Ellie shrugged out of the plain pink top and shorts. She fiddled with the fancy shower, startled when the water shot out of the wall.

It took her a moment or two to figure out the correct settings.

She stepped under the soothing flow, and as it streamed down her body, emotion overcame her.

Caught halfway between bubbling happiness and crushing dread, she grabbed the soap and applied it to a sponge.

As she scrubbed her body, she discovered little reminders of their night together—like the faint smear of blood on the inside of her leg that stopped her short.

This is real, she thought, washing it away. I'm married to Ranger McPherson, and I'll be the envy of many a woman. But how would it feel to walk away from him and never look back? Right now, I already know I underestimated my attachment to him.

The word "love" echoed in her mind, and it was a double-edged sword.

The bathroom door cracked open an inch or two, and Ellie froze mid-motion.

Her hand flew to her heart, her pulse racing as she instinctively backed up against the cold tiles, her eyes fixed on the handle.

"Can I join you?" Ranger's voice reached her above the noise of the water.

Relief flooded her.

The unexpected request took her completely off guard, and her mind drew a blank.

"If you don't mind... I'd prefer to shower alone?" she asked, her voice tentative.

Would he be offended?We are married, after all, and although mind-blowing sex is one thing... sharing a shower is something else.

She couldn't imagine fully relaxing—or doing the little intimate things a girl had to do—with him there.

And hadn't he just told her that she could have the bathroom first?

What had changed his mind?

The ring on her finger caught her gaze, droplets beading on the smooth, shiny platinum surface.

It doesn't magically change who I am on the inside.

"No worries," Ranger said after a moment, his voice muffled by the sound of running water. "I just wanted a quick shower—if you like to shower alone, I'll respect that."

She wiped the water from her face, thankful for the frosted glass keeping her hidden.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to shower alone?"

"No worries."

A little frown furrowed her brow as the door shut softly.

Should it feel normal to shower with him?

She rinsed herself and shut the water off.

I don't think it ever will.

Even at home—when Lissa or Jaden needed to use the toilet while Ellie was in the bathroom—it made her uncomfortable.

It was just the way she was wired.

If Ranger and I had had a normal relationship, we would have talked about these things by now.

The thought filled her with a sudden pang of sadness.

We would have gently eased into invading each other's personal bubbles. But this isn't Ranger's first rodeo. He already learned to allow another person close, but I still need to get used to it.

But the more she allowed, the more entangled their lives would become and the messier it would get in the end.

My brain is still used to "I" over "we," she reasoned. And it would be best for me if it stayed that way.

The reality was unavoidable: she would need to share a bedroom with Ranger when they returned home.

They would go to bed together, wake up together, and use the same bathroom and closet. Yet, despite their morning and the intimacies they shared, it still didn't feel natural to her.

She dried off with the fluffy hotel towel, its soft texture soothing against her skin, and realized she hadn't taken her clothes.

"Dammit," she swore under her breath.

It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last.

With the towel tied securely around her body, Ellie slipped back into the room.

The door opened when she was halfway to the built-in cupboard—where housekeeping would have already unpacked her clothes again.

Startled, she spun on her heel.

It was an instinctive reaction she couldn't suppress.

I should've taken the robe by the door, she thought, regretting her choice—but it seemed like such a waste at the time.

And I forgot I wasn't alone.

Ranger entered with his notebook balanced on his hand. His dark brows furrowed as he read something that had clearly captured his focus.

She must have made a sound.

His gaze snapped in her direction and their eyes met.

Ellie's arms crossed over her towel-covered breasts. Her skin prickled with awareness, and she was acutely conscious of the way her legs were unintentionally on display.

A flicker of heat awakened in Ranger's eyes, telling her he liked what he saw. Picking up on the discomfort betrayed by her body language, his interest turned into concern.

Heat flooded her body, and she swallowed dryly, but she wasn't ready for more intimacy.

At this point, her thoughts and feelings were still a jumble that needed sorting.

"Sorry, I thought you were still in the shower," Ranger said, freezing in his tracks.

His gaze shifted between her and the closet. "My mom's coming up to talk to us, and I wanted a shirt. But if you don't mind keeping her company, I'll grab a quick shower instead. Or I can wait till you're done in here?"

The way his words almost tumbled over each other told her that her discomfort made him uneasy—that he didn't quite know how to handle the situation.

