Fake it with me
"AP History. Third row. You asked Mr. Patterson about the economic underpinnings of the Missouri Compromise last week and he had to look at the ceiling for forty-five seconds before he answered."
Something shifted in Ethan's expression, something that was the beginning of a smile but hadn't fully committed yet. "He looked at the ceiling for forty-five seconds?"
"I counted."
He did smile then, and it was a straightforward smile, uncomplicated, not the kind of smile that was performing anything or waiting for a reaction. It arrived and settled and stayed there without needing anything from her, which was a quality Ava found unexpectedly noticeable.
"You count a lot of things," he said.
"Precis