Chapter 60

• LIAM
• Monique had been spending more time than usual in my penthouse. We were unofficially a vanilla couple. It was unspoken, but we'd fallen into this rhythm, as if we were a couple without the labels. Her toothbrush stood next to mine in the bathroom, her delicate lace underwear mixed in with my clothes in a drawer she'd claimed. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I didn't hate it. In fact, part of me liked it more than I wanted to admit.
• I rolled over on a lazy Sunday morning, blinking against the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Monique's voice, soft and playful, reached my ears. She was on the phone, probably with Sophie. I could hear them giggling about something, but I couldn't make out the details. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, but it didn't last. My thoughts had a way of drifting back to darker places lately.