Page 192 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

Now I notice everything… The distance they leave between us. The fact neither man reaches for me. The way Lucian’s hands remain loose at his sides, even though I know those hands well enough to remember exactly how they feel wrapped around my wrists, my hips, my throat.

Wanting floods through me so intensely; I almost resent them for it.

Almost.

I move around my desk because having a piece of furniture between us suddenly feels ridiculous, but I stop near the sofa rather than going any closer.

For several long seconds, none of us speaks.

Then I say, “I heard from my mom.”

Lucian’s expression barely changes, but Caleb exhales.

“She told me about the fund.”

Lucian nods.

“And Inamorata called me.”

At this, Caleb tips his head to one side.

And then I realize something I hadn’t before. Each of them gave up control in their own way, Caleb with my security, Lucian financially.

Looking between them, I ask, “Why?”

Lucian’s gaze holds mine. “Because it was the right thing to do.”

My heart goes into a freefall.

Caleb curls one hand into a fist. “Undoing what never should have been done in the first place.”

I can hardly think. “What changed?”

Lucian’s face is stark. “I owe you an apology.”

“You…”

I force myself to meet his gaze.

He takes one step toward me, then stops as if he has reached an invisible boundary.

“I knew exactly what kind of woman you were. Independent. Stubborn. Brilliant. Entirely unimpressed by what I could offer you.” Something almost painful moves through his eyes. “Those were the things that made you impossible for me to forget.”

My pulse thuds.

“And instead of trusting that woman to make her own decisions, I spent years arranging the circumstances around her.”

There is no excuse after it.

“I was wrong.”

My eyes sting.

“I’m sorry, Sophie.”

Those three plain words nearly destroy me, and I put my hand on the back of the sofa for balance.

Near him, Caleb says, “I fucked up.”