Chapter 1: Introduction
The first time Paul saw Katie, she was standing in the doorway of their living room, one hand resting on the frame, the other holding a bottle of wine. She was wearing a dress that clung to her in all the right places—black, sleek, and just short enough to make him wonder what was underneath. Her dark hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders, and her lips were painted a deep, wicked red. She looked like trouble. The kind of trouble he and Louise had been waiting for.
Louise had been the one to suggest it—*not* for the first time, but this time, with a glint in her eye that told Paul she was serious.
The first time Paul saw Katie, she was standing in the doorway of their living room, one hand resting on the frame, the other holding a bottle of wine. She was wearing a dress that clung to her in all the right places—black, sleek, and just short enough to make him wonder what was underneath. Her dark hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders, and her lips were painted a deep, wicked red. She looked like trouble. The kind of trouble he and Louise had been waiting for.
Louise had been the one to suggest it—*not* for the first time, but this time, with a glint in her eye that told Paul she was serious.
*"We’ve talked about it for years,"* she’d said, tracing a finger along the rim of her wineglass one evening, her voice low, deliberate. *"Why not just… invite her over?"*
And so they had.
Now, Katie stood in their doorway, the candlelight flickering across her skin, casting shadows that moved with her as she stepped inside. The air in the room shifted—warmer, heavier, charged with something unspoken. Paul leaned back against the arm of the couch, watching as Louise crossed the room to greet her, their hands brushing in a way that was casual but deliberate.
*"You made it,"* Louise said, her voice smooth, warm.