Ashley was glad to be home. This was now her home she realized. She was now familiar with this house which had been to big couple of months ago. It was now so achingly so familiar. The smell of the house welcomed her. Ashley breathed it in and let her shoulders drop.Julian held the door for her, palm warm at the small of her back. "You okay?"
"I'm… glad to be home," she said, and she meant it. Even though the words came out thinner than she wanted.
He watched her a beat too long, as if trying to read what didn't fit. She slipped off her heels and set them in a neat pair by the console. He set his keys beside them. For a moment, they just stood there, two people who had been through too much noise and were trying to get by.
"Tea?" he offered. "Or do you want the chef to bring up some food?"
"Tea is fine." Her voice was even. Her chest wasn't.
