She was wearing completely different clothes now—a long coat that looked expensive and practical in equal measure, boots that came to her knees, weapons visible at the belt that she hadn't been carrying when she'd been serving ale.
She looked up, right where Jake was, and met his gaze across the distance between them. Her slender lips broke into a wide grin as she stared at him.
It was the same warm, interested smile she'd given him last night, but now it carried additional layers—amusement at his obvious shock, satisfaction at a deception successfully executed, and something darker that suggested the questions she'd asked about their business hadn't been idle curiosity.
Pirate Queen Elisabeth raised one hand in a greeting that was half wave and half salute, her smile widening.
