver threading through his black, wavy hair and a smile that could charm the offerings right out of your purse.
“Good morning, Mount Olive family!”
“Good morning, Pastor!” the congregation called back.
“On this beautiful Valentine’s morning, I want to talk to you about love.” His voice was smooth as good whiskey, and he started clapping a gentle rhythm that had people swaying in their seats. “First Corinthians tells us that love is patient, love is kind...”
The words washed over the congregation. Heads nodded, and “Amens” punctuated his sentences.
I snuck a peek at my watch. Aris was waiting in the parking lot, probably checking emails and making deals.
He’d been really mysterious about our plans after church. Knowing him, it could be anything from lunch at some fancy place to whisking me off in that plane of his. Either way, I was itching to find out.
Little Zoe began to fuss, and Kandi passed her to me with a grateful smile. I rocked her, thinking about how in a few months I’d be holding my babies.
The pastor’s eyes swept across the sanctuary, making that pastoral eye contact that made everyone feel seen and heard. When his gaze landed on me, there was a tightening around his eyes, and his smile disappeared.
“But sometimes,” Pastor Williams continued, stepping closer to the edge of the platform, his hand resting on his open Bible though he barely glanced down at it, “we confuse desire with love. We think because something feels good, it must be good.”
The congregation murmured agreement, and my mind drifted to how my whole body responded when Aris’ fingers brushed against mine, and how his scent made me dizzy with wanting.
That pull between us was like gravity itself, something I couldn’t fight even when my better judgment screamed at me to keep my distance.
But Pastor Williams’ words pinched me. Was this just desire? The kind of fleeting passion that would burn out and leave nothing but ashes?
“Proverbs warns us about the bitter end of forbidden affection. About how desire, when it conceives, births not innocence, but sin.” His voice remained calm. “Some of us believe love excuses disobedience. But real love doesn’t ask us to compromise holiness for comfort.”
“He’s not being subtle today,” Kandi whispered, taking Zoe back. She dug in the diaper bag for a bottle.
“When a shepherd sees a ewe stray into a lion’s den, he doesn’t clap; he weeps. He calls her back before it’s too late,” the pastor continued.
I nearly rolled my eyes. To everyone else, it probably sounded like an impassioned pastor warning his flock about temptation. But I knew he was a man nursing hurt feelings over the dinner invitations I’d declined for the past two years.
The service couldn’t end fast enough. When Pastor Williams finally gave the benediction, I was ready to make a quick exit.
“Don’t you dare leave me to face the judgment committee alone,” Kandi hissed.
“Never.” I squeezed Mama Nettie’s hand and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I’ll pick you up on Thursday for bingo at the community center?”
“You better,” she said, patting my belly. “I’ll bring those peanut butter cookies you like.”
The congratulatory crowd filling the aisle blocked our escape. People swarmed around us, cooing over Zoe, wanting to know how I was feeling, touching my belly, and offering unsolicited advice about the pregnancy as if this was my first rodeo.