His heart lifted at her consideration of living here. An entire fantasy of claiming her, learning more about each other, working in tandem and equally with each other bloomed in his mind. And then the fantasy was shuttered with her last statement. He kept his expression neutral.

"He's going to be waiting for that, you know. He can't stand having someone better him." He would know from experience. But that was for another time.

"Tell me about your family."