Page 47 of When We Are Complete

“So,” she says casually, “howarethings going with Jake?”

I pause, concealer brush in hand, and meet her eyes in the mirror. “We agreed to give it another shot. But I don’t know if we can fix everything that happened in the past.”

Nora’s expression softens into something more understanding. “Sometimes second chances aren’t about fixing what went wrong but about seeing if things can be different.”

I turn to face her fully, leaning against the vanity. “But that’s just it. I don’t know if thingscanbe different. We’re still the same people. I’m Kelly. He’s Jake. He sees everything so black and white. He’s not good at the emotional stuff, you know? He’s great at being dependable. But the other stuff.” I shrug.

Nora swings her legs off the tub and stands, crossing the small space to stand next to me. “Listen, you have every right to be cautious, but you’re not the same people. You’ve both changed. You were both so young. Give him a chance.”

I laugh and pull Nora into a hug. “Thank you. Hey, you better go and get ready, too. We’ve got to leave in half an hour.”

Soon Nora and I are piling into my car, me in the Levi’s and shirt she picked out, both of us bundled against the cold. Now that we’re actually on our way to his house to meet his daughter,the reality of the situation hits me all over again. It’s one thing to say we’ll take it slow, another to just turn up at his daughter’s birthday. Because meeting her seems like a very big deal. Why the hell did I agree to this?

Nora’s scrolling through her phone beside me, oblivious to the mini panic attack I’m having behind the wheel. She finally glances up at me as we drive down Jake’s street, her eyebrow arched. “You okay?”

I grip the steering wheel, forcing a smile, tapping the side of my door twice down low, out of sight. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just nervous.” Another two taps.

“Kelly, you’ve got this. You’ve been through worse than meeting a teenager and her mom.” She gives me a playful nudge.

“Thanks for the pep talk,” I say as we pull up outside Jake’s place, tapping my door two more times before getting out.

The house is charming in a way I didn’t expect: single story with white shutters, tucked behind a few large oak trees, which have lost all of their leaves. The wraparound porch has a wooden swing rocking gently in the wind, and there’s something homey about the planters with winter blooms lining the steps.

It’s a real family home, the kind that makes my chest tighten because I never imagined myself walking up to a place like this owned byhim. Before I can lose my nerve, the door swings open, and there he is—Jake. Dark hair slightly tousled, wearing jeans and a dark blue shirt, eyes lighting up when he sees me.

“Hey,” he says, stepping down the porch steps, his hands finding my waist before I can say anything. He pulls me in for a kiss, full on the lips, and for a moment, all my nerves vanish. His presence washes over me, and I kiss him back, leaning into him.

There’s a spark—a jolt that sends heat spiraling through me, and for a second, I forget everything except the way he feels, the way he makesmefeel. He pulls away, smiling down at me, and I catch Nora’s amused smirk from the corner of my eye.

“Come on in,” Jake says, ushering us both inside. “The girls are in the living room.”

I step into the house and Jake takes our jackets. Warmth and noise hits me. There’s music playing in the background, and laughter coming from the next room. The house smells good. There’s something delicious cooking—probably whatever is grilling out back.

Jake’s hand brushes against mine, a simple touch that’s loaded with the things we don’t say. A shiver runs down my spine, and I tuck my hand into my pocket to stop myself from reaching for his.

We walk into the living room, and there’s a girl who can only be Adele sitting cross-legged on the floor with a group of her girlfriends. They’re giving each other manicures, giggling about something. My breath catches in my throat the second I see her. She’s the spitting image of Jake—the same dark eyes, even features, and a smattering of freckles across her nose.

I swallow hard, nerves twisting in my stomach. This is the girl who, without even knowing it, changed my entire life, the reason Jake walked away all those years ago. And here I am, standing in her living room, hoping for some kind of approval from a teenager. Ridiculous, but I can’t help it.

What if she doesn’t like me? What if I’m nothing more than an awkward stranger intruding on her birthday?

“Hey, Adele.” Jake steps forward. “This is my friend Kelly I told you about. And you know Nora.”

Friend. The word stings a little, but I push it aside as Adele finally looks up from painting her friend’s nails. Her dark eyes meet mine, and there’s a flicker of curiosity.

“Hi, Adele.” I try to sound casual, even though my nerves are all over the place. “Happy birthday. Nora and I got you something from both of us.”

I hand her the gift, and Adele takes it with a quiet, “Thanks,” before turning back to her friends, unbothered by my presence. I’m just another adult she has to greet.

It’s probably one of the most anticlimactic moments of my life. All that worry, all that overthinking, and she barely even notices me. I glance at Nora, and she gives me a smug,I-told-you-solook. She knew I was making a bigger deal out of this than I should have.

Jake gently touches my arm. “Come on, let’s head outside. I promised the girls we’d stay out of their way.”

His hand lingers a moment longer than necessary, his thumb tracing a light line along my forearm, and every nerve ending seems to come alive. It’s such a small gesture, but he’s promising more, and I steady myself against the butterflies storming my stomach.

I follow him through the house, out the back door, and onto the deck. The second I step outside, I’m blown away. The wooden deck is huge—spanning the entire back of the house and overlooking the yard. String lights are strung above, glowing softly in the afternoon light, and there are benches built along the edges. It’s beautiful.

“Wow,” I say, taking it all in. “This is amazing. You built this?”

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