Page 100 of Power Play

Ryan stared at me for a second before that dimple appeared.

“Fuck yeah.”

I laughed. “That’s your academic response?”

“That’s exactly my academic response.”

He pulled me closer by our joined hands and kissed my forehead.

“Look at you, mi hada.”

The pride in his voice landed harder than the A had.

“I’m still taking Klein in the fall, so celebrate carefully.”

“You’re going to love Klein.”

“She frightens me.”

“You’ll frighten her back eventually.”

“That seems unlikely.”

“It seemed unlikely you’d tell Brown his question wasn’t enough three weeks ago.”

I smiled into my coffee while Ryan released my hand and turned toward the table.

“Sit down. I brought you something.”

“You always bring me something.”

“Stop complaining.”

“That wasn’t a complaint.”

“It sounded dangerously appreciative.”

I pulled out the chair beside his. “Maybe I’m getting soft.”

His gaze slid toward me as he leaned closer. “Careful.”

The word carried enough heat that I immediately looked at the books instead.

Ryan noticed. He always noticed, and his smile deepened before he reached into the canvas bag.

“First, your formal introduction to embarrassing educational publishing.”

He handed me a bright yellow paperback.

I looked at the cover, then at him. “Spanish for Dummies?”

“It’s useful.”

“Are you calling me dumb during our first official Spanish lesson?”

“I’m saying whoever named the series was an asshole.”

“That wasn’t reassuring.”