Chapter 1

"Claire, put the computer back. I already told Paige she could have this room."

Ethan held the monitor in place, blocking the doorway to my home office.

I looked past him. Paige's suitcase lay open on the rug, and Vivian was hanging her dresses in the closet.

Half an hour earlier, I'd been making up the bed in the guest room, ready to welcome my mother-in-law, Vivian, and Paige, the girl she'd raised, for a six-week stay.

Ever since our wedding day, Vivian had made no secret of the fact that she would rather have seen Paige standing beside Ethan.

Our first Thanksgiving, I made a pie using her recipe. She took one bite before telling me Paige knew how she liked it.

Then she started finding fault with me over every little thing, and I realized she didn't just dislike me. She couldn't stand me.

So I learned to ask first and argue less, telling myself she'd accept me eventually.

This time, I'd even thought that living together for a while might help us get along.

But now my designs were piled on the dining table, with a cup of coffee sitting on the proof my client had signed.

"Did you ask me before you said yes?"

"The light's better in here, and Paige needs to prepare for her interviews. You can work anywhere with your laptop."

I didn't let go. I'd stayed up late for three nights working on this project. Every night, he'd seen the light in my office burning into the early hours.

"Ethan, I work too. You wouldn't give up your office. Why do you think I should?"

He frowned. "Don't be like that."

I went around him, put the computer back on my desk, and unplugged the curling iron Paige had just plugged in.

"The guest room's ready. This is my office."

Paige grabbed her suitcase handle.

"Ethan said you wouldn't mind. I didn't realize a desk mattered so much to you."

"What matters is someone saying yes for me."

I went back to the dining room for my designs. A wet ring stained the paper. I blotted it with a paper towel, but the client's signature had already started to bleed.

Ethan followed me out. When he saw the page, his voice softened.

"I'm sorry. I thought it was dry."

"This is the original. I have to mail it tomorrow morning."

He picked up my monitor stand.

"Okay. I'll help you move everything back."

I'd barely breathed a sigh of relief when Vivian spoke.

"Don't bother unpacking, Paige. We'll stay at a hotel."

My mother-in-law sat in a chair and dabbed at the corner of her eye.

"With the house leaking that badly, I came to my own son for help. I didn't realize we'd be made to feel unwelcome."

"Vivian, the guest room is right next door. I even put a flatter pillow on the bed for you."

She didn't look at me. Only at Ethan.

Paige closed her suitcase, catching the hem of a dress in the zipper. Ethan put down the stand and went to free it for her.

"There's a motel nearby," she said quietly. "I have a credit card. Please don't fight over me."

I'd seen her do this before, offering to step aside.

At a birthday dinner once, Paige said she was fine sitting farther away. Ethan had asked me to switch seats because she'd "always sat next to him since they were kids."

That day, I moved my chair and even passed her a napkin.

This time, he did it again.

"You don't have to leave," he said immediately.

Then he turned to me.

"Claire, it's six weeks. Do you have to make them feel this uncomfortable?"

I looked at his now-empty hands.

"A minute ago, you were helping me."

"Because I don't want a fight. You've made your point."

"You agreed we should move everything back. Why does my work stop mattering the second she gets upset?"

"She's my mom."

"I'm your wife. This is my home too."

He glanced toward the door and lowered his voice.

"Can you keep your voice down?"

I carried the stand back to my desk, then moved Paige's suitcase into the guest room, where the bed was already made.

"I agreed to let them stay. I didn't agree to give up my office."

At dinner, Ethan didn't speak to me, but he got up twice to refill Paige's water.

That night, he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"I handled things badly today."

I turned to face him. "What happens after six weeks?"

"They go home. I promise."

"From now on, ask me before you make decisions about our home."

He kissed my forehead. "Okay."

The next morning, I heard keys jingling in the entryway.

Paige was slipping a new key onto her key ring.

"Ethan had it cut for me yesterday." She smiled. "He said this is my home. I shouldn't have to knock every time."

I looked at my husband.

He picked up his briefcase, avoiding my eyes.

"It's just a key, Claire."