I watched her stumble back, cheeks flushed, lips pressed tight like she was holding back everything she wanted to say.
Her eyes met mine for a flicker of a second before darting away, and I saw the tension in her shoulders stiffen again.
She was embarrassed.
Good.
But more than that—she was flustered.
Off balance.
Which meant she wasn’t as unaffected as she liked to pretend.
I tucked that piece of knowledge away like a treasured card in a deck.
Behind me, David chuckled under his breath.
"That was smooth," he whispered, clearly enjoying the show. "You sure you weren’t trying to seduce her instead of scolding her?"
I ignored him. For now.
Just a few feet away, behind a column near the cafeteria entrance, another pair of eyes had been watching. Sharp, narrowed, and filled with jea
