AN: To all of the readers of this story, I want to say thanks for your patience. I will never, ever abandon a story. Sometimes, life just gets in the way. This isn't a long chapter, but I promise another update soon. Thank you.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia and Elliot had settled back on the loveseat, each on the same opposite ends they had occupied before Elliot had fallen asleep and Olivia had been terrorized by the mouse. The large quilt was spread out over both of them, with Elliot's stocking feet sticking out on the ottoman. Olivia's legs were bent at the knee, and her toes dug into the cushion lightly, sliding beneath Elliot's thigh in an attempt to keep warm.

He wasn't complaining.

Olivia tried to focus on the book in her hands, but her mind kept replaying the recent conversation they had shared in the bedroom, especially the part about him being afraid to ask her about certain things. When she thought back over the years, it seemed to her that he had been pretty comfortable nosing around in her personal life unapologetically, albeit gently most of the time.

A full thirty minutes had passed before she couldn't pretend to read the same page over and over again. She closed her book and set it on her lap, resting her hands over the cover.

"Am I really that closed off about my personal life?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

Elliot dropped his book, marking the page with his finger, before he looked over at her. "I don't think I said you were closed off."

"You said that you felt like you couldn't talk to me about things. That there are things about me that you don't know and can't ask." Olivia shook her head. "I just don't know how you can say that because I feel like you know me better than anyone." She leaned forward slightly. "I've told you things that I've never told anyone else."

"I know." Elliot said acknowledging the part of her life she'd shared. "And I appreciate that because I know how hard that is for you sometimes." He pressed his lips together, trying to decide how much he wanted to push her as she was obviously feeling a little bit defensive. "But when you think about it, I really only know the barest of details. You keep everything else buried deep, and I can only see what's at the surface. What you choose to divulge. And so, I nod and take what you give me because I know how hard it was for you to tell me anything in the first place." He pointed at Olivia. "There's a lot going on in there, and most of the time, I'm just filling in the details with guesswork."

"I'm not that complicated."

Elliot let out a small laugh. "If you say so." He wasn't going to push her anymore. He opened his book, looking for the page where he left off.

She was curious, but there was also a part of her that didn't want to dig any deeper. She didn't want this to spiral into an argument and she could already feel her emotions getting the better of her. He had obviously decided to let it go and was buried in his book once again, but she couldn't seem to help herself. "If I say so?"

Elliot finished the sentence he was reading before he turned his attention back to her, lowering the book to his lap. "Liv, I'm sorry." Her defensiveness had ratcheted up a bit. "Just forget I said anything." Even though she had started the conversation, he had probably said too much. He knew her past was littered with bad memories and he had no right to expect her to share anything more than what she had.

Olivia was undaunted by his comment as her curiosity got the better of her. "My father was a rapist, and my mother drank herself to death. That feels like a hell of a lot of information. What else could you possibly want to know?" She tried to keep her tone neutral, despite the gut-wrenching emotion those comments dredged up. There was obviously something about the Maine air or being on vacation that had allowed them to drop their guard and have some real conversations. She didn't want to shut that down.

Elliot was surprised by Olivia's comments, but the forced calm in her voice told him that her question was sincere. "Believe me, I know how hard it was to tell me those things. It means a lot to me that you've trusted me with some of the hardest parts of your life. But…" Suddenly, he felt like a jerk for asking her for more. "Never mind."

"No." Olivia said, shaking her head. "You say I'm closed off, and I'm giving you a chance here. Don't shut down the conversation. Tell me what you mean."

"Fair enough." Elliot nodded, and then let out a small sigh. "I know the big things that have framed your life." He started. "But you never talk about any of the little things. Like most people will say things like when I was a kid, we used to…or I remember once, when I was 12, I…" Elliot looked back and forth between her eyes. "You never say things like that. Ever. Never offer up any glimpse into things you did or liked or hated or…just anything. I don't know if you and your mom ever took a trip, or if you had any hobbies or your favorite subject in school. It's all of those little things that fill in the blank spots."

"I don't know any of those things about you either."

Elliot nodded his head, thinking about it. "I guess that's true." He realized he couldn't argue with her on that point. "I guess we've both been holding back." He would like to think that if she had asked, he would have told her anything, but he wasn't sure that was absolutely true. He saw the smile on Olivia's face, as if she'd won some sort of contest. "Don't smile at me like that." He smirked at her. "It doesn't change the facts. It just means that the two of us are more similar than we maybe would care to admit." He leaned forward again. "And that we both have a lot to learn about each other."

