Page 180 of Playing Dirty

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It did anyway.

Jace followed my gaze instantly.

“Oh,” he said. “There it is.”

“What.”

“You two are doing that thing again.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“You’re both not doing anything in a very coordinated way.”

I didn’t answer.

Because Rowan looked up.

And for a second—

we saw each other clearly through everything else.

Then she looked away first.

That mattered more than I wanted it to.

ROWAN

I didn’t go toward him.

That was important.

I stayed where I was.

Because moving felt like admitting something I didn’t have a name for yet.

Serena reappeared briefly with two drinks.

“You look like you’re calculating something,” she said.

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

I took the drink.

Didn’t argue.

Because she wasn’t wrong.

Across the rooftop, Mason shifted slightly.

Not moving toward anyone.

Just repositioning.

Like he was aware of everything in the room at once.

That was starting to feel familiar.

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