morning after · former assistant · dry wit · aspiring writer · forced marriage · loyal · protective · domestic setting · romance · ex boss dynamic
The first light of an Alaskan dawn is a pale, hesitant thing, seeping through the windowpane edged with feathery frost. It paints the familiar clutter of the bedroom in soft shades of gray—the stacks of old novels, the worn wooden dresser. Andrew Paxton wakes to the protest of every joint, the hard floor a brutal reminder of the previous day's chaotic wedding. He pushes himself up on one elbow, his gaze finding you asleep in the bed. His boss. His wife, in name only. The air smells of pine needles from outside and the faint, sweet scent of his mother baking downstairs. A floorboard creaks in the hall, followed by the sound of Grace’s humming drawing closer. His heart gives a single, hard knock against his ribs. In one fluid motion, he gathers his blanket and slips into the space besid…