Cate looks at me across the island in my kitchen, the bags under her eyes dark even through her makeup. “I think it’s time for me to go back to my own place.”

My heart twists in my chest, and the bite of sushi in my mouth is suddenly tasteless. “What…why?”

We’ve been perched on two stools near the island, making our way through an enormous tray of sushi that Laurence spent half the afternoon preparing. He has the night off tonight, and still the man left enough in the refrigerator—freshly prepared and cooled—to last several days.

Cate’s comment seems to have come from nowhere.

She puts another bite in her mouth, chews, swallows. “I need to get back into my regular routine. I’ve been missing workouts, I need to make sure everything is fine at my place…”

“It is fine,” I tell her, putting down my chopsticks. “Gloria stops there every other day. If something was wrong, I’d have told you.”

She looks uncomfortable. “I want to get back into the swing of things.”

“And you can’t do that here?”

“It’s…the tension.”

“Tension?”

“You don’t want me to be back at work.”

I can’t stop myself from sighing. “We’ve been over this.”

“I’m fine, Jax.”

“You’re not.”

“I am!”

“Cate, don’t pretend on my account. I was there the last time you collapsed at work, remember?”

“That was—that was a freak thing that happened.”

Anger spikes in my chest. “Was it? Or was it the result of weeks and months of overwork without your beloved boss ever giving a fuck?” The words that tumble out of my mouth are harsh, and Cate recoils.

“Sandra cares,” she fires back.

I put my hands over my face, then drop them back to the counter’s surface. “She’s given you, what, two compliments in the past year? Enough to keep you hanging by a thread?” During our several-day movie marathon Cate told me about the brief moment of praise she got on the day she’d first seen me at the office. It’s clear to me that this was a ploy on Sarzó’s part to make sure she wouldn’t have to worry about Cate’s loyalties.

Cate’s face goes blank and cold. “I’m not going to argue with you about this.” She stands up from her stool and takes her plate to the sink, rinsing it off and putting it neatly into the dishwasher—never mind the fact that I hire people to do that kind of thing.

“I don’t want to argue with you,” I say, trying to keep my voice level. “I thought that as a couple, we could discuss things that obviously have a serious effect on your health.”

She whips around, eyes blazing. “We’re a couple now?”

Jesus Christ. This is not how I wanted to have this talk.

“Are you saying we’re not?”

Cate crosses her arms over her chest and looks at the floor, her jaw working.

“I’m going back to my apartment, Jax. If you want, I can have someone come over to collect my things.”

“Don’t go.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“I’m not telling you. I’m asking.”

“Because you love me enough to try to ruin my career?”

I get up from the stool and cross over to her, but she shakes my hands off her arms. What is going on?

“Cate, what the hell?”

“You don’t understand, because you have everything you’ll ever need.” She throws her hands up, gesturing wildly around her. “You’re never going to worry about money. You’re never going to worry about your job, or being forced to…forced to…”

Without warning, her eyes are filling with tears. Where is this coming from?

“Cate,” I say, reaching out and putting a palm on her upper arm, rubbing the soft skin exposed by her tank top. “What’s this really about?”

She looks up at me, her face pinched and pale. The last thing she should be worried about right now is her job. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Give me a chance, Cate.”

Her eyes cut away from mine, traveling around the kitchen, and then she looks back, blinking away the tears. “I can’t afford to lose my job. I can’t afford a single wrong move that might jeopardize it, and that includes taking more time off.”

“You could have any job you wanted.”

“That’s not—” She makes a frustrated sound and brushes her hair away from her face. “I want this job. I’ve busted my ass at this job for more than a year. Even if I wanted to leave, I’d need to be flawless up until the end.”

“I don’t think you need to be so concerned about it.” Cate has a wild look on her face. There’s real fear there, but I can’t understand how it’s become so powerful.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“I get it, I do—but Cate, the pressure you’re putting on yourself is killing you.”

“I’m fine,” she insists again, her tone shrill, and we’re right back where we started.

I hold up both of my hands. “Wait. Listen.”

She presses her lips together so tightly they’re white.

“It’s late.” She can’t argue with that. “We’re almost to the weekend.” Another neutral fact. “Stay a few more days, and we’ll have more time to talk, figure things out. Maybe think about taking Friday off. They’ll be fine without you.”

Before the final words are out of my mouth I know they’re a mistake. Cate’s face had been softening, but she turns on a dime.

“You know what?” she says, shaking her head. “Fuck you, Jax.”

“I—”

She holds up a hand. “Don’t.”

Cate pushes past me, and I want to reach out and grab her, stop her from going, carry her to her bed…but I don’t.

I can’t control her.

Within minutes, she’s gathered her purse and a couple of outfits and she’s out the door, without another word.

The silence she leaves in her wake is deafening.