When the doorbell rang, Kat ignored it. Let Alex get the door. Probably just a bunch of enforcers hellbent on making sure she didn’t step foot out of the apartment.

It rang again. Why hadn’t he answered it yet? He wasn’t even moving around out there. Had he left? Had he left her alone?

Then her phone buzzed, and Tilly’s smiling face popped up above the text, “Answer the door, stupid!”

Kat sprinted for the door. It had barely opened before she flung herself into her friend’s embrace.

“Whoa, Kit Kat,” Tilly said, dropping her bags to pat Kat’s back like one would when trying to comfort a child. “What the hell is going on? Alex asked me to come over, but he wouldn’t tell me anything other than you’d had a scare and needed me.”

“Let’s go inside,” Kat mumbled, holding back the tears until the door had closed.

It occurred to her she hadn’t shed a tear after Edgar’s attack. She’d been too busy making love to Alex, and then they had a fight, and then she’d stormed off to her room like a brat…

Tilly held her as she cried, patient as any mother bear. When the worst of the storm had passed, they sat at the table and Kat spilled every detail of Edgar’s attack.

“Edgar?” Tilly asked, clearly astonished. “Edgar?! He always seemed so nice. You say they caught him?”

At Kat’s nod, Tilly started pulling herself upright — not an easy task as pregnant as she was. “Where is he? I’m gonna kill him! Just tell me where that fuckwad is!”

The woman’s claws had already started lengthening, that’s how serious she was to inflict bodily harm against Kat’s attacker.

“Relax, Tilly,” Kat said, guiding her back into her chair. “My father has him, and you know he has more planned for that creep than anything you could ever think of, right? Besides, getting all worked up like this can’t be good for the baby.”

Tilly relaxed visibly and sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I guess I have some, um…protective things going on. Yesterday I chased a dog for three blocks because he barked at a kitten.”

“You didn’t!

“I did. Lucky for him, he got away.”

“But you didn’t shift, did you? In the street? Did anyone see?”

“I stayed human. Barely. Ha ha, bearly.”

Katrina rolled her eyes, but she secretly loved Tilly’s terrible puns.

“Seriously, Kit Kat,” Tilly said, grasping Kat’s hands. “You’re really okay?”

“Scout’s honor. I’m still in shock, but I’m not hurt physically. I can’t say the same for him. I got in a couple of good swats before he was swept downriver.”

“Good!” Tilly gave her a high five. “Thank God Alex was there to help. I have tell you, I wasn’t sure about him after everything that happened, but I will love that man until the end of time for saving you.”

Katrina avoided her gaze. “Yeah, he’s great.”

“Hold on.” Tilly gave her a searching look. “You just said that in the same voice you used when you told your parents you’d done well on math tests. What’s up?”

“Well…”

“Wait. Stop. I have a feeling this is a conversation that will require supplies. Also, I’m starving. Where are my bags?”

Tilly’s bags, lying forgotten by the door, contained chips, cookies, several pints of slightly soft ice cream, a six-pack of club soda, a bottle of nail polish, and a manicure set.

“Sorry, no wine,” Tilly said, popping the cap on a club soda. “If I can’t have it, you can’t.”

“Fair enough,” Katrina laughed, getting plates and spoons from the kitchen. “But why the nail stuff?”

“I’ll tell you why the nail stuff. I haven’t had a pedicure for weeks and I can’t reach my own feet. No way I’m letting ladies at a salon judge me. The only person allowed near these tootsies is you. Well, and my husband.”

“Great,” Kat said as she picked up a neon orange polish. “I was just lying on my bed, wishing I could paint someone’s toe nails.”

“Quit complaining. I’ll do yours next.”

Tilly propped one foot on Kat’s lap as she opened a bag of chips and pulled a tub of ice cream closer. “Ever dip Doritos into Chunky Monkey? Delish!”

Kat made a gagging sound as she picked up an emory board. “I’ll trust you on that.

As teens, she and Tilly had traded pedicures during every sleepover. Of course, ‘sleep’ was secondary to gossiping, drinking way to much soda, and eating way too much junk food. Just remembering those fun times helped ease the tension from Kat’s shoulders.

