The door of the house was finally closed to members of their extended families. The staff peeled away. Footsteps faded. The long table downstairs was already being reset to neatness, as if the night hadn't changed anything. But It had.
Ashley leaned against their bedroom doorway and exhaled. The glow from the lighting made a soft halo around her. Julian loosened his tie, slid it off, and tossed it over a chair. He looked lighter than he had all day and still keyed up, like a storm had passed and left a bright edge behind.
"You okay?" he asked as he wrapped in a warm embrace.
She nodded. "You?"
He shrugged with a small grin that was more in his eyes than his mouth. "Better than okay."
He crossed to the window, cracked it an inch. Cool night air slipped in. He rolled his sleeves, exposing the lines of his forearms, and set his cuff links on the desk like he was done with the ceremony for the night.
