Page 222 of Playing Dirty

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“What changed tonight?” she asked softly.

You.

That answer came way too fast in my head.

I didn’t say it.

Obviously.

Instead I looked away briefly toward the skyline.

“Too many variables,” I muttered.

That made her laugh unexpectedly.

Actually laugh.

Not the small controlled version.

Real.

I looked back at her immediately.

And there it was again—

that stupid feeling in my chest every time she forgot to guard herself for half a second.

ROWAN

He looked genuinely distracted by my laugh.

Which was… interesting.

“You are unbelievably weird,” I told him.

“I’ve been informed.”

“By who?”

“Everyone.”

“That feels accurate.”

He huffed a quiet laugh through his nose.

Tiny.

Barely there.

Still counted.

And suddenly the tension felt different.

Not gone.

Never gone.

But looser around the edges.

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