She took a sip of her tea, eyes never leaving my face. “It sounded relevant the way Rhys told it.”
“He’s myboss.”
“And handsome.”
I groaned, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Please don’t do this.”
She smiled then—not too wide, but enough to soften her features. One dimple tried to show, but didn’t quite make it. “I’m teasing. Mostly.”
Mostly.
I adjusted my grip on the mug, thumb tracing the chipped rim, then forced my shoulders to loosen. My body had gonealert without my permission, muscles braced because this was something I needed to manage carefully.
“It’s a good opportunity. The work is… intense. But interesting.”
She nodded, fingers fidgeting with the string of her tea bag. “You’ve always liked work that makes you think.”
I shrugged and took another sip.
Across the counter, she continued to watch me like she was memorizing me in case something changed when she wasn’t looking.
“So, are you seeing anyone?”
I froze with the mug halfway to my mouth. “No.”
“You’re twenty-four, Archie. You’re allowed to have a love life.”
“I’m aware.”
“And,” she added, casually, “you’re only his assistant until the end of the semester.”
For shit’s sake.
“Did Rhys put you up to this?” I demanded.
Her mouth twitched. “He didn’t have to.”
I sighed, tipping my head back for a second and closing my eyes.
Grant me patience.
She watched me in a way that made it impossible to deflect without feeling like an asshole.
“I just want you to be happy.”
“By dating my professor?”
She winced a little. Not at the worddating—but at the implication. At the danger she heard tucked inside it.
“I’m not encouraging anything reckless.”
“I’m not reckless, Mom.”
I’d never allowed myself to be.
Her eyes moved over my face like she was checking for a fever. “You get quiet when something matters.”
Henry crowded my thoughts immediately.
