Axel tried to convince Harper to stay with him at the motel. He’d said that would give them a chance to talk privately. But she guessed talking wasn’t really what he had in mind. He knew if he could get her to sleep with him again, he’d be that much closer to a commitment when it came to starting over.

But she wasn’t ready for that. What’d happened at the restaurant had reminded her of how often she’d had to stand on the sidelines and wait for him to finally eke out a few minutes to devote to her, and she was no longer convinced that was the kind of life she wanted. Maybe if she and Axel were getting along in other areas there’d be something to compensate for the strain his fame put on their relationship. But they were struggling on several fronts. Not only was there that woman from the concert—Axel hadn’t denied sleeping with her; he just kept avoiding the conversation—there was Tobias. Somehow it felt as though going back to bed with Axel after what she’d shared with Tobias would be a betrayal.

That was pretty ironic. That she’d feel more loyal to a man she’d met only a couple of weeks ago than the one she’d been married to for ten years. But she got the feeling that Tobias was more loyal to her.

That meant something.

“So you’re not coming to the motel?” Axel sounded shocked.

She switched the phone to her other ear. Since she’d already told him she wasn’t when she dropped him off, he must’ve thought she’d relent and drive over once she got home and put the girls to bed, or he wouldn’t have called her with that question. “No. I’m not coming.”

“Why not?” he countered.

“I don’t want to make love, Axel.”

Silence. Sulking? Then he said, “Because of that other guy—Tobias.”

“Partly because I’m still upset by how you behaved at the restaurant,” she said.

“How I behaved? That was nothing! I was just protecting my family.”

“We’re divorced!”

“So? We spent ten years together, have two kids together. The divorce is just a piece of paper.”

“Just a piece of paper?” she echoed. “That piece of paper means you left me. You told me you weren’t fulfilled, weren’t happy being in a relationship with me and needed your freedom. I was devastated. And now you want me to trust you? To believe you can be happy if we get back together? That you won’t turn around and do the same thing again?”

“You wanted me to try to work out our problems,” he said. “Well, here I am. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

“It’s a little late, don’t you think?”

“If I thought it was too late I wouldn’t be here.”