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My whole body flushed. It was sudden—my chest, my neck, even behind my knees.

A wave of heat rolled through me, slow and low and thick, starting from that single point of contact and spreading underneath my flesh like melted honey.

Maybe to him it was just a kiss on the palm.

But to me, it felt like something sacred.

And I didn’t know what to do with that so I held it quietly. I nodded. Tried to keep my face schooled as I pulled my hand back and sat across from him—like nothing had happened.

I read once that a woman can bloom under the right kind of attention.

Not gifts or flowers or loud declarations. Just… being noticed. Genuinely. Softly. Like someone sees her and doesn’t look away.

And maybe that’s what this was.

He took a bite, then looked up at me.

“What are you gonna do about your husband?” He asked bluntly.

I swallowed. Hard. “Nothing. Not right now,” I said, picking at my food. “He’s in Miami for a week. Which I now know he isn’t—or wasn’t—but he probably won’t come back to our home for a week. I have time to think. I don’t know what to do, really, Sam. I don’t have money. I don’t have a job. I just—I gotta think.”

He nodded slowly.

“Can I ask you something? A favor. And if the answer is no, I’ll drop it. I mean that.”

“Okay.”

“My wife doesn’t know exactly how much money I have,” he said, voice low, careful. “She just likes to spend it. I own this house, half my parents’ restaurant, and a few more properties. I don’t want her getting half of what she never helped build. If I’m going to protect any of it... I need documentation. Proof of the affair. Something I can use. Multiple occasions. Something she can’t deny.”

I sat back, thinking.

He looked at me dead-on. No pressure. No sweet-talking.

“You don’t owe me anything,” he added. “And don’t say ‘okay’ unless you mean it. I can find another way if it'll hurt you. Speak up for yourself.”

The way he said it made my chest tighten.

I wasn’t used to being heard—or people caring about how I felt or what I thought. It was heady. I felt physically woozy.

I looked at him and smiled.

“I’m not staying with Mark,” I said quietly. “And I don’t feel bad about helping you. So yeah... okay.”

He nodded, then reached into his pocket and slid something across the table.

A key.

“You need a break? Time away?” He looked at me, his face serious.

“You come here.”

Chapter 7- Sam

I kept thinking about Zane. It was harder than I wanted it to be, putting her in an Uber earlier, and sending her home. She didn’t want me to drive her, just in case someone saw us together.

I don’t know what it is about her, but there’s something behind her eyes that made me want to keep her, protect her.

I almost told her to stay. The words were there, hot and heavy on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them.