Page 59 of On His Team

“Why?”

“I don’t know. More moving parts, I guess.” She rolls the pen between her fingers. “You get somewhere and nothing is yours. Different room, different setup, different people, and you still have to make everything work.”

“That sounds stressful.”

“It was.”

“And you liked it.”

She smiles. “A lot.”

I nod. That makes sense somehow.

“Donovan said I did good.”

There’s something different in her voice when she says it.

Not looking for agreement. More like she’s still pleased about it.

“You did.”

Her eyes come up. “How would you know?”

“I saw you.”

“When?”

“Everywhere.”

She laughs softly. “That sounds creepy.”

“You were carrying half the building.”

“I was very important.”

“Clearly.”

She bumps her elbow against mine. “Shut up.”

I smile and keep typing.

The silence after that feels different for a few minutes. Not uncomfortable. Just noticeable.

Gianna breaks it first. “Your mom is funny.”

I look over. “Unfortunately.”

“She likes Stanley.”

“Everybody likes Stanley for the first twenty minutes.”

She laughs. “She made you so uncomfortable.”

“She did not.”

“I saw you turn red, Rowan.”

I look at her when she says my name. “I didn’t.”