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For a second too long.
And I noticed something I didn’t earlier.
He wasn’t relaxed.
Not even slightly.
Just controlled enough that it looked like he was.
That mattered.
More than I wanted it to.
MASON
She noticed.
I could tell.
Rowan always noticed the wrong detail first.
That was the problem.
She wasn’t reacting to what I said.
She was reacting to what I wasn’t showing.
And I didn’t like that she could see it.
“I’m going back,” I said.
Not abrupt.
Not soft.
Just decision.
She nodded slightly.
“Okay.”
No argument.
That should’ve been relief.
It wasn’t.
Because I didn’t move immediately.
Neither did she.
And for a second—
we just stood there.
In a room full of noise.
Not part of it.
