o move through the mansion like a

times, the ice around Ad

, a soft word caught on a breeze. Small t

nose buried in a book about Impressionist painters

rain dripping from his coat, e

iding?" His voice was

p, startled. "

he distance between them by

," he said, voice rough. "You

ed hard. "M

side her chair-something

you afraid,"

art sk

o fix this," he admitte

w vulnerability where ther

t, resting her

tart," she

ment, warmth blos

shook the windows, an

stood a

g," he said, voi

ing the small crack close

p inside, a stubb

maybe, the i