I’d seen her smirk and gently smile before, but her true smile, her genuine smile. It was enough to make the breath catch in my chest. I wasn’t offering her anything outrageous, just the chance to make sure she could defend herself from any harm. But she smiled at me like it was the best gift I could give her. I wondered where she’d been, what she’d been through that would make the offer so important to her, but I just nodded.
