"You're making another attempt to charm it away," says Natalia, but she looks pleased all the same. She knows too well the reasons why they fit together, and while she could mourn the cruel turns that fashioned them a match, with James warm beneath her she prefers to count them lucky. They found each other not once, but twice, when some find no one at all.

"But I will concede," she adds, tracing a finger along the curve of his cheek. "I like to see you smile."