pte

n intensity that had once made her feel chosen and later made her feel measured. Now it

ing the words over as if testing their w

accu

might have been a laugh. "You always

dy around the glass and let the silence stre

time. You left without a word. No explanation. N

nothing l

"You don't get to

e held his gaze. "T

. Daniel leaned back slightly, as if putting physical distance between himself and the version of her he c

r a moment, the words careful

nk y

isconce

gine i

ce. In the old life she would have softened the moment, offered some

, and set it down harder than

wa

le

ave your name on it." She kep

pened since she last saw him. For a flicker of a second she remembered the early years-how those same eyes had looked at

time. "Not just at first. For months. I hired so

kno

nd still st

es

the tension move through his hand and felt an unexpected flicker of something that was not quite satisfaction

fter," he said. "Apologetic. Ready to

it through. We

arply. "That's not

her head slightly. "Tha

t and careless. Daniel's gaze dropped to Elena's mouth for a fraction of a second befor

ifferent,

eady sai

n the table. "There's an edge to you that wasn't th

rred me wi

h his nose and looked away toward the window for a moment, as if the dark

ce was lower. "I never aske

r you. Quietly. Efficiently. Unt

ed the way most true things did-quietly, and with weight. Daniel's shoulders

ow?" h

't do that

if trying to locate the soft places he used to know how to reach. Elena remained still and let him loo

ve them both a second to breathe. When the space cleared again, Daniel'

eing anyone

clinical. Elena considered defl

N

her a

looking for. Instead she finished the last of her w

said. "I came back. We saw each other.

t there was no humor in i

doesn't h

w that she no longer arranged herself around it. Elena felt it in the low heat beneath her sternum, in the way

r his coat. "Let

ena stood, smoothing the front

rig

l and charged. Streetlights threw long shadows across the sidewalk. Elena kept her hands in her pockets

r a moment neither of them spoke. The revolving door behin

see you again

till commanding in the quiet way that had once drawn her in. But the old

k about it

e, frustration, and beneath both a darker c

r en

he felt the weight of his attention follow her until the door sealed her inside. The lobby was qui

the street below. Daniel had already walked away. The sidewalk where they h

as over. The fire h

not be simple, and she