He had been comfortable beside her. Easy. Confident. The kind of comfort that came from believing everything was settled.
He leaned toward her when he spoke. She listened. He spoke again. She answered.
I had watched all of it.
I leaned forward and rested my forearms on my legs. My gaze stayed on the door. She would come back soon. The drive from the restaurant was not long.
I did not plan to open my door. I did not plan to be in the hallway. Tonight was not for pushing.
Still, I listened.
The building stayed quiet. A faint sound passed once outside, then faded. The elevator moved somewhere below.
I stood and walked to the window. The street lights cast a steady glow. Cars passed occasionally.
I thought about the moment she saw me.
The pause. The shift in her attention. The way she
