Aiden stared into the fire, hating this guy the more he heard about him. “Honestly, everything just moved so fast after that. He gave me his phone number, I called, and he wooed me with dinner. Within eight or nine months, he asked me to marry him.”

“What made you say yes?”

Antonia shrugged. “I loved him. I thought we were compatible? Looking back on it, I think I ignored a lot of things. At least, that’s what my sister says.”

Aiden opened his mouth to say something supportive, but closed it. He was unsure of how to regard her. His initial idea of going to her cottage now seemed silly. This woman was still in tremendous pain. He looked at her, sitting cross-legged before the fire. Her beauty shone through her frumpy house clothes. Those wild curls piled on her head were begging to be released so he could bury his face against them. Her large brown eyes followed the flicker of flames with a sadness that Aiden was desperate to kiss away.

“I’m tired of not being listened to,” she said after a long pause. She turned toward him, setting her glass on the rug. “Derek didn’t hear me that much and when he did, he wasn’t listening. My ideas were useless to him. It wasn’t just how he disregarded my book, there were other things. When I told him that I was burned out at work, I didn’t mean that I was going to quit my job.” Antonia stopped and searched for the right words. “I mean, my boss wasn’t listening to me there, if you want to be perfectly honest about it. He didn’t listen to me when I told him publishing his nephew’s novel was a terrible idea. But Derek heard me complain and took that to mean...” She trailed off.

“Mean what?”

“...that when we got married, I’d just quit my job anyway. I think he wanted me to be like his mother. A wealthy woman who sits at home. Someone he could just show off at company Christmas parties.” Her long, dark lashes lowered as her gaze dropped to the floor. “When I told him that the wedding was off, I also told him about my layoff. He made it sound like an excuse for us to keep going.”

“Like, you’d still need him?”

Antonia nodded. “And for a minute, it was tempting.”

“What about now?” Aiden asked. His heart pounded as he waited to hear her answer.

She peeked at him and smiled bashfully. “I don’t think I need him,” she said. “I was hustling before I met him. I guess I’ll continue to hustle.”

He released the breath he’d held and nodded. “I’ll drink to that,” he said, holding his glass aloft.

She picked up her glass and tapped it against his. “Slainte,” she said.

“Slainte.”

After taking another sip, she asked him, “What about you, Aiden? Have you ever almost been married?”

“Not even close,” he said. “The last woman I dated was my colleague and she left me for better career prospects.”