Liam looked at her.
She was still looking at the window, the lake sitting dark and still beyond the glass, the moonlight on the water.
Her profile in the warm light of the room.
The black dress sitting short on her thighs, the neckline low, the center of her chest on full display, her hair loose around her shoulders.
"I want to make it up to you," he said.
Elena turned her head and looked at him.
She didn't say anything for a moment. Just looked at him the way she looked at things she was deciding about.
Then she said, "You don't owe me anything."
"I know," Liam said. "That's not why."
She looked at him for another second.
Then something in her expression shifted, the composed surface giving way slightly to whatever was sitting underneath it.
Liam moved closer to her on the couch.
