DOMENICO

The water had gone tepid.

Not cold enough to shock, not warm enough to comfort, just sitting there, heavy against my skin, clinging to Reina’s body like it didn’t want to let her go either. The jets had long since died down. The steam thinned. The room felt too quiet now, like it was holding its breath.

Reina was still pressed to my chest, her cheek right over my heart, her hand splayed flat against my ribs.

She was listening to me without meaning to.

Every beat. Every hitch. Every stutter I couldn’t control.

When she breathed in, I felt it expand under my sternum. When she exhaled, it...