ISABELLE
His jaw worked.
“I’m trying,” he said quietly.
I stared at Matt, confused. “What?”
He gestured at us—at how we were tangled together, how natural it felt.
“All of this is new to me,” he admitted. “I’m still figuring things out. Sometimes I don’t know how to react. What to do. What to say.”
He exhaled slowly.
“If it weren’t for you pushing me, I wouldn’t have gone to Lucia’s wedding. I would’ve made an excuse and stayed here, buried in work, avoiding anything that felt too… personal.”
His eyes met mine, vulnerable in a way I’d never seen.
“I don’t know how to feel, Isabelle. But I’m learning. Because of you.”
The honesty in his voice, in his eyes, made my anger dissolve.
“Give me time,” he said softly. “Please. And in the meantime… can we both just forget the contract e
