Nico blinked. “What?!” she shouted.
He frowned.
Had she just shouted? She’d just shouted. Why had she just shouted?
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It looked like you might faint.”
Her heart started pounding. There it is. Return of the annoying, arrogant, asshole, prick.
“Why would you even— Oh, of course, I’m a woman, and that makes me weak.”
“I didn’t say it because you’re a woman and I think you’re weak. I said it because you looked unsteady. Your pupils looked as though they might be dilated.”
“I’ve never fainted in my life!”
“Good for you.”
“What makes you such an expert?”
“I never claimed to be an expert.”
“Well, how do you know what to look for?”
“Because I’ve fainted.”
“Oh.”
“There you go. You have me beat. You’ve never fainted, and I have.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
There was a moment of silence.
He grinned. “You want to know how it happened, don’t you?”
She shook her head. “No. Uh-uh. I don’t. I have absolutely no interest. Zero. Interest.”
He chuckled. “Yes, you do. The question is practically tattooed across your forehead.”
Another moment of silence.
He sighed. “Let’s see. Well, my family was vacationing in the South of France. My sister and I were left to play while my parents had lunch in the hotel restaurant with some friends. I was six years old, and my sister was twelve. They had saunas in the hotel—one for men and one for women. And of course, some people would sit in the sauna naked. My sister dared me to go into the women’s sauna and said I was chicken because I didn’t want to. She shoved me in and held the door closed. I was relieved no one was in there, but I wanted out. I was about to bang on the door when I heard a woman telling my sister to stop playing around. The door began to open, and I hid under one of the benches. The woman entered, and I quickly turned around so I was staring at the wall. I was too afraid to say anything. I kept waiting for a moment when I could escape, but women kept coming in.”
Nico laughed.
He grinned. “That’s funny, is it?”
She shook her head and swallowed her laughter. “Sorry. How long were you in there?”
“I don’t remember. By the time they found me, I’d fainted.”
“Oh.”
“Stop looking at me like I’m a starving puppy.”
