It took fifteen minutes to locate a space near the café. In that time, Sera hadn't spoken-not a single word. I didn't push. If I'd learned anything in life, it is that people talk when they are ready. I grabbed our coffee and followed Sera to the balcony, where she chose a table on the farthest end. Her lips wrapped around the edge of her mug, and she tipped the cup gracefully. When she set it down and put her elbows on the table, a bright smile returned to her supple lips, silently opening the door for me to probe a little.
Pointing toward the bruise, I asked the question that had been on my mind since I'd picked her up. "What happened?" I kept my tone light and free of judgment, as though it were an everyday occurrence for a woman to have a huge-ass bruise covering half her face.
Her
