Isobel’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she turned her hand in the morning light, the ring scattering prisms across the walls like fireflies caught in glass. A prayer rose inside her chest, quiet and fierce—a thank-you whispered to the universe for Ryder Hayes, a man who had filled a hollow she hadn’t even known she carried until he stepped into her life.

She rose with purpose, moving through her rituals—shower, dress, hair swept up—each motion threaded with the calm certainty of ...