“I didn’t inherit a fortune,” Nathan muttered, taking the glass from her but not drinking. “I inherited a prison. It’s just bigger now.”

Bella's eyes softened. She reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead, just as she had when he was a boy. “Even a prison can feel like home if you let it,” she said quietly.

He gave a short, hollow laugh. “That sounds like something a prisoner would say.”

“Maybe it is,” she admitted, stepping back with a small ...