Page 154 of I Think They Love You

“I put everything into the business. Long nights. No days off. And it nearly cost me everything. Neither you nor your sister ever askedwhyI was retiring early.”

Denz picks at his muffin. “I thought—”

“It was for your mom,” Kenneth finishes, a cheek-aching grin blooming. “I love her. Since the day we met. But I suck at work-life balance.”

“You’re aCarter,Dad. We’re great at everything.”

“Oh, please.” Kenneth guffaws. “With Nic heading to college, I knew it was time. It’ll be just me and your mom. I’m not spendingthe rest of my life celebrating everyone else’s best moments and not my own.”

Denz’s index finger traces the rim of his cup. “You’re not worried about Kami becoming another you?”

“Iwas,” Kenneth says, leaning back. “That’s why I wanted to go public with the job. I didn’t want either of you to make my mistakes. Even after the amazing events you both hosted, I still wasn’t sure.”

“What changed?”

“The flood.”

Denz’s forehead wrinkles. “But she didn’t show up until we were done.”

“When I called Kamila, she had her hands full with Mikah. To my surprise, she also told me all about this Suraj fella and their relationship.”

Denz slurps more tea to prevent himself from admitting he knew.

“She told me flat out she wasn’t leaving Mikah’s side until she knew he was comfortable with her boyfriend,” Kenneth adds.

“Wow.”

“She did what I never did when one of you were sick or going through something,” Kenneth tells him. “She delegated. Sent Jordan in her place. She prioritized her son and her relationship while still making sure the job got done.”

Denz thinks back to that day. All the work he put in, thinking he made a difference by choosing the company first. By putting his promise to Braylon second.

“She chose both,” he says low, awed.

“Denzel—” Kenneth reaches across the table to touch the back of his hand. “—I saw everything you did to win the job. The late evenings. Extra hours. The lunches you skipped. I saw the old me. But I never saw my son.”

Denz didn’t either. He saw the Carter he thought he wassupposedto be.

“When Braylon came back,” Kenneth says with a sly grininstead of a scowl, “you were happy. Passionate.In love. It took me a while to forgive him, you know.”

“Yeah, Dad.” Denz chuckles derisively. “You didn’t hide that at all.”

“What? Am I not allowed to have beef with the man who broke my son’s heart?”

Denz swallows the lump that’s been clogging his throat like the world’s largest jawbreaker. “No, you are.”

“He left you. I couldn’t just let him off the hook.”

“I know.”

“But the more I saw him with you—I could tell he wasn’t who he was in college. Neither are you.” Kenneth pats his hand. “Don’t repeat my mistakes, son.”

“Too late for that.”

“Your mom told me it’s over.”

“Something like that.” Denz’s face wrinkles. Is this really how he’s going to tell his dad? In the middle of a café on a Wednesday? “Actually—”

Kenneth waits patiently.

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