I shook my head. "I won't!"
He smiled and said nothing, and somehow that was worse than any argument.
It was only then that I noticed how much John had talked that afternoon. He had been going on for hours, and somewhere between the coffee and the plans, I had stopped watching the clock. The AI project was settled. I was in no rush. So I rested my chin in my palm and let him keep going.
"Letty," he said quietly, "all these years I kept trying to figure out where I belonged in this world. And every time, you were the answer I kept coming back to. I don't think I'll ever be able to let you go."
I looked at him for a long moment. There was nothing I could offer him, nothing honest anyway. "Take things one step at a time," I said finally, and left it there.
