Only then did Jocelyn''s mind catch up with her racing body.

"No. No," she repeated, more to herself than to him.

He drew her closer until no light could slip between them. "I missed you so much," he murmured. "Did you think about me while I was gone?"

The question tangled her tongue. She had no idea what to say.

During the past month, they had shared only sporadic messages-routine hellos that felt like postcards from strangers.

"Um, I guess," she finally said after a breath''s hesitation.

He reached for the switch. Soft light flooded the room, and he stared down at Jocelyn with an intensity that stole her next breath.

Yannick lowered his head, ready to im another soft kiss, when Jocelyn suddenly slipped from the circle of his arms and ducked away as though the air had turned too hot to breathe.

"When did you get back? Have you eaten yet?" Jocelyn blurted, weaponizing small talk to cover the nervous beat of her heart.fn9127 Checktest chapters at /fn9127

The abrupt distance pricked him with disappointment, but Yannick smoothed the feeling away before it could fully form, masking it behind a calm, easy smile.

"I just got in a little while ago. Haven''t had a bite. How about you?"

"I just came home from work myself-no dinner yet. I''ll cook something," she said, already escaping toward the kitchen like salvation waited behind a cupboard door.

"Great, I''ll help." Yannick fell in step, refusing to let the gap between them widen. Minutester, the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder under the kitchen''s warm light. Yet tonight, Jocelyn could neither settle nor stand still.

In front of the refrigerator, she fumbled for vegetables and meat, while Yannick dutifully washed greens at the sink, stripping stems with quiet efficiency.

They had always worked like this-his grandmother insisted that an engaged couple ought to live together to learn the rhythm of shared life-so Jocelyn had moved into Yannick''s ce after the old woman''sst visit.

Despite sharing a home, they had never crossed the final boundary; theirs was an engagement conducted with cautious distance, a formality that sometimes felt more like polite tenancy than budding romance.

"You just got back. Go sit down and rest," Jocelyn urged, her lungs tightening at the thought of him lingering too close.

"I''m fine." Yannick answered lightly, grin widening until his dimples shed.

The kitchen slid into a thick, wary silence broken only by the tap''s running water and the thud of Jocelyn''s knife against the cutting board.

"Aren''t you at least curious where I''ve been thest month? Most women would have grilled me six ways from Sunday by now." His tone held teasing, but a thread of insecurity ran beneath.

Every girlfriend he''d had before treated his absence like a mystery to be solved, a loyalty test he was expected to fail.

"All right then-what have you been up to thesest thirty days?" Jocelyn asked, indulging the restless energy he couldn''t hide.

Yannick caught the polite distance in her question, recognized she was asking for his sake rather than her own, but he answered anyway.

"I went looking for an old friend and wound up in more danger than I bargained for -came close to losing my life, actually," he said in a tone so casual it felt unreal.

The knife in Jocelyn''s hand paused mid-slice. She turned, eyes wide, the color draining from her cheeks. "You''re not hurt, are you?"

Seeing nothing but genuine worry in her gaze, Yannick''s chest warmed. Heughed softly.

"If anything had happened, do you think I''d be here?"

Relief loosened her shoulders. She resumed cutting, though her voice trembled at

the edges. "Why would meeting a friend nearly get you killed?"

"You''ve heard of Sven, right?"

Jocelyn nodded. "Ms. Smith''s bodyguard? He''s impressive."

Yannick waited for her nod before continuing. That''s who I tracked down. He''s no ordinary guard; his family''sfortable enough. Trouble is one of his buddies tried to set him up. I got there just in time to pull him out of the fire."  s

The revtion that Sven carried a secret life lit curiosity in Jocelyn''s eyes; she kept stealing nces at Yannick, craving every detail.

Sensing her interest, Yannick stopped holding back, unraveling the entire story- every close call, every narrow escape-until the kitchen felt thick with the echo of distant gunfire and screeching tires.

He talked straight through the cooking and well into dinner, words tumbling like sparks while steam rose from their tes, each new tale binding them more tightly across the table than any cautious silence ever could.  s

Jocelyn listened quietly while Yannick talked himself empty.

Later, whenmps had been dimmed and the corridors fallen quiet she slipped into his guestroom to spread fresh sheets, Before the cotton even settled, Yannick''s

fingers closed around her

wrist-warm, certain, pleading.

s

"Jocelyn, we''re getting married soon," he murmured, voice low enough to tremble.

"Let''s stop pretending we need separate beds."