This time, she laid down beside him. He had already apologized, and her heart knew there was no reason to keep her distance anymore. If they were going to make this marriage work, pushing him away would only build another wall between them. She wanted to try… and so did he.

He lay on his side, his face turned toward her, his eyes soft yet unreadable. His voice was low when he spoke, careful, as though testing the fragile peace between them.

“If… if you don’t like Claire ...