Jack St. Claire is another of the novel’s protagonists and the male romantic lead. The chapters marked with his first name are written from his first-person perspective; these sections offer the reader access to Jack’s individual storyline and distinct interior world.

Jack is also a round and dynamic character. Although he initially presents himself as the one-dimensional, no-tolerance workaholic, Camille quickly discovers that he has layers he is not showing. Jack has been ravaged by his wife Emmaline (Em) Rochefort’s death from cancer a year prior to the novel’s start. He was “head-over-heels” in love with Em; learning her diagnosis and watching her slowly die rendered Jack powerless. In the wake of her passing, he all but gives up on life himself. He knows his sister, Elizabeth, is grieving Em, too—she and Em were best friends—but he retreats from his sister and tunnels into his own despair; he also knows that his daughter is confused and sad over her mother’s death, but he sends her away to live with his friend, Phoenix, for six months instead of comforting her amid her loss. He then gives up on his relationships with Julian, Amelia, Matis, and Phoenix, discards his interests in the club, and becomes preoccupied with bondage—the only coping mechanism that allows him to escape his despair.

Jack is immediately intrigued by Camille because she reminds him of his late wife. Over time, however, he discovers that Camille is unique. While her appearance and voice are reminiscent of Em, Camille is bolder, more experimental, and more willing to take risks. Camille gradually breaks down Jack’s metaphoric emotional walls and challenges him to confront his grief. She does so by sharing her vulnerability with Jack, both in her handwritten letters and their nightly BDSM sessions. Jack is inspired by Camille’s willingness to open her heart and experiment with her body; gradually, he learns to do the same, underscoring the novel’s message about The Importance of Trust and Emotional Vulnerability to Building Intimacy. He changes from a stoic and absent figure into a warm and loving father and husband.

Bea is a secondary character. She is Jack’s daughter. When Em died, Bea lost her mother when she was just three years old. Instead of finding comfort in her father’s arms, Bea was forced to leave her home and live with her father’s friend, Phoenix. In the narrative present, she has returned home to live with Jack but finds no warmth from her father. Camille often wonders at Jack’s refusal to spend time with his daughter, particularly because Bea’s desire to love and be loved by him seems so apparent. Over time, Camille learns that Jack has removed himself from Bea because he is trying to protect her from his pain. The repeated images of Jack standing in the hall and looking in on Bea as she sleeps convey his affection for her as well as his fear of intruding upon her life and emotions any more than he already has.

Bea’s lively, energetic spirit adds narrative levity and offers the main characters hope. She reawakens Camille’s childlike, exploratory nature. She also makes Camille feel purposeful, frequently confiding in Camille and telling her she wants Camille to be her mother. Bea eventually has the same effect on her father, who learns to invest in her as a part of his healing process.

Emmaline (Em) Rochefort is a secondary character. She is Jack’s late wife and Bea’s late mother. Although she is not alive in the narrative present, her presence haunts the narrative. Ever since she died from cancer a year prior to the novel’s start, Jack has been grieving her. He refuses to let go of Em because he cannot reconcile with her absence and fears that confronting his grief would mean forgetting Em and betraying her memory. The recurring images of photos of Em exemplify her ghostly presence in the St. Claire home and the hold she continues to have on the family, namely, Jack.

Em was a kind-hearted woman whom Jack fell in love with at first sight. She was a ballet dancer and instructor whom Jack’s sister, Elizabeth, studied under when she first moved to Paris at 18. Although Em later moved back to her home village of Giverny, Jack professed his love and compelled Em to return to Paris to be with him. A year later, they married and had Bea, but the pregnancy revealed that Em was sick with cancer. Jack still blames himself for Em’s fate because he “got Em pregnant, and that pregnancy killed her” (324). This flawed logic keeps Jack mired in grief for months after her death. This is in part why he hesitates to commit to Camille, too. He knows he has fallen in love with Camille but worries that loving her means further betraying Em.

Em’s character is not a traditional antagonist, but she does create tension in Camille’s and Jack’s individual storylines and in their relationship. Camille often feels that she is trying to live up to Em and to do her memory justice. She compares herself to Em in the context of her relationships with both Bea and Jack. When Phoenix and Elizabeth confront Jack after he and Camille break up, they help him understand that while Camille still wants to be with Jack, “she doesn’t want to live in your wife’s shadow. She wants [him] to want her for her. Not because she resembles someone [he] once loved” (328). By the novel’s end, Jack makes peace with Em’s death and memory; he realizes that loving Camille doesn’t mean forgetting Em. The scene of him visiting her bench in the park conveys his newfound ability to honor Em’s memory while moving forward with his life.