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“What!”

“He plagiarised my stuff.” Bea waved a hand, dismissing Jackson Smithers to the irrelevance he deserved. “But I was upset. Turns out, my sisters were more upset about the loss of my pay increase, which they had plans for. I walked out.”

“Bea, I’m so sorry. You earned that promotion.”

“Don’t get me started on justice in our industry. The point is I went to your place for time out. Maybe a few hours.”

“And Casildo was already there.”

“No.”

“You asked him over?”

“I was curled up in the corner of the sofa, drinking hot chocolate, eyes shut while I listened to Taylor Swift set the world to rights. My idea of staying a few hours had morphed into a few days.”

“Then you asked him over?”

“He arrived.” Bea frowned, remembering the moment he’d called her name. Shock had shot her to her feet. She’d been wet and worried. “Maha said she wanted her granny flat back.”

“Because”—the gears in Anna’s brain visibly turned—“things have progressed far enough with Antonio that they wanted a bit of personal space.”

“I didn’t even know Antonio and Maha were an item.”

“I know him.” Anna shrugged. She’d worked for Antonio for years. “He looked a bit smitten at our wedding and surprised to be smitten. I can’t recall him ever being seriously interested in a woman since his wife died. Maybe I’m wrong.”

“You’re not wrong. Casildo said he didn’t ask his sister about her sex life.”

Anna guffawed. “How’s yours?”

Bea stared at her lunch.

“I’m sorry. I should know better than anyone not to ask personal questions.”

“I gave him a week’s trial,” Bea said. “Said we could see if we got along as flatmates, but I was there first, and we both refused your offers to look after the apartment.”

“I’m guessing you’re getting along?”

“We were.” Bea sipped her water.

“What do you want to tell me?” Anna touched Bea’s hand.

Bea raised her head. “He’s housetrained. He’s thoughtful. We’re lovers.” She stumbled to a halt.

“What do you want to ask me?”

Coming between the new husband and wife had been another worry, so the gentleness in Anna’s voice almost undid her. No shock, no recriminations, no “Shit, you’re talking about Hunter’s best friend here.”

Bea had thought long and hard about this. She was selfish, not wanting her time with Casildo to end, but she’d convinced herself Anna couldn’t get the apartment rented out in a week. “Can I stay until next weekend, please?”

“You can stay as long as you want.”

“That’s not fair,” Bea whispered. “To anyone.”

“Are your parents financially dependent on you?” Anna was the only person who knew some of the truth.

“I’m paying most of the mortgage.” A sob escaped. “They need to retire.”

“How much longer?”