Page 68 of Hope After Loss

“I did something stupid last night,” I say.

He turns to face me. “How bad are we talking?Stopped by the bar and woke up with a strangerstupid orcommitted a felonystupid?”

“When we got to Anna’s house last night, I got Kaela inside, and then when we were saying good-bye, I kind of kissed Anna.”

His brow furrows. “Kind of?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking. One minute, we were standing there. The next, she closed her eyes and leaned in, and I thought she wanted me to kiss her. So, I did, and as soon as our lips met, she freaked out. She said she couldn’t and ran inside and slammed the door in my face,” I explain.

He nods. “You thought she wanted you to kiss her?” he says.

“Yep.”

“Did you want to kiss her?”

I hesitate for a second.

“Oh, yeah,” I admit.

“And that kiss is what kept you up all night?”

“Yep.”

He blows out a whistle.

“I should call her and apologize, right? Tell her it was an accident. That I would never intentionally kiss her.”

“Sure, because that’s what every woman wants to hear,” he deadpans.

“Then, what? Ignore it? Pretend like it didn’t happen? You’re a widower. What do you think I should do?” I ask.

He clasps my shoulder as we walk together to the office. “You like her?”

“I think I might.”

“You’re gonna have to wait and see if she likes you, and if she does, you’ll have to be patient with her and give her space. Space to figure out how to like you and still keep loving Mike. Space to keep grieving him. Space to miss him,” he explains.

“Okay.”

“I’m serious, West. If you decide to pursue a relationship with her, you have to know going in that it might not be as easy as it was with other girls you’ve dated. One day, the two of you might be riding down the road, and a song comes on the radio, and you look over and see tears streaming down her face. You’ll have to let her have that. Because none of it will have a thing to do with how much she wants to be with you, and you’ll have to be man enough to realize that. She needs to feel safe enough to hold those memories tight without feeling guilty.”

I let his words sink in.

“That sounds complicated.”

“It could be, but it could be worth it.”

It could.

“If you do ask her out and it turns into something serious, you’ll have to become friends with Mike’s memory because it’s going to live on inside of those girls forever. Which means it’s gonna live in your house. Don’t think of him as competition. You’ll be teammates in their happiness. His part is over, and he’s tagged you in. It’s your job to finish the race.”

“Whoa, I’m not talking about forever. I’m talking about a kiss,” I say.

“With a single mother, a kiss is never just a kiss. Be sure you understand that.”

I blow out a breath.

“I’m not trying to scare you off. I like Anna. I think you’d be a lucky son of a bitch to land a woman like her. I just want you to proceed with caution, is all because Mom and Leona are already in love with her and that baby, and she’s in with girls, so if you break her heart, you’ll have an entire army of females to contend with.”