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her new bed. She hadn’t known dreams like that were possible.
    Dreamgasm? She nearly managed a giggle. People have wet dreams all the time, she reminded herself. She’d just never experienced one quite so intense or with such a spectacular finish. Dreaming of Ivan in such a raw, sexual form had awakened feelings she’d tried to pack away months ago. There’s something to be said about the beard and longer hair. He looked bigger, too—his arms were huge. God, I wonder what else has changed? Fighting off a wave of sadness, she shook her head, hopped out of bed, and headed for the shower.
    As the water ran over her body, she thought about what she wanted versus what she needed. She needed to tell Ivan the whole story, to explain how she’d lost her way, been foolish and selfish, but her heart had held fast to him. It had kept her true. She needed to tell him how sorry she was and beg for his forgiveness. He needed to know she hadn’t slept with Damian and that no amount of emails, text messages, or phone calls could convey how sorry she was. And what she wanted was for everything to go back to the way it was, for them to make their peace with what happened. She wanted Ivan to forgive her and pick up where they’d left off, rebuilding on the foundation she hoped still existed. But wants and needs are not the same , she reminded herself. And it’s the needs you should attend to first. If she could just get Ivan to listen, if she could know for sure that he knew the truth, maybe then she could find her way to peace no matter what the outcome.
    Jaden stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel. Should she tell Ivan she was in town, or should she rely on fate to place him in her path? What if he’d already heard she was there? Four days wasn’t long, but word traveled fast in South Beach. She and Tasha had enjoyed a pool day already, so of course Micky knew she was in town. Jaden wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that Ivan and Micky had become such great friends, but she supposed it was comforting to know Ivan had at least one good friend left who didn’t want anything from him—didn’t have any underlying business plans or shady, self-promoting motivations. Further proving his loyalty, Micky had made it clear he had no interest in being in the middle of this situation and planned not to discuss either of them with the other. But still…There was probably some kind of bro-code necessity that would eventually wear him down.
    She needed coffee. Fortunately, in addition to furniture, her condo had come equipped with a convenient little single-serving coffee machine, with all the flavors of the coffee rainbow to choose from. She tucked the tail of the towel deeper and tighter under her arm and headed for the kitchen. Just a few quick clicks and a couple of minutes later, she moved into the living room with a steaming mug of coffee in hand. She stood quietly, enjoying the view from the condo. Finding this short-term sublease had been a stroke of luck. She smiled down at joggers on the boardwalk below. Not long ago, she’d run along that same path and wondered what the view looked like from this building. Now she knew.
    Jaden pushed open the sliding glass door, stepped out on the tiny, standing-room-only balcony and looked out across the bay. For six months she’d been away from Ivan, and from Miami Beach. She’d played out countless scenarios and had a thousand imaginary conversations with him, trying to sort out how she might actually begin reconciliation. None of her phone calls, texts, or emails had done anything other than prove her tenacity, but even if he hadn’t read them, she hoped he realized she wasn’t ready to let him go.
    And though she continued to have moments of self-doubt, when she wondered whether she’d ever deserved Ivan at all, something about seeing him her first morning back in town at the Fontainebleau had galvanized her resolve. And in a way, her dream this morning now pushed her