“I didn’t say that. Actually, I owe you an explanation about how I ended up with two divorces behind me when I’m not even forty.”

“Only if you feel like telling me,” Trev said, though he’d frankly love to know.

It was one of the things he’d wondered most about. Who were the husbands who preceded him, and why did they fail? And how could he avoid their mistakes? But he didn’t have the courage to ask when he wasn’t even sure of his own footing with Leanne.

“Today we have nothing but time while we drive. Up front, it was my fault, both times. Garrett traveled a lot for work, and it never left my head—the fact that he could do whatever he wanted as soon as he left home. I accused him of having one foot out of the door, but it was me who didn’t trust him. I asked for a divorce, but I did it…” She sighed. “As a preemptive strike, because I knew…well, I suspected he’d get tired of dealing with my shit.”

“So you left first.” Based on what he knew of her, that made sense.

“Exactly. With Malcolm, it was a lot calmer. Looking back, I don’t even know if we loved each other. But he made a compelling case. He said we looked good together, we made sense. He painted an enticing picture, and I thought I could manage my end, but then he got a promotion, and they assigned him overseas. There was no doubt in his mind that I should pack my shit and move to Japan. He didn’t even ask if I wanted to.”

“He left because you wouldn’t move?” Trev asked, quietly appalled.

“I mean, Malcolm wanted me on his arm. He had the big-money career, so it made sense, according to him.”

“For you to upend your life?”

“I disagreed, and we got divorced. I—”

“You said the divorces were your fault, and maybe I agree with you about the first one, but the second? Don’t even think it, Butterfly. Malcolm sounds like a prick.”

She shifted in her seat, her eyes sparkling so brightly that he struggled to focus on the road. “You know what? You’re right.”

Chapter 24

At some point, Leanne must’ve drifted off.

She woke as Trev pulled into the hospital parking lot a couple hours later. That wasn’t like her at all. She generally preferred to be alert and in control, but he made it easy to let her guard down. She lacked the mental energy to focus on figuring out why with the white building looming. He circled past the emergency entrance to the one allotted for visitors before pulling up in front of the automatic doors.

“I’ll catch up,” he said.