The balcony was bright and sunny, and Amelia Clarke lay half-reclining on the bed as she watched him, somewhat bewitched.
Owen Moreland finished his cigarette, looked up toward the interior, and saw the girl on the huge bed with eyes that seemed to gather the entire galaxy, brilliant and extraordinary.
The heat that had been suppressed by a single cigarette now seemed to revive, as gentle and nourishing as spring rain.
He casually tossed the cigarette butt aside, stepped forward to snuff it out, and, with a stride of his long legs, walked into the room and casually closed the glass door to the balcony.
The central air conditioner in the bedroom quietly exhaled cool air.
As he walked toward the bathroom, he called out to Amelia Clarke, "Have something to eat, I'm going to take a shower first."
Soon, a faint sound of the bathroom door closing could be heard, followed swiftly by the rushing sound of water.
