“You put a whole lot of hours into this,” I said.

“Because you matter to me,” she said.

She leaned over and kissed my cheek, her breath smelling faintly of sweet peppermint.

“More than the business, more than anything.”

She stayed beside me until the tall hall clock struck ten.

She gave a soft yawn, patted my knee, and got up off the cushion.

“Don’t stay up too late staring at old papers,” she said, heading for the stairs.

“We’ve got a full day at the main office tomorrow.”