Well, this was just lunch with a work friend. A work friend she’d kissed a couple of times, but still. It’s not like she was running off to Vegas with Clarence or anything. Just having lunch. Alone. With a man who’d held her in his arms and whispered in her ear that he wanted her. A man who had made her coffee every single day since. A man who treated her son well and told her he wanted to take care of her like it was a point of personal pride. It’d be so easy to just let Clarence take care of her. It’d be a relief, honestly, after three plus years of trying and trying and trying so hard to make things work. But it wasn’t just her. She had to keep Mikey in mind. Clarence was being thoughtful and attentive to both of them, but she didn’t want Mikey to get attached if this wasn’t going anywhere. She didn’t want to get attached if this wasn’t going anywhere. She didn’t want to fall for sweet words and empty promises again.  This was just lunch.
