Monte was right—the shit I needed to talk out needed to be done with a counselor. This one wasn’t her job.

“I started looking for a counselor last week. I found a nice lady who has experience with grief. I got an appointment next Tuesday,” she said.

I blinked in disbelief. “For real?”

She nodded. “And I want you to come with me sometimes. If you want. I already told her about you.”

“I’ll be there, Ma. Whenever you need me to come.”

Ma pulled me into her arms, and we embraced again. The heaviness that had been lingering between us disappeared. Pulling away, Mom walked forward, taking a seat on the couch.

“I see you made your way back.” She smiled at Phileigh.

“Yes, ma’am. Somebody came and got me.” She nodded her head in my direction, and my mama grinned.

“I’ve taught you well. How’s my grandbaby?”

Both Phileigh and I paused. We’d talked about what we would share with her on the way over here, but I knew Phileigh was nervous. She was worried that my mom would think she was some kind of gold digger, forcing me to raise a baby that wasn’t mine.

“Baby’s fine, Ma. We just left the doctor to confirm it,” I said quickly. “I know you saw the post.” I redirected the conversation.

“Uh huh. You two made quite the headlines.” She tossed her purse on the chair and flipped open her tablet. She was now entering business mode. “It’s already trending on three blogs, and I’m getting calls to confirm or deny a relationship.”

“We were just leaving the studio,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Yeah, but flowers, smiles, her sitting on your lap in bliss...” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you confirming a relationship?”

I hesitated because Phileigh and I hadn’t even had a chance to discuss being in a relationship.

“Yes, Phileigh and I are dating,” I confirmed.

“And expecting a child,” my mom added. “Are we leaking that?”

Phileigh shifted in her seat. “Um… Ms. Barnes, there’s something we need to share.”

“What do you mean?” My mom’s eyes bounced between both of us.

“We just started dating,” I said. “And she’s not pregnant by me.”

That stopped her cold. The air stilled like someone had hit pause.

“What?” She blinked, processing my words. Her mouth opened just a fraction. “Not yours? What the hell, Kellon Jamal Barnes?”

“It’s complicated,” I said quickly. I knew I needed to explain before she lost it. “It happened before we started anything. We weren’t even in each other’s lives when she got pregnant. The Super Bowl night… that was our first date.”

My mom stood there looking at me. Her face was unreadable.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Barnes. I promise none of this was intentional.”