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“Thank you,” I murmured, withdrawing my hand and pretending my heart wasn’t breaking a little bit. “I appreciate that, but I wish you’d reconsider staying with us until you have to leave.”

“Three is a crowd, babe,” she said lightly. “That house deserves another happy couple in it and you and Holden could be that couple.”

“Do you really think so?”

She smiled. “I’m as surprised as anyone to be saying this, but he’s good for you, Alicia. You guys can make it work. I know you can and I’m pretty sure you’re both starting to realize it too.”

As much as I wanted to tell her that she was crazy, she wasn’t. I genuinely was happy for her, but underneath that happiness was the heaviness of knowing that this truly was the end of an era. She and I had been roommates a long time and the fact that she was moving out was a stark reminder that I’d signed a contract promising I genuinely would try to make this marriage work.

Part of that was living with Holden as husband and wife, and while we were already doing that, Tasha moving out solidified it for me. Life was moving forward, with her moving to Atlanta for an internship she’d been lusting after for years while I stayed here, trying to build a life with a man I hadn’t even known six months ago.

“Yeah,” I said after a beat. “I think we might be able to make it work, too.”

She stuck a straw into her glass and took a long sip of her soda, her eyes never leaving mine. “If I’m being honest, I didn’t think he’d be a good husband. He was so rude and closed-off when I first met him and I sort of assumed he was one of those bad-boy, player types, but it looks like I was wrong.”

“No, you weren’t. I think he was one of those bad-boy, player types,” I said slowly. “Until he found out he was getting married, anyway. There’s a lot we haven’t talked about, but he’s already assured me he’d never cheat.”

“So no taking his mistress to a casino while we go on his yacht?”

I shook my head. “Sadly, no.”

She snorted. “Sadly? I don’t think you’re sad about it at all.”

“I’m not,” I admitted. “I don’t know. Holden just makes me feel safe, protected, and weirdly, even cared about. I know he doesn’t look like the kind of guy who would make someone feel safe, but he does that for me. You should’ve seen the way he stood up to Nancy. I think he’s really trying, even if he isn’t exactly sweet or kind about it.”

Tasha smirked. “Actually, I think someone who looks like that is exactly the kind of guy who’s going to make a girl feel safe. Provided she’s married to him, of course. To everyone else, he might be a menace, but he’s protective as hell when it comes to you. It’s so damn hot.”

I chuckled. “I think I might really like him.”

“I know you do,” she said pointedly, grinning before moving our sodas to the side to make space on the table for all the food we’d ordered. The waitress smiled her thanks before sliding our pizzas, salad, and garlic bread onto the table. Then she left and Tasha smirked again. “That’s why I’m leaving you in his extremely capable hands. Big, strong hands I’m sure will be all over you before the door has even swung shut behind me.”

I flushed, busying myself with tearing a piece off one of the pizzas and dishing up some salad in the hopes she wouldn’t see my cheeks burning, but unfortunately, she squealed. “Oh my God. He’s already had his hands all over you, hasn’t he? I knew it!”

As I looked up, I shook my head, then shrugged, then sighed. “A little bit, but not really, and I’m not giving you any more details than that.”

She laughed, proceeding to try every angle she could to get me to break, but I stood strong until she finally just pouted. “Fine. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. I guess it’s different when the guy in question is your husband, huh?”

I paused for a beat, but then I realized she was right. “Yeah, it kind of is. We haven’t talked about what we’re comfortable having each other discuss with friends or family. I guess I just don’t want him to feel like I’ve betrayed him.”

She groaned. “Oh hell. You really are too cute when you’re in love. Seriously. It’s sickening, but fine. Let’s talk about me.”

I nodded enthusiastically, listening to every detail about the internship in Atlanta and the work she’d be doing. We talked about how happy her mom was to be welcoming her back into the house for a while and about their upcoming midterms.

When we eventually left the restaurant, we decided to walk home, still talking as we wandered around the neighborhood and checked out our competition for the Halloween contest. Pumpkins were starting to appear on porches and fake cobwebs were stretched across hedges.

Little by little, people were getting ready for the big day and I couldn’t get enough. I’d always loved this neighborhood, but even more so at this time of year. These were all just ordinary people putting in a lot of extra effort to make some magic for the kids.

When we reached the corner, a gust of wind sent a newspaper blowing across the pavement. Tasha caught it with her shoe and bent over to pick it up. “Assholes. Is it really that much effort to just toss it in the trash?”

As she lifted it, I saw my new last name on the front page and felt the blood drain out of my cheeks. “Tasha, wait. Is that…”

“What?” she asked, glancing at me over her shoulder on the way to the trash. As soon as she saw my face, she stopped walking. “What is it?”

“Is that Jane?” I asked, squinting at the tiny shard of the picture accompanying the name. “Can you open that up?”

Her gaze dropped to the paper and she unfolded it, revealing the rest of the photograph as well as the full headline. Across the entire front page was a picture of Jane and Alex with an older man wearing an orange, prison jumpsuit. His sandy blond hair was streaked with gray, his face hard but eerily familiar.

Holden. That’s what Holden will look like twenty years from now, isn’t it?