The next morning, Mirabella woke up first. The clock on the wall showed 5:30 a.m. The sky outside was still soft gray, just before dawn. The house was quiet, the kind of peaceful silence that only comes before the world fully wakes up.

Hunter was still asleep beside her. His arm rested loosely over her waist, and his breathing was slow and steady. For a long moment, she just stared into his face.

It was a crime, she thought, for one man to look this handsome even in his sleep. His short hair ...