ra stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds before she finally made herself follow him.


    She wasn''t imagining it-Dn was in a seriously bad mood tonight.


    She trailed him upstairs to the second floor, watching as he slipped into his study and sat right in the middle of the room. He didn''t look like he was about to get any work done; if anything, he looked lost in his own head.


    ra hovered at the doorway, debating with herself, then finally couldn''t resist anymore.


    "Did your familye down on you again?"


    The marks fromst time still hadn''t faded. If they hurt him again, would his back ever heal?


    Dn nced at her silhouette in the doorway, his lips quirking up just a little.


    "Are you worried about me?"


    Sometimes ra wondered if she''d been fitted with a Dn mood detector or something. How else could she always tell when he was upset?


    She didn''t answer, just stood there for a few more minutes before slowly walking over and bracing her hands on his desk.


    "I just don''t get it. If this is all so hard for you, why not just divorce me? Wouldn''t that make both our lives easier?"


    He looked up right away, eyes sharp. "Easier for who?"


    ra frowned. Was she not making sense?


    "For me. For you. Mrs. Ferguson said it herself—marrying me would just make your life miserable."


    His face stayed unreadable, but suddenly he reached out and gently gripped her chin, tipping her head side to side.


    "Maybe it would be better for you, ra. But not for me."


    It hit her, suddenly, that ever since she''d woken up here, Dn had always called her "ra"-her first name, the way only people who were close ever did.


    She dropped her gaze, searching his face for any hint of what they might have been to each other before.


    But she remembered someone saying they never really got along. She''d even pped him once, in front of a room full of people.


    So what was Dn to her, really?


    She was so lost in thought, she didn''t even notice when he leaned in.


    His lips brushed hers-soft, barely there. His voice gentled. "Go get some sleep."


    ra''s hands were still nted on the desk, her mind nk for a few long seconds before she finally shuffled out, moving like a wind-up doll.


    She was halfway down the hall when she heard him say, "Next time you want a kiss, you could just ask."


    She froze, feeling like someone had


    re


    jed a ridiculous rumor about


    her.


    a moment, she opened her


    mouth to respond, but nothing came out.


    Dn watched her stiff back as she walked away, a real smile finally breaking through. His bad mood just evaporated.


    She always did that-without even trying, she made everything lighter.


    ra didn''t go back to her own room right away. Instead, she stood at the top of


    the stairs, gazing down at the house below.


    The staff were still busy, moving around with quiet purpose. Somehow, this ce had started to feel warm, evenforting. Waiting up for him on the couch every night had be her new normal.


    She''d caught herself realizing it more than once-Dn was bing a habit.


    That thought scared her. She needed to find a way out, before it was toote.


    She took a deep breath and started down the stairs.


    She wandered around for a while, eventually making her way outside to Dn''s


    car.


    No keys. She couldn''t drive it.


    Dn always left so early in the


    ет


    mornings, before she even woke up. She''d tried to catch him before to leay@with him, but he always managed to slip away.


    So tonight, she decided she''d just wait in his car until dawn. If she was already there, he couldn''t leave without her.


    ra leaned back, meaning to get some sleep, when she noticed a small, fancy box tucked in thepartment.


    As far as she knew, Dn never gave gifts to women. Who was this for?


    She picked it up, curiosity winning out, and opened it. Inside was a neatly folded note.


    She unfolded it, and the words jumped out at her:


    Dn will marry Tara.


    She blinked, thinking she''d misread. But no, she checked again. That''s exactly what it said.


    Dn. Tara?


    She''d already suspected something—she''d seen little things about Tara that reminded her of Dn. Had something happened between them?


    The note looked old, at least ten years or more.


    But hadn''t Dn been obsessed with Shelly back then?


    She didn''t want to think about it too hard. If Dn had always wanted Tara, then


    why marry her? Why keep her trapped here in Palm Bay?


    ra hated being anyone''s stand-in-hated being tied to a man whose heart was somewhere else.


    She tucked the note back where she found it and closed thepartment, pretending she''d never seen a thing.