Chapter 1

The day Ethan got back from his trip, I shoved the package right in his face. "Your Director Lawson's delivery. The courier said he's been sending to this address for a year."

His hands stilled for a moment, then he set the box casually on the entryway console. "Her building doesn't have package lockers, and the front desk won't hold them. She travels a lot, so she has me sign for them sometimes."

He reached over and gave the back of my neck a light squeeze, his tone teasing. "What, are you checking up on me?"

I opened my mouth. All the questions I'd rehearsed the entire day suddenly scattered at his touch. Maybe I really was making a big deal out of nothing.

I nudged the package into a corner and didn't bring it up again.

He crouched down, pulled a box from his suitcase, and put it in my hands. "Sorry about the island trip. Here's your birthday present."

I looked down and opened it. A Chanel silk scarf, off-white, printed with camellias. The knot in my chest loosened instantly. He still cared about me.

I lifted the scarf out, and my fingers brushed against a slip of paper tucked in the lining of the box.

A receipt. Hermes silk scarf, $6,500. Chanel silk scarf (complimentary gift).

I clutched that receipt, my nails digging into my palm.

The one in my hands was the freebie. So where was the real one?

I slid the receipt back into the bottom of the box, looked up, and smiled at him. "Thank you."

He didn't respond. He was busy texting.

I stood beside him, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of his phone screen. The contact name was a single word. Diana.

My throat suddenly tightened. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Early the next morning, the kitchen hummed with the sound of beans grinding.

I shuffled out in a jacket and found Ethan standing at the counter.

He was heating milk.

The Ethan I knew had never set foot in a kitchen, let alone washed a single dish.

He heard my footsteps and turned around with a smile.

"You're up?"

He pushed a bowl of warm milk toward me.

I picked it up and took a sip. Sweet.

Last night's discovery suddenly didn't seem so important.

I thought to myself, I really was overthinking things.

I set the bowl down and took a deep breath.

"Ethan, there's something I need to tell you."

"I quit my job. Today I'm going to—"

His phone rang.

He answered the call with one hand while pouring the rest of the milk from the pot into a black thermos with the other.

"Yeah, Director Lawson. Sure, I'll be there in thirty minutes."

Slam!

The door shut.

The words "start at your company" were still stuck on the tip of my tongue.