This was foreign territory to him.

And, quite frankly, it made him seem disarmingly human.

"No, it's fine," she replied, taking hold of herself. "I'll open the door for her."

Even as the words left her mouth, the thought of facing Arielle flushed her face with a rosy tinge of red.

She could already picture the teasing sparkle of her mother-in-law's eyes.

Ranger nodded, heading straight for the closet beside her.

He passed so close to her, their morning together came rushing back—but she clamped down on the heat it stirred in her.

His scent had ingrained itself in her brain, bringing up a slurry of intimate images she couldn't suppress.

"You smell like coconut and strawberry," he said suddenly, his voice a little gruff.

It was as if their minds had somehow followed a similar path.

He stood so close she could feel the heat radiating from him.

The intensity in his entrancing eyes nearly made her forget how to swallow.

"It's... new bath stuff from the place where we bought the wedding dress," she stammered.

Heat crawled up her neck as she self-consciously rubbed the back of it.

"The maid service put it in the bathroom for me."

I'm babbling, she realized, wincing.

"I love it," he said, his tone soft but rich with meaning.

He reached out, gently taking a strand of her slightly damp hair between his fingers, bringing it close to his face.

"You smell almost good enough to eat."

Her legs nearly buckled, and for a few long, disorientating seconds, her brain went utterly blank.

Without waiting for a response, Ranger released her hair, grabbed a shirt, turned on his heel, and walked off.

The bathroom door clicked shut behind him, breaking the spell.

Breathe, she reminded herself, releasing a slow, shuddering breath.

Being around Ranger was like being near a live wire, the kind of thrill that was both dangerous and way too easy to get used to.

How am I going to survive that lethal charm?

She cast a wary glance at the door before quickly picking a few items from her neatly arranged closet, hoping they at least went together.

Her fingers grazed the unfamiliar luxury of the fabrics.

There are definitely more clothes here than before, and none of them are mine.

Arielle.

How had I ever thought she was cold? I'm not even really her daughter-in-law, yet she can't curb her instinct to mother.

"Or perhaps she just doesn't want you walking around dressed like a farm hand," that cynical voice piped up in her brain with an unwelcome whisper.

The thought chilled the warming of her heart a little.

Both could be true.

She forced herself to take a step back from her emotions.

Despite everything, she didn't really know her mother-in-law. As time had already proven to her, Arielle MacPherson, wife, mother, and friend, was a far different woman from Arielle MacPherson, businesswoman and boss.

She shook the thought off as she finished dressing.

Moving to the full-length mirror tucked inside the closet, Ellie applied the lightest layer of makeup.

She worked efficiently—her fingers surprisingly steady for someone who felt so off-balance.

It irked her that this new skill came so easily, as if it had always been waiting in her muscle memory to surface.

She checked her reflection, her mouth pulling into a wry smile.

Her birth mother would actually be proud.

But this wasn't about the past or the people in it.

This was about the future and the image she would have to project to give legitimacy to her role as Ranger's wife.

It was part of her contract.

She must conduct herself with dignity and play the role of Ranger's wife to the best of her ability.

It was all there, spelled out in black and white.

The little bell buzzed, snapping Ellie out of her thoughts. She gave herself another once-over.

It still floored her what a little makeup and nice clothes could do.

She tucked a stray blonde curl behind her ear, her blue-gray eyes seeming bluer than she remembered.

Was Arielle right? she wondered, a frown puckering her brow.

Did I sabotage myself because I feared who I'd become if I allowed myself to care?

"This will have to do."

The woman staring back at her still wasn't the Ellie she was used to seeing.

Deep down, she felt she would never see that version of herself again.

She didn't know if she should be sad or relieved.

That Ellie had been going through the motions, surviving day to day, but she hadn't truly been alive. Now, she'd experienced more in a few days with Ranger and his family than she had ever before.

It was a bittersweet realization.

"Coming!" she called, not sure if Arielle could hear her. The walls were pretty soundproof.

Sighing, she slipped on a pair of flats and headed toward the door.

Straightening her back, she strode out into the small living area.

As she approached the door, Ellie glanced at the little screen beside it to check that it was Arielle.

Her mother-in-law looked well-rested and very relaxed—the opposite of what Ellie was feeling.