Chapter 39
KATE — P.O.V.
I did not plan on leaving. I had decided, cold and certain, that tonight I would sleep in his bed and plant myself there like a warm, undeniable fact. The house held its usual hush at that hour — muffled footsteps down the marble halls, the soft hum of the refrigerator, the faint sound of a clock somewhere counting out the seconds — but under it all was the quick, electric pulse that came when I was near him. Lucas’s scent fluttered at the back of my throat: a rich, woody perfume mixed with the faint tang of aftershave. It made me greedy.
I slid into the duvet after him and closed my eyes, pretending sleep would be the only language we both spoke until morning. The more time I spent beside him, the more sure I became: I would not let this moment slip. She was an
