“I saw you at Worlds last year. You probably don’t remember me. I watched you skate, and you were…amazing. Except Ikeptwatching you. Mila noticed.”
Dean chuckled. “I shouldn’t think there’s much that gets by her. But that still sounds like you noticing the skating, not me.”
I grinned. “I see what you want to know. The truth is, I didn’t want anyone to see the effect you had on me. So I hid it—too well, if you thought I was unaware of you. And suddenly, you were in Milan, and all those thoughts I’d tried to push down surged back up.” I smiled. “And for that, I blame you.”
“Hey.” He pointed at me. “It wasn’t as if I was trying to make you notice me.”
“No?” I tilted my head. “Then perhaps you should explain something.”
His eyes narrowed in obvious suspicion. “Uh-oh.”
“Noah asked you when you first noticed me, but somehow you made it all about when I noticedyou. I think you should answer Noah’s question.”
Dean groaned in a heartbeat.
My eyebrows rose. “Ah.”
“Oh, no.”
“Dean.”
He dropped his forehead against my shoulder. “We arenottalking about this.”
Now I was smiling. “Oh, I think we are.”
He let out a long sigh. “Fine.”
I waited.
Dean lifted his head. “I was watching you skate.”
I blinked. “That sounds innocent when you say it like that.”
“Itstartedinnocent.”
“Dean.”
He pointed at me accusingly. “You were doing that thing.”
“What thing?”
“The impossible skating thing.”
I stared.
“You know exactly what I mean. Flying around the rink like physics was optional.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “And suddenly my brain stopped analyzing your technique and started noticing… other things.”
The smile escaped me before I could stop it.
Dean groaned. “Yeah, that.”
“You meanthatwas the moment you…”
“That was the moment.”
I bit my lip.
Dean looked offended by my amusement. “Donotenjoy this.”
