rned softly

the velvet couch in her soft cotton pajamas, she watched Ethan step across the threshold.

feet tucked beneath the blanket. For a fleeting second, something vulnerab

id. It wasn't a question, b

" Emily replied, her voice soft in

not to wai

her book and setting it gently on the coffee table.

ord, he walked past her toward the kitchen. The refrigerator

d feel. The cupboards held little more than a single lonely pan and a couple of glass plates, but no salt, b

f ice water. He remained standing, kee

and administrative. "My bedroom is at the end of the hallway

d," Emily

d you call unless it is an absolute emergency." He paused,

ated, tasting the col

check-ins. Meaningl

tell me what counts as urgent. A burst water pipe? A break

rply. "You know perfe

arrying me if the sound of my voice is c

glass down slowly, his gaze fixed on the condensation sli

asked me to," he

long, but hearing him say it aloud settled in her stomach like cold lead.

ely out of your way,

m without looking back, unwilling to let him w

elt remotely lived-in. That hope vanished when she found the cupboards just as bare. Desperate fo

hand, she walked straight down the hal

his damp shoulders, water droplets tracing the sharp line of his collarbone down past a fa

reathed, her

ctively to the towel. "I

managed, her pu

e flushing with rare em

into his bedroom, the door clic

cted bubble of amusement broke through her shock

in another impeccable dark suit. She was sittin

shing a pastry toward him. "Ta

th suspicion. "I don't

is a new pr

suming it quietly by the window with

er than expected. Without a word, he placed a sm

osit funds on the tenth of every month. Groceri

to his gray eyes.

ing w

not to being financially kept. If this card co

ons. You are maintaining a household I asked you to

know I won't dra

h restaurant meal," he replied smoothly. "And you bought bakery p

ad noticed both choices minor deta

ded quietly. "It's a professional habit.

d and slid it into he

l me Ethan,"

ring him. "I think I'll stic

embling amusement crossed

emained slightly cracked behind her. She never intended to eavesdrop, but Ethan's deep voice

rtainly not to call my personal line. Fix it." A tense pause followed. "I do

e click

ehold rules like a legal brief now sounded raw, formidable, and dangerously p

w about her husband. Not his high-stakes world, not his past

down the hall remained firmly shut. She strained her ears, but no sound esca

slipped from his mind. Closing her eyes against the quiet emptiness, a single haunt