CHAPTER 42

Having her throw her arms around me, her lips brushing against my cheek as she thanked me for helping her calm her panic attack, made me wish I had shown up to this event alone. The warmth of her embrace, stirring feelings I had no business entertaining. But I knew better; I knew better than to let my mind wander into dangerous territory, where I could begin to think of us as something more than a contract marriage.

Renee had been crystal clear about the nature of our arrangement more times than I could count. And I was committed to respecting her space by calling a spade a spade. I couldn't afford to misinterpret our interactions, no matter how tempting it was to imagine a different reality.