Liana's POV
The words still hung between us.
> "You should stay the night."
I didn't know who was more shocked between the two of us—him or me. The moment they escaped my lips, a flush crawled up my neck. The air in the car became thick, like clouds gathering before a rainstorm.
Stanley didn't flinch for a beat.
His expression was unreadable. Not smug. Not surprised. Just. searching.
"Liana," he replied finally, his voice low, gentle. "I don't want you to ask me that because you're afraid or stuck."
"I wasn't."
My voice trembled with truth. "I'm not asking because I need to be rescued."
I looked at him, actually looked at him—the man who'd picked me up off the pavement of a breakdown and held me as if I were something special. The man who made fries and a milkshake sound like s
