The duplicitous meaning to his statement was clear and for a long minute Melody didn't have the slightest clue how to respond. There was still too much left unsaid, questions and desires alike left unfulfilled. She wasn't foolish enough to believe he didn't ultimately desire a divorce, that if the times and circumstances were different he would remain true to her. At the end of the day Ben was still trapped, he had just more or less resigned himself to it.

She lightly squeezed his hand once as her warm brown eyes met his. "Will you stay with me tonight?" The question was a quiet one, barely spoken above a whisper, almost as though making her request at full volume would shatter the tentative peace they'd just established.