It took him a moment to realize she hadn’t responded immediately. He glanced at her. She wore a strange expression on her face—hesitant, pleased…wary?
“Okay, that’d be nice,” she said, and the flicker of anxiety he’d felt for a second upon seeing her uncertainty vanished. He grinned in satisfaction. There could be no doubt about it this time.
He’d just officially asked Natalie Reyes out and she’d said yes.
The terrace was cast in the pinkish-gold hues of sunset as they ate. After supper, they pushed back their plates and talked almost nonstop until the crimson orb of the sun sank slowly into the dark blue waters of the lake.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” he said quickly at one point when he glanced up and noticed how set and pale Natalie’s face had become as he described having his cover blown last year when he’d been investigating some corrupt cops. “I knew Tresedi wouldn’t kill me without the consent of Maguire— Maguire ruled the pack—and the chances were pretty good my partner would find me before Maguire ever gave the order.”
“The chances were pretty good,” Natalie repeated, her voice flat with incredulity and anxiety.
“Mike Estes has never failed me before, and he didn’t in this case,” Liam repeated, referring to his former partner.
Natalie picked up her iced tea and took a large swallow. “It’s so scary,” she murmured. “You could have easily been killed at a dozen different times during that investigation. I don’t understand how you did it, living so secretively…so dangerously for almost a year.”
“It wasn’t that bad. For the most part, I was just carrying on with my normal job.”
“You make it sound like your ‘normal’ job was as safe as selling Tupperware. I, for one, am glad you decided to quit the Chicago P.D. and come to Harbor Town.”
“Even a sinner deserves a couple of peaceful years, huh?” he teased.
“I have a feeling life would never be calm around you.”
He leaned forward, his elbows on the table, as if her low voice had tugged at him like a magnet. Dusk had settled, soft and hushed. He stared at the feminine curve of Natalie’s cheek as wisps of her hair fluttered against it.
“Take off your glasses.” When he realized how blunt he’d sounded, he added softly, “Please.”
She removed her glasses and set them on the table. Her face was beautiful in that pregnant moment when the day meets the night, enigmatic…sublime.
“Spend the night here.”
Her expression stiffened. “What?”
“I don’t want to take you home. I will, if you want me to, of course.” When she didn’t speak, he continued as if he thought he was making up for a dire mistake. “We don’t have to…you know. Not if you’re not ready. You can have the guest room.”
“Liam…you say the strangest things sometimes,” she said, disbelieving.
“You think it’s strange that I don’t want you to go home?”
For a few seconds she just stared at him, her mouth open. “No,” she whispered. She turned her chin. “No, I don’t think that part is strange.”
“Which part, then?”
The glow from the lights in his kitchen allowed him to see her elegant throat convulse as she swallowed. He hated the separation of the table between them.
At that moment, he despised all the barriers between him and Natalie.
“You never told me what Jack Andreason told you,” she said so quietly he almost didn’t hear her.
“You never answered me about staying here with me tonight,” he countered in a voice just as hushed.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet. Now tell me about Jack.”
Liam sighed and leaned back in temporary defeat. He could tell by the hint of steel in her soft voice he shouldn’t push the topic for now. He forced his mind to focus on the conversation he’d had with Jack Andreason that afternoon.
“I drove over to St. Joseph—that’s where Jack lives now. He bought a little restaurant on the beach. Jack was tending bar when I got there. He actually recognized me right away.”
“He did? Did you know him well when you were young?”