Chapter 163

Lake POV

The tenderness of the gesture, the careful way he touched me, was such a stark contrast to the intensity of minutes ago that it made my chest ache.

“I love you,” I said as he finished cleaning me up. “Ramon, I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he said, and he sounded like he meant it. But there was still that shadow in his eyes, that distance that hadn’t quite disappeared despite the intimacy we’d just shared.

We dozed for a while, tangled together in the sheets. When I woke again, early morning sunlight was streaming through the windows. Ramon was already awake, staring at the ceiling with that troubled expression he’d been wearing so often lately.

“What time is it?” I asked, my voice rough from sleep and overuse.

“Six-thirty,” Ramon said. “We should probably get up. Ollie will be awake soon.”

Right. Ollie. Our son, who I could hear starting to stir in his room down the hall.

I tried to sit up and immediately regret