Page 67 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

Alex nodded, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to her fingers. "I do. And I'll try harder to... to not be such a skeptic."

"Thank you." She leaned toward him, closing the distance between them. When their lips met, she sighed softly, the tenderness of his mouth mingling with the relief of the tension easing between them.

She was learning the different ways he kissed her—playful pecks when Lena was watching, soft brushes of his lips when they parted, and this: deep and languid, as if they had all the time in the world. His hand came up to cup her face, his thumb tracing the line of her cheekbone.

When they finally broke apart, she rested her forehead against his. "I should go," she murmured. "I’m opening tomorrow."

"You always open,” he said with a resigned smile. “You know, you could train one of your staff to open so you could have a morning off," he suggested, his voice soft.

“But I don’t want a morning off,” she countered. “That's my quiet time. Just me and God getting ready to start the day.”

“Is God a coffee lover, too?” Alex teased, standing and pulling her to her feet, too.

“God made coffee, so, of course, he loves it.”

Later, as Juno drove home through the quiet streets of Autumn Lake, she found herself replaying the evening in her mind. The easy laughter, the way Lena had looked at them both with such open affection, the feel of Alex’s arm around her as they checked on the sleeping Lena one more time before Juno left.

It was everything she'd ever wanted, the life she'd dreamed of here in this town she loved. And now it seemed within reach—a business of her own; a man who looked at her like she was precious; a child who was quickly claiming a piece of her heart.

The only discordant note was the wariness in Alex's eyes whenever Leonard's name came up. The same wariness she'd seen in Claire's expression, in her other friends’ careful questions about how her father was adjusting.

She knew they were only concerned about her, that they cared about her, and like Alex, didn’t want her to get hurt. She understood and appreciated their concerns; she really did.

But she wanted to focus on the good for once, and there was so much good right now. She wanted to stop looking over her shoulder, to stop waiting for the other shoe to fall. She didn’t want to entertain the nagging questions that rose unbidden in the quiet moments.

Questions like why Leonard never talked about where he'd been all these years. Why he deflected whenever she asked about his plans for the future. Why sometimes she caught him staring at her with an expression she couldn't quite read.

As she climbed the stairs to her apartment, Juno admitted to herself that she was choosing to wear blinders. Deliberately looking the other way, not asking the hard questions, because she wasn't ready for the answers. Because she wanted, just for a while, to believe that everything could be this perfect.

She deserved this happiness, didn't she? After everything she'd been through?

Inside her apartment, Juno's phone buzzed with a text from Alex:Made it home safe?

She smiled, typing back:Just walked in. Thanks for the fun evening.

His response came immediately:Thanks for painting the stars in Lena’s sky. And for hanging the moon in mine.

Well, she hadn’t painted the stars, but she wasn’t going to argue semantics. Alex was being romantic, and she was going to let herself bask in it. She smiled, feeling that bloom of love swell inside her.See you tomorrow?

Count on it. Good night, June-bug.

The old nickname, once a source of pain, now felt like a gift. She touched the screen lightly, as if she could reach him through it.

For now, she would hold onto this joy. The questions could wait.

Even if, deep down, she knew they shouldn't.

27

Alex

Alexpushedopenthedoor to Juno's Coffee Bar, the familiar scents and sounds of the cafe welcoming him into the cool interior. From what he could tell, he'd timed his visit perfectly. Only a handful of tables were occupied, mostly by people working on laptops or reading.

His meeting with Howard Grantham had gone better than expected. The attorney's confidence about Alex's custody options had lifted a weight from his shoulders that he hadn't even realized he'd been carrying. For the first time since Melissa had told him about Lena, Alex felt like he had solid ground beneath his feet.

He scanned the coffee shop, relieved not to see Leonard among the staff. The man's presence always cast a shadow over his visits, making it difficult to relax completely. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about Juno's father, something beneath the helpful, charming exterior.

Juno looked up from where she was restocking pastry platters in the display case, and her face brightened. "Hey, you," she called across the counter. "I wasn't expecting you this afternoon."

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