The deposition at the elementary institute had shifted something. Juniper couldn’t quite name what… only that the careful boundaries she’d drawn between professional and personal felt less solid than they had this morning.

What am I doing? Juniper thought as they stepped out into the crisp autumn air, the leaves crunching beneath their feet. The question had no easy answer. There was the case, the kids who needed them, the truth they were chasing. And then there was… this. Whatever this was.

She could still taste cinnamon on her tongue. Could still feel the warmth of the classroom, the way Daniel had looked at her when she’d taken that first bite. Small moments that probably shouldn’t mean as much as they did.

As they walked side by side toward the parking lot, Juniper tried to focus on the case, on next steps, on anything practical. But her thoughts kept drifting sideways, noticing things she had no business noticing. The way their pace matched. The comfortable silence between them. How natural it felt, walking beside him like this.

This isn’t the plan, she reminded herself.

But her heart wasn’t listening to plans anymore.