Confessions in the Dark by Jeanette Grey

longing to reach out. There was a heaviness to her when she talked about her sister, and he heard the burden of responsibility in her tone. Serena had been the younger of the two, but she’d been the one doing the caretaking, hadn’t she?
    A wry smile curled her lips. “I think it’s safe to say she engaged in some risk-taking behaviors once she was on her own. Self-medicating. Unsafe relationships. And in the meantime she was putting on a happy face in her messages home. But she was avoiding phone calls until...”
    “Until Max.”
    “Pretty much.” She shook her head. “God. I’ve never seen her and my mom fight like that. Her boyfriend at the time ditched her in a heartbeat, and she didn’t know what to do. Mom wouldn’t hear of her not keeping it, but Penny had this whole bright future laid out in front of her. Even if she hadn’t, though. She wasn’t in any state to be taking care of herself, much less anyone else.”
    The picture snapped into place before his eyes. “So your mother took the child.”
    “Penny was in and out of hospitals for a year after he was born. Mom’s basically raised him since day one.”
    He studied her face, watching the interplay of light across her features. The subtle, soft curve of her smile. The pride with which she spoke about this boy.
    “Not without a bit of help, I suspect.”
    “I was still living at home when he was born. I’d watch him after school, take him to his doctor’s appointments, sit with him and hold his hand when he was sick.” Her mouth twisted, a wistfulness tugging the corners down. “My mom still gives me such a hard time about it.”
    His eyebrows rose. “About helping her?”
    “About not living my life.” She shrugged. “They’re part of why I stayed so close to home, for college and even now. She thinks I should be out sowing my oats or something, like Penny is now, but I don’t get it. I already have everything I want. I love my job and my friends, and I’ve got this great kid that I adore. I love my family. Is that such a crime?”
    “No...” He hesitated.
    Because how dare he ask the kinds of questions that were rising to his mind? After his own stagnation, his own withdrawal from anything and anyone...how could he ask?
    But he did. “Maybe she wants you to have a family of your own?”
    Her laughter was a sharp rush of breath. “Please.”
    “What?”
    “I’d love that. But...” She took the basket of flour off the scale, tapping her thumb against its corner in a staccato rhythm that set him on edge. “It’s not easy, you know? Finding a guy who’s serious. Who would commit.”
    Of course. After what had happened with her sister, she had every right to her wariness.
    And it burned him all the same. Made him sit a little straighter in his chair. Keep his hands a little closer to his sides.
    “Anyway,” she said, voice loud in the quiet of the room. “My life is fine the way it is. I’m not going to change it for a man. Not unless he can give me everything I want.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Unless he’s perfect.”
    Cole’s heart clenched, the very muscle, underused and tender, going tight.
    He’d made his promises. He’d honored them all these years. And it didn’t matter how lovely this woman was or how she’d barged her way into his life. How she’d made him feel for the first time in what felt like a century.
    Promises were promises. And even if they weren’t.
    Perfection was a million miles beyond his reach.
      
    Perfect. The word rolled off Serena’s tongue so easily, and with good reason. She’d had this conversation with her mother so many times. Her refrain was always the same. She wasn’t ready or she wasn’t interested or the men she met on dating sites were only looking for one thing.
    Serena was looking for more.
    Only the entire package would be enough to lure her away from the life she already had.
    And yet, even as she was repeating those tired lines, she was