"Aw, Jesus. Maybe if I'd known at the time that all your dirty tricks were going to become life-threatening... " But Kit was, for once, finding it hard to go on like this. Figures John wouldn't make it easy.

She'd suspected, of course, that John had felt that way about her; but somehow, discussing it with Claire had never given it the same gut-wrenching truth as hearing him say to her, and in that painfully earnest tone. Her eyes fell shut. It made it her heart race to listen to him, made her feel dizzy even when it all came in the past tense. And it made it very, very hard to argue...

"God above, John," she whispered, slumping wearily against the pew. It sounded like a genuine prayer in that quiet space. "Is that really all it was? Both of us too stubborn for our own good?"