# Chapter 35
Kassie stood in the studio’s front office, watching through the window as Ben unloaded packages from his truck. For the past three weeks, she’d been strategically avoiding him—scheduling client meetings during his usual delivery times, sending Sarah to handle package deliveries, staying busy in the back office when she heard his voice in the front room.
It wasn’t fair to him, and she knew it. But every interaction had become a reminder of her own limitations, a painful confirmation that she couldn’t force herself to want something she didn’t feel.
“He’s been asking about you,” Sarah said, appearing beside her with a stack of client files. “Ben. He wants to know if you’re okay, if he did something wrong.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That you’re going through a busy period wi
