Chapter 155

And yet the evening had started so promisingly. He’d loved seeing Lucette at the party, looking bright and beautiful, as much her old self as ever, reminding him of how interesting and articulate and sophisticated she really was. And when she’d drawn his hand to her bump and he’d felt their child kick... it had been the most intimate thing Ariston had ever experienced.

The kiss had felt like a natural extension of that intimacy. He couldn’t have kept himself from it if he’d tried—which he hadn’t.

So what had gone wrong? What had spooked Lucette ?

Then, with a wince, Ariston remembered the toast he’d given at the party. ‘May you welcome her and come to love her as I do.’ He hadn’t thought of the words before he’d said them; they’d simply flowed out of him, sounding very sincere. But he’d assured Lucette he didn’t love her—just as she didn’t love him. Had his toast frightened her off?

Had he meant those words?

It was a question he strove to dismiss. Things had become muddied with Lu