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“That was Julia’s room.” Matthew walked over and pushed on the half-open door closest to Libby’s. “Thisis my bedroom.”

A flood of relief washed over Katherine. Even though she’d once shared a bed with Max, after he died, she’d burned the sheets they’d last slept on. Then she had the bed frame, mattress, and extra bedding hauled away with his other belongings.

“How long were you in separate rooms?”

“Since before Libby was born.”

Katherine’s eyes widened in surprise and suspicion.

“It’s true. I have no reason to lie. You can ask me anything you want as long as the courtesy goes both ways,” he said. “Andas long as you can accept the truth from me. You might not always like my answers, but I promise I’ll never lie to you.”

Katherine’s eyes filled with tears at Matthew’s promise. It might’ve only been a figure of speech to him, something that rolled off the tongue without much thought, but to her, it meant everything.

“Thank you for saying that.”

“Thank you for making it so easy to talk to you,” Matthew said. “Now, ask all your questions so we can get you out of those clothes and into some pajamas.”

As she looked away, he lifted her chin so that her eyes met with his.

“These little moments of shyness are one of the things I like most about you. But in my experience, when someone looks away in the middle of a serious conversation, it tells me they’re hiding something. And you don’t ever have to hide anything from me.”

“Okay,” she said, trying hard to maintain eye contact. “The same goes for you.”

“Agreed. Now ask your questions.”

“Why did you have your own room even before Libby was born if Julia and Grant’s relationship only started a year ago?”

“Geez, don’t hold back.”

As Katherine tried to apologize, he stopped her.

“Okay, so you’re notalwaysshy. But I don’t mind you being direct, either. It’s one of the other things I like about you.”

“Really?” Katherine asked. “You don’t think it’s rude?”

“No. Not at all.”

Searching his eyes, she found his words to be true. “How is it that you accept even the worst parts of me?”

“If this is the worst you’ve got, then we’re gonna be just fine,” he said, leaning in to press a reassuring kiss to her lips. “And to answer your question, Julia said my work schedule interfered with her sleep. She said it was even worse when she got pregnant, so I offered to sleep in the spare room until Libby was born. But after that, things didn’t change. And it wasn’t long before I’d moved the crib into the spare room with me. I took care of Libby after work and at night. And in the morning, she went to my parents’ house, and my mom watched her.”

“What about Julia? Didn’t she spendany time with Libby?”

“Only in the beginning when there was a lot of attention from family and friends. But when motherhood turned into actual work, all she wanted was to go back to her job.”

“I’m sorry,” Katherine said, not knowing which urge was stronger: the urge to cry or the urge to scream. Knowing how precious those first months were, she couldn’t understand Julia’s decision to completely pull away from her baby. “I feel bad for you and Libby.”

“You shouldn’t. Libby is a happy baby, even without a strong bond with her mother. And it’s not like she’s old enough to know something wasn’t right. Besides, it helped me to put my priorities in order and make the best decisions I could.”

“Still, it doesn’t seem fair.”

“That’s because life isn’t always fair. But it can still be good.”

Again, Katherine searched Matthew’s eyes, and an unexplainable peace enveloped her.

“Like you,” he said quietly, resting his hands on her hips. “You’re good. And being here with you is very good.”

Drawing her in even closer, Katherine surrendered to him once again. Seizing the moment, he positioned his mouth over her bottom lip, gently sucking on the rounded curve, and sighingin pleasure. Then, using his tongue and teeth, he licked and tugged on her lip to the point of complete distraction.