Recognition.
Like he’s seeing everything I didn’t mean to show.
It makes my chest feel strange in a way I don’t want to examine too closely.
So I break the moment.
“Okay,” I say lightly, picking up my fork again. “Well. Glad I could stop you from launching this place like a luxury prison for musicians.”
Julian laughs.
Gabe’s mouth curves, just slightly. “We appreciate it.”
I point my fork at him. “Also, your kitchen is unsettling.”
He blinks. “My kitchen?”
“Yes. It’s too organized.”
“It’s efficient.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s suspicious. It looks like no one has ever lived here.”
Julian grins. “Here we go.”
I gesture toward the counter. “Everything is lined up. Perfectly. Like if I moved one thing, you’d know.”
“I would,” Gabe says.
“That’s not normal.”
“It’s functional.”
I scoff. “It’s intense.”
Julian leans back, watching this like it’s a comedy show. “She’s got a point.”
Gabe considers me, then smiles. “I like knowing where things are.”
And just like that, everything shifts again, because I expected him to push back harder.
Instead, he just lets it land.
Adjusts.
It’s interesting.
“You’d hate my office,” he adds.
“I already do,” I say.
“You haven’t seen it.”
“I don’t need to.”
Julian laughs again. “I’m taking you in there tomorrow just to prove a point.”
“Don’t you dare.”