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“Did you work while going to school?”
The frisson of unease turned into full-blown alarm. Her pulse quickened, and her stomach roiled.
There’s no way he can know.
“I had grants and some scholarships.” While it didn’t answer his question, it wasn’t a lie. She rose to her feet. “Excuse me. I’m going to walk around for a while.”
She scooted past him and rushed up the steps. Her gaze landed on James a couple of rows back.
He’d clearly been watching her, because when they made eye contact, he lifted a brow in what seemed to be the silent question ofare you okay.
A little disconcerted, she just shook her head and made her way out of the suite.
The inside corridor around the stadium was bustling with people heading to the restroom or grabbing concessions.
There’s no way Ryan could know.
She repeated the mantra to herself.
No one knows. She’d literally told no one except her therapist.
“Tori.”
She flinched, but realized that he’d called her Tori. It wasn’t Ryan following her, but James.
With a sigh of relief, she turned.
“Hey, you.”
“Everything all right?” His gaze searched hers.
“Sure,” she lied. “I decided to go after those garlic fries, after all. It gives me a reason to stretch my legs. These games are fun, but a long time sitting.”
“Yeah, I get it. Feeling kind of restless too. Mind if I walk with you? Those fries sound good.”
“Okay.”
After the seriousickvibes from Ryan, it was a step up, having a friendly face nearby.
And how weird was it having James be the safe, comfortable one, when six months ago, she’d gone between wanting to kick him in the balls or kiss him again?
The idea of hanging out with him for a few minutes, without the rest of the firm looking on, sounded kind of nice, actually.
Though there was that whole little thing while grabbing pizza earlier. What was that about?
He’d been flirting. She was well-versed enough to know that.
But to have it come from James and be directed at her? So weird.
“I like your shirt.” He gestured to her top. “It’s fun seeing you all casual. I feel like I should’ve shed the suit.”
“Oh, but you look so good in it.” It was definitely a flirtatious response, and it was out before she could decide whether it was a good idea.
“You think so?” His gaze slid to hers.
Something passed between them. Something that skipped the boundaries of friendship and peered into the unknown beyond.
“Yes. Now stop fishing for compliments.” She rolled her eyes and pushed her hair over her shoulder, resisting the urge to play with a strand self-consciously.
