LOGINQuentin kept grinning between bites.Talia couldn't help herself. She said, "Stop smiling and eat."That only made him grin wider. "Yes, ma'am, wifey."He went back to eating with gusto. When he was done, he carried everything to the kitchen, washed up, and came back out.Talia stood and said, "I'll walk you out."Quentin nodded. "Okay."He didn't want to leave, but he agreed anyway. Staying any longer would've been pushing it.When they stepped outside the Stewart residence together, Quentin didn't get in the car. He just stood by the curb, clearly hoping to stretch the moment a little further.Talia smiled faintly. "It's late. Go home."Quentin turned to look at her. "I really don't want to."Talia smiled at him, then brought a bag out from behind her back and held it toward him. "Here. Take this."Quentin looked down at it, puzzled. "What is it?"She pressed it into his hands. "Wait till you get home to open it."The mystery of it was killing him, but since she'd made t
Talia looked so serious that Quentin felt a flicker of unease. Nevertheless, he kept his composure."Go ahead."Talia hesitated for a long time before the words finally came out. "I've never met your father. Is he—"The light left Quentin's face almost instantly, and his eyes turned red. "He's dead."Talia immediately regretted asking. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."But she'd been so curious, so eager to know more about him, that the question had slipped out before she could stop it.Seeing the guilt on her face, Quentin softened his demeanor. He gave her a faint smile. "He's not actually dead. He just left us."That only surprised her more. "Why? Where did he go?"Quentin started to answer. "He's in Bry—"Then he stopped himself. After a beat, he simply said, "I don't know."Talia caught the way he'd pulled back, but she didn't press. Just then, the soup on the stove started bubbling over.Talia reached for the ladle, but Quentin's hand got there first. Her fi
The ponytail was loose and a little lopsided, but it more or less held her hair together.Talia finished trimming the vegetables for a side salad and moved to wash them.Quentin reached around her and took them from her hands before she could. "I'll do it."He'd grabbed them from behind her, his arm sweeping past her waist, and in doing so, he'd pulled himself flush against her back. She could feel the faint lines of muscle across his chest pressing against her.Talia's whole body went rigid. She didn't move, and she didn't speak. But the rapid rise and fall of her chest gave her away completely.Quentin leaned down and rested his chin in the curve of her shoulder. His arms extended past either side of her waist and into the sink, rinsing the vegetables under the running water.Talia was trapped in his arms with nowhere to go. If she turned her head even a little, she could feel the warmth radiating off his body.It was too much for Talia. She reached for the vegetables and said
By the time Quentin pulled up to the Stewart residence, Maeve had fallen asleep in Talia's arms. He glanced back at them, then eased out of the car as quietly as he could.He walked around to the rear door and opened it. Talia was already moving to carry Maeve out, but Quentin leaned in first. "I've got her.""Okay." Talia shifted back to give him room.Quentin reached in and carefully lifted Maeve out. Talia climbed out after him, and the two of them walked into the main hall together.Paige and Garrett both looked up at the sound of footsteps.When Paige saw Quentin carrying Maeve, she immediately turned to Garrett and instructed, "Go take her."Garrett got up and walked over, with his arms outstretched. "I'll take her."Quentin had been planning to carry Maeve upstairs himself, but he thought better of it and handed her over. "All yours."Once Garrett had Maeve, Paige came forward and smiled warmly at Quentin. "Thank you, Mr. Henderson."Quentin smiled back, feeling a littl
Lucas drove slowly on purpose.The trip to Willow's place should have taken 15 minutes at most, but he stretched it to 30. Along the way, he deliberately took a few wrong turns, eating up time wherever he could.When the car finally pulled up outside her building, Willow didn't linger for even a second. She pushed the door open and got out.Lucas followed suit. He stepped in front of her before she could reach the entrance."Willow, I..." He looked at her; the words stuck somewhere in his throat.Willow smiled at him and said, "Go home. It's cold out, and it's late. Get some rest."But Lucas wasn't ready to leave. He gathered his nerve and asked, "You're not going to invite me up for a cup of coffee?"Willow shook her head. "Next time. I'm tired tonight."He didn't push. He just smiled and said, "Alright. We've got time."Willow bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from breaking. Her voice came out rough as she said, "Good night.""Good night," Lucas said.Then Willow tu
Talia stopped at the edge of the road, and Seamus came to stand beside her.She turned to face him, weighed her words carefully, and then spoke with a slightly apologetic tone. "Mr. Merritt, I was hoping I could ask you about something."Seamus gave her an easy smile. "Go ahead. You're Quentin's fiancee, and you're Evan's close friend on top of that. Either way, I'll tell you whatever I can."Talia politely returned the smile, then got straight to the point. "A couple of days ago, Christian came to me, and we signed a new divorce agreement. We went to the courthouse, but the clerk told us our cooling-off period had already expired."Since we didn't finalize the divorce within that window, we have to start the whole process over from scratch. I wanted to ask you if there's any way around it."Every day the divorce remained unsettled was another day Talia couldn't rest easy. She wanted it done so she could move on with her life.Seamus listened, then shook his head. "There's no sho
Rodney looked at Talia's bruised body and didn't feel any disgust. Instead, he was turned on.The fresh blood beneath her was like a drug, stirring his dark desires to commit a crime.Unable to restrain himself any longer, he kneeled on the bed and forced Talia's legs apart. He then placed one leg
Sensing Talia's low spirits, Quentin shot Evan a look, signaling him to go over and cheer her up.Evan immediately understood. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Talia. "Ms. Stewart, let's go make lunch."As Talia looked down at him, her eyes were full of guilt. "Evan, let me apologize to
Shayla nodded vigorously. "I'm telling the truth."Quentin fell silent for a moment, thinking it over. He figured that Shayla's words had to be genuine. Given the Wilder family's background, she wouldn't dare offend Talia under normal circumstances. The only reason she'd act so boldly was if Connor
After that, Talia saw a hashtag about Willow.#FamousFoodVloggerUsesHerBodyAsBargainingChipSeeing the hashtag, Talia was momentarily stunned. She clicked in to check and was surprised that the comments were mostly supportive.There were indeed some negative voices, but most were calm and reasona