Olivia couldn't keep the smile from her face as Elliot talked, feeling somehow freed by the fact that they weren't so different. She wasn't sure how difficult it would be to share some of her past with him, but she'd do it if it meant she could get a glimpse of Elliot in his younger days. "My mom liked to go to old bookstores and scour the shelves. Looking for a hidden gem. Sometimes we'd spend hours there, so I liked to find a good book and curl up in a corner somewhere and lose myself in a story. Almost every time, she'd find me, clutching whatever treasures she found tightly in her arms, with dust in her hair and a smile on her face, and then we'd go for tea and we'd talk about her finds. Her face when she talked about books and characters and plotlines…" Olivia swallowed hard, remembering those days. They happened more frequently when she was in primary school, before life started taking its toll on her mother. "She was so radiant. So beautiful. So…" She could feel tears welling and she swallowed again.

Elliot had never been able to picture Olivia as a young girl, as there hadn't been any pieces of the puzzle to fit together. But now he had an image of her, tucked into a corner, unseen, with her nose buried in a book. The thought made him smile, and he reached out and took her hand. "That sounds amazing." He whispered, folding her hand in his.

Olivia swiped at the tear that had escaped down her cheek. "It was." She gave him a small smile. "It was."

"I guess that's where you get your love of books." Elliot said, remembering the stack on the nightstand.

Olivia withdrew her hand from Elliot's, remembering the times those very same books had been thrown at her in frustration and anger. "Yeah."

Elliot noted the shift, but he let it go. It was obvious his comment had dredged up some other, not so pleasant memory, and he regretted it. But these kinds of conversations were bound to bring out the good and the bad. Regardless, he felt privileged to have just a little piece of Olivia that he hadn't had before. "Sounds like the rain has let up." He said, trying to bring Olivia back from her thoughts. "Why don't we get changed and head into town? Find a spot to have a drink and an early dinner?"

"I'd like that." Olivia said, giving him a smile. In spite of the fact that their quiet afternoon had been incredibly relaxing, some fresh air and a change of scenery sounded like fun. "But you're buying."

EOEOEOEO

"What?" Olivia asked, catching Elliot's eyes from across the table.

"Nothing." Elliot knew he was staring, but honestly, he felt like he was seeing her in a whole new light. The fact that she had opened up to him meant a lot, and for the first time, he could see a future that might look different than what they had now. A future that he'd thought about so many times but had been hesitant to let himself dream about for very long. He knew he still had to go slowly, but he felt like he could tell her things now that he hadn't been comfortable telling her before.

"Okay." Olivia said with a small laugh. She ran her finger around the rim of her beer glass, but she could still feel Elliot's eyes on her. She looked up at him through her lashes, actually feeling a little flirty. "You're still staring."

"Maybe I can't stop staring because you're so damned beautiful."

Olivia was speechless. No witty remark came to mind…there was no quick rebuttal on the tip of her tongue. There was only the flush of heat in her cheeks and the skip of her heart as she absorbed the compliment. No matter how close they may have danced to the line they'd drawn between them, she and Elliot had never said the things they'd been tempted to say.

"I know…" Elliot said sheepishly, panicking slightly by her lack of response. "You've heard that a…"

"No." Olivia said, effectively cutting him off. "It's…" She felt the heat in her cheeks return. "It's nice to hear it…from you." She looked away, unable to stare him in the eye any longer. It was crazy, but she felt like what she imagined a schoolgirl would feel like if her crush had just complimented her. She put her hand to her cheek, thankful that the restaurant they had holed up in wasn't well lit.

"Well, then I should compliment you more often." Elliot was a little surprised that she had accepted his compliment instead of deflecting it, and that she had told him that she liked it. But he could tell her acceptance made her a little uncomfortable, so he needed to lighten things up a bit. "What do you want to do after dinner?"

Olivia glanced back up, thankful for the return to a more comfortable topic. "If it's still warm enough, maybe we can go down to the small beach here in town."

"You can't get enough of the ocean, can you?"

"It's just…the sounds of the water. Of the waves crashing on the shore. It's so relaxing." Olivia let out a sigh. "I just can't seem to get enough."

"Is the city girl going to become a country girl?"

"I'll never leave the city." Olivia said vehemently, and she meant it. "But I am going to make time to get to the beach more often." It really was ridiculous that she hadn't taken the time before since she lived on an island. There were plenty of beaches within an hour's drive that were probably just as beautiful.

"Well, if you need someone to tag along, a partner in crime, so to speak, I'm your man."