ack shifting under his skin as he tossed it aside. The ro

ted him to chang

mpletely unaffected by her prese

toward the bed, pulling back the covers as if the act of

. He lay on his back at first, one arm resting

ng at the dimly lit wall, hyper-

me, neither o

f the tension between them. Maybe an offhanded remark from him-som

said

ow, that

f the moment pressed against her. She could hear his steady breathing, f

ght of h

y be rough, or would they move with the same calculat

ugh her, and she shifted beneath the

was rid

ng about her. He h

ont of her, the quiet arrogance of it, made her wonder i

he just d

herself to push the tho

t the only on

e unreadable in the dim light, bu

ooked at him. Or rather,

sily he could read the tension in her shoulders,

he hadn't

able changing in front of her. Hadn't demanded a

than he had giv

tled him more

his money, not the name she had bee

he couldn'

m like that, he wasn't sure h

hen Maeve woke, Luc

side of the bed was

pled. As if he had

e her, her fingers brushing against t

't imagi

ng had

n't going t

oor pulled her f

voice came softly from the ot

in a light sundress be

ady immersed in work. His focus remained

said as she took her

d up briefl

n. No flicker of acknowle

ath her skin. He had changed in front of her like it meant n

e, to hi

oing to let

istance, quiet meals, and nights spent lying inches apart, preten

le into the strange rhythm of this mar

t, the dining room exuding a quiet sophistic

polished table, her posture stiff

e table. "You've handled yourself well, Maeve," he said. "This famil

a small smil

s curling into a tight, unreadable smile. "I suppose time will tell," she

around her fork, but she k

en't a warning. The

k of a response, the ro

mur of conver

l, moving with the kind of effortl

the change

arkened ever so slightly. The

Luca stiffen

head slowly, her

that suggested she had never once questioned her place in this

uca.Like she already knew him.

on her napk

ough the heavy silence,

red. "So wonderful

ely heard

her for days-was looking at this woman

as when sh

st someone fro

eone who sti