Melinda stood frozen, her chest tightening with every beat of her heart. Her hands trembled at her sides, her robe suddenly feeling too thin, too vulnerable. She couldn’t meet James’s eyes not after that name had been spoken aloud.
Louisiana.
Court case.
Debt.
Words she had fought so hard to bury had just been dug up and thrown between them like shards of glass.
“I can explain,” she whispered, her voice raw.
James didn’t say a word at first. He stared at the door Selene had just walked through, his jaw clenched so hard the muscle twitched.
“You should have told me,” he said finally, his voice low. “Not because I’m judging you but because I’m standing next to you in this.”
Melinda blinked.
That wasn’t anger. That was... disappointment.
And for some reason, that hurt more.
She ste
