CLAIRE

Ethan set the wine bottle down slowly. "Okay."

He tried to smile. "That sounds serious."

"It is."

The smile disappeared.

The candles between us flickered like they had no idea they were about to become ridiculous. I looked at the flowers, then at Ethan.

"Before I

CLAIRE

The four of us sat around a table built for six.

The two empty chairs felt appropriate. Too much space. Not enough air.

Roman had chosen a restaurant with a private patio room at the back. Public enough that nobody could scream without embarrassing t

CLAIRE

Ethan apologized twenty-three times in three days.

Not that I counted on purpose. My phone did it for me: texts, missed calls, voicemails.

An email with the subject line **Please read this before you decide anything** even though I had already decided.

H