Chapter 45
The answer came more easily than expected.
After the massage ended and the offer settled in the quiet room, the only word that felt true was yes. Pride had already been worn thin by hormones and exhaustion. Safety mattered more than the careful distance that had been maintained for weeks. When Cole turned the lamp lower and left space on the near side of the bed, the decision followed without further argument.
Sleeping beside him changed the shape of the nights immediately.
The first evening passed in careful stillness. Separate blankets. Shared quiet. The solid fact of another body only an arm’s reach away made the dark less sharp. Whenever the child shifted or a wave of nausea rose, the awareness of his presence kept panic from fully forming. Once, in the early hours, a re
