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“Thank you for saying that.”

“I mean it. You didn’t deserve any of what I said.”

“No, I didn’t.” Her fingers tightened around her mug. “And I think what hurt most was that you seemed to believe I might actually do something like that. Not accidentally, not because I made a foolish decision without thinking, but deliberately. As though I’d decided your privacy mattered less than my career.”

I wanted to reach for her hand. I kept mine on the table.

“I know.”

“I was thrilled about the possibility of more books together. I’d spent years working toward something like that, and suddenly Bridget was telling me she thought we could be a successful narration team. I wasn’t going to pretend that didn’t excite me.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

“But I also heard you say you didn’t want publicity. I respected that, Hudson. I told you I did, and I meant it.”

Her eyes looked suspiciously bright behind her glasses.

“I can want something wonderful for my career without expecting you to want exactly the same thing. What made you think I’d suddenly forgotten everything we’d talked about?”

“I didn’t think it through. That’s the problem. I saw my picture on that post, and I knew you’d been excited about the proposal. I put those two things together without asking whether there was any reason to connect them.”

Peyton looked down at her tea.

“I was so happy yesterday. You introduced me to your friends, showed me your home, and told me you wanted to see me again after this weekend. I went to sleep beside you thinking we’d have time to figure out how to make that work.”

“I wanted that too.”

“Then this morning you looked at me as though you didn’t know whether you could trust me. And when I told you I hadn’t done anything, you kept asking.”

She shook her head.

“I don’t expect you to be perfect, Hudson. I’m certainly not. But I need to know that if something goes wrong, you’re going to talk to me instead of deciding I’m responsible before you’ve even checked.”

She studied me for a long moment.

“What if Oliver hadn’t found out who released the photograph?”

“I still would’ve owed you an apology for the way I treated you. I had no right to accuse you without evidence, no matter what Folio found.”

Her expression softened a little.

“I’m glad you understand that.”

“I do. And I don’t expect you to forget what happened just because I’ve come over and apologized.”

“I don’t want to forget it,” she said. “I’d rather we learned how to handle things better. I like you far too much to spend another morning arguing with you.”

I let out a breath.

“That’s a relief, because I like you a hell of a lot too.”

A small smile appeared.

“You have a rather unfortunate way of demonstrating it occasionally.”

“I’ve had better mornings.”

“Yes, I think we can agree on that.”