Maeve's pulse spiked. But Carter reached over, took her hand in his, the touch warm, steady, betraying none of the tension between them.
"It's both," he said simply. "We met when Maeve consulted on a product redesign. I was... difficult. Demanding. I pushed her harder than anyone I'd worked with. And instead of breaking, she pushed back. Made me think differently about everything I'd taken for granted." His thumb traced circles on her palm, an intimate gesture that felt both calculated and strangely genuine. "I fell for her intelligence first. Her integrity second. The fact that she's beautiful was just fortunate coincidence."
Maeve's breath caught. The words were pretty, practiced. But his eyes, when they met hers, held something raw underneath.
"And you, Miss Wells?" Hiroshi prompted.
