The question hung between them—bold, exposed, impossible to dodge.
Martin stopped.
Not just physically—something deeper stilled in him.
For the first time since she had met him, he didn’t look past Lana, didn’t look through her like she was background noise in a room full of priorities. He actually looked at her. Took her in. The guarded calm in his eyes shifted, sharpened, as if he had finally allowed himself to acknowledge what had been standing in front of him all along.
Lana held her breath.
“Because,” he said slowly, his voice low and controlled, “I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t interrupt.
“You are the sister-in-law of my employer,” he continued, every word deliberate. “And my job is to protect this family. Crossing that line would be unprof
