I stared at the plate of meat piled high as the knife slipped through the tender steak, the red juice spilling into the shallow bowl of potatoes. The clink of cutlery against porcelain. The candlelight flickered, throwing long shadows across the heavy wooden table, and for a moment the world narrowed to the sharp sting of my own breath.
''You said I could come with you halfway,'' I said, the words barely more than a rasp.
''No,'' He corrected, as he lifted his wine, ''I said I'd think about it, and I have, and the answer is no. Now let it go. We'll talk about it in private, we have guests tonight.''
''Don't give me that,'' I snapped, the edge in my voice sharpening. ''You only brought it up because we have company. Because you thought I'd just agree and let it go, because they're watchi
