Sophie's quiet gaze flicked up and met his.
A single beat of eye contact.
Up close, she was even more striking than the crowd's reaction had suggested.
But Stan had made himself a quiet promise after the whole mess with Lily, no more simping. No more pleading. No more pouring himself out for a woman who wasn't already interested. If someone didn't want his attention, she didn't want it, and he had better things to do than grovel for scraps.
He met her eyes steadily.
"Sophie."
His voice was calm, level, pitched just loud enough for her to hear clearly over the murmur of the crowd.
"I'd like to get to know you. Can I have your Snapchat?"
The courtyard went dead silent.
Every head in the three-deep ring of onlookers swung toward him at once. Phones that had been filming Sophie tilted in his direction. The air pressure seemed to shift.
"…Who the hell is this guy?"
"He actually has the balls to ask Sophie for her Snap? In public?"
