Chapter 63: The Coastal Offer

By the time the day changed direction, nobody in the room was prepared for where it would lead.

The project would take Claire and Lucy to Maine for the summer. Adrian supports it before she asks, though the custody schedule will become complicated.

Claire understood that the next choice would be remembered long after the explanation. The old marriage had been built on assumptions. Whatever came next would have to survive questions, boundaries, and the possibility that love might not be enough.

He proposes renting nearby rather than blocking her opportunity, but Claire questions whether that is devotion or pursuit.

"Maybe both. Tell me which part crosses the line."

Adrian did not reach for a solution. He stayed, listened, and allowed the consequence to belong to him.

She permits him to come for Lucy, not for her.