Nathan studied her in silence, his gaze steady and unflinching, as though he were examining a patient rather than a woman he once hoped to marry.
The fact that he could not make her his wife did not mean he had to disappear from her life. If anything, it made this conversation more important. He wanted to hear her without expectations clouding the moment.
"Ladies first," he said calmly. "Cassie, go ahead with your request."
Cassie inhaled, fingers tightening briefly around the stem of her glass. "I was hoping… that we could remain good friends—" She didn't get to finish.
Nathan smiled, the tension she had been bracing for dissolving instantly. "That's exactly what I wanted to ask you." He leaned back slightly, relief softening his features. "Can we be best friends? If you eve
