Chapter 21

Thomas lingered in the softly lamp-lit living room, startled to find Zoe perched on the loveseat long after dinner had ended. He had been expecting to retreat upstairs to the quiet sanctuary of their bedroom, but Cassandra’s gentle but firm hand at his elbow guided him away. She beckoned him silently toward the hallway, her expression taut with urgency. He hesitated, puzzled by her furtive behavior—in his mind, she must still be recovering from the awkwardness of the kiss he had pressed to her lips earlier. She’d seemed distant ever since. Now, he thought, she must be avoiding him.

Cassandra, though, had a different agenda. She offered Zoe a warm nod to welcome her inside, then turned back to Thomas with a decisive flick of her wrist. “Go,” she murmured, voice low. “This is… a life-and-death conversation. You’d better slip off to our room and get some rest.”

Thomas cocked an eyebrow. The gravity in her tone only sharpened his curiosity; he couldn’t imagine what crisis co