(Aurora's POV)
"I'm devastated," said a third.
I laughed and told them to drop it. It was a small thing - the kind of thing that used to happen occasionally back in university, before marriage, before Rosalind, before everything got complicated. I hadn't thought about it in years. I tucked it away as a minor footnote to the afternoon and didn't give it another thought.
Until dinner.
Phineas had arranged a group dinner for the whole team. Long tables, good food, the kind of easy noise that builds when people are finally off the clock. I was talking to someone across from me when I heard someone a few seats down mention the shop, the cashier, the i********: request.
I didn't look at Phineas. I focused very hard on the bread basket.
But I felt his gaze.
When I finally did glance over,
