Page 108 of Tears of Glass

“It’s late. I think we should stop.” Eli yawns, stretching his hands above his head, and I stare at the strip of golden skin revealed under his T-shirt. “I don’t think we’re going to find anything.”

Jess purses her lips and looks like she wants to tell him they will carry on.

He gets in first. “It’s midnight, I think we can call it a day. If there is a witness we’ve missed in these files, then it’s a witness that doesn’t want to be found.”

Eli scrubs at his face. He looks tired, exhausted, beaten even. I want to hold him, slide my arms around him and tell him that everything will be okay. But I can’t, because it would be a lie. In ten days, Eli is taking his firm’s client to court under a case of manslaughter, with the only credible witness—the victim—dead.

I watch him through my lashes, my heart squeezing in my chest.

“Good idea, boss.” Sienna gets up from the floor and grabs the file she’s been reading. “I want to check this one again tomorrow though, okay?”

He waves his hand at her, but his eyes are on me.

There’s general yawning and waving. They all kindly thank me for the awful pasta dish I served up, and I shut the door on them.

Eli hasn’t moved. He’s still on the floor with his back against the sofa, his long legs stretched out, his wine glass balanced in his hand.

I walk over and lower myself into his lap. “I’m sorry we didn’t find anything.”

The blues raise to my face and he gives a slow smile. I reach my hands for his face and slide them along the stubble on his cheeks. He looks gorgeous when he’s tired and relaxed like this. His fingers fit around my jaw and tease my lips to his. The kiss is tender and gentle, delicate and light.

I break our lips and stare him right in the eyes. “I’m sorry about next Saturday. I kind of thought you’d be pleased I was going to try to make an effort.”

His fingers trail my face, dancing around my lips. “I don’t want them anywhere near you, Faith. That’s all. She’d already asked us to go for dinner, but I’d declined.”

“Why do you want to keep them away from me? I thought we were all in this now?”

He sighs, and I wiggle against his chest, placing my ear above the space of his heart so I can hear it beat under his clothes. “Because the Faircloughs destroy everything.”

I stay in place, listening to the beat of the heart which loves me more than anyone else ever has.

“I won’t let them destroy us,” I say eventually. Lifting my face, I plant a kiss on his mouth, teasing my tongue into a dance with his.

The looks he gives me is unreadable when he pulls away. “And because I’d made plans for next weekend, but now of course they shall have to be changed.”

I slump a little. “I’m sorry. Is it bad I didn’t know it was your birthday?”

“Well I’m mortally offended.”

Chuckling, I snuggle myself back down against his chest and the wool of his jumper rubs my cheek. “We haven’t really talked about mundane things like birthdays.” I glance up at him with a cheeky grin. “I mean, I don’t even know what size shoe you wear.”

One of his eyebrows lifts in a perfect arch. “Large, very large, that’s all you need to worry about.”

An undignified snort escapes my mouth. His lips quirk at the edges and I welcome the small smile creeping onto his face. Leaning forward, he plants a kiss on my lips.

“Your birthday is the twenty second of December, which makes you a Capricorn, but then I already know you are strong-willed, principled, and unforgiving.”

My mouth falls open, but his eyes remain steadily on my face.

“You wear a size six shoe and you should wear a size eight clothes, but you buy two sizes up because you don’t like things tight.”

A smile stretches my lips. “Favourite food?”

He catches my hand, kissing along my palm to the delicate, translucent skin of my wrist. “Ah, that’s easy. Cigarettes.”

I giggle, a rare sound like a nightingale singing, and launch myself into his arms. “Know it all.” I smile against his mouth.

“Just observant. With a very good memory.”