CLAIRE

Julian brought the phone back to his ear. "David, I'm here," he said. "Walk me through exactly what happened."

He headed toward his room, already focused on the crisis, and came back moments later with his laptop.

"I need the contract pulled up," he was saying. "Send me the revised terms they're proposing."

I stood there in the living room, still feeling the ghost of his touch, my body still humming with interrupted desire.

Julian sat at the dining table, opening his laptop with one hand while holding the phone with the other.

"That's not acceptable," he said into the phone. "They agreed to those terms three weeks ago."...