Page 1 of Open Secrets (Infidelity #5)

The house is finally quiet. I move barefoot down the hallway, fingertips trailing the wall as if the plaster might steady me.

First stop: Remi’s room. He’s stretched across the bed, one arm slung over the basketball he insists on keeping close. His mouth twitches like he’s arguing in his sleep. I smooth his hair back, but only for a second. He hates when I hover.

Taylor’s door creaks when I push it open. She’s half-buried in blankets, hair spilling across the pillow, phone glowing on the nightstand. I flip it face down. She doesn’t stir. Her lips part in soft snores. For once, she looks harmless.

Rain sleeps curled like a question mark, stuffed fox crushed under her chin.

Her blanket has slipped to the floor, so I pull it back over her shoulders.

She sighs, the sound tugging at something deep in me, and burrows deeper.

There was a time I thought I wouldn’t get this again—her asleep in her bed.

I leave before she wakes to me crying in the doorway. Again.

August is last. Flat on his back, book open across his chest, thumb tucked in his mouth like he swore he didn’t do anymore. I slide the book away. His lashes flutter, but he doesn’t wake as I put his favourite dinosaur next to him.

I stop in the hallway, listening to the rhythm of their breathing. Four rooms. Four lives. The house feels still, like it’s holding its breath along with me.

I rest my head against the wall, a gentle thud, and I can’t ignore it anymore. There was a time this was the dream. Now I stall, avoiding my own bedroom.

I wonder if this is what Lyle imagined when he asked me out all those years ago. God, it feels like another life.