Then, after a short silence that felt like it could've ended in a hundred different ways, she said something.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't dramatic. And it didn't sound like she meant for it to land with any weight.
But it stuck anyway.
"You're not what I expected either."
She didn't say it to provoke him. She didn't even look at him when she said it. She just let it hang there like a casual thought that slipped out before she could pull it back in.
Ethan didn't ask her what she had expected.
He could have. It would've been easy to press, to try and get her to explain.
But he didn't.
Instead, he met her eyes when she glanced at him, held the look for just a second, and gave her a quiet smile.
Nothing smug, nothing forced, just a simple smile that said he understood—maybe more than she realized.
And this time, she didn't look away.
She didn't shift her gaze. She didn't close herself off like she had when he first walked into the room.
