No one can save you.

Ava's heart sank at his words, and she quickly shook her head. "Of course, I like him. But not in the way you're thinking." She looked up at him, her eyes pleading for him to understand. "Nicholas is a good man… a good friend. I don't want to lose him."

Dylan's fingers slowly uncurled from hers, pulling away. A small, almost imperceptible distance formed between them.

Her reassurance did little to soothe the ache in his heart.

Ava was his wife—the woman he loved more than anything in this world. He wanted her undivided attention. But hearing her concern for another man, even if it wasn't romantic, still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Ava hated seeing that look on his face. She slowly sat up, inching toward him. She wrapped her arm around his and dropped her head on his shoulder. "But the man I love is you – only you," she murmured. "My heart belongs to you. No one else can be my man but you."