He wanted to be that brave.
The beads clinked together softly.
When he finished, he held the necklace up to the light. Green and gold beads caught the glow and threw it back at him, fractured but beautiful.
He’d done it. He’d made something good enough.This. This he could give to his wife.
CHAPTER 57
Lauren
She should have been asleepan hour ago.
Instead, she stared at the ceiling, heart thrumming like it used to the night before Christmas.
It was ridiculous. She was thirty-one years old.
And yet—every part of her felt alive with anticipation. Waiting. Hoping.
She rolled onto her side, the pillow cool against her cheek. The air smelled faintly of glue, the ghost of her work lingering in the room. The same way Tom lingered in her thoughts.
Tomorrow.
One more sleep until…
Until she found out what“seduce me”meant.
Lauren exhaled, the breath soft against the dark.
She wasn’t naïve enough to think a date—or whatever this was—would fix everything.
But she couldn’t stop the way her chest ached with wanting. The way her heart kept lifting, despite itself.
It wasn’t just that she missed him—it was that she missedthem.
The shared looks. The quiet shorthand. The small, unthinking gestures that came from knowing each other down to the smallest details.
Oh for God’s sake.
She had slept with Tom hundreds of times. She knew his body and he knew hers. This should not feel like some special event.
She harrumphed—actually harrumphed—rolled onto her other side, yanked the covers up to her chin, and scolded herself under her breath.
“Go to sleep, Lauren.”
She shut her eyes.
And absolutely did not sleep.
Her outfit felt like a shield—casualclothes, cotton underwear. Safe. Unremarkable.
Everything was ready except her.
A knock sounded and Lauren froze.
One breath. Then another.
Her hand found the doorknob, cool against her palm.
