The next two days passed in a strange sort of limbo.
Alexander returned from Boston late Wednesday night—after Emma had already gone to bed—and left for the office before she woke up Thursday morning. She found evidence of him everywhere: a fresh cup of coffee waiting in the kitchen, still warm. A note on the counter in his sharp handwriting: Early meetings. Don't wait up tonight.
It should have felt impersonal. Instead, it felt like he was taking care of her from a distance.
Emma was beginning to understand that this was how Alexander showed affection—through actions rather than words. The coffee made exactly right. The croissants he somehow always remembered to pick up. The way he'd had her favorite books moved to the library without her asking.
Small gestures that felt enormous coming from a man who'd spent five years building walls.
But those walls were about to be tested.
