Page 182 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

“Voss’s text.”

His face shutters.

“I could have told her myself.”

Lucian goes very still.

“I decided being loyal to you mattered more than giving her information that belonged to her.”

“This isn’t on you.”

For years, there were Lucian’s part and my part. Strategy and execution. Vision and instinct.

When it came to Richard, there was no clean line.

I made calls.

I watched patterns.

I knew when a lender needed encouragement and when pressure needed time to work.

I’ve been every bit as involved because, the truth is, I wanted her as desperately as he did.

Whatever it took, I did it.

Lucian studies me for a long moment. Then, quietly, he says, “You love her.”

There is no point pretending surprise. “Yeah. I do.” I’m not sure when it happened, but I’ve never experienced anything like this soul-crushing devastation.

To regain control, I drag a hand over my jaw. “I love the way she thinks. I love that she calls bullshit before she considers whether it’s wise. I love that she worries about everyone else and cares about her clients so deeply that she forgets to eat lunch.”

I hold his gaze.

“We don’t fucking deserve her. Probably never did.”

Lucian doesn’t argue.

That bothers me more than if he had.

For four days, every conversation we’ve had has eventually circled back to the same question. Whether Sophie will call. Whether she’ll come home. Whether there’s anything we can do that will make her want us again.

Even our remorse has an objective.

Get Sophie back.

Fuck.

I straighten.

“That’s the problem.”

Lucian frowns. “What is?”

“We’re still doing it.”

“Doing what?”

“Trying to engineer the ending.”