"You are aware that he won't be returning tonight?"
The strained calm of the packhouse living room was broken by the startling voice. Mara was resting against the doorway with her arms folded and a pitying expression softening her features when I turned around.
I pretended that I wasn't waiting for him, but it was difficult to maintain my composure due to the pain in my chest.
Unconvinced, Mara raised an eyebrow. "You're sitting there looking at the clock in the dark. I apologize if I don't understand that.
I murmured, averting her eyes, "I like the quiet."
With a soft exhale, she moved closer and lowered herself onto the couch across from me. "Eli, nobody is fooled by you. Not even yourself.
Her remarks struck a deeper chord than I had anticipated, and I detested feeling so vulnerab
