Chapter 473:

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It was run by a mother and daughter. The mother handled the stove, while the daughter moved between the tables, taking orders, serving food, and clearing the tables.

What made the place unforgettable was its broth, rich and fragrant, paired with pasta kneaded and shaped by hand.

During the bitterest days of winter, one steaming bowl was enough to send warmth spreading from a person’s stomach to the very tips of their fingers and toes.

Over her four years at college, Joslyn and her roommates had nearly eaten their way through every little restaurant around campus. After all that searching, the place she kept going back to was still Rosa’s.

The food tasted good, the prices were reasonable, and the mother and daughter who ran the shop were both warmhearted people.

Naturally, back when Joslyn and Brandon were together, he had gone there with her as well.

In the beginning, Brandon had looked down on places like that. To him, a small roadside eatery was greasy and unhygienic, far beneath the clean, elegant restaurants he usually preferred.

But Joslyn loved Rosa’s. Their relationship had been at its sweetest then, so no matter how reluctant Brandon was, he still gave in once in a while and went with her.

Back in those days, they would sit across from each other at one of the cramped tables and share a plate of the house-special braised short ribs. During winter, the glass door would blur beneath a thick layer of mist, and Brandon would use his finger to draw crooked little doodles on it just to make her laugh.

Those memories surfaced quietly, carrying with them the gentle warmth of a time long past. They had not been grand or breathtaking moments of romance, but they had once been real enough to leave traces behind.

Joslyn turned her head and glanced at Connor beside her. His eyes were closed as he rested in silence.

In𝘴𝘁𝘢n𝘵 𝘢𝗰𝗰𝖾𝘀s 𝗼ո 𝗀𝗮𝘭n𝘰𝗏𝖾𝗹s.со𝗆

Only then did a thought suddenly cross her mind. Perhaps bringing him there had not been such a good idea after all.

“Connor?” Joslyn called softly.

Connor immediately opened his eyes and turned toward her. “What is it? Are you feeling sick?”

She gently shook her head. “No.”

After a brief pause, she continued, “The eatery I mentioned, back when I was in college, Brandon used to go there with me.”

Her voice stayed calm as she looked him straight in the eye without avoiding his gaze. “The owner knows me, and she also knows Brandon. If we go there, she might mention him. I thought that might make you uncomfortable.”

She left the decision entirely to him, speaking with complete honesty. “So if that bothers you even a little, we can eat somewhere else. There are plenty of restaurants nearby. Or we can just go home and let the housekeeper make something.”

Silence filled the car.

Connor quietly watched her. Her face was still a little pale because of her period, yet her clear eyes held nothing back. She wasn’t trying to hide her past from him. Instead, she openly placed it before him while also thinking about how he might feel.

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