“Now,” Tilly said, “tell me everything.”

And Kat did. About the long cold silences in the apartment and the play-acting when they went out. About how every time she thought she might really like Alex, she remembered all the women who’d probably felt the same about him. About how filled with love and joy she’d been after they’d made love earlier and how angry it made her when he’d treated her like a cub who needed a leash.

Tilly rolled her eyes. “Well, he certainly could have handled that better, I’ll give you that. Way to go from a knight in shining armor to an deranged king who locks ladies in towers.”

“Exactly! It’s not like I’m in any more danger than every other female ever born.”

“Guys like Alex don’t get it,” Tilly said between licking chocolaty Dorito dust off her fingertips. “Women are constantly aware there’s a risk. Alex probably has never been in danger, so it’s a shock to his system. A paradigm shift.”

“I was just caught off guard by Edgar. Normally, I take reasonable precautions, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Alex fit me with a tracking device, and I most certainly do not need his permission to leave the apartment.”

“Of course you don’t,” Tilly soothed. “And he’ll realize that once he calms down a little. Marriage is all about compromise.”

Katrina sighed and kept her eyes focused on painting Tilly’s toes. “The thing is, I don’t know if I want to compromise. I don’t know if I want this marriage.”

Tilly sat quietly for a long time. When she spoke, her voice was gentle. “You’ve told me so much about what’s been going on between you two, but you haven’t told me how you feel about him. Half the time it sounds as if you hate him, but other times…”

“I sound like I love him,” Katrina finished. “And that’s the hard part, Tilly. I think I could love him. He’s funny and smart. And strong. Sometimes I watch him, striding through a crowd, and my heart does this funny lurch. Or when he was so kind to that woman with the jerk husband.”

“But,” Tilly urged.

Kat shook her head. “I don’t think I can get over his past. I know he cheated on me with me, but good guys don’t do that. I don’t know if I can trust him.”

Tilly gazed so deeply into Kat’s eyes, it felt almost invasive. “Do you love him?”

Kat had expended a lot of energy telling herself all the reasons she shouldn’t love him, but she’d failed to ask herself that simple question. Do you love him?

Tears itched at the back of her eyelids. “I don’t want to, but I think I do,” she whispered.

“Well, then,” Tilly said as she swapped feet in Kat’s lap. “I think you should give him a chance and just love him.”

“That’s it?” Kat couldn’t believe her ears. “Just love him? Are you actually telling me, of all people, to go along with whatever crazy thing he wants? I should let him hold me prisoner? I should just look the other way when he sleeps around?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You should stand up for yourself, and love him. You should make it clear you’re an independent woman, and love him. You should let him know you’ll cut off his favorite body parts if he cheats, and love him.”

With great effort, Tilly reached forward to stroke Kat’s cheek. “Loving him doesn’t mean losing yourself in him, Kit Kat. But to make this marriage — any marriage — work you must let love be your beacon through it all. A fight can’t end a marriage if you love each other through it. Stop resisting that love. Let it wash over you, flow through you, consume you. Love him with all your heart, and everything else will seem easier. Can you do that? Can you at least try?”

Alex exuded charm, but sincere charm. He listened when others spoke, honestly curious to hear their thoughts on any given subject, not simply waiting to speak. And then he remembered it all — such as her throwaway comment about van Gogh on their first date.

Then there was the matter of his honor. He’d grown up knowing he was destined to marry a stranger. Instead of running away from his duties, he embraced them. Kat couldn’t imagine a lifetime of knowing what had tortured her for just two days. It took strength and integrity to honor such a difficult commitment.

She couldn’t forget the way he made her feel. Whenever they were together, even if she was giving him the cold shoulder, Alex anticipated her every desire. When they made love, he knew the precise spot to touch or lick at the exact moment she needed him to touch or lick it. Heat grew in her cheeks — and other places — simply thinking about him.

Katrina caught Tilly’s eye and smiled. “He really is pretty great,” she admitted. “How could I not love him?”

“I knew it!” Tilly crowed. “You’re so into him. Now you just need to tell him.”

That wouldn’t be easy, after all the grief she’d given him. She just hoped it wasn’t already too late.