L didn''t say much, but Ste could sense a sincerity in his words. After a moment''s thought, she sent him her Twitter handle.


    Ever since deciding to divorce Haynes O''Brien, Ste had made a clean break with her past. She hadn''t stayed a single night in the O''Brien family home since moving out. She had also changed all her contact information, getting a new phone number and creating new social media ounts. She no longer wanted to see people like Rachel Pearce and Jasper Wilkinson in her feed.


    After getting a new number, she''d thrown herself into her work. Any promotional content rted to her business was handled by Abby Murphy on a separate, professional ount. Ste''s personal Twitter was quiet. She asionally posted pictures of food, but nothing that would reveal any personal details. Even her profile picture was a random image she''d found online, and her username was a simple ''S''. Both ''Summer'' and ''Star'' started with S, and she couldn''t be bothered to think of anything else.


    Shortly after she sent her contact info, a notification popped up on her phone.


    L has sent you a friend request.


    Ste epted it. She nced at L''s Twitter profile and was surprised to find itpletely nk. Not a single post. Anyone who didn''t know better would think they''d been blocked. His profile picture was just a ck square, as if he couldn''t even be bothered to find a stock photo.


    As if sensing her confusion, he sent a message.


    "Sorry, I don''t really have the habit of posting on Twitter. I wouldn''t even know what to post."


    Ste replied, "It''s okay. I''m not much of a poster myself."


    They exchanged a few more messages before Ste had to get back to work. She said goodbye to and went to find Joshua Gardner She had returned to the hotel early, leaving Joshua to colleet the important contract documents after the signing was officially concluded. He had just messaged her to say he had them.


    Joshua''s room was right next to hers. Wanting to confirm that all the documents were in order, she got up and knocked on his door.


    "Joshua, are you in there?"


    After waiting a moment with no response, she was about to knock again when she noticed the door was slightly ajar. She hesitated at the threshold for a second before pushing it open and stepping inside.


    As she entered, she heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. Joshua was a bit of a neat freak; whenever possible, he''d shower the moment he got back from


    anywhere. Knowing his habit Ste didn''t think much of it. Her eyes scanned the room and settled on the file folder sitting on the coffee table.


    She sat on the sofa, opened the folder, and was about to start reviewing the documents when the sound of the shower suddenly stopped. A momentter, she heard the bathroom door click open.


    A tall, well-built man walked out. Perhaps feelingfortable in his own room, he hadn''t bothered with a bathrobe, wearing only a white towel knotted low on his hips. He was rubbing his hair with another towel, and droplets of water trickled from his dark locks down his fair, solid chest, adding a certain allure to the scene. The sleek lines of his


    muscles were clearly defined,


    leading down to the tantalizing V-line at his hips.


    Although Ste and Joshua spent most of their days together, they were always mindful of maintaining a professional distance. Even during Joshua''s hospital stay, Ste would always step out of the room when it was time for his medicine or to be cleaned up.


    Seeing him like this now was a shock, and for a moment, she just stared,pletely frozen.