I hesitate, suddenly self-conscious. That alone should tell me something’s wrong.
“I ran into this man today,” I say finally.
Her brows lift immediately. “Ran into how?”
“Literally,” I admit. “In the hallway.”
“And?” she prompts, clearly entertained.
“And he was….” I trail off, searching for the right word. Annoyingly aware of how warm my face feels. “Handsome. Like—ridiculously handsome. Calm. Intense. He looked at my research and called it brilliant.”
Ellie gasps.
An actual gasp.
I shoot her a look. “Don’t.”
She presses a hand to her chest dramatically. “I haveneverheard you talk about a man like this.Ever. You don’t even compliment celebrities.”
I roll my eyes. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Mm-hmm,” she hums, unconvinced. “You’re blushing.”
“I am not.”
“You absolutely are.”
I grab a cookie off the tray and bite into it just to give my mouth something to do. “He was just…different,” I say, quieter now. “That’s all.”
Ellie studies me for a moment, her teasing expression softening into curiosity.
“Well,” she says lightly, “whoever he is, he clearly made an impression.”
I shake my head. “Yes. But not because he’s handsome. Because he knew my name.”
Her eyes widen, and I see worry creeping in. “Wait…how did he know your name?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
She puts her hands on her hips and frowns. “You’re not taking this seriously? A literal stranger knows your name, and you just shrug?”
“I think he’s an academic or something,” I say, trying to sound casual.
“That doesn’t explain anything,” she mutters, still scowling.
Her worry makes me nervous. I set the rest of the cookies down and admit, “Well…I don’t know how he knows.”
She goes quiet for a moment, then her face brightens slightly. “Did your report have your name on it? Maybe that’s how. You did hand it to him, right? I don’t know why you’d even do that.”
I freeze. Wait. Why didn’t I think of that?
Yes. Of course. My name is on the report. That’s the only way.
I run back to the living room to check. Sure enough—my name is scribbled across the top, a little heart drawn above it. Tiny, innocuous, but he saw it. That’s it. That’s how he knew.
I laugh, relief washing over me.
I return to the kitchen, grinning. “Ellie, you’re so smart.” I plant a quick kiss on her cheek.