“I’m not sure.” She studied her colleagues.Looking for someone?Had she come with a date?
Following the direction she gazed, I clenched my hand around the glass. Who was it? The bland, pale man in wire-rimmed glasses who kept peering over at us? He was too old, and there was a band on his ring finger. Married.
But he appeared interested if his oily smile was anything to go by.
He caught my stare and immediately spun away. His hand shook as he brought his glass to his lips.Good.
“What in the world are you doing?” Leo elbowed me. Barely managing to save the drink I hadn’t realized I’d accepted at some point, I shrugged. It took all my control not to smirk, but I was fully enjoying the other man’s discomfort. Married men needed to keep it in their pants.
“You’re glaring at Professor Galwick.”
When I continued to stare down the man, she elbowed me again. For a soft-looking woman, her elbows were very pointy.
“Well, he’s looking at you like you’re an appetizer.”
She sniffed. “Doubtful.”
Cutting my gaze to her, I found her staring at the floor. I was hit with the realization: she didn’t see it.
She didn’t see all the sideways glances. The left hands shoved in pockets as she passed by. The men staring. Staring. Staring. Willing her to see them, too.
Shaking her head, she cleared her throat. “I’ll probably leave in a minute. I think I’ve met all the people Dr. St. John and Dr. Merton wanted me to meet.”
“I’ll walk you home.” I put my glass, still full, on a nearby table.
“Not necessary. You just got here.”
Had she noticed? A tightness in my throat loosened. “It’s fine.”
Ignoring me, she strode toward the door to the coat check. “I’m sure you’re here for a reason.”
She stopped, dug a ticket from her pocket, and handed it to the checker. The side of her lips lifted. She got me there.
“I came to see you.”There. Let’s see how she deals with that.
Beautiful rose-pink climbed up her skin so fast, and so hot, I imagined I could feel it. But her smile disappeared. “Stop it.”
The checker arrived with her umbrella and purse. As I watched, she removed a bill from her wallet and handed it to the man. Barely sparing me a glance, she marched to the door. Lucky for me, I hadn’t checked anything. Had I delayed, she’d have dashed into the night.
“Leo.”
She paused as the door closed behind us. It had gotten much colder, and the wind cut right through my coat. In only a sweater, she’d soon be freezing.
Still ignoring me, she hurried down the steps onto the sidewalk.
I didn’t like this. Her silence rubbed me wrong, like a stone in my shoe or a thorn in my glove. “Leo, stop.”
She did. Planting herself in the center of the cobblestone sidewalk, she glared. “No.Youstop. I don’t know what you’re doing. If you think it’s some kind of joke to show up to my class, and then here, and act like…”
“Like what?” Cold? Rude? Weird?
“Like… pretending people—men—are staring at me. I know what I look like. I know who I am. It’s not funny. So. Just stop.”
What in the ever-loving fuck was she talking about?
I suddenly viewed our exchanges through her eyes. She wasn’t wrong. I had been flirting. And she flirted back.
But then you shut it off.