James chuckled. “Look at you acting more like a producer than me. Can’t the guy take a breather once in a while?”
Maria just pouted and stayed quiet. These last few days, James had been showing up like clockwork every evening. They didn’t say much, but somehow, silence wasn’t awkward. It even felt relaxing.
No work stress, no kids to juggle, no Amelia starting drama—it was the most carefree she'd felt in ages.
If she could, she’d freeze this moment a bit longer. She wished James could stay a bit longer too.
Soon after James left, Ava Nelson and Grace arrived to swap shifts, and not long after that, Kevin Taylor showed up carrying two bulging bags of fruit.
“Did you rob every stall outside the hospital?” Ava teased him naturally. After hanging out with Maria’s circle for a
