“Can you think of anything else you might need, because once we get the story started, I do not want to be interrupted,” she said.

I laughed then shook my head.

“A bit much, don’t you think, Amy?”

“Not nearly enough given the information that my dear husband so casually dropped,” she said.

“And what information was that?”

“That you’re engaged to Elias, but you already know what that information is,” she said.

I sighed and then looked at Amy.

She studied me, a knowing look on her face.

“That is not the look of joy that I was hoping to see,” she said.

“It’s…complicated,” I finally said.

She laughed. “With this family? Complicated is an understatement. But if anybody will understand, I promise it’s me,” she said.

I nodded my agreement, knowing it was true.

Amy was probably the only person in the world who could relate to what was going on with the Petrosyan family.

Still, I was hesitant to open up.

Amy seemed to sense that, and then said, “You know you can trust me, and anything you tell me is in confidence and will stay between us,” she said.

I nodded. “I know, and I’m sorry, it’s not that…”

“I get it. I know that you spent years being tight-lipped. But there was a time in my life when I needed someone to talk to and to listen to me. You did that for me, and I would consider it a pleasure, as well as my obligation, to return the favor.”

“Yeah,” I said. “So, Elias and I are engaged.”

It was the first time I had said the words out loud, and I would be lying if I said they didn’t feel weird on my tongue.

Just saying them made me think of it, the idea of being Elias’s wife.

The ambivalence that sprang up at me after saying the words was something I had no ability to control.

The only thing I should have felt was revulsion, or maybe even hatred.

I couldn’t even pretend to deny the undeniable and combustible physical connection that Elias and I shared.

But it shouldn’t matter because I knew exactly who he was, what he did, and what he would do in the future.

And that should have been enough to kill any positive feeling I might have had for him.

That he had concocted this engagement to protect me from his murderous father should have been another nail in the coffin of whatever this was.

But it wasn’t.

And I had no idea what to do with that.

“So… I’m in no position to judge, but this doesn’t exactly look like a joyous uniting of two souls in love,” Amy said.

I laughed then shook my head.

“No, I guess you wouldn’t call it that.”