“What?” His wife stared for a few seconds then started laughing again.

As he walked her back to the car, he explained the silver fox/ ashen ferret thing, and finally, Leanne’s smile seemed natural, less tinged by the awfulness of everything. “That’s so Junie. I hope you don’t mind my copping that.”

“Nah, I did the same. It’s so quotable.”

She narrowed her pretty eyes with their ridiculous lashes, as if visualizing. “I can see the memes already. ‘Why silver fox when you can ashen ferret?’”

Relieved she seemed to be feeling better, he opened her car door and put his hand on her head as she got in. “Are you hungry? I suspect you didn’t finish your breakfast.”

“I could eat.”

“Let’s stop somewhere on the way home?”

“Sure. Am I awful for not being devastated? For not really wanting to see any of them again? My main impulse is avoidance. I know Brian was trying to make me feel welcome, but I really just feel…pressed. I was minding my business, living my life, and—”

“No. You’re not awful.” He could only tell the truth. “Meeting you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I won five hundred bucks on a scratch-off lotto ticket in college.”

She pretended to rock sideways in shock as he started the car. “Five hundred dollars? I’m better than winning the lottery? Seriously?”

Yeah, she was joking, but he wasn’t. “Seriously. You saved my life. I doubt I would’ve been able to climb out of the hole I was in if you hadn’t reached for my hand first.”

Leanne bit her lip and shifted in her seat, glancing away with what Trev thought looked like a guilty expression. “I wasn’t trying to do that. I just wanted to bang you.”

“That’s where it started,” he said as he put the car in gear. “But would you agree it’s not where we are now?”

He held his breath, waiting for her response. We’re more than roommates who have sex, right? We’re building a life together.

She changed the subject instead of addressing his words. “Don’t get serious on me, hon. I’ve had enough of that today.”

The pain startled him, blazing in the center of his chest so fiercely that he rubbed it back and forth, trying to soothe it away. Trev swallowed hard. “Right. Sorry. Find us a restaurant on the way home. Whatever you feel like eating will be fine.”