The kiss in the nursery didn't just change the air between them; it rewired the circuitry of their daily life. The careful, negotiated distance of their "pragmatic proposal" evaporated. There was no discussion, no memo. It simply ceased to be relevant. Liam’s hand found the small of her back as they reviewed subflooring samples. Evelyn would lean her head against his shoulder during late-night calls with the Norwegian foundation expert. They shared a bed not as wary allies, but as lovers, their bodies curving into familiar spaces in the dark.
It was a quiet, profound surrender to a truth they had been fighting for months. But surrender, they quickly learned, required new terms. The old rules—the wall, the memos, the scheduled meetings with Anya—were obsolete. They needed a new operating s
