There was something she wasn't telling him. Something she was holding back. And he sensed that it was important, and that there was a reason she was loathe to mention it directly. But forcing it out of her was out of the question. She would reveal her true motives in due course, he tried to tell himself.

Still, her questions did not add up.

"I wouldn't say far from the most stubborn," he cautioned instead, raising an eyebrow. Who did she think he was? Which stories had she heard? Not that it mattered. He sighed. "I'm not leaving. I don't know how to make you understand why that's for the best, but I, too, have had my share of waiting." He tilted his head slightly. "What were you waiting for?"