All Chapters of OFF LIMIT: FOURTEEN NIGHTS WITH MY HUSBAND'S BEST FRIENDS : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Chapter 1ElowenThe villa in the photographs looked like something pulled from a dream, all sun-bleached stone and terracotta tiles spilling down the cliffside toward water so blue it didn't seem real.I traced my finger across the glossy image on my phone screen while standing in our bedroom doorway, watching Adrian stare out the window at nothing, his wheelchair positioned exactly where the afternoon light fell across the hardwood floors in golden slashes that made everything look softer than it was, gentler than the reality of our life had become."Italy," I said quietly and carefully, because every word felt like stepping on ice that might crack beneath my weight, and I'd learned over two years to measure my tone, my volume, my very breathing against the unpredictable shifts in his mood. "Adrian, this is beautiful, but are you sure you're up for traveling right now, the doctors said…""The doctors say a lot of things," he interrupted without turning toward me, his voice flat and

Chapter 3Elowen I gulped the invisible saliva painfully. I should have gotten used to Adrian's sarcastic comments, but it was something I'm not sure I could get used to.But I didn't blame him because I knew it was coming from a place of hurt. I understood his pain."Well," Matteo said finally, his accent thickening slightly the way it did when he was uncomfortable, "andiamo, we should board, no? The flight is ready and Positano is waiting."The attendant came to escort us to the plane, and I was grateful for the movement, the distraction of gathering bags and checking tickets and helping Adrian navigate the jet bridge, anything to escape the tension that had settled over our group like fog.The private jet was exactly as luxurious as I'd expected given Adrian's taste and budget, all cream leather and polished wood. Enough space that we could theoretically avoid each other for the duration of the flight.I helped Adrian settle into the seat with the most legroom, made sure his medic

Chapter 5ElowenI felt something inside me surrender, some final piece of resistance crumbling under the weight of two years of blame and punishment."If I do this," I said, my voice barely audible, "will you finally forgive me, will you finally let this go?""Yes," Adrian said immediately, and I didn't know if he was lying or not but I was so desperate to believe him that it didn't matter. "Yes, Elowen, if you do this for me, if you give me this gift, then we can start over when we go home, we can finally move past the accident and build something new."It was a lie, I knew it was a lie even as the words settled into my chest. But I was drowning and he was offering a rope, even if that rope was made of thorns, I grabbed for it anyway because what else could I do."Okay," I whispered. "Okay, I'll do it, I'll tell them."He smiled and it should have looked triumphant but instead it just looked satisfied, like he'd won something he'd been planning to win all along. "Good girl, now go