“I am so stupid sometimes,” she said. “I believe one day I will drink the wrong cup of tea. I will utter the wrong word. I will take the wrong step. And it will kill me. Or it will kill you. Or it will destroy everything.  Life is like that, Amadeo. It only takes one mistake to…”

His arms around her had tightened, and he’d kissed her. “Oh, Hortense. You must not think such things. I would never allow that to happen.”

As if it were all up to him.